THE OCEAN DEPTH ~ ELITE 04

CHAPTER I

"You can love birds without caging them, and flowers without plucking them"
‎"يمكنك أن تحب الطيور بدون حبسها والزهور بدون نتفها"
"Love thrives without the bondage of possession and expectations"
‎"الحب" يزدهر بدون عبودية التملك والتوقعات"

-Suhaib Rumi

_
The last time Annie saw him, she was plotting to murder his lover and lock her soul in the depths of hell. For he belonged to her, inevitably. In her dreams—he loved her with fervent ardor, his every touch suffused with an impassioned intensity that ignited her soul.

But it was a lie.

Irvin Grey hated pretty people. He hated her.

She smiled sadly thinking of the time when she bid him farewell. They both knew she'd come back to annoy him, but fate did not favor evil. She wasn't favored, she was thrown into darkness.  And in the rush, she stole his red journal, but again it became futile. His story was a mystery and so was the language he used to write in—ancient and beyond interpretation.

Albeit Annie did not stop, she got drunk in that language, that civilization, that perspective—he was thousands of miles away now, an ocean, cultures, nearly a decade apart. But she followed him like a star chaser.

~

Haider watched her from the distance—in the dim glow of twilight, her beauty was blossoming like a delicate flower unfurling its petals at dawn. Her raw green eyes, reflecting the fading sunlight like the pools of liquid amber, drawing him in secrecy. Dull movement of her slender frame was to set poetry in motion, an illusion. Her laughter danced like sunlight on water, infectious and enchanting. And when she smiled, it was as if the whole world paused, a second of thrill amidst life's tumultuous sea. She wasn't merely beautiful; she was an artwork.

"Annie?" He called unsure, it was the first time he had seen her in eleven years.

Annie jerked, dropping the diary and getting up from the desk. "Oh! Bhai, you?"

Haider avoided the throbbing in his heart and stepped inside the room. "What are you doing here? Everyone's outside."

"You guys enjoy, I have got some work," She replied stiffly.

"Hell with your work!" He cursed, grabbing her hand, "Let's go. The pizza's about to be finished."

But Annie pulled her hand back with a jerk and shook head again. "I–I have to go to the washroom." She said and ran away before he could say something.

"What is it?" Haider turned to see his mother, scrutinizing him a keen eyes.

"Nothing, serious." He said, walking off.

But Apana didn't stop. She followed into the next room, where Annie was still stiffly standing, and her face turned bitter with realization.

"You—" She slurred with disgust, "You were seducing my son?"

"What?" Annie widened her eyes, "No! Aunty, he was just talking to me."

"Just talking? Really you take me for a fool?" She asked stepping forward, "I told you not to come in front of him, didn't I?"

Annie opened her mouth to speak and Apana slapped her right before.

"I'm letting it go because you're getting married in a few days, but if I see you with him again–" She lowly warned, "Keep it in mind."

Tears swelled in her eyes, blinking them away she nodded head. Apana glared her once more, finally leaving.

"Oh yeah, your friend had called yesterday. Call her and invite her personally."

~
Annie gripped the phone in her hand, staring at the dialer blankly. The moon gleamed into the dark room from the openings of gossamer walls. The white curtains scattered into the chill breeze of the night, like the free birds complete the sky.

"Am I talking to the bride?" Elizabeth's voice suddenly boomed from the end other.

"Yes, Princess Elizabeth, and you're invited with your whole family—" Annie said, then internally cringed at herself.

"Do you know what Nick is saying? He can't go—he just got the responsibilities of Home Ministry blah blah—" She paused, "If he doesn't go, Samantha is not going either and my papa would never allow me alone."

Annie held her breath.

"You're not coming?"

"They won't let me."

"But you promised me, Eli."

"Stupid protocols—I don't know what should I do. My parents already think that Pakistan is not a safe place to visit."

Annie rolled her eyes, "Let me try then."

"Alright, gotcha." Elizabeth was gone and sometime later, a man's voice reached — "Hey, Annie"

She hesitated, "Hello!"

"Everything's good?"

She inhaled, then finally went on— "I heard that no one's coming to my wedding. It's not done. Now that you've become the Home Minister of the UK, you don't remember us."

"It's nothing like this, dear—"

"I don't know! I have none of my own people. If you don't come this time, we're not talking anymore." Annie said, without listening to him.

He laughed, "Silly girl, if I take leave after just starting, the public will throw me out of the parliament. You already know of my bad reputation."

"But why can't Princess Samantha and Elizabeth come?"

"Samantha's pregnant. I can't take risk." He said.

"Please, please, please! We'll take care of her., I swear! My uncle would increase the security. Nothing will happen, please?"

"Still, we've got enemies—"

"Please! You called me your sister, you can't do this."

"Alright! Alright! I'll ask Irvin. If he agrees to come with her–"

Her heart skipped a beat. Whatever Nick was saying faded behind a blurry veil. Seven years had passed but this name still haunted her soul.

If he comes.