C3 002 Saving My Heart

JAMES

I was scrolling through social media sites sitting in my Porsche, to know the whereabouts of Sofia to no avail. I had been trying for 5 years but I couldn't find a single thing about her.

I am James Anderson. The Chairman and CEO of Blue Diamond Hotels and Events Co. in the USA.

It was a global hotel and event planning company based in the USA which was founded by Uncle Fredrick's father.

Uncle Fred, my dad's best friend, passed on the business to me after I completed my MBA because he didn't have any children.

He had always treated me like his own and even let me live with him and his wife in his mansion since I came to the USA for studies, 11 years ago. They were the 2nd set of parents for me.

During my time there, in college, I tried to keep Sofia out of my mind so that I could focus on my studies. So I never tried to know anything about her.

I kept myself away from other girls too even after being approached by several of them, because I never felt any attraction towards them. I had always loved Sofia, even if she never felt the same way about me.

5 years ago, when I took over the Blue Diamond business, I started searching for Sofia and I was still searching. But unfortunately, nothing turned up.

After taking over the business, I expanded its branch to my home country intending to return home permanently.

So, I was in my home country for the first time in 11 years, aiming to turn the company branch into headquarters so that I could settle here.

FLASHBACK 12 YEARS AGO

I had always liked Sofia since the day I first saw her. I was just 14 at that time and didn't know what I was feeling. But as time passed, I started to realise that I was in love with her and I always felt something like a spark whenever our skin touched.

She never saw me that way. In fact, she had a crush on our school bad boy and my classmate William and whenever she looked at him with admiration, I felt a pang in my chest.

As if the pain was not enough, William proposed to her to be his girlfriend on her birthday and she said yes. I was so upset that I didn't want to face her again.

But I still went to her birthday party and forgot my pain for some time seeing her in her beautiful knee-length and off-shoulder royal blue dress with stones sparkling like stars all over.

She had donned a messy bun, showing off her long neck which was adorned with a chain and heart pendant with a blue stone in the middle. She paired her look with a pair of silver-coloured high heels, light makeup and pink lipstick. She looked like an angel, a sexy one.

We stood on the balcony of the banquet hall where her party was held, with soft drinks in hand, staring at the starry night sky.

As we stood beside each other in a comfortable silence, my eyes kept wandering to her face, as a few strands of her black hair swayed in the cool breeze.

"Why are you staring?" she asked without looking at me.

"Who? Me?" I asked without taking my eyes off her.

"Yes. No one else is here."

"I am not staring."

"Okay."

"You look beautiful today."

"Am I not beautiful the other days?" She asked and looked at me sideways with a raised eyebrow.

I let out a chuckle and said,

"Of course you are. But today you look extra special. Like a fairytale princess."

I said that from the bottom of my heart.

I was once again left staring at her as my heart longed to hold her in my arms, hug her and tell her how much I loved her.

She looked at me like she was trying to see through me, her hazel eyes bore into mine. But then she smiled and averted her gaze.

"Why are you upset with me?" she asked after some time.

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. It has been months. You don't talk to me anymore."

"I am talking right now."

"That's the first time in 4 months"

"2nd.”I corrected and she rolled her eyes.

"You didn't need to create a scene there. He didn't force me to stay there with him.”

She was talking about the incident that day in school when she and William were alone in her classroom during lunch hour and I got there at the wrong time, or right time, that depends on who was talking about it.

I questioned William about letting Sofia skip lunch because I was jealous. There we argued and we almost hit each other.

"Hmm," I answered.

"What hmm?"

"What? It's nothing. I was just concerned you skipped lunch."

She kept staring at me and I stared back. There was a tension building up between us as I realised we were too close to each other, our faces inches away.

"Sofia!!!"

Her mom's voice broke the moment between us and she awkwardly walked away.

Something changed after that day and she was drifting away from me a little more every day.

A year later, I saw her having sex with William and that was the last straw.

I felt like my life had been sucked out of me. So I decided to leave this country to save my heart from more pain.

I was lost in my thoughts about Sofia when I heard Josh's raised voice.

“Sir!!! Look there. Someone is standing over the bridge.”

It was midnight and my car was passing over a bridge. I looked up and saw someone standing on the bridge with one leg on the bridge railing.

I immediately asked Josh to stop and got out of the car even before it had stopped completely and ran towards the woman.

All of a sudden, she raised her body and stood on the railing before jumping in front of my eyes. Everything was happening in slow motion while I kept running as fast as I could.

My heart thudded loudly as I thought I had gotten a bit too late, but I somehow managed to grab her hand mid-air and felt a familiar spark course through me.