REGINA'S P.O.V

"It's him. Asher Braydon Lachlan. The boss."

In a precise moment, so many scenarios had run through my mind...but all of them had ended in me struggling to make things better. My mind formulated multiple hypotheses. If Asher was to remember me as that stranger-become-friend, then that may not only work for me in other ways but in me getting him back too. A possibility to know a long-lost crush was coming back to me but if he was to forget me, then I won't only lose him as a potential friend but also the odds which seem to be working for me. But why would he forget me? I haven't forgotten him. If not all the details but at least he'd have remembered my face. My eyes snapped towards my room where those little stuff toys were lying.

Almost mocking at me and shouting,

"The world is small, you ass."

This situation is weirdly hilarious for me because a part of me is happy for I am finally going to see my stranger again and a part of me is sad because this is not how I expected to see him again. Being in a miserable condition, I'd be asking or more like begging him to hire me so I can have something to feed myself and my sister with.

The time when we met was the best time. The time, when everything was fine. My mom cared for me. My dad wasn't the one he used to be. We had all the luxuries of life. Money was never a problem for us. But then everything changed. I hate to remember anything related to the past three years. They broke my trust and the thing which saddens me the most is that it can't be fixed.

I didn't realize when I had stopped laughing on my own. Hina didn't say a word. She was giving me time to open up myself and I appreciated this gesture. It's hard for me to put my feelings into words. I'd be dying to express but my words would always fail me. Hina never forced me and that's what I want from people. Unfortunately, most of them don't understand even when they think they do.

"Don't think about him." Hina whispered, "It was in your past. You're in a better place now. Look at yourself!"

I grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze,

"He doesn't haunt me anymore. He has nothing on me. I know it's over and he's not coming back." I closed my eyes, pushing all the bad memories of him behind.

"You know what," I continued, " I wasn't thinking about him. I was actually thinking about someone else."

"And who is it?!" She straightened.

"Do you remember I told you about a guy at the fair? Who got me those teddy bears?" I reminded her and she nodded.

"Yes, I do. The ones in your bedroom right?"

I nodded, "Do you remember his name?"

"Uh. Yes. Wait a sec..." she closed her eyes for a moment and suddenly opened it, "Holycow..."

I nodded and shrugged.

"I can't believe this. Is this the same person?" She grabbed the phone again and turned it towards me zooming in on the picture.

"Its him."

"This is amazing. I mean...how is this even possible?! I am shook." She said dramatically dropping her phone and leaning back into the couch.

"Do you think he would remember you?"

"Maybe?" I shrugged again, "We'll have to see."

She nodded in understanding and smiled at me. I smiled back at her and finally we squealed together, letting it all out.

Why does my life take all these turns? I have no idea.

**

3 and a half years earlier

"We can't do this to her." I heard my mom's feeble voice as soon as I entered the house. I could hear them in the living room.

I took slow steps towards the room but stopped immediately when I heard my name.

"We have no other option! Regina is our only hope." I heard my father say. He wasn't my actual father. My father George died after Ana's birth and then my mom married Owen, who already had two kids but they don't live with us. I wonder how they live without their father.

Owen wasn't my favorite. He was a bit suspicious in his ways. I never liked him because he never liked us too. He just wanted money and was interested in my mother's shipping lines, not in his wife.

I heard Ana's little footsteps behind me and I turned around to stop her. Tomorrow was going to be my eighteenth birthday and I was out to collect some balloons. I know that's weird but my mom wanted me to be out of the house for some hours because of some special guests. So, I took Ana with me to the farthest supermarket.

I signaled at twelve-year-old Ana to keep quiet and go back to her room. She did as she was told and my ears went back to the conversation.

"Roman wouldn't allow us any more time. It's going to be either Regina or Ana." I heard Owen say.

"Ana?! She is just twelve years old. For God's sake."

"Then Regina?"

I couldn't hear my mom's voice. There was silence. What were they talking about?

