365 days to fall in love

CHAPTER ONE OF IT TOOK 365 DAYS

The cameras kept clicking and the flashes made him smile, even though he had lost both parents, fame was something he could never lose because he was Carlos Grande, the CEO of Grand Scents company and he had earned his fame through hardwork and diligence. Everyone loved him, he was handsome and every woman's dream, his auburn eye colour was a trait he got from his mother and his black, silky, shoulder length hair that was always neatly trimmed added to his cuteness, Carlos thought as he struck a pose on the red carpet but as he looked at his left, he saw those brown eyes glaring at him and his smile vanished almost immediately. Standing at a distance was Alexandra Cameron, an unpopular journalist who had written various articles about him but she was glaring at him, that was odd so Carlos dismissed the photographers and left the red carpet then he went to her with a smile on his face.

"I see that you can't stop staring at me but I must tell you, I feel quite uncomfortable when people look me in the eye", Alexandra scoffed as she looked at him directly in the eye.

"If looks could kill then you'd probably be dead by now", she said boldly and Carlos' smile disappeared into thin air.

"What? How dare you? Do you know who I am?".

"Of course... you're a shameless man who helps NGO's that deals with children all for fame...you don't love the children, you just feed off of them like a leech so that the world will think you're so kindhearted", Carlos gaped in shock as he stared at her.

"Do you know that you can lose your job with just one word from me?", Alexandra sighed as she looked at the hall where the press conference was taking place then she looked at Carlos.

"Go ahead", she simply said as she tried to leave but he held her hand, she turned back in shock as she quickly removed her hand from his grip.

"What? You should be begging me to keep my mouth shut".

"Being in a high position doesn't make you a god... you're still a human being", she suddenly said and it caught him off guard, his eyes suddenly widened in shock as he looked at her.

"It's you...the anonymous blogger who keeps saying bad things about me on Twitter...that was the recent blog...what you just said".

"Yes...it's me so what are you going to do?".

"I...will make sure you lose your job...it's a promise", he narrowed his eyes as he glared at her, Alexandra suddenly saw a mechanic fixing a car so she went there and grabbed a spanner, Carlos stared at her awestruck and her next action surprised him more. Alexandra punctured the tyres of his car and returned the spanner then she walked up to him.

"Now, you have a good reason to get me fired", she said without blinking then she entered the hall. Carlos turned to look at her in shock but surprisingly, he smiled.

★★★★★

"Did you really puncture his car tyres?", Kafy asked Alexandra as they sat in a coffee shop. Alexandra looked at her best friend and smiled, Kafy had always been worried about her and they had shared everything together, Kafy was the only one who always supported her, whose shoulders was always readily available whenever she needed to cry, even when she had lost her father and needed relief so it was only natural for Kafy to feel like exploding upon hearing the news.

"Alex...I'm talking to you!", Kafy said as she hit Alexandra's shoulder and she jerked back to reality.

"What's wrong?", Kafy gaped as she stared at Alexandra but she seemed relaxed as she sipped her tea.

"Are you out of your mind, Alex? You punctured the tyres of the CEO of Grand Scents and you're so relaxed? You could lose your job! Think about your mother, how will she feel?", Alexandra dropped the cup of coffee as her countenance changed.

"I'll get going now, Kafy...it's getting late", she stood up and sighed as she turned to leave but she suddenly heard.

"You miss her, right?", Alexandra sighed and left and Kafy couldn't help but feel sad for her.

★★★★★

Everytime it got cold, Alexandra missed her mother and everytime the sun was like a burning furnace, she missed her too. They had not seen each other in five years and it was as a result of the marriage of her mother to Mr. David, a man with two children; Fernando and Alphonsa. Alphonsa had always acted hostile towards Alexandra but Fernando was the loving one who always considered her to be his biological sister. Mr. David loved Alphonsa the most so Alexandra was sent to a boarding school and for five years, she had not seen her mother. She had an apartment and she lived alone, she had struggled to survive all by herself and everytime she thought about it, she ended up in tears. She sighed as she climbed the stairs to her apartment, still lost in thought.

"Look who's back from work", she suddenly heard and as she looked up, she saw Fernando. His arms were wide open as he stared at her, she exhaled as she ran into his arms with a heavy heart.

"Fernando! You're back", she said, happily and he released her.

"Of course...I'm back and I plan to spend the night with you... telling you stories of how I survived in the Amazon forest", Alexandra frowned as she removed her keys from her pocket and opened the door.

"Really? I thought you went to study at Austria...did the plane crash at the Amazon forest?", she asked without any expression on her face so Fernando frowned as he entered her house.

"Do you always have to be so mean? You could have at least heard about the adventures", Alexandra dropped her bag and smiled as she held his hands then she looked at him.

