Love Isn't Enough

Six years.

It had been six years since I last saw her or had any kind of communication with her. I had ignored all her messages and mails, deleted them without even reading them, cutting off and wiping away anything that reminded me of her. I burnt her clothes, smashed all our photo frames - I stopped eating those foods that reminded me of her.

I was that furious. Betrayed.

How could she do that to me?

I loved her so much. Fuck, I still loved her. Ever since I had kicked her out of my place and my life, I missed her, really missed her. I was messed up, she had ruined me for every other woman. I was depressed for the past six years, and no one could help me out of it.

No one, except her.

I still remember the last day I saw her: her beautiful, rosy cheeks were pale, lacking the flush that was always present on her face whenever she was around me. Her blue eyes were dull, as if they had lost their twinkle. I had always thought that those twinkling stars were just for me.

Who knew that I was too stupid to fall for that twinkle of greed, mistaking her every emotion as love.

Love.

Not just a day ago I was ready to lay my entire world at her feet. Not just a day ago I had eyes only for her, and I was blindly and madly in love with her. We had our perfect little uncomplicated love story, a whole future planned ahead of us.

She destroyed it all in just a single day.

I let her go a long time ago, but I knew that a small part of me still wanted her, even after all the things she had done to me.

No. It didn't matter if I loved her or not. The hatred and the angst was still buried deep within me and I knew I wouldn't let go until I get my revenge.

My revenge, for breaking my heart.

****************************

"Sebastian?"

Reece appeared at the door of my office, his face glowing with what I could only call happiness. He wasn't displaying any such emotion on his face, but it was quite noticeable that something good had happened to him. At first, I was confused as to what the fuck he was doing here, but then I remembered that sometimes Reece liked to disturb me now and then.

He had no business at my workplace and secondly, he was quite a busy person himself.

"What are you doing here?" My tone wasn't welcoming at all. I was not in a mood to entertain friends and I didn't want to ruin Reece's happy face.

He rolled his eyes, "Nice to meet you, too, buddy. I was just checking in if you weren't too busy."

"I'm very busy."

My reply was immediate, and I went back to the file that needed my attention. We were going to meet in the evening anyway, if there was something he wanted to tell me, he could tell me then.

It was not like I was very busy, but everyone knew that I became a different person at work. Reece, more than anyone, knew that during work hours, I didn't want any interruptions if it wasn't anything urgent.

And if I was not working, I hated getting calls from work.

"You always are." He smirked, and took a seat on the couch right across from my desk, "But since you are all alone, I think you can spare your friend a few minutes to talk."

Now, what he was going to talk about?

Reece was probably going to tell me what had made him look happy and I was genuinely curious. Months of going through the torture of seeing him waste himself away and them him turning up looking so clean and tidied up a week ago was a surprise in itself.

He was happy now, and I had missed this face of his for quite a while. We had all pressed him into telling what had triggered his sudden change, but he refused to tell us anything.

He was only very determined to win his girlfriend back when he had come back from wherever a week ago, and he had been busy the entire week pursuing her.

Now he looked happier and I wanted to know what had happened. I knew that Amelia and he had sorted things out two days ago, so something must have happened today to make him come here all the way to my office.

Reece was a wonderful man, and just as amazing was his girlfriend Amelia. Both of them had been close to me in the past six years, and were the only ones who could get me away from my work and make me want to enjoy my time a little. They had been the ones who had brought me out of my crazed, obsessed haze when I had broken up with my ex.

I didn't even want to go there now.

"Of course, Reece," I closed the file I was reading and put it aside, "That is, if you also tell me where you had disappeared before and what had happened there."

"I see you still want to know." He had a teasing lilt to his words.

I narrowed my eyes, "Of course, I want to know. You disappeared from the face of the earth in god knows what condition. And you come back after weeks, completely different and determined. You are happier now, Reece, I want to know what happened there. We are all happy for you but we were all so fucking worried and you didn't even think about calling us and informing us that you were fine!" I gritted out.

"Hey, I'm sorry," his mouth pressed in a thin line, "I wasn't thinking about anyone else, I'm sorry." He sighed, "But I will tell you what, or rather who, helped me get myself together."

"I'm waiting," I leaned forward of my elbows and focused on him.

