An age gap love story.
A brokenhearted billionaire.
A college girl.
*****
"Nevaeh," Aiden whispers, "can I rest my head on your shoulder?"
I nod, letting him rest his head on my shoulder. He closes his eyes.
"Thank you." He sighs in contentment. "...
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I step out of the bathroom stall and wash my hands at the sink, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I adjust my hair to one side and tuck a strand of it behind my ear, exposing the butterfly earring that I love so much. A smile forms on my lips as I remember Mom giving it to me. It's a precious gift I'll treasure forever.
I push the door open and exit the restroom. While I'm walking down the corridor, something catches my attention. A little girl in a white dress is crying in the corner, wiping her tears.
Concern immediately strikes me when I approach her. I bend down next to her, and she shifts her gaze to me. Her big chocolate eyes are filled with tears. Worry skates all over her face.
"Hey," I whisper, holding her shoulders gently. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Why are you crying? What happened?" I study her, wondering if she has just gotten lost.
"I've lost my flowers." Her voice cracks, and her lips tremble. "If I don't find it, I can't walk down the aisle with my sisters."
I scan her appearance -- her white dress and the flower crown on her head. She must be one of the flower girls, and possibly from the bride's family.
"Don't worry," I assure her, wiping a tear in her eyes. "I'm going to help you. Where do you think you dropped it?"
She shakes her head and cries softly. "I don't know. I went to some room, but I can't remember. This place is too big. Mommy is trying to find it too, but she hasn't." She's trying to hold back her sobs.
"Where did you go? Maybe I can find it."
She points at a long hallway at her left, and I nod.
"And where is your Mom?"
She points at another corridor around the corner.
"Okay, listen to me. Everything will be okay," I whisper, trying to calm her down. "Just go back to your Mom now, because she must be looking for you. I'll find your flowers, okay?"
The little girl stares at me like I'm her superhero. She nods, her eyes glinting with hope.
I make my way in the direction she points at, looking for any sign of flowers and hoping that I would spot a few petals on the way as a clue for me to track it down. Unfortunately, I don't find anything.
I halt as I encounter an empty room. It looks like a waiting room. A few glasses of champagne are left half-empty on the table next to the couch. But after I scan the room thoroughly, I can't find the flowers.
When I resume my journey down the hallway, I find another door, which is closed but not entirely. Slowly, I step closer to it. The other side is silent, which gives me an idea that the room is unoccupied too, even though the door isn't widely opened like the previous one.
Just in case, I knock on the door. "Hello? Is anybody there?"
I hear nothing. I wait for a few more seconds, but still, there's nothing. I know that I shouldn't do this, but this is an emergency. I take a deep breath and push the door open. I find an empty room with a dresser, a bed, and a sofa.
