Forever by Your Side

Living in a bustling metropolis carries a heavy weight, with the clamor of people, cars, and street vendors filling the air with a cacophony of scents that blend into the environment, it can be a nightmare, being trapped for hours in infernal traffic generates ill humor in anyone.

However, she was no ordinary person, she had lived her whole life on the edge, always having to push her survival skills to the limit. At only 19 years old, she was completely independent. Her beloved parents had died when she was 15 years old and the money from her inheritance had been frozen by the banks, leaving her with only a small monthly sum to survive on.

She lived in a large house, but they always stayed in the back room, her room, the smallest in the house, which had been built by her father's own hands. She still remembers the first night she slept in that house, when it was still unpainted and dark, lacking doors. She also remembers how over time, their house became the biggest in the whole neighborhood and how the family's finances had improved.

Her father, a builder with few formal qualifications, had surpassed himself by becoming one of the country's most talented architects, owning the most profitable construction company as well. Her mother managed the company and her sister, who had followed in her father's footsteps, was shaping up to be the best.

While the whole family had a great attraction to the field, for Jeanne it was different. She wasn't a static person, she loved to travel and did so whenever she could. At the age of 12, she had set out to travel the entire country and would take advantage of her vacations to drag her parents on all sorts of road trips to different towns, trying the local cuisine and visiting spiritual centers, which for her was the greatest delight that could exist.

She had been conceived just on the line of her mother's menopause, so she was always practically alone. As a child, her sister taught her how to read and brought her books to kill her boredom, as her father hated technological devices. Even so, her life at that time was part of her best memories; her parents were loving, and her sister was her best friend. But her 15th birthday had been marked by what had so far been the worst decision of her life because even though it had kept her alive, it condemned her to be alone in the world.

Those were the thoughts that always came up when she went to her psychologist, a young man who had helped her overcome her loss to a great extent and kept her afloat through their weekly sessions. Although they had been almost imposed by the government, they had become vital to the girl over time.

Jeanne was precisely in her psychologist's comfortable office, looking out the window as the yellow leaves of the trees filled the sidewalks where people passed without noticing the beautiful tones that each leaf possessed.

"Have you thought about it?" said Geovany, her psychologist, bringing her out of her trance.

"Thought about what?" she responded, lost in the conversation.

"What will happen now that you've graduated from high school?"

"I want to study, of course, but I haven't decided yet."

"Will you go into construction?"

"No, I would never do that. That world killed my family, and now, thanks to you, I can breathe without the pressure in my chest."

"Then what?"

"I'd like something in art, you know."

"Will you pick up painting again?"

"I think it would be good; I haven't done it in a long time."

"It's good therapy. When you decide, let me know, and I'll help you find the best place to continue your path."

"That would help me a lot, but I want to do it alone."

"Jeanne, it's not bad to receive some help."

She knew that, but she had long stopped relying on others to guide her life, although she missed it. In her heart, she always saw that doctor as a substitute for her father, which produced a pleasant warmth in her heart every time he took care of her, although he never did so outside the walls of the office so that the patient-doctor relationship was as marked as possible.

"Lost again? Your thoughts steal all your attention. What's going on? It's been a while since you disconnected from the world like this."

"I just see the leaves falling. It's a good landscape; the window frames a magical part of the city."

She referred to a place that had been the area where wealthy people had lived in the 70s, with large houses that now looked old, but with a magic that invited everyone to relax. Now, those same mansions had become faculties of different universities scattered throughout the area, which filled it with young people stunned by their new freedom.

"We can end this meeting here," she said.

"Are you going somewhere else?" Geovany questioned.

"Yes, I'm going to the bookstore. It's a beautiful day."

As she left the psychologist's office, she headed towards the city center, where a nearly 5-story old house housed a bookstore that contained an impressive number of secondhand books that had been sold by all kinds of people and that held many treasures.

It was one of the few joys she could enjoy, as she could not access the money her parents left her freely. She had to trade the scent of new and trendy books for the smell of old books which, while more affordable, had been difficult for her to adapt to. It was the biggest change she made and the one that hurt her the most, but sadly it was the only thing she could afford now

Although the day was beautiful, there was something unsettling in the air, as if she was being watched from somewhere. She felt her anxiety was playing a trick on her again, so she ignored that feeling and continued on her way.

But it wasn't just her anxiety giving her that impression. In fact, there was a car that had been following her for the last few weeks, a large black truck that not only looked like it belonged to the mafia, but it actually did.