"I was in Seattle." He started, "Drunk out of my mind; I don't even know how I ended up there. I got caught in the wrong situation, was beaten up." I winced – he had never said a word. I could have helped him. He could have stayed here and we could have found someone here, "Some kind Samaritan took me to this hospital where they had this counselor of sorts."

He gave me a weird look right then, and I was pressed to ask, "So this counselor helped you?"

"Yes," He nodded, "I'm glad I wasn't addicted or anything, or that would have taken a long period of time. My only issue had been my breakup with Amelia and I got an unbiased opinion from the counselor, and well, some good, eye-opening suggestions gave me hope that Amelia and I could be together again."

Well, the counselor must have been a smart person. He made Reece drop his pride for Amelia – none of us could do that.

Amelia and Reece had always been the perfect couple, so perfect that I was always green with envy whenever I had been around them. They always reminded me of what I once had, what had been destroyed, only because a certain blue-eyed beauty couldn't love me enough to be faithful.

It was hard to believe when things ended between me and her. I don't even remember how I coped and moved on.

That's why it was even harder to see Reece and Amelia separating, because I had found myself living vicariously through their love life. That was the only way I could forget.

Both of them had been caught in a web of lies and misunderstandings, and when the web had finally cleared, they both had already said and done things to each other, that had broken them, but not beyond repair.

However, both of them were a little too proud to come back and talk things out.

"Was he a relationship counselor?" I asked him.

"No, not really." Reece shrugged, "But has wonderful a wonderful insight. I think you'll like him. Maybe you can talk about your... issues as well?" he hinted.

I wished that I could say that Noelle and I were caught in the web of lies and misunderstandings, too. But everything was crystal clear and there was nothing to sort.

It had been six years since I last saw her. If there had been something repairable, it would have been fixed years ago. I was sure she had already moved on.

"I don't think so," I shook my head, "There's nothing to talk about."

"You want me to show you a mirror now?" He said, "Look at your face. I didn't even say anything directly about your ex and you already have that face you make - sad, lonely and depressed." His tone softened, "Do you think you can forget the entire ordeal by just, immersing yourself in work and other people's lives? You are doing a wonderful job, with your business, those shelters, orphanages, but you have to stop overlooking your own needs."

"Whatever you just said, I never expected this to ever come out of your mouth. This counseling shit doesn't suit you." I smirked.

"Shut the fuck up."

I shook my head, "If there was ever a chance of me forgetting her, I would have been able to do that long ago. I have given up hopes of moving on."

"So you are never going to fall in love again, have a family, start over with someone new?"

Just the thought made me cringe. What Noelle and I had shared, I knew no one else would be able to compete. And to know that a connection of that kind could be broken, left me without hope – I didn't want to invest so much of myself in a relationship ever again only for it to result in so much pain.

I was good enough with animals, children and other people from whom I didn't have to expect anything in return.

"Okay, agreed you don't want to move on." He looked at me, "At least you would want to see this guy. He's important to me as well and I would want him to be at my wedding. I want you two to meet before that."

There was nothing wrong with a harmless meeting.

"If that's the case, we can go this weekend, arrange a dinner or something?" I suggested.

Reece smiled and nodded, "You are a little dense, Sebastian, you know?"

I was confused, "Why?"

"You didn't pick up on my hint. I'm getting married, idiot, Amelia said yes!"

I ignored the envy that was trying to seep and rounded the table to meet my friend in a congratulatory hug. He had been so happy when he came in, how could I not guess that?

"Congratulations, Reece."

The news was no surprise. He had made it clear that he was with Amelia for life.

"Thanks, man, people are saying this is too fast, but we just don't want to let go of each other at any cost." He grinned at me.

I nodded. "I'm happy for both of you. I need to meet Amelia, too, and congratulate her."

"Sebastian?"

"Yes?"

"Be my best man?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "I thought that spot was reserved for me. You are going around asking?"

His eyes were fucking watering. Weddings, making everyone cry.

"Well, I was just confirming."

***********************

"So, when are we going to meet this man?" I asked Reece as we drove around Seattle.

"Okay," his tone suggested that what he was about to say next was going to piss me off, "I didn't tell you about one little thing, Sebby, and you have to promise you won't punch me in the face."

