Chapter 7 The Beginning Of Her Journey

• Days went by, with Edward pretending not to be aware of Sophia’s betrayal. He tried his best not show it, but there were times he became distant from Sophia. The betrayal was eating his heart up and he promised himself not to ever fall in love again. In between, he kept thinking about the mysterious lady he had met at Cheetahs and had a one-night stand with. He couldn’t get her off his head and so, he decided to visit Cheetahs one last time and there, he saw Ellie dancing.
• Watching her from afar, he watched as she moved her body to match the rhythm, making him become more mesmerized by her. After she was done with her shift, Edward approached her.
• ‘Hello, Beauty. How you doing?’, Edward had asked, looking straight into Ellie’s eyes.
• ‘I am good and you?’, Ellie asked, tying to avoid Edward and moving towards the exit.
• ‘Hey, wait up’, Edward said, following her.
• ‘What do you want?’, Ellie asked, sounding harsh.
• ‘Hey, Chill. You don’t have to be rude. I mean no harm. About the other day …….’ Edward said, but couldn't finish his statement as he was cut shory by Ellie.
• ‘I don’t want to talk about it. That was just one silly mistake I made. I was just infatuated with you. Nothing more, nothing less. So, I would love if you back off’, Ellie said, cutting Edward short of his words and walking away.
• ‘Why did you run away then?’, Edward asked, making her halt halfway.
• ‘I didn’t run. I just didn’t see a reason for me to stay. It was just a one-night stand’, Ellie said, turning around.
• ‘What if it meant more than that to me? What if I want us to be more than that?’, Edward asked, with his words hanging in the air, expecting a response from Ellie.
• ‘Like what if I may ask?’, Ellie questioned, Edward looking puzzled.
• ‘We can be friends. Let’s start from being friends. By the way, my name is Edward Lion and it’s nice meeting you’, Edward said, with a smile on his face, stretching his hand forth.
• ‘Nice meeting you too’, Ellie responded, ignoring Edward’s hand and turning around to leave.
• ‘What? Are you going to leave just like that? I expect you to tell me your name too’, Edward said, double-crossing Ellie.
• ‘I am Ellie Edwards’, she responded.
• ‘Edwards? Are we kind of related?’ he said, trying to create a humor.
• ‘Maybe’, she responded, trying to ignore him.
• ‘Since we are cool now, will you please, excuse me?’, Ellie requested.
• ‘Sure. We will catch up later’, Edward said, smiling at her.
• ‘I do not wish to see you ever again’, Ellie said, walking away.
• ‘You will see me more often as you wish’, Edward said, giggling as he watched Ellie leave.
• Upon her leaving, he realized he had just laughed. A real laughter at that. The last time he had laughed sincerely and wholeheartedly was when he was with his mum before she died. He found something special about Ellie and he believed they would create special memories together as friends, and nothing more.
• Edward was in denial. He knew he was already falling for Ellie but he didn't want to acknowledge it, as he hadn't recovered from the heartbreak that came from Sophia’s betray and he had promised himself never to fall in love again. He wanted all of Ellie to himself, but he didn't want to open up his heart to her, maybe because he was scared of getting hurt again.
• To avoid seeing Sophia’s face at home, he kept on visiting Cheetahs, as that was the only place he found solace. Whenever he spoke with Ellie, he found some kind of relief in his heart. In no time, Ellie lost her guard and in no time, they became friends, spending some time together and sharing their life experiences. They hung out together, most of the times, during weekends. Their friendship blossomed and they found themselves relying on each other and sharing their personal secrets. On one of such occasions of them hanging out, Edward discovered who Ellie truly was and the rough childhood she had as a child.
• ‘How is your mum and dad?’, Ellie had asked innocently. Edward went silent but later responded.
• ‘My mum is no more and as for my dad, I don’t want to talk about him’, Edward responded.
• ‘Oh, seems like you and your dad are not on good terms. May I know how your mum died?’ Ellie asked.
• ‘No, I don’t want to talk about it’, Edward responded in a low voice. It hurts him whenever the issue of his mum was brought up, which was why he didn't like talking about it.
• ‘It’s fine if you do not want to talk about it and I am sorry if I had in any way hurt you by bringing up something you do not want to talk about’, Ellie said, upon seeing the hurt and pain in Edward’s eyes.
• ‘It’s fine. So, may I know about your parents? Where are they?’, Edward questioned Ellie, waiting for her response.
• ‘They both passed away in a tragic accident. I grew up raising myself, with no one to assist me, which is why I work as a stripper, trying to make ends meet’, Ellie responded, avoiding Edward’s eyes.
• ‘You must have had a rough childhood. You are one strong lady, I think’, Edward said, admiring Ellie’s courage. Ellie smiled and her countenance showed she didn’t want to talk about her childhood, but Edward didn’t read much meaning to it.
• As their journey on the road to friendship continued, Ellie had begun to fall in love with Edward. Right from the moment Edward walked up to her that night to dance with her, she had fallen in love with him. It was love at first sight. She loved the way they moved their body together and danced to the music. She loved the smell of his body and the way he looked at her that night. As they danced together that night, her heart was beating fast and she realized she had met the one for her.
• That night, as she was about to leave, playing hard to get, she had silently prayed for Edward to call her back and it was as if God heard her sincere prayers as he did. Her heart skipped as he stopped her that night and when he asked the question, ‘Would you love to be my bedmate tonight?’, she had given in quickly, because she couldn’t wait to have all of him.
• As they made love that night, Ellie didn’t want Edward to stop as she enjoyed every moment and the way he touched her body. As she watched him fall asleep, she knew she had fallen in love with him. She knew it’s kind of crazy falling in love with a total stranger she barely knew, but she couldn’t explain the feeling. All she wanted at that moment was to remain in his embrace, but when she remembered her dirty past, she held herself back, which made her flee from the hotel that morning. She took some days off work and went into hiding to organize her thoughts, which explained the reason Edward didn’t see her at Cheetahs for days.
• While in hiding, she did some research on Edward, only to discover that he was the first son of the Lion’s Fashion Group and also the vice-president. The most shocking fact she discovered was that, he was married to Sophia, her enemy’s daughter. She had always hated Sophia’s family, as they brought about her family’s downfall. She thought that was the best opportunity for her to get her revenge on the Porous' family..
• After organizing her thoughts and having decided to go for Edward without anything stopping her, she resumed back to work. She wasn’t surprised to see Edward that day as she had been informed by her colleague of his frequent visits in search for her. At first, she tried playing hard to get, by giving Edward attitudes just to make him more drawn to her. When she realized that everything was going as she had planned, she began to flow with the moment. But after several hangouts with Edward, she found out she was truly drawn to him and also in love with him. So, she decided to make Edward hers by snatching him away from Sophia and at the same time, getting revenge on Sophia and her family. To make this possible, she had to confess her feelings to Edward and make him fall in love with her. But what she never knew were the dangers that laid ahead of her entanglement with Edward. Was she really ready to face all the challenges that laid ahead? Was she able to pay the cost for her revenge?