Dream

Meanwhile, Andre's mind was in a jumble, so much so that he forgot to react. He watched Anai'ya exit the elevator until the doors closed. He felt like his soul had left his body and he was just watching himself stand there looking like an idiot.

It felt so unreal to him. Everything was just fine at the club. Despite her annoying behavior in the car, everything was normal. He was not expecting any of this to happen, nor did he ever think she was capable of violence.

A thought flashed in his mind...what if there were more things she was hiding from him?

As soon as the thought formed in his mind, an unsettlingly feeling rose in the pit of his stomach. He had known this woman since she was a teenager, although he didn't spend day and night around her, he pretty much saw her grow up. She was always such a sweet and loving girl, despite his horrid behavior at the time she always smiled at him and treated him kindly.

Once, he saw her get in a fight with some kids at school for making fun of her little brother being an orphan. She swung at them with her backpack until she knocked them down while tears were running down her eyes. That was the first time he saw her cry. She was just a kid whose parents had died leaving her alone with her little brother. The amount of pressure she must have felt because of the circumstances revealed itself at that moment.

He use to be rude and pull evil tricks on the siblings so naturally, he didn't stop the fight. Standing a distance away, he watched the scene unfold with no intention of stopping it. It wasn't until he saw the stream of tears on her cheeks that he felt his heart ache for the first time. However, he paid those feelings no mind and continued to treat both kids like a nuisance. It wasn't until much later that he started accepting the fact they were going to be around for a long time after his father took them in.

Eventually, he took on the role of an elder brother, he even felt like he played that part well. He wasn't the nicest person in general but he did try his best to look out for her behind the scenes. Of course, based on his personality he refused to let her see his kindness up front. He made sure that no one else bullied her again at school or anywhere else he could prevent it. It was his own little secret that he cared about her. To her face, he made it seem like he couldn't stand her but deep down he felt it was his duty to protect her.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago he realized she was no longer that sweet little teenage girl he saw cry at school instead she was a beautiful woman. One who had stolen his heart little by little. He instantly rejected the idea, he felt it was wrong of him to do so. He had watched her grow up, how could he see her as anything but an unfortunate kid his family took in? He even tried distancing himself from her, blocking out all news about her, running off to Europe for some time to clear his head. Obviously, none of it worked. In fact, the moment he laid eyes on her again his heart was beating so fast he felt like it was going to come out of his chest. He was completely powerless to her charm.

Andre didn't even realize that although he knew she was an adult now, and people change with time, deep down he still saw her as the sweet kind little girl who cried while hitting someone. A person like that couldn't possibly be violent in their bones. There was just no way. It went against who they were on a fundamental level.

Or so he thought.

It was quite clear Andre had no idea everything Anai'ya went through when he wasn't around. That's why it was so hard for him to accept what had just happened.

Who could blame him? No one would want this kind of beautiful dream to end.

However, he out of anyone should know that the best dreams always come right before the nightmare.