Chapter 5 5

"It's been a while since we've met, yes." said the man.

I was choked up. I opened my mouth to gape. His gaze was so close that I could see the reflection of my face in his brilliant irises. The alluring scent of perfume could even be smelled in my nose. Our position was very uncomfortable for others to see. Meanwhile, hearing her say my name in a familiar tone reminded me of how we were related.

I was confused about how to respond. The status between us was so juxtaposed between greeting her informally or maintaining a formal attitude as a respectable socialite. "Right, it's been a while since we met. How are you?" In the end, this was the only sentence I could utter after struggling to sort it out.

"Yes, I'm doing well. You must be happy on the day of your second wedding anniversary. I congratulate you." said this man known as Hayden Ecliamoth. One of the heirs to the throne of the Avex business empire who would lead as president in the future.

"Thank you for coming to our little event. Have you met my husband?" I asked.

"No, I haven't, I was just walking around and happened to bump into you from above." Hayden said.

For a moment his answer left me speechless. Given my husband's current activities, it would be impossible for him to meet with Mr. Hayden. I had to buy some time. "For now my husband is talking to his parents, so if....."

"No need, I just want to see you." Hayden connected with my hesitant words. I suddenly looked up at him surprised. Then hurriedly broke eye contact from him, and my brain wondered why he only wanted to see me?

Hayden chuckled crisply. Making me, who heard it, flinch instantly. This time, why was he even laughing?

"You're still the same as before. I miss you even more." he said.

Suddenly, my romantic hairs stood on end. Those words of him missing me instantly had a shocking effect on me. My whole blood seemed to rustle strangely, my breathing felt increasingly labored, the ground beneath my feet slowly became blurry.

Then I realized my body's sudden melancholic response, that what Hayden said just now had reopened the memories of the past between the two of us.

I can't be sentimental like this in front of Mr. Hyacinth!

"Vivian, I miss you." Hayden said it firmly. It put more weight on my heart to restrain myself from lunging at him in my arms. "Look into my eyes, I want to see your beautiful eyes." Hayden said again.

Hyacinth's command was directed at me, so all I had to do was obey his words. Then I slowly raised my face until our eyes met again with a look of longing.

"Didn't you miss me?" asked Hayden.

"I .... I missed you too." I said in response.

The corner of Hayden's lips lifted. He smiled faintly at me. "You used to hug me if you missed me." Hayden quipped. He immediately used his ace in the hole on me.

Suddenly I stammered trying to refute his words that seemed to tease me with his lopsided grin. "I apologize for my impudence in the past!" I bowed with great fear. Although our family was a conglomerate, we were nothing compared to the power of the Hayden family. His family was at the top of the heap, topping the entire list of the richest companies in the city.

"Don't be like that. Aren't we friends? So can you stop being so formal when it's just the two of us here?" Hayden said.

I straightened my back again. Raising my gaze to look into his eyes and seeing Hayden's wide grinning face looked so cheerful. This man's figure had not changed from the one I knew. The Hayden of the past, was a friendly, positive and energetic young man.

Who would have thought that we were five years younger than me. Meeting him face-to-face today, after many years of not seeing each other, made me feel reminiscent of him. A beautiful and happy memory that can never be repeated.

"Okay, Hayden." I said with a smile.

"Well, I see. I'm glad you're calling me by my name instead of Mr. and all that." Hayden complained with a disgruntled expression. The invisible wall seemed to collapse when he showed me his true face. So now there were no more boundaries between us to talk to each other casually.

The quiet and calm atmosphere, the gentle breeze, without dozens of pairs of eyes watching, without any tight escorts from either side, in this situation made me feel like an exclusive person who could come face to face with the future leader of a top company.

"But, how did you fall from the tree?"

Suddenly his question left me speechless. Err, what should I answer?

"How about we go to the park?" I offered to change the topic.

"Sure."

Luckily Hayden didn't demand an answer from me. We walked together to a labyrinthine garden. It was located behind Alaric's vast residence.

We passed through the first archway of the maze garden. The walls of the maze were made of meter-and-a-half tall vines. Since I was already quite familiar with the paths in the garden maze, we quickly reached the center point of the maze.

There was a white gazebo with a large fish pond that made the place look beautiful. "Do you still like fishing in the river? There's no way, right?" I said as I thought about her.

Hayden chuckled blandly. "My duty keeps me from doing things like I used to." He said awkwardly.

I had to change to a more casual topic. To be honest this meeting made me quite nervous so I had a bit of trouble breaking the ice. Hayden had to start first for a pleasant conversation.

"Vivian." Hayden suddenly stopped in his tracks. I, who was one step ahead of him, stopped and turned towards him. "You haven't answered my question yet." Hayden said demandingly.

I tilted my head with an uncomprehending look. Then Hayden explained what he meant. "Why did you fall out of the tree? I'm sure you didn't slip off the balcony railing at the height of an adult's stomach, right? Unless it was intentional." I didn't expect him to bring that up.

Seeing how serious Hayden's face was at the moment made me think that he wouldn't change the topic before the question got an answer from me. I can't say that I'm hiding from my husband who just finished making love, can I?

"I'm sorry, Hayden I was really careless earlier. I was just trying to save that little bird on the branch that got its foot entangled in the rope. Then I crawled to get it and unexpectedly the branch cracked because it couldn't bear my weight, so it made me fall instantly and fell on you who happened to be below."

I hope this excuse makes sense. Hayden should believe this one, even though it's just a story that suddenly popped into my head.

Hayden didn't respond immediately. He was silent and just stared at me intently. It made me worry because I thought he wouldn't easily believe that fake story. Obviously, what fool would believe my reasoning? But, right now I didn't have any other more logical explanation.

"You almost fell and got hurt. Next time you should call your servant for help," Hayden said. His eyebrows bent almost together. He looked at me with his worried face.

I was dumbfounded. The excuse I gave managed to make him believe me? It was a relieving response for me. Slowly, the tension in my shoulders loosened. I drew a relieved smile. "Well it just happened without thinking." I grimaced with a wide smile.

"Do you still like climbing trees recklessly?" said Hayden, and I gasped in surprise. "You used to climb trees so vigorously, you even fell on me once, causing my skinny body to become flattened."

My face instantly heated up. Hayden still remembered that embarrassing incident!

"When I was a kid. Children are usually very curious. Hahaha! Why do you still remember it? Hahaha! You're exaggerating, how can a human body suddenly become flat." I could only laugh crisply.

Of all our childhood memories that became stories, what Hayden said was not just one embarrassing incident for us, especially for me.

There were many other things that made Hayden a victim of my carelessness in childhood. It made me unable to calmly worry about Hayden if he played with me for fear that he would get hurt again and again.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you laugh." Hayden commented. That instantly made me stop laughing and stare at him wide-eyed. I was stunned to find that his soft smiling face with the look in his eyes as he looked at me seemed to have a warm and deep feeling.

Hayden's figure remains unchanged in my eyes. He was still the adorable little brother. Suddenly, I felt something odd creeping into my mind. I couldn't guess what it was. Like an unclear premonition.

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