"Roman is coming tomorrow again. If we don't give Regina to him. He's going to kill each and every one of us."

I heard my mom's cry, "Okay! Okay. I'll talk to her."

"You have to." That's the only thing I heard before I left the place and went straight to my room.

I wasn't crying. I wasn't angry. I was just a volcano of mixed emotions which was going to burst into who knows what form.

I waited for my mom and she finally came. I wasn't in a position to conclude anything. I just knew that a person named Roman wants me or my sister otherwise he would kill my family. Why? I don't know.

Mom closed the door behind her as she walked inside. I looked up and gave her a faint smile. She didn't smile back. She walked until she was right next to me, waited for a moment and then sat on the bed beside me.

"How are you?" Her voice was quivering.

"I am alright. What happened?" I asked keeping my attention on the chipped nail paint on my toes.

"We need to talk Regina." She almost whispered but loud enough for me to hear. I nodded.

"Our family is facing a crisis. The whole business, our lives depend upon your decision now." She grabbed my hand and continued, "We lost a deal. And to whom we lost aren't good people. As a backup, they had asked to take you or Ana. They just want you to work for them. Now they've come. Ana is too young."

"So, you want me to go with them?" I asked her and waited for a reply. But it never came. I got up nodding.

"When are they coming?" I asked as I looked around the room.

"Tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

My mom had looked much relieved when I nodded and politely asked her to go to bed as I needed to rest. But little did she know I was not the one to back down. If she thought like that, then it makes me sad that she doesn't even know her own child. Roman Steele was a well-known fraud. He was corrupt and unaccountable because he had influence. The fact that mom didn't suspect me to know Roman was unfathomable. His fraudulent and criminal activities were all over the news.

The next morning didn't bring the new happiness as it always did. I knew what was waiting for me. I knew that I had a fight for myself. They had threatened to kill my family if they didn't pay the debt or fulfill their demand for labor. My mind was working fast but I was unable to work out a plan. I wanted me and my family safe but acquiring it seemed immensely hard.

I was in my room waiting when the sudden hustle startled me. My mom had come to check up on me and warned me to not come downstairs until she comes to fetch me herself.

I could still hear a car engine outside the house. I couldn't help so I went to the window. Shifting the curtains a little, I could see the driveway clearly. Several black cars with tinted windows had lined the driveway. What a cliché. I thought real life would a bit different but I guess they like it the antique way. Freaking drug lords.

My house was a three-storey building with all the luxuries of life in one place. I wouldn't brag but being the daughter of the only female C.E.O of multi-national shipping lines had its own perks. I had a love-hate relationship with my mother. She was ambitious and wanted the best of the world. I don't blame her for that but her choice of having children and neglecting them when she clearly knew what was most important in her life; her business. She would occasionally shower me and Ana with so much love and care that we'd forget all the neglect, probably because of the prospect of getting rid of the longing for her attention. On the other hand, Owen never even pretended to like or care for us.

I saw a bunch of men going inside the house and then it was quiet. There was nothing but the eerie silence that would swallow me up in no time. I was tapping my foot against the hardwood floor anxiously. My heart was beating too fast and I could feel myself jitter.

I began taking deep breaths but then I was done with this crap. In a few seconds, I dashed towards my room and opened the door. It was quiet but I could hear murmurs from downstairs. I took slow steps towards the staircase and the voice began becoming more clearer. I was in mid of the staircase when I heard a strange voice,

"You have already bargained enough. I set the price, not you. You have no say in this. I have paid for her."

"We aren't taking her back. We are just asking to increase the amount. We need it." It was Owen pleading.

My breath was caught in my throat. I wanted to hear more. It was a misunderstanding. I know it. I should wait and listen. No hasty conclusion. My parents wouldn't want anything bad for me.

I kept standing there, still. Waiting for someone to say what I want to hear but no one said anything. The only words I heard were,

"Bring her in. Don't waste my time. I have better things to do."

*
*

How do you say "I love you" in your language?

-Shanza