Veiled Echoes

C H A P T E R 1

H A N A

Present

One thing I loved about London was how nobody quite gave a shit.

It was quite unsettling for me near the start when I first moved here from Australia, but soon I grew to embrace the freedom I got with it. It was beautiful, freeing and something I didn't realise I needed after living with my parents for so long.

I fixed my bag on my shoulder and sat down on one of the benches at the park. Russel Square was equally as beautiful as any other garden in London and it was great that this was just a six-minute walk from my ULC. Taking in the sights and the scenic park, the beauty never failed to amuse me.

I lifted my hand to wave at Rae as she strolled along the pathways lined with trees. The fallen leaves had begun to accumulate, creating a vivid pattern on the ground. The crisp and cool breeze tousled her auburn, coiled locks, causing some strands to stick to her lipstick. Despite her best efforts, she was having difficulty preventing her hair from being disarrayed by the gust of wind, and I smiled in amusement.

"You had to come out and reconnect with nature in this weather," she grumbled, dumping her psychology books on the table with a huff. "I'm wearing three layers, Hana, and I think my tits are going to fall off."

I handed her the warm coffee I had grabbed from the vendor. "Don't be dramatic. It a beautiful weather and I can feel the sun coming out."

"Of course, you do," Ethan's voice suddenly cut into the conversation and I looked behind me. Despite the slight chilly weather, he was wearing just a top and pants while holding a paper bag. "You can probably see floods happening miles away."

Rae and Ethan high-fived, snickering when my face scrunched into a scowl as I snatched the paper bag. "Fuck you two. Honestly."

Pulling out some warm pies, I mumbled a quick thank you before giving the rest to my friends. Friday had finally arrived and I could not be more excited at the thought of rotting in bed the whole day tomorrow.

As a final year Master's student in forensic science, I was drowning in assignments. Literally. I had just finished a six thousand word essay last night while consuming enough caffeine to wake up Cleopatra from her tomb. Having only got four hours of sleep and an early class at 8 o'clock certainly did not help the matter either.

"I am very close to jumping off something," Ethan announced, ruffling his raven hair and taking off his round glasses. "Just looking at this pie, all I can think about is how the glucose is getting broken down into pyruvate for cellular respiration. Just before, I went to the toilet and was thinking of how because of ADH my urine is so concentrated. I can't escape this matrix."

"Can you just shut the fuck up and eat," Rae grumbled from beside him, opening her phone. I hummed in agreement. "Aren't you meeting your parents tomorrow, Han?"

I stilled before stuffing the last bit of pie as my eyes widened in realisation. Quickly dusting off the crumbs of the pastry, I reached out for my phone and checked my calendar. Surely enough, I had reserved a table at Le Gavroche for tomorrow at seven in the evening.

My cursed luck.

"Isn't Justin also going to be there?" Ethan asked and I hung my head, nodding at his question.

Just the mention of his name sent a bitter taste to my mouth. However, as he had recently become my parent's business partner, they thought it would be great to have dinner together. Including me. All my hopes of having a beautiful Saturday vanished right before my eyes, and I ran my hand through my hair.

I had no idea how I was going to endure two hours of dinner sitting at the same table as the man who I had broken up with just a year ago. Just imagining the scenario surged my migraine as dread pooled at the bit of my stomach.

"Should I say I don't feel well?" I looked up at my two friends who glanced at each other before shifting their gaze back at me. "I can just say the heavy workload burnt me out and now I can't even move out of bed." I quickly opened my phone and opened the messages. "Let me message–"

Before I could finish my sentence, my phone was snatched out of my hand and I peered up with a frown at Ethan who was deleting my message. "Don't you dare, Han. That rat will think you're a coward if you drop out last minute."

"I don't care. If I don't see him ever again, he won't have to rub his opinion in my face." I reached across the table to retrieve my phone, but he lifted it higher.

"Hana." At Rae's stern tone, I stopped my failed attempt and sat down with slumped shoulders. "Are you still affected by him?"

"No."

"So, I don't understand the issue here. It's just two hours and then you can strut out of that place."

There's an issue. A big issue. This bastard had not even shown an ounce of despair before putting the ring on his girlfriend's finger just a month after our break up. While I had been cooped up in my apartment, he was throwing an engagement party for the girl who I assumed he met not a while ago. So, no, unlike Rae, I could not walk in that place knowing I would see him happy with a girl by his side. And he was going to rub this in my face multiple times in the two hours we were going to spend together.

"If you don't want to go by yourself, one of us can join. I can just tell my boyfriend to move our date," Ethan offered with a shrug. He reached out for another pie and I slapped his hand, before grabbing the last pie in the paper bag. "Isn't Johan going with you?"

Johan, my brother, was only seven years old and had been living with me for around three years now. Considering his bedtime, there was a low chance he would be able to survive the entire dinner without dozing off in my arms. However, my mother had requested for me to bring him just so they could see him again as it had been a while since they spent time with each other.

"How about Aiden?" I snapped out of my stupor at his name and nearly choked on the crumbs of the pie. Patting my chest, I reached for Rae's coffee.

After calming down, I stared at her in incredulity. "What?"

"Don't be dramatic." She waved her hand, playing with a strand of her hair. "If you want to make Justin jealous, just take him. He's had a crush on you for the past three years. I'm sure he'd accept your offer instantly."

I took another sip of her coffee, coughing at its bitterness and passed it back to her. "You're insane. He's the last person I would invite to dinner, Rae."

And he was. Ever since my counter with him near the crossing, I had dreaded the moment he had seen my student ID and figured we went to the same university. Although he was charming, my type A personality clashed strongly with his carefree, cocky, and downright childish personality. There was not a day ever since he realised my presence that left me alone, throwing pickup lines and blatantly flirting with me.

It didn't help the fact that Ethan and Aiden were cousins, so there were ample times I had to cross paths with him despite not wanting to.

When my face scrunched up in disgust, Ethan chuckled and crossed his arms. "My cousin can make a straight man go on his knees, Hana, so don't pull a frown. Compared to Justin, he is far better. And has a nice personality."

That's exactly what made everyone adore him. He had been the life of the party as long as I had known him, and being named the captain of his volleyball team was like the cherry on top. And since he took on the role, his team has secured multiple premiers in the BUCS Premier League.

However, there was no way I would take him to dinner with my parents.

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Hopefully, the chapter is good. I'll be updating twice a week hopefully, otherwise just once. Let me know how you guys find the chapter so far.