Clara

As soon as I entered the building of the office, certain blue eyes walking towards me caught my attention. It was Zac Rivers, walking towards me with a subtle smirk on his face.

Not again.

"Do you always look this stunning or is it a special occasion?" he asked, walking with me towards the elevator. He was wearing a black light blue suit that brought out his ocean blue eyes. But it doesn't change the fact that his presence oozed a certain creepiness.

I passed him a brief smile without saying anything in return. Once we were inside the elevator, he stood too close to me for my liking, his arm brushing against mine every now and then.

"So would you like to go out some day?" I gasped when he asked that. Mia had told me that he was a flirt but I didn't expect him to ask me out openly.

"I'm not sure if it is the best thing to do. I don't like mixing my personal and professional life." I said bluntly, keeping my tone respectful.

"Really?" he smirked again. "I think your answer would be different if it was Aaron instead of me."

My eyes widened at his words. "Wh.. What do you mean?" I stammered a bit, not sure if he knew about Aaron and me.

"I see how both of you look at each other, as if you two want to tear each other's clothes apart." he winked and I internally groaned in disgust at the pervert in front of me.

Sick son of a bitch.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Rivers." I said, almost angrily, walking out of the elevator.

He walked past me and crossed my way, blocking my path. "You know exactly what I have been talking about. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone if you don't want."

"I should leave." I tried to walk away but he gripped my hand, pulling me to his chest.

"I can help you Clara. I get that you're attracted to him. He is rich and handsome, not to mention single. I can play cupid for both of you. In exchange of... You know.." he winked again and trailed his hand to my waist.

"Leave me." I gritted through clenched teeth.

"We both can get what we want. See, I'm not looking forward to any relationship. Just one night of-" his words caught in his throat when a strong fist collided with his jaw.

Clenching my eyes tightly in fear, I retreated from the scene. When I opened my eyes, I saw Aaron pushing him inside the elevator. Before I could stop, the elevator door closed and both of their faces went out of my sight.

Shit.

I rushed towards the stairs and descended them in the best speed possible. My legs already felt exhausted due to not eating proper breakfast but I continued running downstairs anyway, afraid and somewhat curious.

The elevator didn't open at any floor, not until I reached the first one. As I walked down the last set of stairs, I found Zac wobbling out of the elevator door, his mouth bleeding.

Without looking at me, he walked out of the building. Once he left, I shifted my attention to Aaron whose sleeves were folded to the elbows and his knuckled were slightly bruised. He wiped the sweat off his face and cast a single glance at me.

"Wait." I walked behind him into the elevator. "Thanks." I said once I reached inside and he pressed the button to our floor.

"I would have done the same if it was any other girl." he said, running his hand through his brown locks.

"I know." I whispered, biting my lips. "But still, thank you." He nodded, keeping his face straight.

This has happened before. Many years ago, Kevin tried to physically assault me, much worse than Zac and at that time, there was nobody to save me. I chose the wrong Vincent brother and instead of saving my dignity like Aaron, he left me to burn in that hell.

"I would talk to Amber. Zac won't step inside this building from now onwards." he said. I wanted to talk further, just so I could hear his voice some more but I didn't. Instead, I just nodded and stood there silently.

Now was not the time.

...

"So he beat Zac for you?" Ava asked excitedly, resting her head against Mark's arm.

"Yeah, it looked like he beat him. But he would have done this for anyone." I cleared, not wanting to brew any false hope inside me.

"But not if he hated her from the core of his heart, as you quote." she defended her stance, asking Mark to take her side.

"You both are hopeless romantic. There is no such thing as fairy tale. He hates me and that's the only feeling he harbors for me." I lamented, sipping the hot cocoa.

"You're such a pessimist." Mark added, hugging Ava tightly. If history was any significant, they were minutes away from starting a make-out session.

"It's difficult to be an optimist when all the men in my life turned out to be huge pile of shit." I rolled my eyes.

"Except Aaron." Ava raised her eyebrows.

"Except Aaron." I sighed.

Soon, they both started their lovey-dovey kisses and I focused my attention to the television.

Half an hour had passed when the door bell rang. Placing the cushion to my side, I stood up and ambled towards the door. Once I looked through the peephole, my heart skipped a beat at the sight of Aaron standing outside the front door of my apartment.

"Guys." I half-whispered, half-yelled but they were too busy in making out to listen to me.

With trembling hands, I finally opened the door, revealing Aaron standing there in all his glory. A tight shirt was stretched accross his chest and the jeans were hugging his toned legs.

"Hi." he said and that's when a shriek reached my lips.

I turned around, only to find Ava and Mark staring at Aaron with their jaw dropped to ground. I cast an admonishing glance to them and that's when they sobered up. Muttering a small sorry under his breath, Mark stood up with Ava still in his arms and rushed inside her bedroom. My cheeks heated up in embarrassment when Ava winked at me before going.

Once they were disappeared, I turned towards Aaron whose eyes were widened like saucers and face contorted as if he had seen a ghost.

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