The Fallen Star

Chapter 4

Haedum

It was finally the day to take over my father's company officially.

The corporate world is anything but nice. It's a cut-throat platform officially, where everyone is on your side while you ride your way up and stabs you in back as soon as your car tyre goes flat.

Things were changing around me and at a speed, I wouldn't like them to. Sarah was the only constant in my life, she did change but never for the worst. If anything she became more understanding of the situation. If there is one thing I'm grateful for is Sarah in my life and her in death.

I walked into the room, dressed in a grey suit with a white crisp shirt wearing the charcoal grey tie that my mother had gifted me last year. My heels clicked on the smooth and shiny surface of the board room, silencing the hushed conversations. I sat on my father's seat and glanced at everyone, observing their faces for what they had planned. I knew better than to trust an old goose word and solely relied on my intuition for what was going to happen next.

I smiled as the lawyer started talking.

"........... hence, Mr. Haedum is fully capable of taking over this company. Now left with the question of whether Mr. Haedum would stay on the seat depends, it would be taken into consideration after all the financial statements for the fiscal year are gathered and no shareholder's interest is at risk. If he is able to successfully establish it, he might be voted as the rightful person but let's not forget that the company was to be given to Mr. Haedum only, in case, anything happened to late Mr. Raleidze and he is the legal owner of it."

The lawyer concluded his argument, but he knew it was not something they could leave their opinion on, the case had been rested for now. The members knew they couldn't do anything until the year end so they were in a haste to leave. Good for me, the sooner they left, the sooner I could leave and spend time with Sarah.

She had taking too many leaves from school, I had to talk to her principal and get things settled regarding her absences. I wasn't worried about her academically, she was far ahead than her freinds at school but she still needed to attend school. And then I had to meet someone later, Aline had suggested a new girl for baby sitting Sarah when I was away as Aline was moving away. She has assured me that this girl was even better than herself which I disagreed with but decided to give the new person a chance, if Sarah bonded with her, she can stay.

I left my office, stopping at the nearby cafe to grab a cup of coffee on my way back. I had skipped breakfast but had left eggs and butter toast for Sarah. I played my playlist online and one more night started playing, I used to love that song, probably because I could relate to it.
I started humming to the beat of the song.

'So I cross my heart, and I hope to die
That I'll only stay with you one more night
And I know, I said it a million times
But I'll only stay with you one more night'

I let the words echo in my mind and felt the depth of those words for me in my heart. I missed her. She was just like that, everywhere, in everything and every word. The world was incomplete without her. I smiled to myself and blew a horn so that Sarah could come out.

She ran to the passenger seat and climbed in. She was wearing her favourite black ripped pants with a white crop top and #pride written with rainbow colours. She had paired her outfit with doc Martins and I was surprised to see this side of her. Mum had always dressed her so cute that this chic side of her was mesmerizing yet surprising. I think I need to increase my brotherly protective instincts. If this continues, she would be breaking many hearts soon and I felt proud of that.

"Baboo, to what do I owe this change?" I asked, keeping my face neutral, not letting that proud brother of a fashionably cool younger sister smile come on my face.

"I thought I have grown up enough to wear this. I know you can't approve of this dressing as an older brother but listen to me." she wailed.

I nodded at her to go on.

"I don't have mom and dad anymore and others might see me as weak but if I show them that I am not weak and have gotten stronger after this accident, that would stop them from bothering me. And I've always wanted to dress up like a baddie but I loved how mom dressed me so I never said anything. I won't give up dressing cute, when I will be with you, I'll dress in those cute dresses but when I'm alone, I need to show the world I can't be messed with." she finished the sentence in one deep breath.

I had a few questions about her logic but I wasn't going to bother her with those. If I can't show confidence in her then I can't expect her to be confident in herself and the last thing I wanted to do now was to shatter the strong girl she was being.

I smiled at her reassuringly, gently patting her on her head, giving her the approval she needed and respecting her choice.

"You, Ms Sarah, are quite a good persuader. I'm not going to object to what you wear but we still need to go through your ideas and discuss what can be worn and what cannot be. Jeans and crop tops are allowed but no dark emo girl get up. And you cannot use bad language no matter how baddie girl attire you take."

She nodded her head and I realized she had tied her hair into a bun, very untidy but, yes, a bun, definitely.

"How did you tie the bun?" I questioned her as I started driving to her school.

"Aline taught me few things, she said I need to know some basic things because Aline can't be with me always and you don't know how to do girl things. She taught me to tie bun and ponytail. She taught me how to organize books and toys. She even fixed my cupboard to my height so I can get my ironed clothes without having to step on a chair." She jumped ecstatically while she continued gushing about what else Aline had taught her.

I made a note mentally to gift her something nice for her kindness.

I pulled into the parking lot near her school and we got out of the car. She took a long breath before taking my hand and walking as if she was going on a war. I gave her a weird eye and started to walk with her as she pulled me.

Little did I know, she was actually taking me into a warzone.

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Hello readers,

I hope things have been going smoothly for everyone. If something didn't work out, try again and don't let the pressure of failure get to you.

Love from Pakistan. <3