It's Impossible Now

"After three years, Evan is back," Cynthia, her nanny, told her while Phoebe was deeping herself in the jacuzzi located at her room's balcony. "As usual, he's still percolating with raw sex appeal. The girls in the mansion are getting crazy again."

She was closing her eyes but the mention of his name made her opened them.

"Have you seen him? He was here in the mansion this morning?" the nanny asked.

"Yes, we met at the sitting hall."

"How was it, dear?"

"Nothing remarkable."

Cynthia knew that Phoebe was a secretive girl. However, of all people in the mansion, it was she only who knew at least something about Evan and Phoebe. "You cried a lot when he left."

Phoebe once again closed her eyes. It was true. She did cry a lot.

"Let's forget about it, nanny. I'm getting married now."

Hearing the bitterness in her mistress' voice, Cynthia just decided to cease talking about the topic. "Yes, yes... and speaking of getting married, your fiancé sent a gown for you to wear tonight. The box is on your bed."

"Thanks, nanny."

"He will also be sending a driver to fetch you."

"Great."

"Okay, dear. I'll just wait for you inside. But you still have a lot of time for your bath. So... take your time."

Once Cynthia was gone, Phoebe's mind brought her to the past.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

Arriving at his pad, Evandros immediately went to his bed and lay down in prone position. He just arrived in Athens last night and he was supposed to take his rest today. However, his master and guardian, Hector Perkos, told him to report to the Perkos mansion early. At first, he kind of hesitated to go there. He was actually hoping that he would be called to the corporate building instead.

As what he already expected, he really met Phoebe there. Evandros clenched a fist and buried his face in the pillow. Seeing her only made everything so painful today... If it would only be possible to run away from her forever, he would do it.

For like an eternity, his face was buried deep in the pillow.

Then, the phone in his pocket rang. At first, he didn't have any plan to answer it but it didn't stop ringing.

Still with his face in the pillow, his hand searched it in his right pants' pocket and, without bothering to see who was calling him, he brought it to his left ear.

"Hello," he answered it.

"You sound sick," remarked by a woman's voice in the other line.

Evandros cleared his throat and turned his body to lay his back on the bed. "W-Who's this?"

"I can't believe you're forgetting my voice, méli. You're just gone for three years and you've forgotten me already," the sexy voice sounded complaining. "Well, I called to see you. I'll be attending a party tonight. I need a date."

"Deia," he mumbled after realizing who was calling.

"Finally, you recognize me!"

Evandros pressed a thumb and a forefinger in his left temple. Deianira Flokas was someone he dated three years ago. She was just a fling and he couldn't believe that this woman detected his arrival.

"So, let's go?" the woman seek for his acceptance. "Come on, you were gone for three years. You need to experience night life again in Athens, méli."

He finally managed himself to sit up from the bed. He had a terrible headache but he thought this might be gone if he'd go out tonight.

"Sure."

"You pick me up at nine, then!" Deianira expressed excitedly.

"Sure."

"Black tie, méli," the woman informed him of the dress code.

Deianira was a known socialite who went to every party thrown by wealthy people. She came from a wealthy family, too, and actually a cousin of Zarkos Rozena, Phoebe's fiancé. In some of the occasions in the past, Evandros happened to accompany her.

"Okay," he replied.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

If he only knew the party was something that was connected to the Rozenas, he wouldn't go. But, he had arrived at the venue with Deianira and it was too late for him to back out. He learned that it was the opening party of the Rozena's new hotel.

Evandros was drinking a glass of Retsina when he saw the entrance of Zarkos Rozena and his fiancée. The latter was breathtakingly stunning in her flesh-colored gown that actually harmonized her pale smooth skin like that of a porcelain doll's. The skirt had a long slit in the middle of it showing her captivating thighs especially when she did her graceful steps while clinging to the arm of the hotel's owner. Her engagement ring shone brightly in her finger.

Immediately, a spear struck his heart.

Painful. It would always be painful. He couldn't tell when he would exactly get over it... Perhaps, he wouldn't be able to get over it at all.

He gulped again some content in his glass when Phoebe noticed him. Deianira, who was also fantastic in her navy blue gown, was also clinging to his arm.

"Here's my cousin now. Let's go congratulate him of the new hotel," the woman suggested with a voice so sexy Evandros was supposed to be captivated but he wasn't. His attention was caught by the lady who was now treading with her fiancée.

There was no need for them to step towards the newly arrived couple because they were now heading closer to them.

"Deia, glad you're here," Zarkos immediately remarked when he spotted his cousin. The two hugged.

That gave both Evandros and Phoebe a chance to catch a glimpse of each other. The man's eyes landed on the latter's red luscious lips and she surrendered from his gaze.

Phoebe had not still been feeling alright since she saw the man this morning. Now that they were seeing again each other, she didn't know if she would ever be able to recover from the emptiness her heart had been feeling.

The cousins pulled away from each other and Zarkos noticed Evandros. "Oh, agapiméni, your former tutor's already back!" he said, turning to Phoebe.

