There has been a torrential downpour since morning and it seems like it doesn't plan to cease soon. The meteorological department have not been able to identify the source of the storm and are bemused at this unseasonal shower.

The rains are accompanied by occasional thunderstorms. The roads are flooded and the lanes blocked. People are weary and clueless.

The backdrop suits my mood perfectly. The storm is within me. My soul is cramped and I am suffocated. The rains within me is not due to the excessive evaporation of surface water but due to an unrepairable leak in my lacrimal glands.

The roads and lanes of my mind are blocked and are flooded with the memories. Memories which are fighting to fade but I refuse to let them drift into oblivion. I replay the happy times, instances where I thought I was indispensable, moments when my life was a bed of roses.

New tears replace the last ones as I break into a sob again. I am aware of the strange looks that I have been receiving, but I am beyond the point of caring at this moment.

My body trembles and I gather myself together on the seat, as I hug my legs close to my chest.

I've been sitting in the lounge and waiting for my flight to New York for the last three hours, and crying incessantly over what I have lost.

With my blurred vision, I see three pairs of shoes approach me. I look up trembling, anticipating the worst.

"Miss, are you alright?"

A young man asks.

His aura is warm and his eyes unsure, full of hesitation.

I wipe my cheeks with the back of my hoodie, trying to compose myself before I answer the concerned being.

"Y-yes", I croak out. My voice sounds foreign even to me, and I am sure these men do not believe me.

He still looks unsure.

"Can we be of any help, Miss?", he asks.

New tears form in my eyes and flow down my face. I am sure this man thinks that I'm either crazy or in big trouble.

Only if he knew.

"No I am good. Thank you for the help".

Mom had taught me not to talk to strangers, especially when travelling alone, let alone take help from them.

"Umm, are you travelling to New York?" He seems to be very persistent.

Being beautiful has its cons, one of it being- having to ward off all the inappropriate attention.

"I am sorry but I really want to be left alone", I tell the young man.

He nods his head in understanding, but fright clouds his eyes as he retreats.

Strange.

I go back to my state of hysteria, as the tears come falling back again. It's like a dam inside my eyes has broken down, and the tears are coming out all at once.

I had almost fallen asleep with my head rested on my knees, when clearing of a hoarse throat woke me up.

I jolted on my seat and looked up as if I had been attacked. The man standing opposite to me almost jerked backwards in bewilderment at my reaction.

I looked at him surprised.

Did I know him?

What did he want?

Behind him I see the man who had approached me earlier, looking extremely anxious and fidgety.

"May I help you, sir?" I ask this very important looking man, unsure of his intentions.

The side of his lips turned up slightly, and his deep green eyes glistened.

"I am here to offer you a job".

I have never tasted alcohol before and never even been near anything which is characterised even close to such things as drugs, but right now I feel like I am high on narcotics.

My mind is playing a really cruel prank with me.

"Is there a problem?"

I shut my mouth immediately.

This important looking man stands in front of me with a raised eyebrow and feet tapping the ground, seeming like he has better things to do.

"Excuse me?" I ask, more so for ensuring my own sanity.

The important looking man looks back at the anxious looking man, then looks at me and says incredulously-

"I said I am here to offer you a job".

"Why?" I ask, before I can stop myself.

He looks taken aback by the question and looks at the anxious looking man, again.

"Umm.. because you deem fit for it", he rolls on his heels and toes, growing increasingly impatient.

"You don't know me", I reason.

It is surprising how I have retained my ability of logic and reasoning even after the events of the past week.

"I don't have to know you", he hissed. "I read people and I see that you are in need of help, and I am offering you a job and a place to stay! I cannot understand why you would say anything but yes!"

Woah. He surely is a very impatient man.

"But how can I trust you?"

Yes Ath, very good. You're probably going to be thrown off the aircraft today.

Surprisingly, some emotion washes across his once glistening green eyes as warmth and concern floods them.

He clears his throat again.

After a moment of hesitation, he comes and sits beside me, facing me.

Fixing the button on his blazer, he says- "I am Christopher Holand".

Right. Okay.

"And I shall trust you because?"

He looked surprised. Genuinely surprised. Perplexed even.

The young man with the warm smile chuckled slightly, earning a death glare from this important looking man.

Oh Christopher he said.

"I am the only son of Gabriel Holand".

The name strikes a chord, but the bulb doesn't light.

I looked at him confused.

"The Chris Resorts? Chris Textiles? Chris confectionery? Chris chain of hospitals?"

Oh.

Oh.

OH.

WHAT?!

I looked at him as if he had grown three heads.

The son of The Gabriel Holand was sitting beside me and offering me a job?

Am I crazy or is my life playing really cruel tricks with me.

I slowly shift in my seat and inch away slowly from him, as if he could get offended by my sheer presence and announce life imprisonment.

You think I am overreacting?

Holand Industries is one of the most (if not the most) powerful and influential companies in the world (!) They own every kind of company under the sun and are almost monopolising the hotel industry in every exotic locale that you can name.

And Gabriel Holand has an alcoholic son. His only son who is the natural heir to his vast estate (which remains an understatement). And he is offering me A JOB!

"Are you an alcoholic?" I ask, before I can stop myself and my immediate reaction is to slap my hands over my mouth, as if anything could revert the damage.

The automatic dimming of his eyes warns me of the impending danger.

________

So here is the first chapter.

Updates will be every Saturday. Since this is the first chapter, so I decided to post it early. Weekly updates should keep you hooked!

Keep reading, voting, commenting and following!

Dedicated to fallenbabybubu since I have been reading her works right since the very beginning, and it has inspired me to write in some way or the other. Her recent work, has kept me hooked and I hope Nora and Arch can be together one day!