I will never forgive you

Chapter 1

"Eli, I am going to the office. Are you sure, you can take care of him while I am away?" A beautiful lady in her late twenties asked her best friend Elena, while putting a really important file very carefully in her bag.

She worked very hard on that file and it was really important for the company she was working for now. Though the company isn't that big, she doesn't want people to suffer for her.

"Of course, I can, Liah. Don't worry about us. Moreover he is a total sweetheart." Elena said with an assuring smile which made the lady smile in pride.

"Okay, thank you. oh, When is your flight for New York?" She asked Elena after zipping her bag when she was done putting everything into it.

Elena was here in London to visit her  best friend for two days. She is a really busy businesswoman. She handles her father's textile business in New York as she was the only heir. Also she didn't forget to follow her dreams of modelling. She handles both of them gracefully. But Elena always manages to find time among her busy schedule to visit her best friend. She has been friends with her since they were little kids. They know everything about each other and were there for each other in every situation. They have supported each other whenever one needed another. They were together in everything. 

Elena knows the deepest secret of her best friend which the whole world is unaware of. Even though it is the only thing Elena was against her best friend's decision, she still chose to support her without much tantrums. 

"Today at 8 in the evening." Elena answered sadly. She was sad to leave her best friend alone here. Also she couldn't guarantee when they will meet again as it will be suspicious if she visits London frequently, because she was really famous in New York as she was the famous model apart from the successful business heir and the reporters would love to cover their front pages with the news of suspicious visits of Elena Swift in London. And that could lead her and her best friend to many unwanted situations which none of them want.

"Okay, I will be at home by five. Then we will spend some time together before I drop you at the airport. Does that sound good?" The beautiful lady asked cheerfully while getting up from the sofa and started to walk toward the door hiding her real emotion behind that fake smile. When the truth is she was also equally sad.

"Huh, I still can't believe it." Elena exclaimed angrily out of nowhere, getting up from the sofa she strided toward her friend angrily.

That stopped her best friend in her tracks. She turned around to look at Elena with a blank face. Anybody could say she was not up for the conversation Elana brought up.

"You can't believe what?" She asked, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

"That, you, Athaliah Williams, one of the most successful, powerful and self made businesswomen of New York, who gave the business world a tough competition and made her place in the top five businessmen in New York for three years straight, is here, in London doing a small nine to five desk job, pretending to be dead. When you can be out there and rule the business world like the queen you are." She huffed in frustration, ignoring her friend's obvious irritation.

She continued.

"I still can't believe that you chose this path like a coward instead of fighting those who hurt you. You were never like this. As far as I remembered nobody ever got away after messing with you. You always showed them their rightful place. So what happened now?" Elena exclaimed angrily. 

Yes, her best friend, Athaliah Williams, the most powerful woman known to Elena, is pretending to be dead and hiding far away from her country. Living her life peacefully with a new identity. She decided to never go back to that place where it all started and where she ended it all at once by faking her death.

Though Elena knew about Athaliah's this decision of pretending to be dead but never supported it. She was always against it and tried to explain to Athaliah a lot of time to get back to her real identity but Athaliah never budged from her decision. She had her own reasons to do so.

"Elena, we already talked about it two and half years ago. I am fine. I love my current life. It's peaceful. I don't want my previous life, my previous identity. I don't want anything from my previous life apart from you. And you already know why I am doing this small desk job. I don't want people to recognise me and keeping my profile as low as I can is the only way." Athaliah explained patiently, even though she was always a short-tempered girl and everybody who met her even for once in life are also aware of it.

"How will anyone recognize you? You did a pretty good job in hiding your identity. You changed your name from Athaliah Williams to Lina Smith. So basic! You dyed your jet black hair to brown. You cut your long hair to short and then the dark brown contact lenses to hide your beautiful ocean like eyes. Good job." Elena exclaimed sarcastically but Athaliah could point her frustration easily behind those sarcasms. 

They always have this argument whenever Elena visits her but Athaliah always puts an end before it could break her resolve.

"Let's not talk about it. I am getting late. Take care of yourself and him and give me a call immediately if something happens." Saying that Athaliah gave her frustrated best friend a quick hug and left for the elevator. 

She cannot afford to get angry at her only support.

"You can't ignore it every time." She heard Elena mutter. 

She knows that she can and she will.

Athaliah Williams, currently known as Lina Smith. Not a lot of people know Lina but that is how it was supposed to be. Athaliah was the fashion queen two and half years ago but now here she is doing a small desk job, living in a beautiful apartment with her only family after she faked her death. 

Life in London is expensive and if anyone is wondering how she is affording it here, then you should think she wasn't the successful businesswoman at the age of twenty for nothing. She was a billionaire and she had secretly made an account and kept forty percent of her earnings in that account and nobody knew about it. The amount is huge and enough for two people to live an ordinary and comfortable life.