"Why don't you start with telling the truth?" I narrowed my eyes, clenching my fists in case I already needed to punch him.

"Well, this counselor is a woman, not a man."

I stared at him, "Why would I punch you in the face for that?" I asked him, "Wait, you aren't setting me up with her or something? Now that would make me want to punch you in the face."

"No, no, no," He gulped, "I just want you to meet her. I don't think she's single, anyway."

"Good for you." I said, huffing. He knew what I went through and how difficult it all was for me. Even though he wasn't there when we were together and when we broke up, but out of all people, he knew the most, and he knew how much I abhorred the thought of going through all of that again. "When are we going to meet her, then?"

"I have a feeling she'll chicken out if I ask her right away, but maybe we should surprise her at the hospital." He said.

"Cornering her like that wouldn't be a good thing to do." I suggested, "Let's just see if she's comfortable seeing us? Ask her beforehand."

Reece shrugged, "If you say it that way, we'll ask the receptionist to inform her beforehand. If she doesn't want to meet, she'll say, okay? She's not someone you can corner – very stubborn. Does what she wants."

"Whatever suits you. I just want to get this done with."

Reece gave a smile that made me a little nervous.

What was he up to?

We reached the hospital in no time and suddenly I was feeling nervous. I had nothing against hospitals, but here I was feeling the tension seep into my bones.

Something was going to happen, I couldn't put a finger on what, but the feeling wasn't going away.

"I'll just make a call to her and be back okay?" Reece asked.

"Why don't you call her in front of me?"

"Alright," he shrugged.

He turned towards me and chose the contact while I looked around to see what was making me so nervous, I couldn't find anything, not even a person who was staring at me. Everyone was minding their own business but I was still feeling uncomfortable.

Maybe I was going to be sick.

"Hey, doc." Reece greeted with a wide smile on his face. This woman must be really good at what she does – the hospital looked like it only hired the top professionals and Reece seemed to be fond of her.

Maybe this woman Reece was talking about was my mother's age and this idiot was just pulling my leg.

"Long time no see?"

She said something from the other side, I couldn't hear.

"Well, we have crossed all those miles to come see you." Reece replied.

Again, I couldn't hear what she said.

"No, it's not Amelia with me." Reece gave me another weird look that made me more nervous. What was wrong with me? I was rarely uncomfortable, "I have a friend I want you to meet."

"Tell her my name, Reece. She might recognize me." I smirked. I was well known, I just didn't know if people knew me all the way till here.

Reece hesitated for a moment, but then said it anyway, "His name is Sebastian, Sebastian Daniels. You might have heard of him."

Now I could clearly hear a loud gasp from the other side. So people did know me here.

She said something to Reece, to which he replied, "I thought you weren't busy?"

Now that was not a reaction I expected. I thought she would be more eager to meet me now that she knew my name. Guess, there are some people who are not very interested in meeting famous people.

"Don't force her if she's uncomfortable," I reminded Reece again.

"Okay, so we will meet you later." He nodded and hung up. He turned towards me, "She needed to go somewhere, but she has an off tomorrow. So we can meet her tomorrow in the evening."

"Or maybe not, Reece." I pointed out, "She doesn't seem too inclined to meet or she could have just shown her face for a minute and at least greeted us. I think we should go back." Reece looked disappointed, "And it's no big deal. We'll meet at the wedding anyway."

Reece nodded, "I'll just have a word with the receptionist and be back."

I nodded and waited at the hospital's entrance for Reece to come. Why he didn't inform her before we wasted our time and traveled all the way down here, I didn't know. He wasn't even telling me what was exactly going on in his mind about this entire ordeal.

I just wanted to go back home now.

Just then, I felt a niggling sensation at the back of my head, and then the moment I turned around, a small, soft body collided into mine.

Beautiful, blue eyes looked up at me and then disappeared as she muttered an apology and ran away.

Whoever that woman was, just a touch and a look from her was enough to get my nerves skyrocketing and for my brain to go haywire.

Coming here was definitely a bad idea.

But something inside me was making me want to stay and explore some more.

"Ma'am I really, really apologize for his behaviour. I know he gets violent when he's mad, but you see I'm kind of helpless about it. Still, I'll make sure that he will never do that again." I mumbled for the third time, trying my best to sound really apologetic.

