Melting Hearts- Hate to Love You

SHEENA

Sheena slid the bright yellow curtains of her bedroom window to let the sunlight in before pushing open the window. The cool morning breeze caressed her face and exposed skin as she rubbed her hands on her arms while looking up at the sky.

“Good morning, Drake,” she whispered and stared at the sky as her heart felt heavy with emotions, remembering their old days.

With a sad smile, she turned around and went on with her daily routine before walking out of the apartment building.

She was checking the contents of her bag while walking at a fast pace when her head hit something or someone.

“Ow!” She looked up to a charming face with piercing blue eyes, dirty blond hair and a wide smile.

“Cyrus! What are you doing here?”

“Get in the car first. Look at the time!” Cyrus opened his car door for her and she thought about it for a few seconds before sliding in.

“Thanks!”

Cyrus got in the driver's seat and they drove away.

“So! What brought you here?”

“A woman!” Cyrus took a quick glance at her as she gave him a bewildered look.

He laughed loudly in his gruff voice and said,

“Look at your face. You can't believe it, right?”

Sheena stayed silent and stared at him with an amused smile while twirling a few strands of her silky blonde hair around her finger.

“Okay, hear me out,” Cyrus began.

******

The car came to a stop in front of the Beans & Cocktail Cafe Bar. Even though she'd worked here for over two years, the sight of it still made her smile. The wooden signboard gave it a cosy vibe, and the violets in the hanging baskets matched the blue paint on the front door.

“See you later!” Sheena said with a faint smile and was about to open the car door when her phone rang and Little Blooms Orphanage caller ID flashed on the screen.

“Good morning, Agatha.”

“Good morning, Shaila. Are you coming today?”

“Of course! I'll be there after lunch. Why? Is everything alright?”

“Actually Shaila, we have a problem.”

“What happened?”

“We found a little boy crying outside the orphanage early this morning. We waited to see if someone would come to pick him up but no one came. There is a bag with him too but we'll talk about that later. Right now he is crying nonstop and no one has been able to calm him down yet. All the kids here love you, maybe you can….”

“I am coming right now. Don't worry,” Sheena spoke up before Agatha finished her sentence.

“But the cafe?”

“Rose will handle everything. Don't you worry,” She ended the call and Cyrus looked at her questioningly.

“Do you need to go to the orphanage? I can take you.”

“Actually…..yes. But you shouldn't slack off from your responsibilities. Won't it waste your time?”

“Nah. Don't worry. Let's go.”

“Wait a minute. I have to inform Rose.”

She went inside the cafe while Cyrus waited in the car. Sheena greeted everyone at the cafe and asked her assistant Rose to handle the cafe without her for a day.

Sheena opened the car door after five minutes and slid in.

“Let's go!”

“Shaila, the mother of all kids, reporting for duty,” Cyrus said in a teasing tone, making Sheena laugh.

“For how long are you going to use this fake identity?” Cyrus asked and Sheena quieted down.

She shrugged her shoulders and said,

“As long as Rosario is free or alive.”

“Why don't you return home? You'll be protected 24/7 and can live freely. You were once my secretary and financial advisor. Now because of this fake identity, you can't do what you are qualified for. Don't you think you are wasting your bright career?”

She shook her head and Cyrus added,

“Okay! But at least let James appoint a couple of bodyguards for you here.”

“Cyrus! Stop. You know I can't let anyone here know my real identity or they'd be in danger. What if Rosario ever doubts me and uses others to get to me? My fake identity is better for everyone here.”

Cyrus stayed silent for some time before speaking again as Sheena was looking at the street passing by.

“It's Drake's death anniversary today, right?”

She turned her head towards Cyrus and gave a sad smile before nodding her head.

“You remember?”

“Of course. Christ…..uh..sorry.”

Sheena let out a forced chuckle and said,

“It's okay. You don't need to stop thinking or talking about your brother or abandon him because of me.”

“Of course. How can I abandon my only brother who is more like a father to me? I just didn't want to hurt your feelings.”

The rest of the ride went quietly until Little Blooms Orphanage came into view. Sheena bid goodbye to Cyrus and got out of the car.

As soon as she put her feet inside, pushing open the orphanage gate, a little kid's cries fell on her ears. The old watchman greeted her with a smile and she greeted back before walking ahead.

“Here you go. Let's see who this little guy is,” she muttered while walking inside.

