Heartfelt Sincerity

Anne could easily recognize the face of the person on the interface.

It's been years since she had seen him, but they were close in college. Without thinking too much about it, she gave the guards permission to let him in as he is an acquaintance.

Once the conversation was over, the guards look at the man from head to toe. He was dressed in a nice fitted suit. He gave the feeling of a rich person, someone they could not compare to as salarymen. Just from his looks alone, they were not able to compare, but adding the physique and wealth made them feel like a deflated balloon.

"Why can't my parents be rich people so I can live with a silver spoon growing up?" Was one of the guard's thoughts.

"Why are my parent's genes so bad? Just look at his high nose, look at his height which is above average compared to them, look at the car parked outside. That luxurious looking car was something they will not be able to afford even if they worked their entire lives and save up all the money they earned."

Both guards felt how the world was unfair. They worked 8 to 9 hours a day and their salary was only enough to survive.

They both looked at his watch which was studded with diamonds.

The two guards could only smile and greet the man courteously, they do not want to offend this man who was reeking with the aura of a rich young master.

The hint of envy and jealousy could be seen in their eyes.

"If I had rich parents like him... then I bet I could also stride the streets with pride and dignity." One of the guards said out loud as the man was out of their site.

"I don't want his money. I'd rather have his looks so that I can get any woman I want. I can be a star and earn a lot of money." The other guard said in a joking manner.

"You don't need to be handsome in this day and age. As long as you have enough money, you can get a surgery from those expensive hospitals." The other guard said with delight as though it was the most natural thing to do.

"But you can earn that much money just from doing the advertisements if you are born handsome. And you know…"

The other guard looked around while inching closer to his friend as he said something in a whisper. "I heard that's how Ms. Anne got famous. I heard she was just walking down the streets in the city when a Manager saw her potential." He looked at his friend's eyes with seriousness.

In the same whispering tone, his friend said, "Really? I thought she went to auditions before she was signed to a company." He doubted his friend's information.

His friend shook his head from left to right before saying, "Tsk, tsk. You don't know this but this information is true. This was something everyone knows in the industry. Insiders are talking about this in the newspapers." He said like his words were gold and it was enough to prove his statement.

The other guard looked at him in disbelief before thinking, "The hell is these insiders you are talking about? What industry huh? Do you even work in that industries to have the gall to say everything you say are truths?"

He wanted to say it out loud but he knew his friend would not stop talking until he agrees with his opinion. He decided to shut his mouth to drop the conversation and just nod in agreement. With a sigh, he looked at the luxurious car parked outside the apartment complex before sitting down in front of their desk.

Anne waited at the door, she had already opened it to welcome her guest. She could not remember if it had been 3 or 4 years since they last saw each other. She was still at the peak of her career and was really busy at the time so they could only greet each other with niceties without talking about their lives much.

Anne had a smile on her face as she reminisced on their college days. The three of them were inseparable at the time. They might have been in different departments, but they stuck together like glue when they had their breaks. It was a wonder to her how their friendship even started.

It did not take long for the elevator "Ding" to sound as the man alighted from the elevator. It only took a couple of steps with his long legs to arrive at Anne's door.

He saw the door was opened and his footsteps became faster. With a beaming smile on his face, he stood face to face with Anne.

Anne saw the man in front of him wearing a clean and fitted suit while holding a bouquet of flowers and a gift basket. His smile was the same as before, but his face has matured was still overlapping at the naïve and kind young man she knew from before.

Her smile also blossomed into a beautiful one once he was in front of her.

"Connor you're back. It's been a while." Anne said with happiness.

"Anne, it's been a while." He also said with joy.

His eyes were turning into crescents as he looked at Anne, but he suddenly frowned when he saw Anne's body.

Anne saw the changes in Connor's face, "let's go in and have a chat."

Once Connor was inside the door, she closed the door and gave a sigh.

Connor looked around the apartment. It was the same as before when he last visited, aside from some changes with the furniture. Some pictures on the walls were also missing but that was something people regularly do.

"Re-arranging stuff in their house was normal," is what he thought.

"Sit down, please. I'll get you something to drink." Anne said she turned her back and walked to the kitchen.

Connor immediately stood up and approached Anne, "You don't have to bother." His eyes had a hint of sadness as he followed Anne to the kitchen.

"You're not a bother. You know you are always welcome in our house." Anne could not help but change her expression when she said "our house".

Connor noticed this change and could not help but ask, "What's wrong?"

His eyes were full of concern. He had heard what happened with Anne a couple of months ago.

The news did not spread that fast in the country that he was designated and he was too busy with work that he was unable to return to the country. He wanted to visit her earlier, but due to time constraints, he couldn't. He comforted himself by telling himself that Timothy would take care of Anne.

Connor once again looked at Anne. She seemed thinner compared than before, but her skin looks healthy. Her body seemed fine aside from her missing arm, but everything else seemed normal. From the looks of it, she was doing well, is what he thought.

Anne did not know how to reply to Connor's question.

How will she begin the story?

If it was weeks ago, then she would have said a thousand words of "what's wrong" with her life, but right now although some things were still wrong, it was still better than before. She just gave Connor a wry smile as she could not answer the question.

Looking at Anne's eyes, Connor felt that something was truly wrong.

He approached Anne and held her hand while saying, "You know that you can tell me anything."

His eyes were filled with sincerity and his gesture was warm. It was something that she had not felt for a while, the heartfelt sincerity of another person.

Anne could not help herself as her eyes started to water.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa.