Endings: Book One

Prologue: The Beginning

Time is a fabulous healing factor. Though fate might be the only hope left, regardless of it being as wicked as it naturally is.

-Anonymous.

The Present.

The chill coming through the curtains did little to help her sleep. It came with a wind that hinted she had forgotten to close the curtains again, a regular pattern of her late-night endeavors. It didn't alarm her though, or discomfort her, it brought a calm like no other. But as noted, it didn't give her any reason to sleep let alone think about it.

Nothing did these days.

She sat there on her bed a little longer, just in case a miracle happened. But after a few more sighs and acknowledging the fact that she wasn't getting any sleep soon, Camilla Ambers decided it was just another night lost in the emptiness of other sleepless nights.

She got out of her covers slowly and stepped comfortably into her fluffy slippers, the ones she always kept by her bedside. She didn't bother to look at the clock on the bedside table, its devastating red flair made her appreciate the chunk of metal less than she appreciated the fact that it was deathly right.

The sweet scent of roses from her mother's last visit made her apartment feel a lot more welcoming than usual and it made her sigh too. Something about her mother's visits always turned the place into a home. Her frequent schemes of trying to make her child care for such things was particularly seen as an effort to desperately become more endorsed in her daughter's life.

In her own words "this house feels like you're living in the middle of a goddamn crisis, Cammy. It needs to be a home for you to come back to" or something like that, Camila didn't remember because she subconsciously zoned off at that point

Her pleas never changed and neither did her daughter's response. A small shrug and the words "its just an apartment. That's what I paid for... I don't need anything else at the moment"

Camilla had only been there for a few months andhad  nhad ot bothered to make any unnecessary adjustments. She didn't see the need for it, she went to work early, came back home late and she wouldn't have cared less if she had slept in her car. Besides, home was somewhere she knew she had no need for.

For now.

By the time she'd got her cup of coffee from the espresso and sat on the kitchen counter, she heard the silent ticking of the clock on the wall.

And it unmistakably showed "It's 3:30! What the hell!"

She was sure the man next door might have awoken from his "dear sleep" from the "racket" as he liked to call it.

She knew he'll have the pleasure of blurting about it later in the morning on her way out to work, and to the landlord too. She didn't mind, she'd got used to it. Besides old Mike never seemed to care about what either of them did. As long as the rent came on time.

The phone she'd picked up from the dressing table glared up at her as she turned it on.

No new messages.

Not that she'd been expecting any. She sighed as she reflexly dismissed it. She took a grand sip of the coffee before placing the cup gently on the counter.

She walked over to the balcony after snatching her laptop in a dash and after sparing a glance at the quiet neighbourhood in upper manhattan, she sat comfortably on the armchair and took a deep breath before she started another early morning.

Another early morning she thought as she flipped through the first set of emails awaiting her. She'd got used to waking up early and she knew she wouldn't get any sleep even if she tried.

So she'd developed a rather favourable habit of getting started with her work...a habit she'd long since got accustomed to. And this was just one of those many mornings that introduced a day that brought no surprises. Just another morning, was all it was. She missed her sleep and she was partly right in doing so, but it didn't seem to matter anymore.

The morning itself was out of the ordinary but the not so surprising was different than usual, in ways that brought a new beginning in her life.

A new beginning. God knows she needed one

***

Not so far away just on the other side of the city, Adrian Cadillan awoke with a start, the same dreams tormenting him again. He too faced a similar dilemma, sleep evaded him.

His eyes strained with the blurry images still blinding him, the darkness in them slowly started to be accepted as the room he lay in. He'd gotten used to the feeling... the gloom hung over him until he finally took a deep breath and exhaled, sealing the demons inside once more. He wiped the slow treading stream of sweat on his forehead with his sleeve and sat there on the large-sized king's bed for a long time before reluctantly accepting the fact that sleep was no longer a luxury he could enjoy. He sat up, rather than be undecided on what to do next, he quickly made up his mind.

He too found himself drawing the curtains and breathing in the night air as the soft breeze cooled his nerves. From his penthouse He could see New York city in its full night splendor, the city lights blaring at him from the distance, traffic barely audible in the distance urging a welcoming calmness like no other. Beautiful, was the only way to describe it. Yet so distant were the people in it.

He stood there savouring the moment, his mind slowly going where it always did on nights like these. He closed his eyes, closing reality from his mind.

I wish you were here with me.

But that was the thing with life, it never gave you everything you wished for he thought as the shock waves of reality kicked in again this time with a fierce vengeance and he welcomed it, he'd already got used to it.

Some wishes remain void...only clinged on for the hope they can give.

The first piercing rays of the morning sun would find him in his study, his laptop the only means of company with him. Not knowing that someone else just on the other side of the city was doing the same thing. He too needed a new start, he'd slowly began to accept that. Though it was hard, the truth never failed to hit him straight in the face. And the truth spoke with a definite bang inside his head. He needed someone else...

Someone to bring a new beginning.

***

Author's Note:
I bring to you a book a long time in the making, one that defines me and has become a part of my very essence. I have poured my soul, s,pi,rit and heart into it. And I have only one wish, that you may enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed fabricating it for you.

PS: This story includes bonus chapters in between the main arc's storyline. These chapters dive into the past, p,re,sent and future as they depict scenes and events that correlate with the story and it's world perfectly. These help the readers to understand the story and its characters more and are therefore necessary since they hold the very essence of the book. Enjoy the rest of the book and thank you for your wholesome support.