Entering the receiving room, she saw one of the staff holding a small child who was sobbing incessantly. This must be the new arrival that they'd called her for.

“Hello baby,” she cooed and Maggie turned around.

Sheena saw the little boy's face and her heart skipped a beat. She walked towards them with her arms spread out.

“Come, baby, come to me,” she said and took him in her arms as he clutched the heart-shaped pendant resting just below her neck.

Seeing the turquoise blue eyes, and sandy blond hair, Sheena blinked back her tears as her heart was filled with longing for Drake whose eyes and hair perfectly matched with the kid.

Thankfully, the boy calmed down in just 5 minutes after she took him and everyone sighed in relief.

“You are a magician, Shaila. No matter what the problem is or how much a child is crying, they always calm down as soon as they are with you.” Maggie smiled and caressed the little boy's head.

Sheena smiled at her when they heard a phone ringing while a middle-aged brunette walked towards them in a green maxi dress.

Agatha smiled at Sheena before picking up the receiver.

Sheena was playing with the little boy and Maggie was busy with the other kids when Agatha squealed.

Sheena looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she was beaming with happiness.

“Guess what? We are having a donor this evening. The chairman of a multi-billion dollar company will be donating a huge sum of money to our orphanage. Let's get to work and prepare for his welcome. He'll be here by 7 pm.”

“God bless him,” Sheena whispered, thanking the donor while Maggie, Agatha and the older kids rejoiced.

******

Christian got out of his Maybach while buttoning his navy blue suit and looked up at the skyscraper with Blue Diamond Hotel written in cursive on top of it.

Christian saw three of his staff waiting for him. They were a formidable team, without Amelia to organise him and his finances, Eric to manage his projects and Remmy to keep him safe, he wouldn't have made it to Forbes Richlist within 2 years of taking over as the chairman of Adams & Sons Med Tech.

It had been 5 years since he had taken over his father's company at the age of 29, which he wasn't willing to do but had to, because of his younger brother Cyrus' insistence.

He walked ahead with Remmy while Amelia and Eric followed them inside the hotel. They were guided by the hotel manager to the conference hall where the client was waiting.

As Remmy pushed the door open, Mr Hilton Bowman, their new client, stood up along with 2 more people accompanying him.

“Good evening Mr Adams.” He stretched out his hand at Christian.

They shook hands and everyone greeted each other before taking their seats.

Eric presented the details of the new medical instruments which the Adams and Son's Med Tech was going to assemble in their country using the parts manufactured by the Bowmans in London.

Amelia noted down the client's conditions and put forth theirs. The meeting went smoothly and at last, they signed the deal.

“Thank you Mr Adams for the amazing idea of developing this new instrument. It will prove to be a breakthrough in the medical industry,” Mr Bowman said while shaking hands with Christian.

“The pleasure is ours, Mr Bowman. Thank you,” Christian smiled and they had their lunch together in the hotel's restaurant.

“This is my favourite restaurant. I am glad you chose this hotel instead of our office. I love good food and it's a cherry on the cake if it's in the Blue Diamond Hotel,” he said with a big smile and Christian smiled back.

“The Chairman and Managing Director, Mr James Anderson, is a dear friend of mine. So obviously I'll choose this place. I am glad you like the food, I love their food too.”

“Oh!! What a nice surprise! So you know him personally ?” he said in a cheerful voice and Christian nodded.

The rest of the lunch went smoothly and Christian went to his room in the presidential suite.

He was in London for his business deal and for a donation from his company. He had researched orphanages in London for yearly donations and one orphanage stood out in them which had the largest occupancy and was in dire need of money. He felt a pull towards it.

After he read about this particular orphanage, he couldn't look at the others because his mind kept wandering to that one orphanage. So he had decided to donate there.

He picked up his phone from the side table and dialled a number.

“Amelia!” he said after she received his call.

“Yes sir! Do you need something?” she asked in a cheerful tone and he sighed while rolling his eyes.

“Did you call the Little Blooms Orphanage about the donation ?”

“Yes sir! I already did just before we met with Mr Bowman.”

He thanked her and ended the call with a frustrating sigh as Amelia's subtle advances made him irritated at times.

She was good at her work and that was the only reason he hadn't fire her yet.

“Why do I feel this strange pull towards this orphanage?” he asked himself and opened the laptop once again to study their website but didn't find anything strange.

His eyes fell upon the list of staff of the orphanage which he ignored and was about to close the laptop when his eyes caught one name.

“Shaila!”