Inside the car, a man with a disturbing glint in his eyes licked his lips as he watched the way the girl walked, lost in her own world. The innocence of this creature, who almost skipped instead of walking, generated a strange excitement and a deep obsession.

Evan was the eldest son of a large group of arms, drugs, and human traffickers that operated all over the world, but mainly in China and North Korea, the Asian countries that moved 70% of the entire black market. China handled the business, and Korea was responsible for manufacturing weapons and removing obstacles.

Although he was far from home, in a third-world country full of detestable people, he couldn't help but stay as long as possible. One day, by chance, he saw a girl reading in the middle of a park in front of the restaurant where he had scheduled his business meeting. Something about her had tied him down, and now he only sought to make the bond stronger.

That's why, after days of watching her through the window of his car, he had decided to talk to her. He had already planned how he would approach her and had imagined a thousand ways in which this beautiful girl would fall in love with him at first sight and he would take her to China to make her his.

Only his, he didn't want anyone else to see the beautiful smile of the girl or the way she wrinkled her nose when she read. So, he advanced towards the bookstore, giving her a few minutes so she wouldn't feel scared when approached by him.

Everything was ready; he knew which floor she was on. She was always on the third floor, looking at painting books, then moved to the fourth floor to see books in other languages, and finally ended up on the second floor choosing romance books.

Evan entered causing a great impression, not only because it was very evident that he wasn't from that country, but also because of his great imposing presence. He was tall, with piercing black eyes, and a suit tailored to his measurements. He looked like an actor but with a dark aura

He ascended rapidly to the third floor of the bookstore, scanning through the various rooms but she was nowhere to be found. His heart raced with anticipation as he had seen her enter, yet she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

Being an avid art enthusiast, he knew that striking up a conversation about the subject would be effortless and certainly leave a lasting impression. He would then offer to buy her any books she fancied, take her out for dinner, and end the night exchanging contact information or possibly even with a kiss. However, if she wasn't there, everything would go down the drain.

He called upon Cheng, his right-hand man, to ask if he had seen the girl leave, but the nearly 40-year-old man replied negatively, stating that Jeanne was still there.

Evan took a deep breath and decided to search for her. He went up to the fourth floor, but still couldn't find any trace of the girl. Now knowing where she was, he quickly descended and saw her browsing books on the second floor. He felt furious that she had chosen that day, his day, to change her routine.

Although he wanted to go and yell in her face, to confront her for ruining his plans, he forced himself to calm down. Of course, the sweet scent of her perfume that reached him after a gust of wind from the fan inside the store brought it to him was comforting.

He fixed his hair and checked that his suit was neat, drawing a friendly smile on his face as he took a couple of steps toward the girl. However, his steps came to a halt when he saw a scene that made his blood boil and made him want to kill the man who held his woman's waist.

It all happened so fast that he only saw the two of them walking towards the cash register and the man paying for a couple of books before they left. He was paralyzed, his body not allowing him to go after them and demand an explanation for what had just happened.

What Evan clearly didn't see was when the girl arrived at the bookstore, the minutes she gave herself to settle in, the time he spent looking for her, and the delay he had caused by following her from a street behind so she wouldn't notice him were all decisive factors in forging another story.

Jeanne walked as usual to the bookstore, greeting Mario with a smile. Although he wasn't the original owner, he had inherited the store from his father and managed it with his sister. "Yesterday's shipment brought in some interesting titles for the second floor," Mario said.

Mario knew that Jeanne always looked at the art books first and then some in other languages, but she couldn't afford to buy them. Instead, she secretly read some of the books in other languages, but always bought only the romance novels that were the cheapest and that she could afford. Jeanne spoke English and French almost perfectly, but she had always wanted to learn more languages, but it was expensive and she couldn't afford it.

Upon hearing this, the girl rushed upstairs to see the new books that had arrived. She was excited because she had a little more money left over this month and could buy two or maybe even three books, which she hadn't been able to do in a long time. She saw the list of new books, and one name caught her eye. There were two copies of this book, so she hurried to try to get one of them.

But the location of the book was the problem. She was barely 5'2" and the book was on the highest shelf. She had a giant fear of heights, so using the ladder to get it down was impossible. Instead, she decided to stretch as much as possible, and as a last resort, she would prefer to jump or call Mario for help.

As she reached out to grab the book, she lost her balance and someone grabbed her waist tightly to keep her from falling. She quickly turned around to apologize, but the most attractive green eyes she had ever seen hypnotized her, and she couldn't say anything.

The trance that the girl had fallen into, as a victim of the impression of almost falling, was not broken until the boy spoke.

