Chapter 6″ Being ignored
“What is this?” Aaron frowned as he stared at the cup in front of him.
“It’s coffee, sir. Your favorite espresso,” the man who had brought the coffee replied gingerly.
He was none other than Enock Hastings, Aaron’s assistant who had just returned from New York where he had gone to oversee the Wentworth branch.
“You call this coffee? I see your taste has changed after spending time in another region,” Aaron narrowed his eyes.
Enock’s stomach turned when he saw the look in his boss’s eyes. He didn’t know what was wrong with Aaron but he had been in a bad mood for the past five days.
He reached his hand forth and got the cup. “Let me bring you another cup.”
“It’s fine. Tell Tessa to make me one.” Aaron said absentmindedly. It was only after the words had left him that he realised what he had said. 1
The space between his eyebrows creased. ‘Why would I think about her when she’s left already?”
Enock was stumped.
“Do you mean Miss Nora, Sir? Miss Tessa no longer works for the company.”
A surge of annoyance flashed through Aaron. He didn’t expect Tessa to forget about him so quickly.
Just after she cashed the cheque, there has been no call or text from her. Aaron knew the money he gave her was enough for her to not look for a job but still, he thought she would cling to him for a while before he could.
get rid of her completely.
It appeared to him that he was being ignored after she took his money.
‘She already got what she was aiming for so why would she cling to me?’ He scoffed and dismissed Enock.
“From now on, don’t bring me coffee,” he proclaimed. It would be better to avoid everything that reminded him.
of that woman.
Enock looked confused but he nodded anyway. “Noted, Sir.”
Aaron spent the rest of the morning approving and disapproving proposed projects. The group was diversifying and he needed to give his signature to authorise the funding of these projects that aimed at the
growth of the company.
An undetermined amount of time passed when Enock knocked on Aaron’s office door.
“Come in,” Aaron called out, looking at the door.
Enock opened a cra ck and poked his head through. “Sir, Miss Winston is on her way up.”
Aaron frowned as something flashed through his eyes.
“Tell her I’m not in the office.”
Ignore
“She’s already here, sir,” Enock whisper-yelled and someone suddenly pushed the door harshly, making him almost fall on his face since he was leaning on it.”
“Aaron, I’ve come to have lunch with you.” A coquettish female voice reached Aaron’s ears and a flash of irritation surged within him.
He didn’t understand his reactions though. Why would Serena Irritate him? He loved her, right?
He forced a smile at her and dismissed Enock with his hand.
“You didn’t have to. I’m quite busy today,” he responded flatly.
“Oh no. I knew you would be like this. Always working without eating. Mom said the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. So I’ve come so we can go and have lunch at my favorite restaurant.”
“Serena’s words made Aaron think about Tessa once again. Indeed, he usually missed his meals when he was busy but she always made him lunch and packed it for him. They would eat the food she cooked together right in his office at the small lounge on the left side of the office.
Emotions that he couldn’t fathom stirred within him following the thought of Tessa and he frowned.
There must be something wrong with him or maybe he had spent far too much time with her that he was finding it hard to get her out of his mind.
Perhaps spending time with the woman he has always loved will cure him of this disease of feeling strange things in his chest at the thought of Tessa.
He glanced up at Serena and grabbed his car keys. “Sure. Let’s go.”
He then pressed the intercom and told them to bring his car around to the entrance.
Aaron had just stepped out of the company with Serena clinging to him when he heard a soft voice calling for him.
“Mr Wentworth.”
He recognised the voice immediately and his heart ski pped a beat but his face was devoid of any emotions as
he turned to look at her.
For some reason, his heart suddenly raced seeing her after a long time but then he suddenly remembered how
she had ignored him and decided to give her a taste of her own medicine.
What he did not expect was for her to withdraw. His brows furrowed as he internally thought. ‘Didn’t she come to apologise?’
He pulled at his tie in frustration as he drove to Serena’s famous Italian restaurant but the whole time, he was
so out of it that he didn’t pay any heed to Serena or engage her in any conversation.
Perhaps he was unaware of this but for a man who was never a fan of using his phone unless for business
purposes, he spent a generous amount of time looking at his phone as if he was waiting for a call or text
message. 1
Serena noticed his indifference and clenched her fists at her sides. This was not the Aaron she knew. By now, he would have poured her a drink or helped her cut her steak but he seemed more interested in his phone than
3/5
her.
A vicious glint that Aaron didn’t witness flashed through her eyes and she took out her phone before texting. her brother.
[Is it done? Has the bit ch agreed to leave??]
A text in response soon followed.
Harry: [The mother has agreed. So it’s done.]
Serena: (Good. Take her as far away from this place as possible.]
A thought suddenly occurred to her and she suddenly felt better. She secretly sent a text to someone and returned to eating, knowing her relationship with Aaron would be confirmed soon.
“Aaron, Dad asked if you’ve decided on the date for our marriage.” She decided to test the waters.
Aaron frowned. “Let’s talk about it later.”
Her heart sank but she maintained the sweet smile on her face. Meanwhile, deep down, her blood was boiling.
