Love Began with the First Meeting

"What is wrong, Your Highness? Are you thinking about the woman who stood me up last time?" Eric joked with a sly smile.

"I didn't expect you to be so interested in my private matters," Aaron said, opening his eyes and glaring at Eric.

Unfazed, Eric shook his head and said," Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in your private matters." Eric's smile grew bigger. "What I want to say is that if you know she is the one, don't leave her. Or, if you want to give up on this relationship, then don't look back," he said, his voice low and thoughtful.

"Whatever do you mean by that?" Aaron asked.

"You know exactly what I mean, Your Highness," Eric replied, a knowing smile on his lips. "If she is the love of your life, then don't try to hide yourself from the truth. Just follow your heart and do the right thing." Suddenly, Eric's face became serious. "Trust me, Your Highness. You will regret it if you don't."

Both him and Brian had learned this lesson the hard way. He didn't want Aaron to go through what they had been through. If it wasn't for his parents and Shirley, he would have helped Molly, then she wouldn't have met Brian. If Brian hadn't hesitated, he wouldn't have missed Molly and chosen Becky. Because of his wrong choice, he ended up being regretful and had suffered a lot in Hell Forest.

Looking at Eric, whose eyes grew cloudy and dim, Aaron sighed. With a heavy heart, he said," The details are already finalized. I will fly back later." Then he stood up and left.

"In love, we are all equal. We must respect our lover. If you can't do it, you don't deserve to be loved," Eric said behind him. He continued," That's what my uncle said. I hope it works for you."

What Eric said to him the other day flashed through Aaron's mind. He looked at Ximena who tried so hard to pretend to be cold and distant. Deep inside, he knew that she felt insecure mainly because of his indifference towards her. In fact, they were both wrong. What they did to each other could hurt their relationship easily. Kids might help create a bond between them, but if they didn't try to solve their problem themselves, there would always be a wall between them.

Looking at the paper which was balled up on his hand, Aaron sighed. Then he unfolded the paper again, and put it in his pocket.

'If I didn't make it on time, if I hesitated even for one more second, she would have been killed and eaten by Melina. Maybe if I let Melina eat her, all my heartaches would go away, ' Aaron thought to himself. His love for Ximena was torturing him, and it was taking its toll on his mental health. He felt like he was losing his mind.

His dark thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking on the door.

When Aaron answered, Ken opened the door and walked in.

"Your Highness, this is the bracelet you asked for." Ken bowed before he handed a sapphire jewelry box to Aaron. There was a logo of Leng's Corporations on the box.

After a few moments of inspection, Aaron took the box from Ken's hand and opened it. Inside, he saw a platinum bracelet studded with jade and irregularly cut crystals. It shined brightly. Then he found that there was his and Ximena's initials on it: L, and M. Upon seeing that, mixed emotions ran through his body. Since then, things had changed a lot. Seeing the bracelet made him feel very upset. When you care about someone, you would do anything for them and give them something specially personalized for them. Aaron was no exception to that.

Ximena woke up the next morning. It was a bright, sunny day. Waking up in the early hours, the world was still and serene, and green and gold played and made their beauty known to everyone.

Looking at the floral print curtain, Ximena swallowed because her throat was sore. She had been unconscious for a long time, and when she woke up, she couldn't see things clearly. She had to blink for a few times to regain her focus and clear her head. When Ximena remembered how a python coiled up in front of her before she passed out, her body once again shivered. Quickly, she looked around and she found herself in the house, which relieved her overwrought nerves and helped her loosen up. The thought of the python worked her up so much she was already drenched in sweat.

Ximena took a deep breath and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down. However, she felt a presence. Someone was in the room. Immediately, she thought that it might be Aaron. Swiftly, she sat up and threw back the covers. What surprised her even more was a cold feeling on her wrist, as if something was there. Quickly, she looked down to check what it was. What she saw was something she didn't expect - a platinum bracelet that was studded with jade and crystals. It looked finely made and very beautiful in design, if not an art piece.

Lifting her arm, Ximena touched the bracelet with long thin fingers. "What is this?" She stopped and yelled, when she recognized the material of the gem," It's the jade seal of the Leng family ?" She was surprised, her eyes now wide open. Then she muttered to herself," What just happened?"

A strange thought came into her head. She looked up and said," It's Aaron who put this bracelet around my wrist." She was sure that he visited the house. With a steely glint in her eyes, she ran out of the room bare feet. Two servants were cleaning the house and when they saw her, they both greeted her. Ximena ignored their greetings and continued upstairs.

Looking at Ximena, they both felt something was wrong. They looked at each other but didn't say anything. But when Ximena ran up the staircase towards the third floor, a servant shouted, trying to stop her," Miss Mo, you can't go to the third and the fourth floors!" Again ignoring the servants, Ximena stared straight ahead. She was so determined on her task that she forgot that she couldn't go upstairs. "Where is he? Is he back?" Ximena asked. Deep in her heart, she knew that Aaron was back.

"You mean His Highness?" a servant asked. Ximena nodded. "He just went out, and -"

Before the servant even finished her reply, Ximena was already running downstairs. She opened the door and looked out. Ken was opening the door of the car and Aaron was getting in it. "Aaron!"

Ximena cried at the top of her lungs, and then headed straight to the car. 000