"Be careful. If you wanted the book so badly, you should have asked Mario to help you bring it down instead of risking yourself falling. You could hurt yourself," the boy said in a serious tone.

"I-I'm sorry. I just didn't want to bother anyone," the embarrassed girl said.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am."

"What about the foot? Now, I won't be able to dance."

"Do you dance?"

"No, but if I wanted to, I couldn't, thanks to you," the boy attempted to lighten the mood, but it seemed he only embarrassed Jeanne even more. She looked down with guilt for having stepped on him, and upon noticing this, the boy laughed a little and spoke again, avoiding the weight of the embarrassment from continuing to burden the girl.

"Let's do something. You invite me for a coffee, and I'll forget about the foot."

Although it seemed like a fair deal, Jeanne's heart filled with sadness because she could have used that money to buy some books or maybe some sweets afterward, so she just clung to the book in her hands and sighed, nodding. As always, she could only take one book and reread it once she finished it, waiting for the next visit to buy a new one.

Upon arriving at the counter, Jeanne placed the book on the counter, and the boy, whose name she still didn't know, placed one on his and paid Mario for both books, all under the astonished gaze of the girl, who wanted to debate about it but the boy spoke before she could even make a sound.

"You invite me for coffee, so I'll invite you for a book. It's only fair," he said with a smile on his face.

After paying for the books, the two went to a cafe that was just across the street, and they approached to make their order. It wasn't until then that Jeanne noticed she was holding the hand of that stranger.

"Can I order for you?" the boy smiled.

"We have a couples' menu," the person taking their order said.

The word "couples" finally snapped Jeanne out of her trance, and she let go of the boy's hand at the same time as her cheeks turned red. She had never been on a date, never even had her first kiss, and this boy was the only man outside of her circle with whom she had any contact. She didn't know why, but she had always been rejected by everyone as if being close to her generated danger.

The boy ordered a pair of whipped cream and chocolate coffees, his favorite kind, though no one knew it. He couldn't help but think what a coincidence it was that they both liked sweet coffee and frequented the same bookstore.

As the coffee arrived, the boy pulled out a book from his bag and handed it to her, but was interrupted by a phone call. Jeanne watched him leave to answer the call and noticed a man shouting at another man outside the café, which made her skin crawl.

She was so focused on the commotion outside that she didn't notice when the boy returned and touched her shoulder, startling her. "Sorry if I scared you," he said in a neutral tone.

"It's okay, I was just distracted. Is everything alright?" she asked, referring to his phone call.

"Yeah, it's just work. It's hard to catch a break," he replied.

"I'm sorry I'm taking up your time. Let me pay for the coffee so we can leave," she offered, attempting to stand up from her seat.

"No, you finish your coffee. It would be a tragedy to waste it. Don't you think? Or is it too sweet for you? Sorry, I forgot that some people don't like their coffee sweet."

"Don't worry, this is my favorite coffee. I love sweet things, even though I can't have them very often," she admitted.

"Are you diabetic?" the boy asked, concerned about the sugar content in her coffee.

"Oh no, it's not that. Money is just something I have to be careful with, so it's hard to buy them," she explained.

"I understand," the boy said, checking the time on his phone. "Sorry, I really have to go."

With that, he gathered his things and left the café without even giving her his name or number. Jeanne felt disappointed but also intrigued. She wanted to see him again, to talk about books, or maybe just have a friend with a beautiful and warm smile.

A bit more time passed in the place, watching people walk by and enjoying her favorite drink. Time passed slowly and pleasantly, and when she finished her drink, she went to pay. But as soon as she reached the counter, the person who had taken her order informed her that her mystery favorite had paid and added an order for a slice of strawberry cream cake to go, which was to be delivered to the girl once she left the store.

Jeanne's heart filled with great happiness, quickly replaced by melancholy.

That boy had given her so much that day and she didn't even know his name. She took the cake and the book and left the cafe, walking a couple of blocks until the rain started pouring down heavily, causing the girl to run to her house, trying to cover the cake box and her book so they wouldn't get ruined. Unknowingly, a car was following her again, this time with an angry Evan inside.

The man's gaze was no longer as calm as it was in the morning when he thought his plan would succeed. Now he just wanted to know what kind of relationship those two people had and how close it was, for that guy to dare touch her things. He wanted to offer to drive Jeanne home, but Cheng persuaded him not to, as it would be strange and it was better to first gather more information about the bookstore guy to act better. They would also have to investigate the girl more to give his boss more than just a bookstore, as they didn't even know why she went to the building where she had come from before the bookstore.