We often fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected times.
Life was never fair.
It doesn't stop to help those who have fallen and won't bat a single glance at those crawling on the ground. If you cannot run at its pace, you'll be abandoned and forgotten.
Why did I ever think that it would stop to help me?
I was no longer sure if meeting Blake was something I should've just classified as bad luck or fortune, not when I consider what had happened after that event. My brother is alive, we were doing just fine and lived in a place I wouldn't have thought of in another hundred years.
Perhaps it was quite hypocritical of me to speak of abandoning those who cannot mend for themselves when I, myself, was one of those people firmly rejecting the whole idea of my life getting better.
Was it because of everything that had happened so far that I was still stuck on that thought that the little bundle of happiness I finally managed to put together was going to fall apart the moment I removed my eyes from it?
Or because I've been used to losing things the moment I get them all the time that I now no longer know how to grasp onto those things?
It's how people worked, really. We, humans, could only either accept everything that went against us as the truth or everything that goes in our favor. We can rarely accept both at the same time. It's something I came to understand in my life once I realized how difficult it was to truly be happy. I belonged to the first group, and lately I've been coming to belong to the second one.
Why?
I didn't know.
I no longer knew anything.
I couldn't allow myself to do so. Was adulthood always this difficult?
"Merry Christmas Kay-Kay!" It was the voice of my little brother that pulled me out of my thoughts. No longer did I think about life while staring at the ceiling, the thought hit me so hard reminding me of what my reality was.
He was alive. My little brother was still breathing.
I was happy, truly happy. So even if there was a part of me that refused to move on, I just smiled and continued to walk forward.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Ade." He dashed through the entire living room as he jumped in my arms and I couldn't help but hug him as tight as I could.
To be honest, I was probably just experiencing that what adults call rebellious phase or existential crisis.
"Look what Santa gave me!" Ignoring the nickname, he moved away to show me the toy he was hiding behind his back. It was probably Blake's doing.
Blake in a Santa suit. For some reason, I wanted to see that one.
Why?
"Who would've guessed, that means that you were a good kid this year, now you only need to be even better to get what you truly want for the next one." I told him and he grinned. Kids have no idea how happy they are for believing in Santa. Imagine one wish of yours coming true if you were good for the entire year, then there would no longer be people with regrets.
But no matter how much we wish for it, some things are simply never going to undo themselves. But maybe that's for the best. All those happy and painful things from the past are what define us. Undoing them would be the same as deleting those unique pieces of yourself we possessed, that also give us strength. It's weakness and sadness that teach people of the purest kindness.
If we were all just happy and never knew of pain, we'd all be no different from each other.
So monotonous. And we'd never learn to appreciate life.
The only thing you can do about your past is to use it to change your opinion on the future, after all. Whether we fall or rise after that, it's all up to us humans.
"You mean I can get a bike?" he asked excitedly. Getting back to the present, I nodded.
"Of course, if you're a good boy 'til the next Christmas," I said and he started running around the room; the room he once destroyed. I probably should have scolded him a little, but Blake didn't mind it. I was a bit worried now, he did seem like he'd be a decent father, but he actually seemed like someone who'd spoil children more than me.
Will we really be okay, at this rate?
Forget it. Everything was okay now. Let's worry about those things later.
"Stop zoning out for once in your life, will you?" Blake's voice echoed through the house as he flicked my forehead once again. He really loved to do that, didn't he?
"You don't understand. I'm at that age where even a simple leaf falling to the ground has the power to evoke my reason for existence. Right now, I'm contemplating life.," I mumbled as he raised his eyebrow. How people manage to do that thing with only one eyebrow at time, I will never know.
"Existential crisis? Rebellious phase? Which of these two is it?" He asked, pouring himself some of the coffee that I previously made.
As I said, adults really think of these things first.
I was, ironically, no longer afraid of burning down his house, so I took some liberty of preparing coffee for myself, but I couldn't really drink it. So I'm satisfied by the smell of grounded coffee beans. It's usually Uncle Alfred that finishes my products off.
"You're always flicking my forehead, I'm a pregnant woman, remember?" I grunted, choosing to ignore his previous question, before sneaking past him as I took his cup of coffee to finish making it. To be honest, making coffee has become a process of relaxation for me now. Slowly grinding coffee beans, heating water, carefully mixing the two, adding ingredients and finally making it presentable. As an ex-artist, I have a bit of OCD when it comes to the food I make. It has to be arranged to look nice. Even my drinks. As for myself, hahaâwhat I can't see can't hurt me! Blake didn't complain. He just kept staring at me.
"It is honestly your problem for always zoning out. I only saw that as a chance to bring you back to Earth." He shrugged as if it was nothing before his tone got louder. "Huh? Don't!" He complained as I poured some milk in the coffee, mixing it with sugar at the same time.
"I know what I'm doing, relax," I told him as he groaned.
"I prefer my coffee black. No sugar nor milk, that disg-distasteful substance."
