Love Began with the First Meeting

After being tossed by Aaron for a while, Ximena finally fell asleep. She woke up just in time for supper. She was pleasantly surprised to find that she was going to be able to make it to New Year's Eve dinner which was traditionally supposed to be a family event. However, her hip still hurt so much. "You like braised meatballs in brown sauce, don't you? Eat as much as you like," Aaron said, putting more meatballs on Ximena's place nonchalantly.

Ximena felt her stomach twist when she saw Aaron put more food on her place. She thought to herself, 'Is he serious? Who would eat this after going through what I went through?'

Aaron didn't seem to care what she really thought. When he saw Ximena refusing to eat, he added fuel to the fire by saying, "You shouldn't be such a picky eater. You should have a balanced diet. You have to eat lots of different food to be healthy."

In Ximena's mind, she was cursing him, 'If he knew how frail my health was, then why did he have to do that to me!'

This was the only thing Ximena could do. After a moment's pause, she responded in a cold voice, "Thanks, but I don't really feel like eating right now."

Aaron let it go. The rest of the dinner went by surprisingly smoothly, so Aaron didn't let the night go by without him doing his routine to her.

Ximena could do nothing but curse him in her mind.

One rainy winter day, Ximena snuggled inside the warm house with a book. She was already feeling better but Aaron still wouldn't allow her to go out. He told her to keep recuperating and to remain healthy.

She liked reading books about fashion design. She was particularly interested in delicate patterns and styles as well as avant-garde designs. As she read, she felt her heart twitching in excitement. She grabbed her sketchbook and charcoal pencils and started drawing right then and there. Ximena had always dreamed of being a fashion designer but she had never really done anything to really try and pursue it. However, she'd been drawing and designing clothes on her own for a while now. She was so focused on drawing that she hadn't noticed that Aaron had already come back until he came over to stand next to her and commented, "Not bad."

Ximena jumped at the sound of that. She swiftly turned her head to find Aaron standing next to her. She automatically shut her sketchbook close and clutched it tightly against her chest.

"Why are you hiding it from me? I already saw it, you know," Aaron said as he moved to sit next to her.

Ximena couldn't utter a word out of shock. When she finally came back to her senses, she turned her head towards Aaron in confusion, "What time did you arrive?"

"Been here for a while. You didn't even notice. Maybe I should punish you, huh?" Aaron said in a deep voice.

Since she had left hospital, Aaron had been so reckless with his words. However, Ximena still wasn't used to his crassness.

He grabbed her head and pulled it towards him and slapped his lips on hers rather violently.

After a while, Ximena started tasting blood. Annoyed, she bit him back. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss. Something had changed between them while some things remaining the same. Maybe they could really be together; perhaps not forever but for some time. Their relationship was like crystal. It was beautiful, almost dreamlike but in fact it was also fragile and if it broke, it shattered into a million pieces.

Ximena snuggled up to Aaron, leaning against his chest, as she continued to read her book. Suddenly, she raised her head and said, "Aaron, I want to go out."

Aaron looked at her and asked, "To buy clothes?"

"No," she shook her head.

"To have your hair done?" Aaron asked again, frowning this time.

"No," she shook her head again.

"Then for what?" he asked in confusion as if wanting to go out for another reason was an impossibility.

"I just want to go out for some fresh air," Ximena answered.

"Why? Isn't the air here at home fresh? And I can assure you that the air outside is not fresh at all," Aaron said in a somber voice.

A cast of shadow dimmed Ximena's face. "Why do you keep me here like a caged canary?" she asked.

"A canary? I don't want a pet canary. I just don't want you to go out because you're still recuperating," Aaron explained. Then suddenly in a strange tone, he added, "And it's still cold yet. I promise to allow you to go out and do what you want in spring, but not now." Ximena's face broke into a smile when she heard this but it was gone as soon as it came. Something flashed across her eyes as she asked, "Including setting me free?"

Aaron's face darkened at this. He looked dangerous. Ximena couldn't help but tremble. He reached out to hold her chin between his fingers. "Not in this lifetime," he said slowly.

Ximena chuckled, "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. I don't want you to do that either. After all, I wouldn't be able to live without you and this luxurious life."

Aaron's face returned to normal when Ximena spoke. "Good," he responded in a cold tone.

Even though they slept next to each other every night, everything wasn't exactly perfect between them. Ximena knew very well that they had communication problems. He didn't trust her words and she didn't trust his words either. They were like hedgehogs. They wanted to get close to one another but they were afraid they would hurt one another if they got too close.

Winter didn't last as long as Ximena had expected. When it left, Ximena didn't even notice. When spring came, her body had completely recovered. Aaron opened a fashion design shop for her at the location he had mentioned before. The shop wasn't meant for mass production as they only offered customized tailoring. All the clothing would be designed by Ximena.

In the opening ceremony of the fashion design shop, Aaron graced it with his presence and even cut the ribbon for Ximena-much to the gossipers' delight. As the lover of the CEO of the Leng's Corporations, His Highness Aaron, Ximena drew the attention of everybody. Everyone was talking about her much to Ximena's dismay.

"Aaron treats that woman so well that he even opened a fashion design shop for her."

"I was told that the CEO of the Leng's Corporations even cut the ribbon for her in person."

"I wonder what that woman did in her previous life to deserve someone like Aaron."

"I heard she's good and that her business is going great. She specializes in customized tailoring."

"What's so special about her? How come Aaron is treating her like that?"

"Will he go so far as to marry her?"

"I think it's possible. I can't help but envy her. I wish I was as lucky as her..."

Zoey and Vivi overheard this conversation between two sales ladies as soon as they entered the shop. They were both enraged at what they had just heard.

"She's such a bitch. My brother will never marry her," Zoey said, annoyed.

"They're never going to get married. That's impossible. It's just impossible for Aaron to marry her. She opened a fashion shop? Now, I want to see that. What kind of shop does that stupid girl run?" Vivi said rather cruelly.

"That's true. She's so annoying. My brother should be done playing with her right now. Vivi, just calm down. I don't think this is for good. When my brother's done playing with her, she'll be miserable for the rest of her life. You're going to be my sister-in-law, not her or anyone else," Zoey expressed her loyalty for her friend. She seemed to be more invested and angrier than Vivi was.

Vivi felt her eyes tearing up. She was moved by Zoey's loyalty. She looked at Zoey, "Zoey..." She burst into tears.

Angrily, Zoey continued, "Besides, she had an abortion. That makes her a terrible person."

This gave Vivi an idea. If Aaron impregnated her then Aaron would have no choice but to marry her. The more she thought over the plan, the more convinced she was about it. However, she hadn't seen Aaron in a long time. How could she execute her plan then? "While we're in the area, maybe we should check out the shop that that bitch just opened," Zoey said evilly.

Vivi agreed right away. She too wanted to see what the shop looked like.

"Because she's special, you'd better remember never to make trouble for her together with Zoey!"

However, the memory of Aaron threatening her stopped her tracks.

"What's wrong?" Zoey asked when she saw Vivi stop walking. ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