Chapter Two: No Regrets

After they finished their food Kieran kept glancing at Atlize as though he wanted to say something more. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she watched the world outside the one way window. Atlize then turned and just watched Kieran, they talked about each other for hours as the skyline dimmed and the clouds began to look as though they were rimmed with gold.

Atlize began to feel at peace under Kieran's eyes and his presence was always welcoming to her. Sitting in a diner for hours talking together without pressure truly helped establish there friendship haphazardly constructed on mutual attraction.

The highlights of what they talked about was about watching shows on broadway and their favorite sport, a particularly difficult type of car races, called formula one.

Finally Atlize turned away to the outside again then returned to facing Kieran. Atlize slowly memorized his face. She mused over him, this man was as beautiful as a greek statue, but he was alive, and full of unique qualities and features. She admired his slim nose that doesn't take up his entire face but holds a sort of gentleness to him.

Without realizing it a sigh escapes her lips, and Atlize holds her hand up to cover her mouth and blushes as Kieran's eyes stare into hers. "I'm easily embarrassed," Atlize murmurs turning back away from him. "I hope you'll ask me next time if you want to hang out, no more team lunch tricks," Atlize chides.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I wanted to take you out, just you," Kieran pauses as though he's gathering courage and stutters "I- I I've never done this truly," he confesses. "I mean I've never gone on a real date before," he explains. He looks at Atlize, watching her expression go from a smile to straight hiding her amusement but it plays in her eyes, and Atlize watches him smile and she notices his eyes, are full of earnesty.

"I've only been on two sort of dates before this one so I don't expect anything honestly," She pauses and then she realises she has just admitted to wanting a date.

"I thought you had an objection to this being a date," Kirean teases. The happiness that spreads in his face makes Atlize want to agree with him.

"I I-I mean if this was supposed to be a date I cannot differ," she mutters in correction.

Just like that they began seeing each other. Slowly from the nightly museum meets, they began to take strolls together in parks in different cities after they realize it's quite hard to stay close to their homes without running into coworkers.

They work on their delicate friendship and don't dare to ask for more. After a while, they'd been meeting up for six months and they were still able to value each other as respectable individuals.

In the end of their sixth months spent together and the beginning of their seventh month, they accidentally kissed. They knew they couldn't be together but they began to become more and more each other's partner.

At work Atlize no longer openly avoided Kieran and when the other's noticed they teased that she had finally accepted him as a member of her team even though he was their boss.

Finally Kieran confessed to Aglize, "I want you to know that I have no regrets if we become something more," Kieran surmised.

"I'm planning on leaving the company to establish my own," they said at the same time. They stared at each other for a moment with smiles and hope in their faces. She offered that she ought to be his first client and then they divulged that they both came from small but influential families in different countries and different circles, they met by the miracle of them both not being part of their family's specializations. The Cassiopeia family was a group that handled private security and manged a massive collection of private estates. The De Janko Family handled construction of most common skyscrapers and the company only built massive buildings.

Though they could move on with their relationship if they both stepped away from the company, they wanted to stay until she surpassed him so she could achieve her goals and her family couldn't say anything about the boss and his employee relationship when they found out.

Things were blossoming well until they were interrupted after being a secret couple for eleven months. An old friend of Kieran's had caught seen them together in the museum of natural history, and she became extrenely jealous after seeing Kieran and Atlize at her family's company. Her identity was inconvenient because Levitt's was her father's company and now she knew they worked for her family and Lonna knew the rules of the company, instead of reporting them she threatened Kieran to see her and leave Atlize or else, interrupting Kieran's next move that he planned for Atlize's coming birthday.

Kieran tells Atlize about Lonna and who she is, confessing that the only other woman he has a tricky history with is Lonna. He tells Atlize who Lonna is and that he'll have to deal with her. Then he presents a ring to Atlize.

Kieran explains he bought it before Lonna had appeared and he explains to Atlize that he had intended to propose on her birthday but he wants her to know his intentions are to remain with her. Kieran shortly doesn't tell Atlize about Lonna's ultimatum. With those words he holds Atlize's hand and drops to one knee. "In this life, I have decided to marry you and only you, will you leave me with no regrets and accept me as your fiancé?" happy tears well up in Atlize's eyes as Kirean gives his speech "our love may be a fragile secret to the world but I want the world to know, I love you dearly. Atlize," he vows himself to ptotect her. In her mind the last few months have passed too quickly and she feels that she truly loves him and that to spend forever with Kieran is pure bliss.

She shakes her head in agreement and exclaims "Yes!" Kieran puts the ring on her finger and scoops her up and spins them around.Atlize muses and thinks in this life to marry Kieran and remain together would give her ultimate happiness and no regrets. "If I marry you in this life, I'll remain happy and hold no regrets," Atlize shares with Kieran as he admires his ring on her finger.

With that they start making preparations for their wedding while still trying to keep appearances at work, keeping their secret until their wedding invitations are ready. As Autumn draws nearer Hairo and I begin to live together and thus we begin to deeply explore more of each other, both as individuals and who we are together.