"Mommy! Don't lie to her! I will do it again if I have to!" I heard Nate whine.

~This was not the time to argue, Nathaniel!~

I wasn't feeling apologetic at all. It had become old news for me, and I always expected a phone call from my son's school, with a new complaint for a new day.

"Miss Hayes, I understand. I know being a single mother and handling such a short tempered, ill mannered son is not a child's play, but-" She continued rambling on but only one thing was going on in my mind.

~Oh no.~

She shouldn't have said that. She should've had known that the short temper was something that little guy got from me. Now that she hadn't been smart enough to keep her useless thoughts to herself, I was bubbling up with rage and what you could call a maternal defensive instinct, the same instinct that made mothers forget all the shit they had to go through for their baby.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, but what exactly do you mean by an ill-mannered child?" I hissed into the phone, too tired to raise my voice. "I am very well aware that he has a short temper, but that does not mean that my son is ill-mannered. Wasn't it the other kid who started the pissing fight? Why are you blaming Nathan?" I was probably scaring her off as I spoke harshly into the phone, the protective mother inside me wanting to rip her tongue off for calling my son ill mannered.

"Yay! Mommy!" I heard another voice pipe in, overjoyed that his mother was defending him.

This boy needed some grounding.

"I apologise, Miss Hayes, but-"

"But what, Ma'am? I understand you are a teacher and you have to ensure the safety of your students, but it doesn't mean that you would blame my son just because he knows how to throw a mean punch." I defended.

I knew my son; he never behaved badly unless it was someone harming him or someone he loved dearly.

Just like ~him.~

My son had violent tendencies - he was not a bully though - but he always believed that he did it only to protect me. He just couldn't hear a word against me.

Still, hitting someone was wrong.

It was very obvious that a single woman with a child still raised whispers among people, while they kept guessing the back story. Was she dumped? Did she dump her baby daddy? Did someone cheat? Was it a sperm donor? Even though my neighbours were extremely supportive people, there were still many who just loved gossiping and digging through dirt. Unfortunately, their children picked their words and their habits. It was all fine when Nathan didn't understand anything, but now he had grown up and he was becoming a victim of the gossip as well.

I had six years of experience when it came to hearing and dodging the whispers of the people around me. Nathan, however, was a six year old boy, too naive and immature to ignore them. And this was why I had become used to receiving phone calls from his principal and his class teachers, informing me about his involvement in small brawls. They always threatened to expel him if he didn't mend his ways, but I knew they wouldn't.

Nathan was an all-rounder. He was good at almost everything a kid should be good at.

And also, they always knew that Nathan wasn't the one to start fights.

"But he is just six years old!" The teacher nearly yelled, and, without doubt was, on the verge of pulling her hair out due to our mother-son duo.

We weren't exactly the easiest people on earth, you know.

"Ma'am, I think we should drop the discussion, for now." I sighed. "I'll come and pick him up, and then we might discuss who is at fault here." I finally said, ready to drop the topic and ready to drop anywhere on the ground, because I was that tired. I hung up and sighed ready to give up and just sleep on my desk.

I felt extremely tired. I had been to a wedding yesterday, and it had brought up all the dreams of mine that I had buried long ago. The couple had looked so much in love, and I was so full of envy. I once had everything that they had: a loving man, a beautiful, passionate love life and everything that made me happy. I had many dreams – getting married to him was one of the most important ones on the list.

But then everything had collapsed, and just the same way, I kept thinking about my lost love the entire day and night. I had always thought that distance and time would heal everything. Not having to see his face and being apart for more than six years was supposed to help me move on.

But hell would freeze over before I moved on, it seemed.

All those thoughts were making me doze off, but thankfully my phone rang. I wiped the drool that had pooled in the corner of my mouth and thanked, internally, whoever the person was, for waking me up so that I could go to Nathan's school and pick him up in time.

I glanced at the screen and a smile took over my face. It was Reece - I would like to call him a friend. He had been brought to me troubled, drunk and totally out of his mind. But some good food and my welcoming smile had gotten him talking very soon and he had turned over a new leaf within two weeks.

I hoped he was calling with good news.

"Hey doc," his warm voice came through the phone and it immediately put a smile to my face, "Long time no see?"

