Rayn

"Sir, Ms.Socrose is here to meet you." My PA announced in the dialer.

"Send her in please." I replied.

Within a few seconds, my doors slammed open. There goes a manner called knocking before entering. Well, we can't expect anything highly of Anna.

"How dare you, You son of a bitch?" She snapped on entering the room.

"Pray tell me what you are talking about?" I said quietly.

"What is going through that dirty mind of yours? Why the hell you spread this rumor about us collaborating our school?" Anna shrieked.

"Yes, we are. Aren't we?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, we are not." She said.

"Yes, we are."

"No, we are not. Never ever is that gonna happen."

"Don't you get it, Anna? We must do it. I am sending a friendly offer. Our father's made a mistake by breaking apart. We must reimburse them. A collaboration would be a perfect solution."

"A collaboration would be disastrous."

"It will be the best idea ever, Anna. I know behind all those arrogant bitch attitudes of yours, there is a good human being. You know very well this is the only solution.   Also, if we did formulate the project, It would be bad for Socrose. Socrose could end with this. So, I am calling you to be my partner, not just a collaborator."

"Why? Why would you want to do that? Why would you want to help me? You are supposed to be happy because Socrose is demolishing. You should be happy since that bitch Hazel now owns half of our prestige."

"Why can't you stop grudging on Hazel?" I asked softly.

"Because she took everything I have or wanted. She got you, She got Asher, She got Scholarship to Grace, and She even destroyed my family. She broke my family, still, she gets to have everyone's affection. Now all of you see, don't you? That bitches real face. She is nothing but a leech, money, and power-sucking leech. She would destroy anyone whom she sees as a threat. She is just like her bitch mother."

"Don't speak like that Anna. Hazel has gone through a lot, so do you. But you don't even know, how much misery she went through. Also, What do you mean by 'She got me' since when do you care about Hazel being friends with me?"

"Did I said that? It must be a slip."

"Oh no! I don't think so. I think you really like me."

"I don't and stop being stupid."

"Oh! I think you are in love with me. Don't tell me I was your first crush and all. Is that why you always liked taunting the girls who showed some interest in me?" I asked but I noticed she standing there numb.

'Does she really like me?' I thought.

"You like me, huh?" I asked again.

"No... No way you son of a bitch. Why would I ever like you? You are nothing but a piece of an asshole." She cracked.

"Bah! Why not Anna banana? I am handsome, Sexy, rich, funny and moreover, I would be the greatest boyfriend the world has ever seen." I boasted.

"Egoistic man, that's what you are." Anna snapped.

I stood from my desk and walked around to where she was standing.

"I am an honest man and egoistic is your exes." We were close enough to share our breath and I could feel my heart beating very fast.

"You... Anna. You are more than the bitch you showcase to others. You could be good but your life is not allowing you to be one. You hate Hazel because you think she is responsible for your miserable life. Guess what, nobody but you- yourself is responsible for it. You chose to be with people who never really care about you. You chose to fall in love with those who really didn't know about you. Life is sometimes nothing but a Holocaust. It would entrap you into its misery but you need to choose the right direction to get out of it." I said. I was holding back from myself to not kiss her or hold her within me.

"Who are you to say I did wrong? What do you even know about me?" Anna snapped.

"I know because..." I almost said my feeling when the intercom rang." It doesn't really matter but I know you more than you know yourself. You were with Hayden because he was very popular not because you loved him. Now he is happy with his true love."

"Love? He is dating someone new?" She inquired.

"You didn't know, didn't you? You know about it very soon. Also, Asher... Asher loves Hazel. Even though circumstances changed now, don't hope that you can crawl onto his arms since Hazel is not there now."

"Asher doesn't care about Hazel anymore. I wonder what spell she cast on him."

"I know that you were the one who hired those boys for hurting Hazel long back. I found it from them after I beat the shit out of them. I should have reported it. I should have put a harmful prank on you for hurting my best friend. I didn't say about it to anyone because I know you were blindfolded by the shit going on in your life. You thought by hurting Hazel, you could get Asher. Guess what, your plan was what that brought them together in the first hand. Nothing would have started if you didn't do it. You always think why Asher is blinded with his love for Hazel, the answer is right in front of you. You just fail to see it." I say hoping she would see what she really needed to see.

The door opened as Anna started to say something.

"I need to speak with you, Rayn." I saw Asher standing near the door.

"Asher?" Anna whispered. Her arms were shaking and I know it was because of her fear that Asher might be heard us talking about the quotation she gave long back to hurt Hazel.

"Rayn, I need to speak with you privately." He said to me without looking at her.

"Anna, would you give us a moment?" I asked her. She nodded and walked away from the room. As she reached near Asher, She stopped at looked at him but his face was stone cold. So, she finally went out of the room.

"What is it?" I asked as she left the room.

"I want to be your partner." He said.

"I am not gay, you know." I joked but looking his stone face I understood it's not the time for any joke.

"I want to be a partner in Grace Central." He cleared.

"Is it one of your tricks to get to Hazel?" I asked.

"No, Everything is not about Hazel. I am moving on just like she wanted. I want to be a partner of this project because I wanted to do something for Abid. If he was there, then he would have used his own money into his project. The money I have with me belongs to him too. So, I won't do it for him." He explained.

"Alright. If it doesn't involve Hazel then I am okay with it. Don't think that we are friends again because of it. Since we really need the money and you are donating your 5 million for Abid, You can be a partner too."

"I'm transferring 1 million for tomorrow's concert today itself." He said.

"Okay." I said. He looked at me with his cold face for few seconds and turned to leave.

"Why do you still love Hazel?" I asked him.

"Why do you love Anna?" He turned back and asked.

"Love is a very difficult problem to understand." I said laughing. He nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me about Hazel and the baby?" He asked.

"Why would I? Why did you just break her heart for your brother if you loved her?" I ask him.

"Alright! Alright! Let's put that all beside us and can't we just move on?"

"Move on? How do you expect me to forget what you did to Hazel? How can I forgive you when you are the reason why I lost my best friend?"

"Man, I will never be able to forget that you and my sister backstabbed me. But you know what, I know very well that I am a reason for what Hazel had to go through. By losing her, I lost myself. So I don't really care what you both did, I have to live my whole life accepting those truths." He said.

"It's easier to move on for you, Right?" I asked him.

"Rayn, I just want to do something for a brother I lost. A bother whom I couldn't even get to call a brother. All I am asking is to take my fucking money and make me the partner of the project. I am going now and think about it. You want money and I have my conditions." He said arrogantly and walked away.

"You know what Asher Amiri, I thought you might have changed but you are still the old arrogant Spoiled brat." I said.

I expected him to turn and show his middle finger. But Asher opened the door and walked away without even a glare. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe fucking Asher Amiri Ross did in fact changed.