I froze. No one gets away with insulting milk in front of me. Milk is life. Milk is salvation! Milk is the only truth in the world!! Do I poison Blake now? Nah, I'd destroy coffee and that is not the price I was ready to pay for getting rid of him. My thoughts wandered as I added finishing touches to my masterpiece.
"Then I guess we have to change that," I smiled at Child Blake as I handed him the cup of finished product. "Come on. Try it," urging him to go ahead, I grinned as Blake glanced between me and the cup cautiously.
"You're not trying to poison me, right?" He asked and I just continued to smile. In real life, I wouldn't dare.
"Maybe, maybe not. Depends if you could actually die from my tasty specialty," I said, a grin plastering my face. Come young man, see through the truth of the universe and come to appreciate coffee with milk!
"Specialty," he scoffed like a child that was still unsure on whether he should try it or not. To be fair, Blake would sometimes seem quite reliable while at other times he'd act just like a small child. Of course, times when he was reliable aren't actually that powerful since he had that silly look of a father when he looked at me. Perhaps he considered my situation to be a "buy one, get two for free" kind if we included Ayden.
"Yeah, you didn't see, but I also put a bit of chocolate powder in as well," Maybe this was a bad idea after all since he scrunched his face in disgust. Well, if he doesn't try it then he won't know what he is going to be missing.
"I'm not going to drink this," He pushed it away but I grabbed the cup from him and moved it even closer to his face, switching to my puppy face. I did not dare to accept no as an answer.
"Just a sip, if you don't like it, I promise to start drinking the same black coffee as you even though I hate it from the depths of my soul," I said dramatically as heâwhile sighing with that fatherly look like I was a troublesome childâhesitantly took a sip without showing any kind of reaction. Few seconds passed in silence before he shrugged and casually turned around to leave the kitchen and said: "Whenever I want it, you'll bring me this 'specialty' of yours, you've got yourself a new job. As my personal assistant."
I only blinked in confusion at his words. Did that mean that he liked my coffee? Forget the coffee, I just got a job! Wait, what does a personal assistant do? Was he even serious?
What?
Was this serious Blake, fatherly Blake encouraging his children or childish Blake that said those words? Their meaning can differ depending on the answer.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I yelled as I rushed in order to catch up to him who was going back to his study. By now, Ayden has already disappeared somewhere, probably playing with his newest best friend, Alexander, while I was left alone to deal with Blake.
As soon as I caught up to him, I was about to say something, but he interrupted me.
"I meant what I said, you'll bring me this weird thing you call your 'specialty' when I ask for it, and I'll . . . hmm, I'll give you pocket money to play with." His voice was serious, but calm as I just parted my lips before scrunching my eyebrows in confusion towards him.
Fatherly Blake, is that you?
"What does a personal assistant even do?" I asked, suddenly remembering my previous question.
"Bring me coffee, play around. Also, I'll give you a list of people, and if they call me on the phone, you'll direct the call to me but if it's someone other than those on that list, just forget about them and say I'm in Hawaii or whatever you want. Use your imagination." As if this was his thousandth time explaining this set of actions, he patiently guided me with words that were easy to understand. "The only difference is that you won't work at my company, just at our home," he said and I nodded, too occupied with fact that he'd said "our" instead of "my" home.
But I was pretty certain that this was not what P.A. do in real life. What did he mean by "play around?
"Wait, are you even in position to have a personal assistant?" I asked. I didn't know where he worked until I thought about it.
"Kaley, I am the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the United States, so yes, I am in the position where I can have even more than one P.A." He was looking like he couldn't believe that I just asked him that. "You really don't know who I am?" he asked.
I shook my head looking at him curiously. I actually have no idea who he is and what his job is. He might've been a Batman as I previously doubted, or even a vampire. It's a vast world after all.
"Well this is new," he mumbled, gripping his chin as he bit on his lower lip, seemingly pondering about something. The sight was just too much for my innocent eyes to look at and remain calm, so I turned around. He was hot. Calm yourself Kaley, you hormonal girl. Wait! I did not just call hiâ
"Come here," he said, indicating for me to follow to his office as I instantly forgot about my naughty thoughts. Once we entered inside, I was in awe with his black and white themed office. On the other side of the room was a huge door that led to the balcony in front of a perfectly cleaned and organized desk with a leather chair next to it.
"Sit there." He pointed to a chair I went over to before sitting down. It felt so weird sitting in his chair, I felt like I was the boss.
Yeah, that settles it. This was the Fatherly Blake in control.
Soon I felt his presence behind me as his hands went around me to turn on the laptop patiently sitting on the desk. On his background was a photo of a girl with long black hair and heavenly blue eyes just like his. She was gorgeous, and I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Why is she on his PC's background? The photo suddenly disappeared and the web browser opened showing Google as the home page. He entered his name and clicked search making many links appear on the screen.
"Here you go, take a look for yourself. Find out who you are marrying." He chuckled as he once again grabbed his cup and some papers from the desk before moving to a sofa to lie down and skim through them. Well, it's his office after all. Hold on, where was the mouse for this thing? I didn't see where he moved it. It was my second time seeing a laptop in my entire life and the first time it had a mouse attached to it, but there was none here.
