Betrayed To Be Loved

Chapter-9 Changes

Arabella

Time sure seems to be rushing, it feels like yesterday when Jason called me in the morning informing about my selection as Mr. Ethan's personal accountant. But in reality a whole month has passed...yes it's been one full month today since I joined Mr. Ethan. If I think back to my experience till now then I would say it was a mixture of both extremes...you are just exaggerating...I roll my eyes at my sub conscious. Mr. Ethan has usually been very strict with me and I really wonder why? I mean if I do everything just the way he wants me to do, even then the man won't say a single word of praise. Forget of praise he is usually very rude. But I have noticed a slight change in his behavior towards me after the incident last Friday. I was so scared that day...I got so engrossed in my work that I didn't notice it was past 7 in the evening and it totally slipped out of my mind that Lillian had left early and I was supposed to keep a check on Mr. Ethan so that I don't have to take the lift alone. The moment I realized how late it was I literally ran to see if Mr. Ethan was still there but he had left already. He is not aware of my phobia; I tried to calm myself and called to check if Victor was still around but unfortunately he had already left. My anxiety was increasing with every passing second and I didn't know what to do, I thought of calling the security but that very moment something went wrong with the electricity and there was complete darkness; it lasted merely for 5-7 seconds but for someone like me with a phobia those few seconds felt like decades. All the rational thoughts flew out of my mind that very instant, I could feel myself slipping into a panic state. I did try to take some deep breaths...nothing worked...I saw all my counseling sessions standing useless. Right beside the elevator door I stood still trying hard to normalize my breathing with tears falling continuously. I am sure I was about to pass out as I felt dizzy and my vision blurred. I wasn't sure for how long I stood there almost frozen as I didn't hear the lift door open and I felt someone shaking me. My face was held between a pair of large palms and my tears were wiped off..."Arabella! it's o'right!"....I heard a familiar voice but couldn't recognize who it belonged to. Once again I felt being shaken...this time it was a little harsh and that's when I came to my senses...to my surprise it was Mr. Ethan looking at me with concern, I blinked a few times and finally took a couple of deep breaths..."I am sorry" I whispered and the reply I got was something I never expected from him..."You should have told me about your phobia" Even in such a state I couldn't miss the slight concern laced in his voice.

I thanked my lucky stars for someone came to my rescue at such a tender moment, though I wondered why Mr. Ethan came back. Whatever the reason was I couldn't be any more grateful to him, he drove me home that night. It was when I reached home that I came to know how Lillian tried to reach me just to check on me and also she was the one to inform our boss. Lillian is Mr. Ethan's personal secretary, she is a wonderful person. We became very good friends very soon and since the day she came to know about my phobia she made sure to accompany me in the elevator. Everything happens for a reason, after this incident I noticed that somehow Mr. Ethan's behavior towards me softened a little. Not just that but for tomorrow's wedding party he asked me to accompany him as he needed a plus one with him. I was a little surprised and couldn't hide my reaction to which he told me that earlier he used to ask Lillian to accompany him but since she has a boyfriend now she would prefer going with him. I agreed to go with him but honestly I wished Victor would have asked me to go with him...like you guys are a couple... once again I rolled my eyes at my sub conscious.

***

It is Jason and Nora's big day tomorrow, I am so happy for them. I have seen the love they have for each other. I also need to go shopping today and buy myself a red dress as it is the color code for the day. I have asked Edna to accompany as I don't know where to get the right dress from. I was getting ready when I heard Aunt Daisy call me telling that I have a parcel. I went out wondering what could have come since I didn't order anything. At our front door was a young delivery boy holding two boxes, he asked me if I was Arabella Grace and handed the boxes to me. I walked in and opened the boxes right there in our living room and I must add my dear aunt was way more curious than me. A soft gasp left my mouth when I saw a beautiful red dress with matching heels. Aunt Daisy was looking at me with a raised eye brow and a smirk....I raised my hands in mock surrender and said, "What? I really don't know who sent these?" Just then I got a call from Victor...

A- Hey Victor

V- I hope you liked the dress Bella.

That very moment I wanted someone to pinch me really hard as I couldn't believe that Victor sent me these presents.

V- Bella?? Hello??

A- Its beautiful...thank you so much... you really didn't have to...

V- But I wanted to... see you at the wedding.

Just like that he disconnected the call leaving me numb...Aunt Daisy shook my shoulder slightly and asked me who called...I first started giggling like a 6 year old and finally I was squealing, hugging her and jumping..."Victor sent me those....can you believe it? He called me Bella!!! And said he wanted to get me all these...." Aunt Daisy had a wide smile on her face and hugged me back tightly. Though I never told her about my feelings for Victor but I am sure she had an idea.

Was this really true...what I understood...did Victor also have feelings for me? Why did he get me those things? And he never called me Bella before...oh Goooddddd!!!!

I was lost in the same thoughts for almost an hour when finally the ringer of my mobile snapped me out; Edna called me to confirm about our plan for the day and that's when I told her everything. She squealed excitedly and said that she was so happy that her dumb brother made a move FINALLY!!! My best friend was as excited as me; after all she was the only one who knew about my true feelings. After my call with Edna I dreamily lay on my bed thinking about the different scenarios for tomorrow...how would Victor react? Will he like the dress on me? Will he say something or maybe he will give me a hint about his feelings? The day passed just like that and I could not be more excited for tomorrow.