Chapter 1 My last chance

"This might be your last chance or maybe your only chance in this lifetime. If you miss it this time as well then do you think you would ever get another such a golden opportunity to ask for her hand again?"

Harlow questioned himself as he stood in front of the mirror and pointed at his reflection in the mirror. He then splashed cold water continuously on his face to cool his head. He gripped the granite counter with his strong fingers and took several deep breaths.

"Ok. There is no turning back now. I walk out of this restroom and look at her eyes and then..."

The minute he remembered Hazel's bright smile and twinkling green eyes, he blushed and his heart started to beat so fast that it could burst out at any moment. He slapped both his cheeks and took control over his body again.

"I can do it! I am going to do it today... No! Right now!!!" He pledged and lifted his hands which he made into a fist as high as possible. He shook them forward and backward, and tried to encourage himself as if he was not going to propose, instead he was entering a war zone.

"No!!! No!!! No!!!!!!" He shouted and then started to breath heavily while holding his chest tightly.

He then said, "I don't think I can do it! It's impossible… It is very highly not possible at all..."

"I can never speak looking at her butterfly eyes that always flutters so beautifully which had successfully captured my innocent heart without my permission. It is actually a delight for me and my heart to stay imprisoned over there forever and ever," He shivered and a slight tremble passed from his head to toe.

"What should I do now?? What should I do!" He wondered as he rubbed his chin and paced back and forth from one direction to another in that very small restroom which was located just below Hazel's office.

"I can call Arya and ask him for help! Yeah… That's a good idea! Why did I not think of this before?" He hit his head and continued to say,

"He could help project some good plans on how to propose as he got married recently. He will have lots of experience unlike before. When he gave me all sorts of flop ideas which resulted in this current situation," He mumbled as he completely ignored the fact that he was the one responsible for whatever happened in the past.

As if suddenly a brilliant idea had already popped up in the air, his face brightened and he intended to catch the remaining last straw left in the bowl. He took out his phone from the inner pocket of his jacket and dialed Arya.

He got a busy tone on the other end at first and then the phone was switched off when he called again. In frustration, he almost pulled out all the hair from his head. He cannot believe the audacity of this man.

'How dare he ignore my calls and then even switch off his phone? What the hell is he doing at this time of the day? It's not even five in the morning, what could he be busy with anyway?' He mumbled and was about to place his phone inside the pocket.

Suddenly, he remembered his friend's work phone number and decided to try on that number. The phone rang for a second before it was cut and then he heard an engaged tone.

"Why? Why won't you pick up my call?" He screamed in annoyance.

At that moment, he heard a knock on the door. A hard male voice from the other side of door asked,

"Is everything alright, Sir? Do you need any help? Did you get locked inside the restroom by mistake? Should I break the door to let you out?"

He gripped his fingers together and took a minute to calm himself before saying, "No! Everything is alright. I spilled some water on my pants. I will be out in a minute."

He could faintly hear Hazel's assistance voice from the other side of the door thanking the security officer.

'If Reese is here then Hazel might have come in. I should go and talk to her before it's too late… No use standing inside this stinky restroom and pondering over this matter. I have already waited for so long and so many years of lonely nights and days. I cannot wait any more and I will not. I will tell her today… Today is definitely the day,' With full on determination filled inside his heart, he stepped out of the restroom with a bright smile.

As he thought, Reese was just walking away from there along with the security guard. Just when he opened the door fully, she nodded her head to the security guard and sent him away. Then she turned around and walked towards him.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Harlow. I don't remember having an appointment so early in the morning. Or did you come to our office to only use our restroom as the security guard said to me earlier?" Reese asked him with a judging eyes.

To enter the building before it even opened for the day, he could not find any other passable excuse. Other than saying that he had to answer nature calls which he had to be taken care of urgently. Despite that, the security guard still did not let him enter so easily and told him to use the public restroom in the next block.

Later he showed his business card and lied to him that he had an appointment in the morning with Hazel directly, even then the security guard would just not open the door. He also had to show some photos he took with Hazel during their early days to make him believe that he was indeed a friend of hers.

He literally begged him to let him enter just for a second and even trying to bribe him did not work at all. At that time, he was really proud of Hazel for choosing such a good person for guarding this place. Finally, somehow he managed to convince the security guard and entered this building.

'Ha… All that would be in vain, if I simply got caught by her assistant right now!' Harlow almost lost his composure and had a sweat drop on top of his head indicating how embarrassed it would be if such an incident occurred.

'NO! I cannot back off now because of a mere assistant's words. I have to fight all the enemies in front of me on this battlefield and keep moving forward to achieve my victory. Only then can I become the sole winner in this fierce ground,' He straightened his back and looked at Reese with fearless eyes.

"I know, I came here without any appointment or prior notice. But I am sure that you might have already guessed the reason for my early arrival…" Before he could finish his sentence, Reese interfered and hurriedly said,

"To use the restroom as you could not control the urge until you could reach the public restroom?" She smugly gave him a glance with her eyebrows raised.

Harlow looked at her with shiny eyes and could suddenly understand why Hazel would hire her as an assistant. Even though he liked her quick wittedness and sharp tongue, he was not in his right mind to praise her that day. At any cost, he can not back off right now. He has to move forward and push all the hurdles in front of him away, so that he could meet Hazel and speak his mind.

"No!" Harlow shook his head.

Again, without giving him any time to explain, Reese spoke in a rushed manner to him with a questionable look on her face.

"So are you here to inform us that you are canceling your wedding?" She asked him and started to judge him with doubtful eyes.