Elevator

CHAPTER ONE.

It began as a whispering in the air, the rain. The day was beautiful and the sky was a dome of plasma blue, the clouds looked like airy anvils drifting under the gleaming disc of the sun.

A petite lady with long blonde hair and a face that looked like beauty itself looked out the hospital window in the reception hall, star struck by the beauty of nature. The sky darkened as she watched and soon the tapping on the window was heard and then it became a pitter patter.

People ran for cover outside and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water. Puddles began forming as the rainfall became heavier. The Rain danced upon the roof of cars and she could hear the murmuring of the rain through the window. It sounded like the buzzing of angry bees.

"Ma'am you can come in now," someone said from behind, tapping her on the shoulder softly. She turned with a tight smile.

"Thank you."

Clutching her bag, she followed the nurse into ward B.

"You have fifteen minutes, we don't want the patient to get emotionally stressed as that would be bad for her treatment," the nurse spoke once they got to the door.

"Of course, thank you." She entered the room.

"Oh Adrianna, you finally came," her mum said with a wide smile as she spread her arms out wide for an embrace.

"Mum I have missed you," she cried out, hugging her tightly.

"I have missed you too baby."

"Tell me, how is your dad?" Linda asked with a soft smile as her daughter took a seat on the visitor's chair.

"He's fine... without you, he doesn't even care if you are alive or dead, mum, if he found out I was here, he would be mad" Adriana replied, downcast.

"Mum you need to forget about dad, he doesn't care about you, I mean, look what he did to you," she said touching her legs.

Tears rolled down her mum's eyes as she shut them. Adrianna's mum was one of those women who were victims of physical abuse, Adrianna's dad, Adam, treated her mum, Linda, like she was a toy with no feelings, he didn't care about his actions as he had the money to sought himself out if need be. He had pushed Linda down the stairs during one of their fights which led to her being crippled as the bones in her legs were damaged badly, he didn't even show sympathy or bother to take her to the hospital, instead, he left her on the floor crying and suffering the pain.

"Anna dear, you would not understand," she said with a soft smile, cleaning her tears.

She put on a brave face, "So tell me, is he disturbing you with suitors?"Her mum asked.

Adrianna's face fell, "No mum, he hasn't started harassing me with suitors yet," she grumbled.

"I smell a lie," her mum said chuckling.

"Mum!" She rolled her eyes, "Okay maybe he has introduced a few suitors but wasn't adamant about me choosing them," she gave in with a sigh, a frown on her face.

"You need to choose fast so he wouldn't force you to marry a ruthless man like him," Linda spoke, patting her child's hair.

"So you know he is ruthless" Adrianna raised a brow, chuckling.

"Of course he is, you can't deny the truth."

Linda stared at her daughter fondly.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" Adrianna grumbled, feeling uncomfortable with the strange stare.

"You must find a suitor for yourself, Anna. A rich suitor, a billionaire, one of high social standards, and good character so you can spare yourself a bad marriage. Your father will agree to it as far as he is well to do."

"Even if I don't love him?" Adrianna asked with a sad smile.

"We both know that your dad speaks only one language and that is money, every other thing is secondary, he could sell you off to a drug lord as long as there is a huge gain awaiting him, he doesn't believe in the love language. I mean look at me dear, he doesn't even care about me, to him I was just collateral damage," Linda told her.

"I wish you ended up better," Adrianna sighed, "ended up with a better man."

"If I ended up with a better man, I wouldn't have given birth to you," Linda hushed her.

She shrugged, "I don't mind. As far as you get to live good."

"What are you saying?" Linda frowned deeply, "do not tell me that you are beginning to have suicidal thoughts, huh?"

"Of course not!" Adrianna exclaimed, "I'm just saying I love you too much to see you suffer because of me."

"If you don't want to see me suffer, then make sure to live a good life, take care of yourself, and marry a good man. Do you not know that it hurts me more when you're in pain than when I am in pain? How can you wish to not be born, how can you? How can you throw away all the years I spent raising you to be the smart woman you are today? How can you..."

"Mum!" Adrianna exclaimed, seeing the tears running down her mother's cheek, "I'm sorry, forgive me. I did not mean to make you cry. I'm happy you married dad and gave birth to me, I just wish things were different. You don't like seeing me sad, I also don't like seeing you sad, it hurts me too."

Adrianna cleaned off the tears on her mother's face.

"I'm sorry," Linda sniffed, "but you must never speak that way again. I will try my best to live happily now so you can be happy, okay?"

"Good," Adrianna beamed and hugged her.

"Perhaps it's all my fault. I should have changed things, I could have done things differently but now..."

"Mum don't speak like that, you-"

"Ma'am your visiting time is over, please leave. The patient must have some rest," the same nurse from earlier interrupted Adrianna as she was about to speak.

"Plea-" Linda squeezed Adrianna's hands tightly stopping her from continuing her sentence.

"Anna, go home. We'll talk later dear" her mum said reassuringly.