"You're still so childish, you keep forgetting that you're older...I don't want to hear about exaggerated stories...how did you cope over there? Did you make friends? Did you study well? Did you miss me? Those are the questions you should answer", Fernando smiled as he patted her head.

"Wow...my little sister is all grown up now".

★★★★★

Alexandra came out of the changing room and Kafy gasped, she wore a red, short, skimpy gown which revealed her curves and the red lipstick on her lips made her look more sexy and 'sexy' was definitely not in Alexandra's dictionary, she kept pulling the dress down so Kafy held her hand.

"Stop it already...you look just like those ladies at the brothel...they won't notice a thing".

"I have to save the child that's being kept there this night".

"I thought this was about writing an article on their immoral acts".

"It's more than that...that little girl must feel so scared and as a human being, I have to help her", Kafy smiled and patted her head.

"Wow... you've grown up so fast".

★★★★★

Carlos could hear the sound of music coming from the brothel and he knew that it was time to save that little girl so he stood up and was about to leave his office when his aunt entered, he was shocked to see her there. Lorna Grande was his father's sister and she had always been so hard on him, she rarely visited him so he was surprised.

"I feel honoured that you'd grace me with your presence, aunt Lorna".

"Quit the sarcasm, Carlos...I am here for serious business", Carlos' smile vanished as she placed some documents on his table, he looked at it then he looked at her.

"What's this?", she took a step forward with a stern look on her face.

"I want to buy all the shares you own in this company", Carlos exhaled as he stared at her, he scoffed as he handed the documents back to her then he passed her.

"Carlos...I don't know where you intend to go to this night but no matter what you do...don't ruin the reputation of your father", Carlos stopped in his tracks for a while but he finally left and she sighed.

★★★★★

The disco bulb couldn't allow Alexandra to see clearly, the thick smell of cigarettes was irritating and she couldn't wait to save that child from those ruthless people, she saw rich and famous men entering various rooms with different prostitutes and she felt disgusted but something caught her eye. Two prostitutes held a tray each which contained some fruits and water and they were heading towards a secluded area at an entirely different part of the brothel so she followed them slowly, keeping up at a slow pace so that she wouldn't be noticed then when she got the opportunity, she grabbed a vase and entered the room but she only saw the little girl.

"Watch out!", the girl shouted but it was too late, Alexandra felt a sharp pain at her back and she fell to the floor, that was when she realized that she had fallen into their trap, one of the prostitutes grabbed her by her hair, the pain was excruciating and she felt like her scalp would pull out.

"Who are you?", the second prostitute asked and Alexandra smiled.

"The one who'll save this child from your evil clutches", she said and immediately kicked her, she fell on the floor, groaning in pain then Alexandra turned and pushed the first prostitute then she carried the vase and hit her, she fainted immediately. The little girl was amazed, Alexandra's hair was scattered across her face but she didn't care, she quickly untied the little girl and they ran out of that room. They kept running till they got to the exit but Alexandra heard the voice of the second prostitute she had kicked, she knew that she was close by so she bent down and held the girl's shoulder as she panted.

"Go...they can't catch both of us at the same time so run...and don't look back, okay?", the girl smiled and nodded.

"By the way, my name is Tasha", Alexandra pecked the forehead of the eight year old girl and smiled so Tasha ran out while Alexandra spotted a hallway and she ran there, she suddenly heard the sirens of the police. She knew that they were there for a raid and reporters would definitely be there so she entered a room and closed the door as she breathed heavily.

"Who are you?", she suddenly heard and turned to see the person who happened to be in the same room with her; it was Carlos. She was surprised to see him at the brothel, he slowly walked up to her as he tried to recollect where he had seen her before because despite the heavy make-up, she looked familiar and just then, he remembered those brown eyes. Those eyes that could pierce through the strongest of hearts with just a stare.

"You? What are you doing here and why are you dressed like this?", Alexandra pushed him and sat on the bed as she looked at the floor then she looked at him and stood up.

"How did you recognize me? I thought this make-up was quite heavy", Carlos came closer and she took a step backward as she stared at him, suspiciously.

"I recognized the only person who dared to look me in the eye", he suddenly said and she simply stared at him as her heart skipped a beat.

"Open this door", they suddenly heard and they knew that they would not be spared if the police were to catch them there. The door knob suddenly turned and Alexandra's eyes widened in shock, Carlos suddenly remembered his aunt's words, "...don't ruin the reputation of your father", the door was opening and there was only one thing Carlos could think of; he grabbed hold of Alexandra and kissed her lightly on the lips, her eyes widened in shock as she stared at him, just then, the police entered the room along with the reporters so Carlos released her and smiled then he looked at the police officers.

"Oh, I see you've caught me with my fianceé", Alexandra's eyes widened in shock as she stared at him.