Freya knew to respect people’s boundaries, but to prevent this incident from repeating, she had Nolan investigated. The compilation of the information left her glum; in her circle, such things were quite common: familial betrayal, struggle for survival, yet her heart ached for Nolan. Perhaps her gratitude for him as her saviour had grown into something more profound, crossing the boundaries of indebtedness. She planned for her men to search out the loan sharks and pay his debt. A suspicious-looking letter arrived at his doorstep, informing him of a new way to repay his debt. Nolan sighed in relief as he read the unnamed letter. He placed it in the drawer and washed his hands to cook himself dinner.
It seemed his fairy godmother had finally made her debut, he thought; now only the princess is missing. A figure flashed in his mind as he thought about the princess; he hurriedly shook his head and slapped his face gently to erase that thought. Completely forgetting, he had flour on his hands, so now he had two white handprints on his cheeks. Unbeknownst to him, a seed had silently planted itself in his heart.
Freya later worked on a joint project with her sibling. Nolan accompanied her to the headquarters. Their work required a multi-day commitment. You could easily describe it as coffee mugs, weary eyes, and lethargic bodies. At one point, the work got stumped as the workers ran out of ideas. Freya took a break after working for several hours. She looked up and found Nolan gazing at her. He asked her permission to look over the materials; he wanted to help too. After getting her consent, he spent the next three hours deeply immersed in the documents and came out with a plan in his hand as Freya came out of her rest area. She smiled as she read the plan. The meeting immediately discussed, and after a few modifications, passed the proposal.
Jasper, Freya’s brother, softly smiled at her as she sat down in his office after the meeting. “I’m quite impressed by that secretary of yours,” Jasper lightly appreciated. “His name is Nolan, brother,” she lightly frowned, “and he is quite talented.” “Yes, princess,” he replied. Freya pouted at his response. “Do you like him?” he asked her curiously. “Brother... you...” she got stumped, and Jasper lightly chuckled at her. Freya left the office in a huff. Jasper gazed softly at her, barging out. The subtle tension between them, the gazes, and the seamless understanding did not escape his keen eyes. Walking through the corridors towards the office, she recognized Nolan’s voice among the others. He was confidently conversing with them; she observed inside the room through the glass window. His way of carrying himself, his words, and his style polished up. He no longer looked like the lost boy when she first met him officially in the café.
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***
Nolan internally panicked as he saw Freya drinking at their project’s celebratory dinner. Seeing her flushed appearance and as the professional wall around her crumbled, she was more talkative and smiling as she conversed with Jasper, even in the presence of their co-workers. Nolan suddenly remembered their previous drunk encounter. His heart skipped a beat; Freya felt an intense gaze on her and looked around to see and found Nolan gazing at her. She warmly smiled at him, her eyes turning into crescents. His heart beat wildly; to calm himself down, he gulped down a glass of water. He coughed a little as he realised it was wine; his throat burnt as the wine passed down, making him a little dizzy.
Unhappily, he stood up and asked her permission to leave the party, as he wasn’t feeling well. He went out into the cool wind, lightly sobering him up, called a cab, and went back home... his refuge, some place he could sort out this whirlwind of overwhelming emotions. He gradually realized his situation had become dire.m; her presence would stir his emotions, her smiles giving him butterflies, and he had been having a hard time keeping them under wraps. He couldn’t voice them since the gap between Freya and himself was too wide, something he had to come to terms with. So, he tucked away all his feelings, perhaps with some remorse.