Chapter 2
- When We Meet
Melissa savoured the taste of hot coffee in her tongue. Dark and bitter just like she preferred it. The caffeinated drink entered her system like a flow of energy as she felt her hands warm.They had become cold due to the freezing temperature outside , making her pale skin whiter than usual. Her dark black hair was done in a loose ponytail with few strands of hair falling on her face.
The atmosphere inside the cafeteria was moderately peaceful. Not many customers were present today with the possible exception of a few teenagers who had come for coffee dates much to the annoyance of Mr.Gordon who believed something was seriously wrong with the youngsters in New York. He failed to understand why wouldn't they immerse themselves in books with finest literature or do something productive. Melissa was grateful to this Scottish gentleman for allowing her to stay in his spare apartment. Her English origin had played a big factor as for Mr.Gordon allowing a young 'smart arse American hippieish chick' was a big NO. Of course Melissa was willing to pay him by the end of this month once she got her salary from her shift in the local library.
She wrapped her arms tighter around herself,pulling the black jacket she wore close and tucking her chin downwards in her pullover. She had it all yet she let it go for the sake of her freedom. Marrying that young and rich army colonel was just out of question. Viktor was handsome and charming but being his wife would forever end her dreams and education. She remembered how their conversation went the last time ,before she had eloped.
"Melissa I can assure you a safe and happy life . I choose to protect your dignity till my last breath and promise to love you. You will know no sorrows as long as I'm your husband." He had smiled casually dismissing whatever she said about disapproving their marriage.
"Viktor, my happiness lies in what I want to do. I haven't even completed my third year in college. Djibouti or whatever city you call it in Africa isn't the place where I would even get a job.",she replied.
"I'm afraid I cannot help it ,dear, it's where I'm posted. The regiment needs me by the end of this month ,enough time for us to get hitched. "Her fiancé frowned."And I really don't see why you need to do a job Mels,I earn enough for the two of us to live a luxurious life. You stay in a bungalow, become the lady of the house,enjoy yourself,that's it."
Before she could have protested more he had leaned to kiss her. But that was the moment she had realised Viktor was not the right man for her. That very night after their date when he dropped her in her home ,she received a phonecall from her mother.
Their argument didn't help at all and whatever she heard from her made her sick .
The next thing she knew was wiping her tears and frantically buying ticket for the next flight to the states , to escape that was coming for her. She packed whatever she could see in her room including clothes ,some of her books and the letter of approval she had received from Brown University. Taking her credit card could help her parents track her location and that was the last thing she wanted. As she reached the airport she took all the remaining cash which was not much, from her account in an ATM and then converted them in American dollars. It could work as the entry fee for her college.
She knew probably her parents were looking for her. But now they could do nothing about it since she was an adult. Having blocked their numbers made her feel quite satisfied with herself . They deserved it for all their wrong doings.
"Do you want to have the strawberry cheesecake Arthur prepared this morning,sweetheart ?",a brunette in her early fifties with short bob hair smiled asking Melissa .
"No thank you Mrs.Gordon.I already had my breakfast .",Melissa smiled back at her. She was a friendly woman and had instantly reminded her of her aunt Mary. The only mother figure that existed in her life till last year when she had died in a car crash.
"And do you need anything else in our apartment? The bathroom pipeline is working right? Oh dear!It's been almost a year, since we called the plumber last .That house usually stays vacant .",she sighed.
"No no!",Melissa protested immediately. "I love your house."
Aside from the fact her bedroom window had spiderwebs which she cleared yesterday by dusting ,everything was okay if not in perfect order.
"I'm pleased to hear that.",Mrs.Gordon said excitedly. "From when is your first day of college beginning ?"
"The next week itself.",answered Melissa happily. She glanced on the clock hung in the mahogany wall of the cafe realising she would get late. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to be at the library for reading out to the kids,my boss Mr.Stone is surely waiting for me."
"Of course.",said Mrs.Gordon. "Easy work,Miss Davis."
After muttering her landlord's wife a quick thanks she hurriedly paid for her coffee at the cash counter and left for the day.
However what she didn't notice was a pair of soft caramel eyes watching her from the glass window.
.
It had been quite a long day for Melissa. Her shift continued till afternoon though she enjoyed herself in the company of children. They all had gathered around her as she read their favourite fairy tales and enacted be it the beautiful princess Snow White or the evil queen as they listened with wrapt attention. They had also made her cute little drawings of trees,unicorns and flowers. Mr.Stone was impressed by the number of children today and insisted her to be there for longer time saying he would pay her for overtime.
The apartment was not far from the library and the weather was just perfect as the sun decided to show itself today after the horrific cold morning. The snow scattered on the road was melting in contrast to the clear blue sky. Having decided to take a walk by the street Melissa bit on the chocolate doughnut that she had bought from a French bakery for lunch.
Her eyes roamed in all directions and fell on a tall stranger all dressed in a shirt and nice pants on the other side of the road. She couldn't see his face that clearly but he was standing just next to the bakery from where she got her lunch. Was he insane to just wear a shirt in this temperature?
Her vision was blocked as a red car passed the road.
Weird!
Thought she.
As she turned to walk she felt herself colliding with a hard chest. Much to her irritation the doughnut fell on the ground.She had bumped with the same weird man who was standing on the different side of the road now infront of her. It suddenly occurred to her how could he be this fast.
He was pale and the his chocolate brown hair falling on his face. And then he looked up.
Brown met blue.
For a few moments they just stared at each other.
Adrian tried to tear his eyes off the human girl who looked no less than a goddess. He couldn't help but to drown in the depths of her blue green eyes which looked at him in confusion. She wasn't short with only few inches down his face. Her black hair looked as dense as the night sky in Findara. Her lips looked soft as she bit it nervously still maintaining the eye contact.
It was the first time he felt attracted.
(A/N- I thought I would finish it here making it an awesome cliffhanger but you guys deserve more. ❤️)
"Wait,how did you manage to move so fast?",Melissa was the first to break the silence.
"I don't understand what you mean by that.",the man replied. His voice was slightly raspy as she cursed herself getting goosebumps.
"One moment I saw you standing near that bakery.",she pointed at the shop. "And the next moment I bumped into you, how on earth did this happen?"
"I was not standing there.",Adrian said putting more emphasis on the word not. She could never know what he was.
"I'm not imagining things.",Melissa narrowed her eyes.
"And I'm not lying either.",the stranger said with gritted teeth and started walking away.
"Hey!",she called after him. "You're so rude, I lost my doughnut because of you and you didn't even apologise!"
"Buy another.",he suggested without turning back and striding with his long legs.
She stood there for sometime watching him leave and then cursed the arrogant arse for spoiling her lunch.
.
Adrian walked inside his temporary home as Zach's face greeted him. It was a small house somewhere in the countryside which both the friends loved in the human world.
"When did you decide to follow me here?",he asked watching him listen to the radio.
"An hour before and 15 minutes later after you met this human girl,to be precise.",he smirked.
"Stop reading my mind Zachie.",Adrian snorted.
"Don't call me that!",the other vampire groaned. "Smitten by her,are you?"
Adrian ignored him and switched on the television. He was about to put it in high volume when Zach snatched the remote from his hand.
"Adrian, she's human.",he said seriously now. "You can't have feelings for her."
"Oh come on Zach.",Adrian rolled his eyes. "We just bumped into each other."
"And she suspected you.",his best friend pointed out.
"I convinced her that she imagined me to be standing far.",he said.
"No you couldn't. I saw what happened by looking into your eyes. She was still doubting you.",he denied. "Remember this is the human world,man. Nobody can suspect us,if they do there will be unnecessary chaos.We have to stay away from humans or it will only do them harm."
Adrian nodded. He knew whatever Zach spoke couldn't be any truer. But he was unable to understand why felt the disappointment. Did he really want to see her again? He knew he had been particularly nasty but saying a sorry would mean further conversation. He wasn't thirsty for blood that moment but she was definitely not safe around him.
He didn't want to be the cause of another death.
.
"Girl,you fled?",Valentina gaped at Melissa.
They had just met three days ago,in a restaurant where Melissa had taken another job to sustain herself. Like her Valentina Rogers too worked as a waitress . They had befriended each other really fast over their mutual love for books,action movies and most importantly she would be going to Brown too. Valentina had a loving family,her parents were settled in Greenland since her dad was a historian. She tried to visit them every month. She didn't want them to pay for her so she had this job in the restaurant .
Valentina had given her a tour of the whole city which helped Melissa to get used to the new places and she couldn't be more thankful to the girl.
"Yeah.",Melissa whispered pouring the wine in one of the glasses.The restaurant was lavish and mainly for the elites.
"Your parents must be going crazy.",her friend said worriedly.
"They only care about their lost key to a fat bank balance.",she flashed a sarcastic smile.
She held the tray containing some plates of spaghetti ,chicken drumsticks with some red wine and walked towards her assinged table. It was in one of the private rooms of the restaurants with no other customers.
There was only a young man sitting on the table and chair beside him was actually vacant. He seemed oddly familiar.
"Here's what you ordered ,sir.",Melissa placed the tray and looked at him to give a polite smile. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him.
She gasped as Viktor glared at her.
"You have a lot explaining to do,Mels.",his cold expression changed to a devilish one.
.
Buhahahahaha 😈😈😈😈😈😈 Cliffhanger it is!
The scumbag Viktor is back! This chapter has 2058 words! 😱😱 phew 😅 So Finally here's the second chapter for 'His Redemption' . I'm really thankful to all my friends for the amazing support I received while writing this. Special thanks to my team MadhuriNath and Rajobrata for helping me so much,I love you both loads! ❤️❤️❤️ (hearts are not cringeworthy to a certain someone 😜) These two have been providing me interesting ideas for the story and we are a fantastic team together. We hope you enjoy our book as we proceed with the new chapters . I can promise you all they're going to be lit 🔥.
user20954371 don't kill me but here in this very platform I would like to announce,my girl Roshni is coming up with an incredible book on Wattpad. And it's a Harry Potter fanfic, Potterheads! Go check it out once it's released ,I bet you'll love it.
By the way I have a ship name for Adrian and Melissa. It's called
'ALissa'
Do you like it? Tell me in your comments and vote if you like this chapter.😍. Thank you for all your heartwarming comments and votes on the last few chapters,couldn't be more grateful. Have a great weekend. Bye ,for now.
With love,❤️
Olivia