I chuckled, "Heya Reece. We met last month, so it hasn't been long enough." I teased, "I had gotten tired of your stupid face at the end of those two weeks. I'm glad we have all those miles to travel before we can meet."

"Well, we have crossed all those miles to come see you." He said, and I immediately felt squealed with excitement.

Oh damn, he probably brought Amelia along with him and now I would have to make them wait because I had to pick Nathan up.

"We!? Did you bring Amelia with you!? Oh my God! I still can't believe you're here!" I felt giddy alright. In some way, I did help two people reunite and watching them together would always make me happy. It was such a bummer that I had to make them wait now. "You know, Reece –"

"No, it's not Amelia with me." He cut me off before I could tell him that I had something to do. "I have a friend I want you to meet."

Oh, a friend. Well, no matter who he had brought along with him, he really needed to wait.

"Alright." I started slowly, starting to pack my things so that I could run downstairs, quickly meet Reece and his friend, and then go on my merry way.

"Tell her my name, Reece. She might recognize me."

.

I would be lying if I said that my heart didn't skip a beat when I heard a very familiar voice from the other side. It was creepy as hell, how that dude's voice was eerily familiar to ~his voice. But there was no way that was possible; there was no way that one certain man would come all the way here and be friends with a guy I know.

I've been keeping tabs alright, and I know his friends – or lack thereof. Reece's name never ever came up.

Or maybe I needed to check again.

No, No, No, it couldn't be him at all, because that would be like my fate playing a wicked game with me.

And there was such a good probability that two people had the same voices with the same amount of arrogance reeking in their tone.

"His name is Sebastian, Sebastian Daniels. You might have heard of him." Reece said, after a pause.

Alright.

Maybe this world was too small.

Maybe my fate really was playing a wicked game with me.

There was also a huge possibility that Reece had no idea what he was doing.

Was there a possibility that Sebastian was so close to Reece but never ever mentioned my name, so Reece had no idea what the fuck he was doing right now?

But then I remembered the gleaming look in Reece's eyes when he could finally think coherently, his reaction when he had confirmed my name and my single status. And even now, the slight hesitation in his voice kind of confirmed that he knew what he was doing.

"You understand what you're doing, don't you?" My volume was low but clear enough to be heard only by Reece, "What makes you think that you can come in with that man and walk out the hospital with every body part intact – or perhaps, walk out alive?" I took in a deep breath. If this guy wanted to match-make, he could have at least warned me beforehand. I was sure if Sebastian got to know this, he would skin his friend alive.

It was easy to guess that Sebastian didn't know what his friend was up to.

"I'll tell you what you're going to do now, Reece." I said, "You're going to make an excuse on my behalf, make an about turn, leave this city and never show your face to me again. Do you get it?" My face was burning and there was this haze that made me more and more angry.

Who the fuck did Reece think he was?

"I thought you weren't busy?" He blurted.

Sebastian was the only reason Reece was alive.

"I don't hear you making excuses, Reece. I'm not going to meet anyone now so it's better if you two return home." I gritted out.

"Don't force her if she's uncomfortable," I heard on the other side. Sebastian, ever the gentleman, warned Reece, and I felt relieved that maybe Reece would back off now.

But Reece was just as stubborn as I thought him to be. Rather than just giving in, he gave a cryptic answer.

"Okay, so we will meet you later." Saying that he hung up.

My blood was boiling now. I quickly took out the scarf and a mask from my purse and put them on, covering myself till I was unrecognizable.

Knowing Reece, I knew he would find a way to track me down and force me to meet Sebastian. He was one of those people who were really charming till everything went their way and the moment there was a minor inconvenience, you would see their devil side. He was not going to drop this so easily, especially if he had it set in stone that he wanted me and Sebastian to be together again.

Gosh, why didn't fate drop another guy in my office? He really had to be Sebastian's friend?

And why did his name never appear in the tabloids?

Maybe because I never actively searched about his friends and focused only on Sebastian's love interests.

I let out a growl.

The only thing I could do now was run out of my office and go straight to my son's school without crossing the paths of familiar strangers.

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of Sebastian spotting me. How would he react? What if he found out about Nathan?

Oh god, no. I was not ready for all of that.

It would be a bloodbath.