‘It’s a good thing I’ve gotten rid of that bit ch, otherwise, she would steal Aaron’s heart.”
When they were done and were now leaving, Serena suddenly pretended to fall at the entrance and
instinctively Aaron reached out to hold her.
Suddenly, they were swarmed by reporters as they flashed them with cameras and bombarded them with
questions. 1
Aaron was in a nasty mood so he let Serena respond and didn’t even hear whatever she was saying as his
mind was somewhere else.
“Miss Winston, is it true that you’ve returned this time to reunite with your childhood sweetheart, Aaron Wentworth?” One of the reporters asked and Serena blushed.
“Yes, it is true. I gave up my career as a pianist to return to Ashford City for Aaron.”
“Wow. You two must be so much in love for you to make such a great sacrifice. When is the wedding and are
we invited?”
Serena pretended to act shy and tucked her hair behind her ear. “The date will soon be set but I don’t think this year will end without us getting married.”
Aaron frowned and felt strange about her announcement but he didn’t say anything to refute it so the reporters took Serena’s words for it and proceeded to publish several articles about the upcoming wedding of the
century.
Meanwhile, the moment Aaron was alone again, he’dialled Tessa’s number but the call went unanswered.
He glanced at his call history and saw that he had tried to call her at least twenty times. Why the hell was she not picking up his calls?
For some reason, his stomach was in a knot and he felt like something bad was about to happen.
He quickly made a U-turn and drove to Tessa’s apartment but he was stopped by the security guard who gave him the key to the apartment.
“Why do you have Tessa’s keys?” Aaron questioned.
“Miss Tessa moved out five days ago and asked me to give you the keys when you pass through,” the security guard replied.
Aaron’s heart sank to his feet as he tried to understand what was going on.
‘She left?’ He internally thought. ‘Just like that? Why? Didn’t she say she loved me, how could she leave so easily?”
He took out his phone and called Enock.
“”Hello-”
“Find Tessa. Scour the whole world if you have to. Just find her and bring her to me.”
His breathing was laboured as he felt a strange tightening in his chest. ‘How dare she run away from me?”
Several weeks later…
Tessa’s heart clenched when she recalled what Serena had said to the reporters a month ago.
“You two must be so much in love for you to make such a great sacrifice. When is the wedding and are we invited?”
“The date will soon be set but I don’t think this year will end without us getting married.”
She felt like someone had stabbed her heart, feeling uncomfortable, she placed her hand on the left side of her chest and rubbed the aching spot. But no matter what she tried, there was nothing she could do to ease the pain she was feeling.
Aaron had really broken her and she hated how she had lost herself in trying to make him love her.
She changed herself a lot for him. For example, pork was a type of meat she enjoyed eating but because Aaron didn’t like it, she stopped eating it altogether.
Many a time did she want to go out, have fun or go on a date but Aaron didn’t like crowded places so she sacrificed that outgoing side of herself to conform to his preferences.
Never, not even once did Aaron go out of his way for her. It was always about him and what he liked. In the long run. Tessa forgot about what she liked and liked what Aaron liked.
Now she couldn’t recognise herself anymore. Who was she? What were her hobbies? Tessa could only draw blanks because everything she thought she liked was her changing herself to impress Aaron.
But even after putting in all that effort, he tram pled on her heart like it was nothing.
She took in a deep sharp breath but her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a hand made of iron.
Chapter 6 Being ignored
“Are you ok, Tessa?” Tessa was snapped back to reality by her mother’s voice and she quickly wiped the tears that were rolling down her cheeks, looking out the small window.
They were on a plane heading to Whitpalm City and were riding first class. Even with all the luxury around her there was plenty of legroom. It was easy to relax with the reclining chairs and they had meal choices… Tessa still felt like the lump in her throat didn’t want to disappear. It was painful to swallow, let alone breathe.
However, she didn’t want her mother to know she was dating her boss and got dumped so she secretly wiped off all her tears before turning to face her. “I’m good, Mom. I’ll probably just miss Ashford City.”
She meant she will miss Aaron. He was a dou che, yes, but she couldn’t stop her heart from aching for him. But leaving was a good idea. They say time heals all wounds. She was optimistic that Aaron will soon become a thing of the past. It will be like she had never loved him to death before.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide anything from you. I just didn’t want to burden you,” Elena said, feeling guilty for making her daughter give up the life she was used to in Ashford City.
Tessa stretched out her hand and grabbed her mother’s. “You can never be a burden to me, Mom. I’m your daughter, not a stranger.”
The mother and daughter smiled at each other. Tessa’s eyes trailed to Harry who was seated on the other
side, his gaze was fixated on a newspaper.
She couldn’t help but wonder why he was being so good to them. Were they the only ones available for the clinical trial? Why did he pick them? It kind of aroused her suspicions seeing that she has no connections in the City.
Nevertheless, she was grateful for his help. She would have lost her mother if it were not for him.
Tessa sighed and sat back in her seat, dragging in a sharp breath. “I have to focus on myself now. I’ll become the best version of myself. The one I was meant to be.”
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