After us(sequel to Before us)

Chapter One

And if love be madness, may I never find sanity again. -John Mark Green
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It's been over two years now and everything has changed.  Me and Aiden have grown up into mature adults and now both work full time living in a small apartment in the busy city of London.

Aiden graduated with his Economics degree and I finally earned my English literature one too. And I definitely don't miss writing foot long essays and staying up till 4am.

I know what your thinking, where's Harriet? Sweet Riley? Charlotte? And Courtney?

Don't worry I still kept in contact with them. In fact, we are even closer than ever before,
when we do finally catch up from our new busy lifestyles we always manage to have a laugh about the whole  'sharing an apartment thing with Aiden' and always cracks a smile on my face.

Who knew after all these years we still would be stuck to each other?

So let me catch you up to speed on my life; after finishing university we moved out of our apartment. Which was harder for me because that's the place where I made most of my best memories. I met amazing people here and I wouldn't trade it for the world. But everyone is always moving onto bigger and better things in life and I just had to suck it up and move on like everyone else.

Aiden landed himself a  job at C.J Accountancy which by the way, he's loving it but it can be very self demanding but Aiden is working through it. And for me, Do you remember telling you that business that Harriet's Dad wanted her to invest in?

Well she's taken on the business with both hands and has employed me as her full time assistant to work alongside her. And I can't wait to start on my first day!

"Later babe." Aiden tightens his new Ralph Lauren tie before softly kissing my forehead.

"Have a good day, I love you!" I shout as he opens the door and walks out. Sighing, I manage to pick myself up from the velvet grey sofa and begin to tidy up the apartment.

First, I start off with Aiden's work place as it's always left in a mess. I gather all the loose bits of paper, paper clips and all the little bank statements that Aiden has left untidly on the side. He always has his belongings organised and nearly tided away but lately he's been stressed out more than usual.

You know what's it like when you land your first ever job and your trying to get used to the fact that you don't have all that free time anymore and you have to be careful on what you spend your money on?

Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved.

I walk into our master bedroom and I see the bedding has not been made. So I quickly do it up and puff out the pillows and rearrange the newly brought cushions. Aiden always tells me that there is no point in buying fancy cushions because they just get thrown on the floor.

But who seriously can't resist dark grey cushions with sparkly sequins? 

They make the bed look exquisite and adds a touch of opulent luxury to it. But being Aiden he doesn't get the point. Aimee and my Mum say that we argue like a married couple but we aren't even married yet. And plus, it's too soon I want us both to settle into our new jobs, maybe save and let time pass before we do anything too extravagant.

Scanning the floor for any litter or dirty clothes I find an odd pair of Aiden's socks. He's always complaining to that fact that he can never find a matching pair. Although, Aimee buys him a huge pack of assorted colour socks every year and he still manages to loose them all. That's typical Aiden for you.

Still loosing things.

I bend down and pick up the sock and place it into our Landry basket and walk into the bathroom to take a well needed shower. I hop out of the shower, dry my hair and squeeze into My Addison Tweed co-od skirt and blazer, with black swede heels. I pull out my phone and scroll down to Harriet's name and text her that I will be soon meeting her in twenty minutes or so.

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By the time I reach to Harriet's work office it's already lunch time, and I begin to grow worried because Aiden still hasn't texted me yet. When he's on lunch break he always checks in on me as he knows what I'm like when I'm paranoid. I park my white Mercedes Benz in my assigned spot and I ring the answering machine at the gates so Harriet can let me in.

"Hello, welcome to Hamilton incorporated please state your name after the beep." Harriet's robotic  voice rings out from the small machine.

"It's me Maddison." I say into it and automatically the gates begin to widen. I lock my car and make my way towards the mansion like office.

The smell of faint coffee lingering in the air and the sound of paper being printed sounds throughout the immense office. I look up and see a upscale gold sign hanging above my head labeled as 'Hamilton Incorporated' near the entrance of the glass double doors leading to the offices.

Wow! I think to myself, I knew that Harriet's dad was rich but I didn't think it was like this. And now Harriet is following in his foot steps and becoming her own boss, and working for her own company.

"Look how gorgeous my assistant looks!" Harriet declares to the other employer's who are way too busy typing away at their assigned computers. I feel the heat begin to creep into my neck as I feel a million eyes are attached to me and only me. If you didn't know already, I don't like the attention. I don't like to be the Center of everything.

"Welcome to Hamilton incorporate!" Harriet
squeals and ushers me into a tight hug. "I actually can't believe this is happening right now." I take a deep breath and take in the beautiful workplace.

"Come on M, pick your jaw up from the ground. I have to show my assistant how it works round here." She signals for me to follow her up to the glass stairs that forward into a multi story lift.

Right there and there my  eyes widen, at the employers pitching there new ideas and presenting them in a work room. Harriet lightly knocks on the glass see through window. The other person quickly smiles back and carries on her presentation to some well known business people.

I continue to follow Harriet across the hall and she jiggles around her almost full lanyard and pulls out a single set of sliver keys while handing them to me with a massive grin.

"What's this for?" I look at her puzzled for a short moment. She signals with her head for me to look down at the keys again. Agreeing, I do what she says and I see my initials 'Mk' engraved on the keys.

Feeling my eyes start to water, I look up at Harriet again, still that mischievous grin plastered on her face. "Don't tell me this is what I'm thinking?" I cry out loud.

"Yes!" She exclaims running in for a hug. Her sweet and musky perfume instantly filling up my senses. "Harriet, I can't possibly take this. It's too much." I push the set of keys in her hands. But being the stubborn Harriet she is, she hands them back to me and I smile even more.

"I wouldn't of given you a role in my business if I didn't believe in you." She laughs placing a soft hand on my shoulders. "I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have you in my life." A single tear drops from my eyes down to my tear stained checks.

"I don't think I would've taken this opportunity without you. But here we are, graduated from the top most leading universities in England. To making new friendships forever." She kisses me on the cheek.

"Come on let me show you your office. Personally, I think you have the best office."
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Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and happy new year! 🎉❤️

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