When Universe Conspires

17 - Fallen

(Jennie)

In all honesty, I am nervous about the story that Lisa is about to tell me. She seemed hesitant about something. I've always felt that from her. She was holding back. I knew right away that she likes me the day we met. She's easy to read in that department. But her hesitance about something confuses me a lot.

"I met someone before. When I turned 18 I tried to live a normal life. As normal as I am allowed to, again. So, there's this one time I went out to grab a drink at an exclusive bar. I was alone of course, no friends to go out with. But my body guards were also there, they're just incognito. They always blend in with the crowd. So..", she started the story I wasn't ready to hear.

I tried to cut her off first, delaying how the story goes. "Wait..I'm sorry to interrupt..but I'm just curious. Were your bodyguards there when you found me? And when we had lunch?"

"Yes. Both times. They are always in my ear when I'm in public places. The only time I put down my ear piece is when I'm at home. They need to call me if they have an urgent concern. They almost shot the 2 men who tried to bring you home when my arm was wounded. I just told them to stand down, that I can take care of it myself. So yeah, they're always there. They have different sets, so no one will notice the mix and match of people around. No one will be familiar just in case someone is spying on me.", she explained.

"Wow. How many people are in your security team?", I asked amused.

"About 300, their duties are months apart to avoid unnecessary appearance around me", she answered.

"Holy shit. That's a lot! All women?", I asked.

"Well, most of them but there are also men. Only my personal security consists of women", she answered.

"And here I am thinking I am the only woman in your life right now", I joked to lighten the mood.

She smiled and said, "You are though."

"I'm not the jealous type but I can easily bitch slap someone if needed to." I said then added, "Go on with the story..so what happened at the bar? Who did you meet?"

"The person who broke my heart. She was my first everything", she said with a sad smile. It kinda put a dent in my heart knowing that that someone was the one she shared all her firsts with. I take back the not jealous comment I made earlier, because I feel totally jealous and I don't even know her yet.

She continued, "She approached me first. She asked for a light. I was smoking outside and there was no one around. So I extended my arm to light the cigarette in between her lips. She held my hand to cover the wind from putting out the fire. I felt something weird. I am not used to being that close to anyone specially a stranger. So, I think she noticed my dilemma. I was nervous and almost frozen on my spot. She let go of my hand after her cigarette was lit. Then she asked me if I have company inside the bar. I said I am by myself. She smiled and made conversation. By the end of the night, we were a little drunk at the bar and we held the conversation for 3 hours. I ended up sleeping in her apartment that night. My bodyguards were on high alert. But I instructed them to stand down and give me space for a while. I removed my ear piece even if I wasn't in my house.", she paused as if asking me if I am still following. As much as I want to tune out of this topic, I shouldn't. She said I have to know this story so that I will understand something about her.

"I'm not sure if I want to hear what happened in her apartment. I'd rather not hear the details. Please. Skip it.", I requested and she obliged.

"Yeah. So after a few weeks of dating, she became my first girlfriend. Everything was new to me. I got excited with everything we did. I was her first girlfriend too. She said she didn't know that she can fall for a girl. I believed her. We dated for a year. I tried to make it work. With all the security mishaps and almost got caught moments. The only problem I had during my relationship with her was, I haven't told her yet 100% of who I am. She knew I was loaded and my parents died and I was the one left with all the responsibilities. She didn't exactly know who my parents were. I planned to tell her multiple times but my lawyers will always go against it. It will compromise the company as well as my safety. So I didn't. I just hid the full story. In my mind, what she doesn't know will not hurt her. Then came a bump in the road of our relationship. The first of many.", she paused, a bit lost for words. Like she's having flashbacks.