Adrianna kissed her mum on her forehead. Grabbing her handbag she left her mum's room with a sad face. She was not happy about leaving her mum all alone in a hospital. She sauntered to the elevator and pressed the button. Finally, the elevator dinged and she ventured in, pressing the button for the bottom floor. Seconds before the door shut completely, a carefully polished shoe appeared and stopped it from closing.

CHAPTER TWO.

A long leg clad in black trousers and a gleaming black shoe stopped the elevator from closing fully. A muscular toned man stepped in, clad in a white dress shirt that was tucked neatly in his trousers and matched with a black coat. His eyes met mine and I fought the urge to swallow nothing. His handsomeness was beyond this earth, no... he was beautiful. Beautiful was the perfect word to describe this enigma right in my presence.

He moved to the other end of the elevator, his green eyes scrutinizing me. His hair seemed disheveled as if he had run his hand through it multiple times which made me wonder how it would feel if I ran my hands through them.

I shook my head and looked away but I found myself stealing glances at him, multiple glances that became too obvious. We could both feel it, the tension. This strange man suddenly seemed to have piqued my interest and I guess I had also peaked his. He was so handsome and beautiful at the same time. His height was life threatening, he was 6'3 feet tall while I was 5'5. His bright green eyes looked me up and down and there seemed to be a hint of approval in his eyes. I strangely felt giddy about that. He seemed to have noticed because he began taking slow steps toward me. I moved back, thrilled with both excitement and nervousness. I always had the fantasy of a sudden romance, meeting a bomb of a man and instantly getting attracted, and here I was getting a dream come through even though we might never see again and my mind yelled at me on how wrong it was. The strange handsome man got incredibly close to me that I could subtly sniff out the mint on his breath.

"What's your name sweetheart?" he asked, his deep voice sending butterflies dancing in my belly.

"Adrianna," I answered, my voice a whisper.

"Adrianna," he said testing my name on his tongue. It sounded so heavenly coming out of his mouth as he looked at me staring into my eyes and my legs felt like jelly as I tried to keep myself standing even though all I wanted was to fall into his arms.

The chemistry between us was freaking me out and also exciting at the same time.

"And what is your name?" I asked with a soft smile.

"Well, that's classified," he said raking his hands through his hair. His hand stretches out and traps me against the wall. I flinch a bit then struggled to stay on my two feet.

Just great. Nice legs, but they can't even do their jobs well.

"You are so beautiful, I would love to m-" the loud ding of the elevator interrupts his statement. I gasp, jumping away from him. A crowd of people waiting to enter gape at us, probably the next visiting batch. The strange handsome man quickly exits the elevator, leaving me behind, and mixes with the crowd before I can stop him. Before I could say, Jack, he was already gone like he was never here.

What was he trying to tell me? That I didn't know.

"Perfect timing," I muttered sarcastically to the lift, clutching my handbag as I exited the hospital.

Getting into my car, thoughts of the handsome man lingered in my mind. I shook my head for the umpteenth time, knocking my index finger against my temple.

"Be reasonable, Adrianna," I muttered with a sigh.

I zoom off to work, to continue another boring day of my life.

___

"Mum you won't believe what happened when I left your ward this morning," I said overly excited as I spoke with my mum on phone, just after taking a cool evening shower and getting into bed. I could say that was one of the best things in my day. Getting off work and relaxing in bed after a pleasant dinner.

"Tell me anything, Anna. As long as it's from you, I definitely would believe," mum said chuckling.

"Trust me you wouldn't believe it," I giggled, looking up at the ceiling.

"Shoot Anna, the tension is too much," my mum groaned loudly into the phone.

"Okay, when I entered the elevator-

"You fainted and the nurses has to rush you to the hospital then you met the most handsome doctor in history and tada! He was the one to treat you and you felt this intense connection between you two and he got on his knees and asked you to marry him and you said yes!" My mum ranted out, shocking me greatly.

"What? No mum, ewww. That's gross and a complete dream," I guffawed then sighed, "but you can call what actually happened a complete dream too," I said with a forlorn look.

"Oh, that didn't happen?" Her tone was one of disappointment, "sorry my bad, so tell me then what happened?"

"Well, I met this man..."

"A man!" Mum exclaimed, excited and I forced myself to roll my eyes.

"Yes, a man, in the elevator. He was extremely handsome," I said dreamily while mum listened with glee, "and there was this connection between us. He has the most exquisite green eyes I've ever seen and he has the perfect build. He's the perfect man," I sighed.

"Then?" Mum quizzed.

"He asked for my name and was also about to tell me something but the elevator door opening interrupted him and soon he was gone with the crowd," I said sadly.

"What?" Mum asked with displeasure, "fantastic love story gone in a puff. What did he have to say?"

"He said 'you are so beautiful I would love to m-' and the lift opened," I grumbled.

"Mum?" I questioned as she hadn't said anything for some time, her background was quiet as she didn't make a sound.

