Love Is A Shining Star

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

John's POV (Third person)

John had made up his mind. He wasn't going to feel guilty about this. He saw her crying, tears pouring from
her eyes like crystals falling from heaven. He wanted to hug her and make her stop sobbing, but what else
could he do?
"Ella it's over! I can't trust people like you! Your brother hurt Laura!!" he cried as Ella wiped her tears and
wrapped her arms around herself.
"My brother did nothing wrong! Your beloved Laura was found kissing some other guy! I can't even imagine
how could she do such a disgraceful thing! She had a husband and family! It was Laura who betrayed
Walter's love!" She protected her brother, holding her coat around her tightly.
"Laura is innocent! She was tricked by those fuckers!" He yelled and pushed her away.
"I don't care whose fault it was! It's none of our business. We are meant to be together! We should be! John,
I love you!" She burst into tears, but John was now acting no better than Walter.
"I'm sorry, but I'm ending it now! There is only one way for me to reconsider and that is for your brother to come and beg for forgiveness and admit his guilt! There is only one person I care about in this world right now, and that is Laura!" John snorted and swallowed the pain inside him. He paused for a moment. The only woman whom he loved was crying and he was doing nothing. Maybe revenge was too important for him? He had to do it! For Laura! He remembered the way Laura cried in pain, and he had wanted the same thing to happen to Ella.
But.. Did he really want Ella to suffer? Why was he grabbing her in the middle of their fight? Why was she
suffering? She had done nothing wrong. The only thing she did was love John, and now he was telling her to go!
"I don't believe it! I just don't!" She mumbled, "I thought you were different, John, but I was wrong. I thought you weren't like other men. I thought you were the only man who could protect me and keep me safe. But you... you broke me! I was wrong about you! You never loved me! You men are all the same! Love is
nothing but a game to you. If it's over for you, it's over for me! But I know my brother is never going to take
her back. She is a traitor and she should live like this. She deserves it!" With this, she took a deep breath
and walked out of the hospital quickly.
Ella thought Laura was guilty because she didn't know what had happened. She trusted her brother, so she
decided to end all her relationships and begin a new life.

Four Years Later...

Laura's POV:
My hair whipped about my face, and my lips felt dry and rough. I was standing at the window, watching the
water droplets slide down the window pane. There were several inches of standing water gathered on the
lawn below, the surface rippling and swirling as the rain fell on it. It rushed down the streets and trickled
down into the gutters.
Gazing out the window at the heavy rain, I became lost in my thoughts. Memories flooded my head as I
remembered how much I used to enjoy the rain. Those moments were special for me.

***Flashback***
I started playing in the rain again. I loved the smell of mud and the soft pitter­patter of the rain hitting the
ground. Walter came downstairs and drank his coffee. He saw me getting soaked in the rain.
"Why don't you join me?" I asked him.
"Do you think I'm a kid? I hate getting wet. Sometimes I doubt you're as old as you say you are," he
smirked.

"And, Mr. Walter, no one is as boring as you are," I said sarcastically. He threw a towel at my face.
"Make sure you dry yourself before you catch a cold," He laughed and disappeared back into the
house. I laughed and dried myself. Sometimes he had his good moments, too.
***end of flashback***

I wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Laura! There you are!" Jennie came up from behind and hugged me tightly. I smiled at her and she smiled
back.
"It's raining and you're standing here alone!" Jennie said. I simply smiled back. I had loved rain for a long
time. These days, I only liked being alone, but Jennie never left me alone. It had been four years since I left
Toronto and started living here in Thailand with Jennie, her cute little three­year­old daughter, and her caring
husband, Paul. I didn't have a job, so I started volunteering at an Orphan house. Thailand was beautiful, with
gorgeous scenery and wonderful people. I was living with these people. I had learned a little Thai, but not
much.
"Wanna come join Rose and me and play in the rain? Do you like the rain?" She asked.
"Not anymore. I'm going upstairs. I have a lot of work to do." I replied and went upstairs. I received a call
from John every day asking me about I was doing or asking about Rose. Was she growing? Was she like
Jennie? Just a nonstop string of questions.
I hadn't heard anything from Walter since that day four years ago. Maybe he had married Hannah. I didn't
even know if he was alive. The only thing I had heard was that Stefan had gone back to Germany and
Daniel had gotten engaged to Hazel, and I only knew this because Daniel had left me a voicemail message
once. I had never called him back because I didn't want to stay in contact with anyone related to Walter.
Later that evening, I visited the orphan house. Young, happy, and charming little kids came running towards
me, hugging me and giving me hand­made cards.
"Aww.. They're all beautiful. So how about if we all listen to a story today." I told them. I read a story and
helped them change. We all had dinner together. These children were my life now. I had nothing else to do.
Back in Toronto, I used to work with terminally­ill children and here, I worked for poor orphans.
***
"Get up Rose! Baby! You're going to be late for school." I snatched her blanket but the little girl clutched it
tightly. Rose was just like Jennie; beautiful, intelligent, and gorgeous, but her habits were similar to mine.
For instance, she wasn't much of a morning person.
"Come on Rose! get up!" I finally picked her up and dressed her.
"Thank you for taking care of Rose," Jennie said to me as we were having breakfast.
"Ah.. You don't need to thank me. I love her the way I would love my own child." I laughed. When we were
all done with breakfast, and Rose had left for school, Jennie said to me:
"Laura, your condition is getting worse. You need a better place to live, where you can get proper treatment."
"I'm doing fine. You don't have to worry. Its nothing serious." I tried to explain but she cut me off.
"Laura, it's been almost four years. You can't live like this. I want you to move on. Please!"
"I was devastated when I first came here, but now I'm okay with my life. I can't go back now." I replied and
left.
***
Walter's POV:
I was in a club, drinking with some of my old friends. Time had changed everything and I now I am no more
the owner of my company. I had given my title to my sister Ella and now she was responsible for everything.
I did two things: I drank and I slept.
It was Saturday and I was in the club drinking and laughing. I had finished the golden years of my life, and
now all I wanted was to drink and enjoy myself. But then I saw Ella walking towards me.
"Walter! that's enough! Stop it!" She yelled, but I pushed her away. I was drunk, so she grabbed my arm and
dragged me out of the bar. On our way to home she kept yelling but thankfully, I couldn't hear her.
The next morning, when I was finally sober, she handed me a cup of hot chocolate and I quickly got up.
"Walter! How long are you going to keep doing this? You know our company is in debt and I can't handle it by myself!" She explained it to me. I shrugged and lit a cigarette to calm myself.
"Walter! Look at me. Why are you doing this? You used to be a workaholic. I don't get it! You're wasting your
life! I don't want you to ruin your life!" She kept her hands on my face. I looked at her with tears pouring
down my cheeks. She cried too and hugged me tightly. Ella loved me, and she cared for me the way a
mother did. But still, I failed to protect her and ruined her life. I was the worst person in the world.
"I am sorry Ella! A sister like you doesn't deserve a jerk like me for a brother," I cried in her arms. She
wrapped her arms around my shoulders, wiping my tears.
"Walter, you are my brother! We're a team! We're the Scotts! We have to save our company! Let's do it for
mom," She smiled at me.
"I can try," I replied shortly.
"That's my brave boy!" She smiled. I looked at her and wished her happiness. I had no one but Ella and I trusted her. I loved her. She was the only person I could protect now.
"Walter, if you don't mind can I ask you something?" She asked hesitantly.
"Sure," I chuckled, gesturing for her to sit next to me. She paused for a while, looking at my face, and then
she stopped speaking.
"What is it?" I asked again. The suspense was killing me.
"Walter, have you ever thought about starting a family? Like, maybe marrying a suitable woman and having kids would make your life perfect. She... Laura left. It's time to move on. She didn't even deserve you." The words were like a bullet piercing my heart. I didn't want to hear her words. I hated this thing called love, this whole marriage and caring about people thing. I couldn't take it anymore.
"Please leave!" I said to her angrily. She shrugged her shoulders again and held my hands.
"Walter, please marry someone who deserves your love. Just let it go. I know a lot of women you can
marry." I didn't want to listen what she was saying.
"I don't want to hear it! Please Ella!" I shouted at her. She left quietly. I opened my drawer and pulled out a
beautiful picture of Laura and me. It was the picture of us on our wedding day. Seeing her beautiful eyes,
her smile and her innocent face still gave me the same feelings. I could not simply forget her. I didn't even
know if she was alive or where she was, but my heart belonged to her.
'I'll get revenge on every single person who hurt you! Just wait!' I slowly moved my fingers on the picture.
***
I had joined the office again and started helping Ella in any way I could. It was late evening and I was
working on a project when Hannah came knocking at my door.
"Hello handsome!" She said as I continued to work.
"Hi, have a seat," I smiled back. She stared at me but I ignored her and kept working.
"Are you busy?" She asked in a low voice.
"No, I've just finished." I said closing my work.
"So do you have any plans for tonight?" She asked.
"No."
"Then why don't you come over to my house for some dinner?"
"Why not somewhere else?" I asked, fatigued.
"Come on! I want to cook you dinner," She quickly grabbed my hands and I followed her reluctantly.
When we got to her house, my aunt and Hannah quickly cooked a meal. It was delicious.
"So is the company any better these days?" My aunt asked me just before I asked for some rice.
"It's better now," I replied, not in the mood to talk to her.
"I heard you left your company after breaking up with your wife," Yet another taunt from this woman.
"But I am back now," I tried to control my anger.
"Have you decided to look for someone else to marry or something?" She questioned, making me want to
murder her on the spot.
"Mom! Stop asking silly questions! Walter, let's go to garden and have coffee." Hannah said to me and I
quickly nodded. We talked about our school days and how I used to act like a kid.
***
The company was finally stable for the first time in four years. I worked day and night with Ella and Hannah's
help. We paid off our loans and debts and within a month the company was flourishing again. I was
decorating our home with flowers and trying to move on with my life. Ella and I redecorated our house
beautifully. Our good old butler made us coffee as we sat down and talked about office work.
"Walter, I'm going to clean your room. It's so messy!" Ella exclaimed. I hated when people touched my
things.
"Fine!" I said to her, even though I hated when people touched my things. Like Laura, she was obsessed
with cleaning rooms. Just ten minutes later she came walking out of my room. All the color had drained from
her face and her eyes were wide. She looked at me and I saw a letter in her hands. She looked at me like I
was a criminal.
"What happened?" I asked, walking towards her, but before she could say anything, she slapped my face.
She held the paper right in front of me.
"I don't believe it! Walter!" She was in tears but I couldn't say anything. The letter in her hands was the one
Laura had written years ago.