Apologize, Now!

Stupid.

That's what they would have thought they looked like had they had the chance to see themselves. But, they were too busy peering into each other's soul.

Like a rocket that had failed to continue after rising till a few meters, Eleanor felt herself be pulled back from the dazed state with a weird realization.

'He seems familiar,' and indeed he did, now that she was standing quite close to him still maintaining the eye contact. From under the cap of the hoodie a few successful inky bangs successfully peeked out, covering his forehead which would have been a glorious sight in itself, she was sure of it.

A certain image popped up in her brain but she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind, unwilling to deal with the pain that came with the memory.

His gaze was clouded with mysterious emotions none of which she could place her finger on. The way he was staring at her made her feel conscious of herself.

Braving herself, she inhaled softly and adorning a genuine smile she moved her soft, pink lips, "Hey, there! It's Violet Day in our small town today. So, 'Happy Violet day'," she wished, handing a fully blossomed violet from her basket.

All the town's people knew the special reason for her actions and this 'Violets day' she had made up herself. They all supported it and made it official because there was always a reliable reason behind her every action for she was known for her thoughtfulness and perceptivity.

The look of inquisitiveness that passed in those silver eyes, didn't go unnoticed by her before it vanished leaving behind the guarded nonchalance.

She braced herself for the question that never came. 'Huh?' She wondered why he didn't act on his curiosity, before letting it go.

"Thank you," simple two words were spoken, muffled a bit by the mask, but not enough to conceal the power his deep, husky voice contained. It left a weird feeling in Eleanor's heart, which accelerated it's already fast beat.

'Not much of a talker,' she noted before nodding her head and leaving behind an erratic throb in the stranger's chest.

~

Eleanor felt her heart sink when she looked at the blue flower laying on the dirty ground. A familiar feeling of helplessness gripped her lungs as she felt a choking sensation engulf her sanity.

With the good intention of giving her last flower to a middle-aged man standing in a suit under a lamp near the townhall, she had moved towards him.

Standing straight with a so-so height, dressed in an expensive looking three-piece suit the man evidently looked like he was from a rich household. He seemed to be waiting for something, probably a phone call, as he browsed his phone. He was looking down at his phone, but, his shoulders were high with arrogance.

With a cough she attracted his attention, which he did not seem happy about as irritation and disdain showed on his face, clear as day, when he turned his glare on her.

Ignoring his rude expression, she mustered up a slight smile on her face and spoke in a polite voice, "Greetings sir. It's a special day today in our town dedicated to blue violets. So here's one with good wishes. Hope you have a pleasant day!"

The man scoffed as if he just heard the most ridiculous thing in his life. With an evil twist of his lips, he snatched the flower from her outstretched hand and twirled it once in his fingers. With a glance towards her face that had lost its smile he smirked and threw the flower on the ground.

"You disgusting and pathetic low life! I can have a hundreds of such flowers made of gold and thrown into the sea without a dent in my pocket. I have had the misfortune of meeting many paupers like you. Pretty faces who act innocent but are actually poisonous, leeching vixens in disguise. You want to trap me with your beauty and put your slutty hands on my wealth? I can buy your cheap life and make you my slave, or much better my whore, and then discard you like a tissue when I am done. Do you even know who I am? Or have you been living under a rock all this time?" The man's condescending tone threw those horrible words at her, which went in through one ear and out through the other, not registering in her head. Paying no mind to him she continued staring at the short-stemmed, herbaceous perennial plant on the ground feeling a sense of loss which she had suffered with at various instances in her life. With small steps she shuffled forward and crouched down, trying hard to hold back her tears. Memories which she had worked so hard to bury deep within her mind were re-surfacing with renewed vigor, causing her chest to tighten in pain.

She moved a shaking hand to pick up the flower when she was beat to it by a large, golden hand. Long, lithe fingers with well-trimmed nails, carefully picked up the fallen flower by it's long stem, handling it with such delicacy as if it were a fragile feather. Trailing her gaze up from the hand, following an arm covered by a black cloth, she found herself face-to-face with the same masked face she had met only a few minutes earlier.

His eyes, those silver orbs were heating up with a fiery blaze which seemed to lull down to a warm bonfire when they came in contact with hers. His face seemed to harden when they turned to face the man in the suit, who was looking down at them both, a grimace plastered on his ugly face.

The masked man took Eleanor's outstretched hand in his calloused ones, his invigorating warm touch providing a sense of comfort to her cold hands.

He stood up to his full height, the brunette absent-mindedly replicating him.

"You," his voice was cold, with an underlying hard edge to it. "Who do you think you are?"

The rude man felt a shiver coursing through him. 'Why is it feeling like winter on a summer afternoon!"

Puffing his chest he tried to conjure up the most menacing expression on his face. He failed. Badly. With his broad nose and round jaw, his facial expression could only be described as a ridiculously humorous mix between a baby gorilla and a pig.

"How dare you talk to me like that?! Don't you know who I am?"

"I don't. Which is why I am asking."

Silence. A lone breeze wafted through the trio.

"I am the President of Kanou Industries!" The man broke the silence, an expression of arrogant pride resting on his face.

Kanou Industries belonged to the group of mediocre businesses, which were mainly well-known in smaller areas rather than large cities. They were doing quite well for themselves and had accumulated quite a large amount of wealth, but, they barely had any connections and even more less authority. His confidence was laughable.

"Ok. Now that the introduction is over," the masked man's lazy drawl was one of ease, but his glare turned icier than before, like the iciest glaciers in the coldest parts of the poles.

"Apologize, Now!" These two words were a warning and a threat and a last chance for the man to save himself.

Did he take it? Did he understand the hidden meaning?

Sigh. Do we have wings? Literal ones?

"It seems like the poorer one is, the more desperate they get," the foolish man failed to take a hint and retorted with a sneer. "You paupers are shameless with your antics to extort money, aren't you."

The hooded enigma narrowed his eyes, his presence terrifyingly dominant and prominent. He ignored the last sentence, "It's truer when one lets small successes get to their head and start flying with false airs, then they must embrace themselves for a bigger loss. You just invited your downfall."