Athaliah is happy and content in her current life as she was always a down to earth person and doesn't want to go back to her previous life ever. 

"Lina?" One of her co-workers called her to gain her attention. That brought her out of her pools of thoughts.

"Huh.. yeah?" She asked professionally.

"You okay?" He asked worriedly which Athaliah ignored.

It's an event organising company and she does some normal paper work behind the desk here. She doesn't talk with people much and always tries to stay in her zone. 

The less people, the less attention.

"Yeah." She replied. 

"Would you like to take a break with me?" He asked with a little expectation even after getting rejected for the hundredth time.

Yeah, this dude in front of her has interest in her but she kept rejecting him. It's nothing new for her. She always used this kind of attention from the opposite gender from secondary school. But she didn't have to worry about it much. Because she had her brother and.. HIM who used to take care of them on her behalf.

"I will be fine if I get to work in privacy. Oh, what brought you here?" She asked immediately after insulting him without giving him much time to think over that.

"Uhh.. I am here to take that file. Are you done with that?" He asked while trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

She nodded at him.

"Okay, give it to me." 

Athaliah handed her co-worker the file and he left her table.

Then she looked at the clock and cursed loudly. 

It was already 5:30. She had to reach home soon and drop Elena off at the airport. 

Without wasting much time she quickly cleared the table and walked out of the small office. She always takes the bus as transport even after having a car to keep her profile low but as she was late already she decided to take a taxi. 

Elena called Athaliah only twice in the whole day. So, she was relieved that Elena handled everything well.

On the way she called someone.

"Hey, Mary? Can you reach my home in 20 minutes and take care of him for 2 hours?" She asked hurriedly hoping Mary wasn't busy.

She cut the call when Mary said she wasn't busy and will be there in twenty minutes. 

She quickly got out of the taxi after reaching her apartment building and paid the taxi driver quickly. She hurriedly made her way toward the elevator.

Mary reached before Athaliah and was already doing her job. That was a good thing, Athaliah thought. She would drop Elena at the airport and quickly come back home.

She took my car keys and dropped the office papers on the couch and quickly left with Elena.

"You are late." Elena complained as soon as they were out of the apartment.

"Yeah, I know. I am sorry." She apologized sincerely with a tired half smile.

Elena was really sad as she couldn't spend some quality time with her best friend. But she sobered up quickly and they talked a lot on the way to the airport. They talked about happy past times. But Elena not for once mentioned a word that could hurt or make Athaliah angry. As Elena knew very well how short tempered of a girl Athaliah was.

"Liah, think again and come back. You know your brother can't handle all the businesses alone and it will lead to downfall. He is already broken after losing you, his dearest sister.. At least think about the one you have with you. He also needs more people and family members in his life apart from you." Elena tried to make Athaliah understand one last time. 

"I can't and I won't. I don't want HIS shadow to fall on my only family." Athaliah said in a tone that meant no arguments.

It was time for Elena to go and check in. They bid bye to each other with tears. They are like the sisters that they never had.

Athaliah sighed as she remembered why she can't go back to New York. 

Her father was one of the richest men in New York. Athaliah and Her brother, Aiden never lacked anything in their lives. But Athaliah liked to be independent since she was a kid. So, even after being the daughter of one of the richest men she didn't take a single penny to start and establish her business in the fashion world. She worked hard and became everything that Elena mentioned in the morning. She started her journey at the age of twenty and by the age of twenty three, she had everything. Name, fame, hard earned luxury, a successful business and also a lot of enemies.

But she had to leave everything for that one person. Her hard earned name, fame, business, luxury, everything. She had to leave her beloved family. She was her father's and mother's princess and brother's apple of eyes. But she had to fake my death because that person forced me to do so. 

He broke me to the level that she had started to hate her life so much that I had to fake death and live this ordinary life as an escape. Her family was devastated when the news of their only daughter's death spread like wildfire. 

Now Aiden, her brother handles her business now but she could see her hard work breaking day by day. But she couldn't blame him. He was already burdened by their father's vast business empire, her death and then her business. She knew it was all too much for him. But she couldn't do anything about it nor she wanted to do anything. There might come a time when he may have to sell it but yet she would not do anything.

She can't afford to come in front of the world again. She can't let the person who ruined her also ruin her only family, her only source of happiness and sanity, her son, Ryan.

She won't let that person see her son when HE didn't want him in the first place. HE ruined her. HE ruined her family. But she won't let HIM ruin her son's life, her small bundle of happiness.

It's not that she is afraid. She was famous in the business world for her coldness and ruthlessness. It's just she doesn't want any bad influence near her son. 

But still if HIM or anyone tries to mess with her son, she won't mind showing them that once a lioness is always a lioness and this time she is wounded and a mother. She will burn the whole world down.

'Aaron Knight, I will never forgive you for what you did with me. I hate you with every cell of my body.'