At exactly seven am, Aliyah arrived at the Aryster Manor that was located in the western suburbs of Matrix City. The manor was surrounded by trees and to reach the main house, one would need a car. She parked her motorcycle in front of the high-rise door and not long after, a butler came to meet her.

She was ushered to the living area where she sat on the couch and was offered a drink. Even though the manor was spacious, it was still simply decorated with colors of gold and silver. The living room was littered with green plants and paintings of nature. It was also very open with floor to ceiling windows that showed the gardens outside. Overall, the place would give anyone a comfortable feeling.

"Enforcer Walker?" A soft voice called out from behind. She stood up and faced the owner of the voice.

A young man with silvery hair and a fair face was standing not far from her. He had deep blue eyes that were somewhat dull. He looked so frail under the sunlight. Add to that his lean build, it would give anyone the illusion that he could break anything. A soft smile appeared on the young man's face when he saw how the woman was observing him.

"Yes, that's me." She composed herself and donned on her cold mask. Even though he looked like he could be blown by the wind anytime, she would not bring her defenses down.

"Do you perhaps recognize me?" He asked again in a soft voice. His head slightly tilted to the side as he waited for the woman's answer.

He held himself back from striding forward to hug the woman because he couldn't believe it. The woman in front of him now was different from the child he once knew. She was more beautiful and mature now even with the air of aloofness around her. He was truly glad to see her again.

She was puzzled because of the sudden question but she still answered. "Sorry sir but I don't recognize you." She didn't recognize the man and she had no memories of anyone with his looks.

Aizel's smile dropped at the woman's words. He expected this to happen but to actually experience it was something entirely different. But he couldn't do anything, it's been years since they last saw each other and he had changed a lot especially on his outer appearance.

All he could do at that moment was to let out a sigh of disappointment. "Sorry then, I must have mistaken you for someone who was dear to me," he answered and smiled bitterly. Even if it took a long time for her to remember him, he would still do his best to stay by her side.

He gestured for the Aliyah to sit down before he took a seat. "Sorry for being rude and not introducing myself first. I'm Aizel Aryster and I will be in your care from now on."

She nodded. She already guessed from the moment she saw her that this man would be her charge. "Well, yeah I will also be in your care." She answered with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

Aizel detected the plasticity in her tone but he didn't mind. It would not be advisable if he would comment on her tone and he did not want to disappoint her any longer because what his father did was already enough. Now his mission was to make sure that Aliyah would have a more positive opinion of him.

General Aryster saw what happened and chose to interrupt at that moment. "Ah, you are already here, Enforcer Walker and of course you've already met my son, I hope the two of you get along well." He said in an awfully cheery voice which made Aliyah frown. She really had no good impression of the overbearing general whatsoever.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Yes sir, I will do my utmost to meet your expectations," she stood up and gave the general a salute. He was pleased with the enforcer's professionalism even though he knew that Aliyah hated him at the moment.

The general summarized the responsibilities of Aliyah as a bodyguard. It was mainly to protect her charge from any danger and to report to the general if something happened since he wanted to be a well-informed father.

Aliyah feigned listening to what General Aryster was talking about. She already knew what her job was, no need to hear the general's explanation. Leroy noticed her disinterest so he stopped and shook his head.

Since Aliyah was not interested to hear anymore, he decided to just stop and change to other topics but still, Aliyah was unresponsive. Leroy sighed in defeat and took this chance to say goodbye so he left the two of them. After the general's departure, Aliyah stayed with Aizel and remained stiff throughout the day. It was also as clear as day that she was bored.

She knew that being a bodyguard was boring but she didn't anticipate that it was this severe. Aizel Aryster was not a very talkative person and all he did the whole day was read books and eat. If the butler would not come, he might not even eat lunch.

"Why don't you also take a seat, enforcer and pick a book that you might like to read," Aizel suggested after he noticed that Aliyah was about to fall asleep because of boredom.

"No need." She refused it was not her habit to do other things while she was still on duty. Her principle was to focus on what she was doing now and not to do anything that might compromise her work.

Aizel wasn't able to convince her so the day ended with no other interaction aside from that talk of reading books. Though Aizel wanted to talk to her he didn't dare, he settled on just watching the young lady as she 'guards' him.

Aliyah did not utter a word to Aizel, she decided to stay indifferent and ignore the stare the man was giving her. She would like to pass the day without them talking because she didn't know what to say and they did not really know each other to have a topic they could talk about.

She left the estate at exactly five in the afternoon. She didn't stay for even a minute

Aizel remained at the door as she watched Aliyah's silhouette disappear through the road. He looked up and let out a bitter laugh. Fate was really cruel to separate them and to let them meet each other as strangers.

He felt a sharp pain in his heart and braced himself on the Manor's wooden door. He wanted to cry but there were no tears to shed. He just clutched his chest in pain and took a deep breath steady his breathing before he once again entered the house. Tomorrow was another day. He would not give up now or ever.

Aizel's eyes dimmed and his face was etched with a deep frown the moment Aliyah left the manor. A wave of indescribable anger and rage awakened inside of him. He balled his hands tightly in a desperate attempt to calm himself but the raging emotions he had wasn't showing any signs of calming. Drops of blood started to fall from how tightly he clenched his fists that his nails dug hard into his flesh.

The whole manor suddenly experienced a tremor that startled all the employees. They rushed out from the place and went to the garden where they would wait for the tremors to stop. Leroy, who had been quietly reading some documents inside his office, rushed out the moment he felt the room dancing. What he did first was not leave the place, instead he ran to Aizel's room to look for him. The general found him standing in front of his door without moving.

He steeled himself and slowly walked towards his son. "Aizel, son," he called out softly so as not to startle the young man and make matters worse.

Aizel heard his father, so he slowly turned around and looked at his father. His eyes had a tinge of madness that suddenly vanished at the sight of Leroy. The general's heart broke at his son's state and suddenly he regretted hiring Aliyah as his son's bodyguard.

"I-It's really painful..." he said in a miserable voice. "She doesn't recognize me anymore. She must have hated me because I suddenly disappeared. She must have thought that I abandoned her." A sob from Aizel made the general's heart hurt.

Leroy took big strides towards Aizel and gave him a hug. He gently patted his son's back in an act of comfort. "I know but you need to be strong. She'll soon know that you are her brother. It must be because your looks aren't the same as always. Are you going to give up now?" He did not let him go.

"So many years were wasted. I missed so many years..." he choked another sob. He didn't want to cry but the overwhelming pain he was feeling and the built-up frustration he felt for so many years was too much for him to handle.

"You still have time, Aizel, no need to rush into things. This is just the first day and you have many more days to let her know and feel that you are her brother and that you care for her." Leroy did not stop from patting him.

Aizel reluctantly agreed. His father has a point. Yes, he had more time now and he would not waste it. He had to be positive this time. "I was glad to see her again and to see how she had grown up but it still hurts to know that I was not there to see it all."

It was the greatest regret of his life and now that he had a second chance, he would give it his best to stay by his sister's side. After the talk with his father, he was finally able to calm down and the tremors finally stopped altogether.