Chapter 5 Shadows of the past

Landon's Pov.

I walked along the winding path, my eyes scanning the surroundings with a mix of curiosity and detachment. The sun shone brightly, casting a warm glow over the lush greenery. I felt a slight sense of unease, my mind still reeling from the events of the past few days. I was unsure if I wanted to take a step forward or two steps back.

"It's up to you, son... What we want doesn't matter, your happiness is most important," my parents had said to me when I had approached them for advice, which was of no help to my predicament. As I walked, I massaged my temple, feeling a headache coming.

"This is ridiculous!"

'Hey, man!' Ethan exclaimed, clapping me on the back out of nowhere, his voice cutting through my thoughts, and his booming laughter echoing through the air. 'What's up?'

I scowled in response, clearly irritated, and thinking I should get a bell for this idiot who loved to play ninja for some reason.

'Not much. Was enjoying the scenery up until you came,' I said. To that, Ethan grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Scenery, huh? You sure you wouldn't rather spend the day with me? We both know you always enjoy my company."

"Of course I do." I rolled my eyes, a hint of sarcasm creeping into my voice. Ethan chuckled, unfazed by my dry response, and I chose to ignore him as we both continued walking, but apparently, he was having none of that, so he decided to open his mouth yet again.

"Yeah, right. So, did you meet up with her today, or are you still playing cat and mouse?" That managed to halt my steps briefly, and I hesitated, feeling a twinge of guilt as I sighed in defeat.

'I...I don't know, Ethan. It's complicated, and no matter which way I think about it, I still end up at a crossroad.' Ethan nodded thoughtfully, his expression serious for once.

'Maybe that's the problem, Landon. You're thinking too much. If you don't want to lose her, then you need to act fast.' My frown only deepened, a hint of skepticism in my voice.

'Easy for you to say, Ethan. I just want this to be over and done with, but for what it's worth, you are right, and I might as well talk to her.' That was the end of the conversation, and we continued walking in complete silence.

After a couple of minutes, we approached the hall she was supposed to be in, and I could see that it was packed with people. Ethan clapped me on the back again and said, 'I gotta run, bro. You got this.' I nodded, watching as he disappeared into the crowd.

My eyes scanned the hall, landing on her standing on stage with confidence and passion radiating from her like a beacon. As I watched her, I couldn't even understand why I was at crossroads in the first place. She was definitely worth any sacrifice, and I sure as hell did not want to lose her.

'Then tell her that, you dimwit!' Ethan's voice rang in my head, to which I scoffed at the thought that his annoying self had managed to invade my inner voice. But he, or it, was right, so a plan began to form in my mind.

A romantic candlelight dinner, just the two of us, to clear the air and hopefully start over. I could almost picture the look in her eyes, the way they would sparkle in the soft light as she would listen to everything I had to say. Hopefully, it would go well.

As I watched her on stage, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. She commanded the audience's attention with ease, her voice clear and confident. When she finished, the room erupted into applause, and I joined in, my eyes locked on hers.

I made my way through the crowd, congratulating her on her speech. 'You were amazing up there,' I said, my voice genuine.

She smiled which was a good sign that I had made the right decision. 'Thanks,' she replied, her voice husky.

I noticed the way she fidgeted with her hands, a habit she had when she was anxious. It was a small endearing thing but, everytime she did that something crazy usually followed so I look at her deeply searching for nothing in particular, but her eyes give nothing away.

Thus I shrug it off and we chatted for a few minutes, exchanging small talk about her speech and the event that was quickly drawing to a close. As we talked, I couldn't help but notice the way her small smile made being in this rowdy room worth it, which was something I enjoyed a lot.

Time passed and eventually I glanced at my watch. 'We should get going,' I said. 'I told my mom we'd be having lunch with them today.'

She nodded, her expression agreeable. 'Sounds good to me.' she grabbed her bag and said hello to a few friends before returning by my side then we walked out of the hall together, the warm sunlight enveloping us.

As we strolled, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness in a good way. It was a feeling I'd grown accustomed to over time, the jitters, self consciousness and the occasional stutters. How was I supposed to tell her about the date I had planned just moments ago if I was a Reck of nerves!! Darn!

"Tell my Dad that I have plans... Yes I'll do so tonight." I hear her tell someone on a call. My driver pulled over in front of us just as she hung up and I opened the door.

"Shall we?" I asked to which she nodded and got in with me doing the same afterwards.

The drive to my house would be a long one and my nerves were all over the place despite my calm front so I suggested we go shopping to which she agreed.

Eventually, we stopped at a quaint little shop on the way to my family's mansion, picking out a few gifts for my parents. She browsed through the shelves, her eyes scanning the various items on display with little interest while I on the other hand was trying to figure out how I would invite her out tonight. "You've done so a million times before! " my subconsciousness screams.

"Yes, but this is our first big issue, so I don't know how to approach a date when we haven't cleared the air yet! " I screamed back internally.

"Wimp!" it curses me as I do my best to suppress the voice in favor of actually focusing on the task at hand, not that scowling at everything on display was any help.

After a few minutes, we settled on a beautiful vase and a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The shopkeeper wrapped our purchases with a smile, and once in our possession we continued on our way.

Two hours later we pulled up to the mansion and immediately walked in. I knew my family would be warm and welcoming as always so I fell behind with a slower gait in comparison to her, trying to organize my thoughts because doing so with her scent invading my senses had already proved to be futile.

I took her hand eventually, leading her to the dinning room and My mother immediately came forward, a bright smile on her face. 'Darling!' she exclaimed, opening her arms for a hug.

My father appeared behind her, a warm smile on his face too. 'Ah, wonderful to see you, dear,' he said, kissing her cheek.

My grandfather stood in the background, 'Hello Dear,' he said, his voice a bit gruff and I couldn't tell why.

'Hello, Grandpa,' she replied, her voice neutral, whether or not she had noticed she did not say anything

We all sat down the warm atmosphere enveloping us together with the tempting smell of our lunch that was currently being brought in by the servants. Meanwhile, My mother chatted amiably, asking her questions about her interests and hobbies. My father listened attentively, his eyes twinkling with warmth.

'It's so great to see you again, dear. It's been quite some time since you came over. How have you been?'

She returned the smile and said in an even voice 'I've been good, Auntie. Thanks for having me over.'

My mother's expression turned thoughtful. 'Of course, dear. We're always happy to have you. How are your parents doing?'

She launched into a story about her family, sharing updates about her parents' business ventures and her mother's shopping habits. 'Business is going okay, Dad's occupied as always, and Mom's still on her shopping sprees,' she said calmly though I could tell that this topic displeased her.

My parents listened attentively, asking follow-up questions and sharing their own stories. Meanwhile, I sat back, watching and analyzing the scene before me. Her interaction with my family didn't seemed forced which was to be expected to some extent considering that both of our families were in the same circle and our parents were friends but for some reason she seemed a bit off, not uneasy but stiff and this was very out of character. Something was definitely off but I was unsure whether to dig out the problem or let her handle it.