"Mum!"

"Yes Anna, I'm sorry but I have good news but it might be bad news for you"

"What is it, mum?"

"I think what he wanted to say was he wants to marry you".

CHAPTER THREE.

"I think what he wanted to say was that he wants to marry you..."

It felt like a loud ringing echoed in my head as my mother's words kept repeating themselves over and over. No, it can't be true, it wasn't possible. No man would want to marry a lady they met in an elevator for the first time. It just wasn't possible.

"Mum, that can't be possible," I said in disbelief, not wanting to think about it.

"Nothing is impossible dear," my mum said in a stern voice. Then laughed loudly, "that was a joke, Anna. Did you really fall for it? That's such a random conclusion!"

She laughed even more. I frowned. Did I actually take her seriously?

"I thought you were serious. I felt so scared," I muttered, not finding it funny.

Her laughter receded, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up that sour topic."

"It's okay, mum but... but mum, I don't want to get married yet, especially to someone that I met in an elevator. I do not know anything about him in fact, I can't accept it" I said panicking.

"Is that the only reason, Anna?" my mum asked, knowing that there was more.

"And also I don't want to end up like you and dad," I answered in a low voice.

"But it isn't that bad. Let's say I was serious and that was what he meant to say, it's better than your father forcing a bad man down your throat. At least, you two had great chemistry like you said, I and your dad never did."

"But still mum, marriage at the moment is a no no for me," I grumbled.

"Don't worry your pretty head Anna, I was exaggerating on the whole thing, he might have wanted to say something else" she said trying to convince both me and herself, "why am I also starting to think I am right?"

"Me too," I muttered, "he seemed rich, a powerful heir maybe."

I didn't want to accept or believe whatever my mum said, I wasn't ready to get married, I just wanted to leave my normal life with no hiccups in it, but things never go the way one plans it.

Destiny and fate has a way of twisting everything, leaving you frustrated, life wasn't fair. It had never been fair.

"So tell me, what is the mysterious man's name?' my mum asked in a soft voice.

"I don't know."

"You don't know? I can't believe you didn't ask him his name," my mum said, sounding disappointed.

"No mum I did ask him his name but he didn't answer, instead he said it was classified and then made the statement that got interrupted by the elevator" I explained.

"Awww, someone is grumpy that the lift ruined their moment," My mum said giggling.

"No mum, I am not grumpy" I whined, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I am not"

"I bet your face must be beetroot with a wide smile like that of a Cheshire cat."

"Mum!" I exclaimed shocked by my mum's accuracy.

"Yes darling," she giggled.

"I'm not blushing neither am I smiling like a Cheshire cat," I said tryinrg to convince her.

"Yeah sure, whatever that floats your boat" she chuckled heartily with a slight yawn.

"So tell me, how good looking is he?"

"Mum!"

"What? It's just a question, so tell me" she pressed.

"Well he is really good looking, I mean he is both handsome and beautiful at the same time, he has bright green eyes and nice biceps, he is really tall, with midnight black hair, he is so charming," I described him to my mother like I was facing him again as in the elevator.

"Awww, my baby has found love," my mum said overexcited.

"Love?" I scoffed aloud, "Not happening."

"Yeah yeah whatever helps you sleep at night," she l chuckled, "I was joking. Love doesn't come in a jiffy but attraction does!"

"Mum!" I exclaim, grinning widely.

"So how is your dad?" she asked, laughing slightly.

"He is fine mum, as always stop worrying about him and focus on your leg," I grumbled, annoyed that she kept worrying about someone that didn't care if she even existed. He doesn't care if she lives or dies.

If this is really how love is then I would rather not love.

"I do not want to focus on my legs. Don't you know wounds hurt more when you pay attention to them? That's why you see these movies when the main character is shot but he keeps fighting like he isn't hurt but once he notices his injury, he starts to feel the pain. It applies to life too. If I focus on how much your dad has hurt me, I won't be able to laugh with you now and I might have turned into a monster that you would never recognize but instead, what do I do? I focus on the things that make me happy, you, my family, my friends, my dreams, and even your father. Trust me, he was not a monster the entire time."

Her words got to me and had me meditating.

"Your dreams, what are they?" I asked quietly.

She sighed deeply, "do not worry about me, Anna. Focus on yourself, mama loves you."

I rolled my eyes. Mum has an incredible talent for eluding situations she found uncomfortable.

"Okay?"

"Okay mum, you should rest. I would come tomorrow morning to see you, yah?" I said with a tired yawn.

"Yeah yeah, nighty night, baby girl."

"Nighty night, mum."

The moment I dropped my phone on my bedside table and placed my head on the bed, the loud voice of my dad calling me startled me awake.

"Adrianna!" he yelled again, I quickly jump out of my bed and ran in the direction of his voice which was in his office. He could have just sent a maid to call instead of yelling like an insane man. I opened the door, stepping inside his office.

"Yes dad, you called?"

"Yeah, you are getting married"...