Eleven years after the new millennium, and I still don't know how to use a laptop. Way to go Kaley!
"Umm . . . Blake?" I called and he just mumbled some noise back at me. "Where did you put the mouse? I can't find it anywhere," I shyly asked. How could I not pay attention to what he did with it? I felt really stupid.
"I don't have a mouse, use the touchpad, silly," He casually threw back as he kept reading the documents in his hands.
"The touch . . .what?" I mumbled weakly. What the heck was that?
"You've got to be kidding me, is this your first time seeing a laptop?" He asked me, while removing a pair of glasses he had on. Wait, why did he even have glasses?
"Second. And it had a mouse. And it wasn't in a good state as this one." I wanted to add but decided against it.
He stood up and came to look at me as he was trying to solve a puzzle. I only turned my head away, not wanting to deal with his intrigued eyes.
"It's 2011, how come? Don't you have one at your workplace?" he asked and I shook my head in shame. I knew nothing. Probably noticing my discomfort, he only sighed and touched the space under the keyboard, which had two big buttons.
"This is called a touchpad; it serves like a mouse for laptops." He guided me, as if he were explaining the use of new toys to a little child, and I eagerly waited to try. "Just put a finger on it and move it, now pay attention to the arrow on the screen." He continued and the arrow really moved. "Tap once on a link, and it's just like if you were to click on a mouse. Wait, you do know how to use the Internet, right?" he asked and I nodded.
I knew that much, don't underestimate my broken Nokia phone, it can still surf the internet perfectly!
"Good, those two buttons under are like left and right click, do you think you can manage it?" he once again asked and I nodded. I think I got this. "All right, try it," he said and I gladly took over, amazed at this technology. It was so interesting moving a finger across it and watching the arrow on the screen move as well. Maybe in the future, I could directly touch the screen without a need for a touchpad like this. I was so busy with it that I almost jumped when I felt Blake patting my head.
"Read now, and tell me when you're done. You can play games on it if you want later," Fatherly Blake said as he finished his educational session and I nodded before frowning at him. Games? He had games on a laptop? Blake? Like, him? Shaking my head in defeat, I started to read information about him that I never knew before.
But boy, was I amazed by what I learned. Damn, my cabbage turned not only to not be rotten, but a super-premium platinum cabbage that cost billions!
I found an article about him and his company and immediately proceeded to read.
Blake Blackburn, the young rising star of the business field in USA . . .
Well, he really was a bigshot CEO, it seems.
. . . ranked eleventh on Forbes List as of today. He was born on March 25th and some may say that he might've been born under the lucky star. He took over his parent's company when he was just eighteen, while the company was falling down and nobody had hopes for it. However, the Sway & Stray industry became very successful and famous by the time he turned nineteen the following year. After the successful return, businessmen were quick to make a move to acquire assets, but the company remained independent and instead owned more than 70% of the assets two years after. Now, five years later, Sway & Stray can be found as a leading force in all industry branches because of the success of its CEO, Blake Blackburn who owns as much as 49% of shares of S&S without his family.
The only thing remaining now for this diamond twenty-six years old bachelor is to find someone to get married with, but . . .
If, one day, you suddenly learned that your fatherâehemâyour future husband is a big shot among big shots, what would you do?
So, he's twenty-six, born on March twenty-fifth, and managed to raise his company that was basically nothing to the most important business circle on his own, starting from the age of eighteen. Yet, all I managed at eighteen was to get pregnant, but he was like superman or something. I needed to borrow that lucky star from him.
"Wow . . ." was all I could say.
"Everyone has had that same reaction when they found out who I really am . . . well, except for some old geezer I once met from Britain that called me Super Brat, and wasn't impressed at all." He said as he got up from the sofa stretching. And of course, he just so happened to wear a tight white T-shirt allowing me to see all of his muscles flexing beneath the material.
Why, bad Kaley! Go away, horny Kaley!
"How-?" I started but he answered already knowing the rest of my question.
"Hard work and a bit of luck in the beginning I guess. Few gambles and risks with closing deals, gaining support from others and using word games to my side," he said. I took it all in. "So what do you think?"
"Amazing," I replied sincerely since I didn't know what else to say. Super Brat indeed, I give credit to that man whoever he was.
"In that case, get up. We need to get you ready for tonight's party," he said and I gulped. No way, I hated parties!
"What do you mean? I'm fine just as I am now." Really, what was wrong with my outfit? It was warm, comfy, and I didn't look like a monster from Loch Ness in it. It seemed perfect to me.
"Do you have any dresses?" He asked and I stared back at him like he was an alien. Was he kidding? Me, in a dress? No, a big no! Please, I'd rather go naked than wear a dress.
I shook my head.
"That's it, get dressed, we're going shopping"
Nooo!
* * *
Honestly. I came up with the whole cabbage speech while buying cabbage to make a salad at home. Life truly works in a mysterious ways, but anyway: cabbage = love. It might be because I recently got into novels with more mature and older male leads, so I understood how this works. I want one nice cabbage tooooo!!!