My eyes were fixed on the entrance, and I started storming my way out, hoping that my colleagues read my body language and didn't stop me for chit chat. It was a large area to cross and sweat already covered my forehead. My heart was beating very quickly – I didn't risk looking around, because if my eyes fell on Sebastian, I knew my brain would stop working.

For some reason, my mind was working on repeat. I could only think about what would happen if Sebastian found out. How would he react? Would he get mad, crazy mad, and get into a screaming contest with me? Or would he be silent, watch and assess the situation in his usual cunning way and then be that silent venom that I didn't know how to deal with? Or he would just not care and act like he didn't know me at all?

I didn't know which one was better. I just hoped that Sebastian left this city peacefully, without coming in contact with me or my son.

I was so lost in my own thoughts, that I lost track of my path and clumsily bumped into a hard body.

I wanted to cry.

It was Sebastian.

And a part of me was basking in this little moment of embrace, where he held me for just a small moment before I ran away. It was all so familiar, and it all felt too wonderful, that it was very hard for me to muster an apology before running away.

I was glad my legs were listening to the rational part of my brain. I was glad that I ran away before Sebastian could recognize me, and I was lucky that Reece wasn't around.

But as I was sitting in my car, I could only think about that brief moment when our bodies met, and I realized how much I still missed him. It shattered all my beliefs that I could ever move on, ever forget and ever find someone who would make my heart beat just as fast as he did.

Those green, confused eyes looking down at me, made me remember all the time he gazed upon me with nothing but love, and it also reminded me of our son who had the same eyes. It was so hard to forget, and I felt like I went six years back in time. Everything I did to move on, to learn to be happy without him, to forget him was reset.

I took in a deep breath. I couldn't break over such a small thing anymore. It was not like he recognized me and dumped me again.

My phone notified me of an incoming call and I managed to pick up the call.

It was Reece.

"You were lucky you ran away before he could catch you."

"What do you mean?" I snapped, not wanting to listen to his bullshit anymore. He was crossing serious boundaries here and I needed to put him in line.

"Well, one second more and he would have recognized you. Then all that escaping wouldn't have worked."

"Bold of you to assume that Sebastian would care, Reece." I was not polite at all.

"I've been the one with him for the past six years so I can assume his reaction better than you do."

My heart skipped a beat at that implication. Would he have really come after me?

I wanted to slap myself. That was not supposed to be a romantic thing! It was supposed to be scary!

"I don't know what the fuck you want, Reece. I guess you got your happy ending, but it does not mean that you have to intrude in others' lives and have your way with everything!" I growled.

"Easy girl," his voice was much more pliant now, "I wasn't planning to match-make at all if that was what you're thinking." Oh really, "You two are important to me. I want you to be on good terms."

"How sweet of you, Reece." My voice was all sugary, "But it's not your call. That's between Sebastian and me. If we want to hate each other, we will hate on each other, if we want to be friends we'll be friends!"

"And if you want to get back together, you two will have your happily ever after." He countered.

I took in a deep breath, irritated.

"What are you, Reece – seventeen? We are mature adults, if we wanted to get back together, we would have done that long ago." I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, "You know what, Reece, please go back. I'm really not ready to meet him right now." I was pleading now, but anything to make Reece back off.

"Noelle, I'm getting married." He sighed, "I...I don't want a scene at the wedding."

"So that's what you care about." I stated, "A scene. You have no regards for mine or Sebastian's emotions. You don't care how we feel about this - you going behind our backs to orchestrate a reunion." I snapped back.

He was silent for a good while, and I let him have his time. It was good if he was introspecting – he needed to know that what he was doing was wrong.

"Okay, Noelle. I get your point. I'm sorry. I was just so focused on wanting to get you two back together , that I didn't take your feelings into account." He was sad, "I'm so sorry." He sounded sincere and I was glad that we were on the same page now. "We'll return ASAP."

"Thanks, Reece." I realized that I had already reached the school, "I'll have to hang up now. Thank you for understanding."

"I'm really sorry, Noelle. I was an ass."

"I forgive you." I smiled, "Goodbye."

It was when I hung up, did I realize that Reece mentioned a wedding.

He was getting married, and I didn't even pay attention to it when he told me.

I smacked my head.

Now I had an angry teacher, an angry parent and two fighting kids to face.

Ugh