She became speechless as she tried to catch the eyes of the man in front of them.

"Mr. Xenakis, welcome back to Athens," Zarkos said, offering a palm to Evandros.

Both men shook each other's hands. "Thank you, Mr. Rozena," Evandros stated, managing himself to be calm.

"He is my date tonight, Zarkos," Deianira boasted to her cousin.

Zarkos gave in a laugh. "Hope you take it seriously this time, Deia."

"If my méli takes me seriously, why not?" the woman commented, clinging much harder to Evandros' arm.

Evandros saw Phoebe's facial reaction. Her expression became sour as she stared at him now. There was a hint of anger and blame in her stare. He almost couldn't bear it.

"Uh, moró, let's go find Mamá and Ba-ba. I'm sure they're also looking for me now," Phoebe suggested. Her parents were also attending the party and both arrived earlier than her. Actually, it was her way of finding time to stay away from Evandros. His presence had been torturing her to death.

Before the two pairs of couples separated, Phoebe caught one last gaze at Evandros. He gave her a gaze of the same intensity.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

It was a cocktail party so there was drinking and dancing.

Phoebe wasn't with herself the whole night. Even in front of Zarkos' parents, she wasn't really herself and she had started to hate herself.

She had been thinking about her Ros, which everybody loved to call Evan, and it pained her to realize that, as of the moment, their only means of communication was those stolen glances and stares all through out the evening. Once in the night, she went to her father and she learned he was talking to Ros, their eyes seemed to be their only way of talking to each other while her dad was around. It was definitely hard for her... until she decided to leave the two men and went back to Zarkos' company.

Phoebe had been dancing with Zarkos and she felt she was about to faint from it. At last, she managed to excuse herself from the crowd and found herself walking towards one of the dimly lit balconies. She wanted to be alone for a while.

Gasping air to breath and running for her life, she reached the deserted balcony only to bump herself to a man's chest.

She looked up and perceived it was him.

Why did she have to bump with him twice today? Were the fates playing with the two of them?

Just like this morning, Ros caught her body by his arms and brought her to an embrace. However, unlike this morning, the embrace stayed longer this time. The man seemed to have no intention of breaking it off.

Evandros had been staying in a balcony alone when he saw that she had been dancing with Zarkos. He couldn't just take it anymore. If not because of Deianira whom he needed to send home tonight, he must have gone ahead. Thus, he just went to some place where he could at least inhale some air.

As he was about to go back to the ballroom, a soft and warm body brushed against him. Instantaneously, by her smell, he knew who she was.

"Phoeb..." he whispered as he embraced her.

She refrained herself from talking to him. She didn't answer. She wanted to push him but she was surprised that she just remained still. She wanted to hug him back.

"Phoebe..." he called her again, wishing she would at least talk.

A teardrop appeared in the corner of her eye as her face leaned on his chest.

One minute, two minutes, they remained just like that. They didn't move, just feeling each other.

"Ros..." At last, she found the courage to call him again by this name.

When he heard this, Evandros embraced her even more. "H-How are you doing, Phoeb?"

Realizing that she had let herself be carried away by her forbidden emotions, she spoke out, "P-Please, let me go."

He didn't, however.

"Release me now, please," she begged.

"If you tell me you're okay, I'll release you," he said.

I'm not okay. I'll never be okay. She wanted to tell him. "I'm getting married now," she said instead. She knew he had been informed of this already but she just needed to tell him this personally.

"I know," he mumbled, placing his chin on her head. "You're okay with it, right?"

She closed her eyes. How could she be okay with it? How could marrying someone you didn't love even be okay? However, as much as she wanted to tell him this, her mind brought her to the past.

He left her. He just left... just like that.

"Of course, I'm okay with it. Why shouldn't I be okay with it? Zarkos was my childhood crush, remember? And this is what everybody likes, right? Being Ba-ba's trustee, you know very well how important is this union, right?"

Slowly, he let go of her body. "Yes, it's the best thing for you, for the family, and for the company."

Feeling a lump in her throat and seeing pain in his eyes, Phoebe stepped back. "I n-need to go now..." and she turned around. She needed to go now.

Evandros caught her arm. "Wish we could still be friends..."

She closed her eyes.

Wish... not hope...

Because it was hopeless.

Because they both knew the impossibility of the situation.

Bringing themselves together would just even break them more. It would be better to stay this way and treat each other as strangers in front of the crowd.

"You're right. It's impossible now, isn't it?" she stated, looking now at him, with tears in her eyes.

How he wished he could brush those glistening liquid that roll down her cheeks!

A lump was formed in his throat. He felt it was the biggest lump ever that he could choke.

With pain and hatred in her heart, she walked out from him.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

A/N

"Secret Love Song" is the whole inspiration for this story. It's a sad song and the first time I heard it, the plot just came into my head. Hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Thank you so much!

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Always,
(sapphiregirl22) ~_^

Translations:
méli - honey
moró - baby
mamá - mom