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Love Me From Afar

First Encounter

What is love?, Am I in love? or, How does one fall in love? have always been the questions asked the by the hopeless romantics.

Love simply is that feeling you get when being surrounded by a genuinely happy family. OR

That special feeling you get when you see a certain person who makes your heart skip a beat in a good way, who slows down time whenever you are together and causes you to feel things you didn't think you could feel before.

"The tricky part then becomes how to show that love to someone.

1-The bullies who will try to make life miserable just for them to get your attention.

2.Then we have the hopeless romantics who will start small by texting frequently, by sending flowers,chocolate, love notes etc

3:Then we have the straight forward type of people, who without hesitation tell you how they feel".

Falling in love is easy ,being in love is quite hard, but getting over a failed love when you want to is upright impossible and that's why Aria Soledad has given up on love.

Aria Lim after migrating from China to Philippines at the age 10, thought that she would have settled down in her mid 20's, doing a job she loves and just loving life in general, but not everything is as we want it to be and her reality manages to somehow always be different and obscurely opposite from the one she envisioned.

Still she manages to be optimistic, charming and quite a hardworking clerk for an advertising company whilst also being a third year medical student.

One might think that she's not trying enough or trying with very minimal effort, which is most definitely not the case.

She may have given up on love and immediately hate at anything remotely romantic, but experiences tend to shapen us all and Aria is no stranger to such experiences.

Having always been on the receiving short end of the stick, she has grew some rather strong feelings towards love.

She did have casual relationships though which was sex only, kinda ironic that her favourite movie is No Strings Attached which basically was about a sex only relationship featuring the tandem of Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher.

She also had rules of engagement, which she uses as a disguise to avoid getting hurt ;

No staying over.

No dates or hanging out.

No need to know about ones past.

And her favorite of all, no romantic gestures what so ever.

With these so called rules she felt that her heart would always be protected and safe, but unknowingly allowed that to ruin some relationships that could have lasted.

Then their is Seth Gonzales who is 23, handsome, well mannered and a rich tycoon with emotional baggage.

He has as his head is in the clouds with so many ideas he probably could take technology to the next level, and most importantly he is a believer of true love which as a result made him become often naive and gullible in relationships.

He may not have realise it then but all his relationship were based on material things, his lovers never loved him back the way he wanted.

He probably never realised it because he always felt alone and still grieving the loss of his parents.

Seth had a rather intense and neglected childhood, from private lessons in piano, kickboxing and linguistics, he never had time to be somewhat normal.

Always insearch of love from wherever he could find, thus how he got tagged as the billionaire playboy.

Who could blame them though, he's 6'11 with a perfectly built physique and to top it all of with green eyes which literally shimmer under the sun's reflection.

Even with his rather terrible luck with love, he's optimistic in finding the one.

Being the only son and heir of two multi billionaires who happen to be the owners of the most trusted technology companies in the Philippines, he also inherited all the wealth and stress that came along.

There are certain coincidences that feels like orchestrated plans which have been in motion from the very beginning and that's exactly how the first meetings of Aria and Seth felt like, two souls constantly being drawn to each other.

It all started with Aria having a typical bad morning as she woke up late from the sound of "No Strings Attached" playing in the background.

Woke up with a slight headache then immediately started scratching her hazel colored eyes with intensity as to stop herself from falling back to sleep.

She sat down at her bedside Feeling stressed out and unprepared for the presentation that could change her life, when she notice that her alarm did not go off making her few minutes behind schedule.

Hurriedly she jumped into the shower before putting together whatever seemingly professional suit she could find.

Unfortunately, her waking up late was just the beginning as her car breaks down at the side of the road, giving her no other option but to order an uber which will take atleast 30 minutes to arrive.

Having giving up and looking hopeless, she then tied her hazel colored hair into a ponytail style before openings the bonnet of the car to see what's wrong.

Not sure what the problem was and how to solve it, she stood at the roadside angrily with sad tears on the verge of falling from her eyes whilst trying to catch the passing cabs.

An uber suddenly by arrive infront of where she stood unknowing to her that it was already booked by Seth.

His reason for not using any of his own cars that day because because it was his first day going back to the office since his parents died and saw it fit to transport under the radar.

He wanted to avoid commotions from when he'll arrive at the office, the employees, the paparazzi, all who are interested to know if he will be a great successor to his deceased parents.

Thinking it was the uber she booked, Aria hurriedly entered in the backseat, putting herself only few inches away from Seth's face.

She then share a confuse, intense and lingering eye contact with him, whose shocking expression was highlighted by his shimmering green eyes that was noticeable even with his glasses on.

Could this be the start of their love story?, love or hate at first sight?.

Taking A Risk

What seemed to be a lingering moment in time between Seth Aria was quickly cut off, after realizing she was getting lost in his dazzlin green eyes.

With a sigh of frustration, she asked the uber driver if that was the one she ordered?.

Seth still in confusion and disbelief also took notice at the side glances she gave him, did she resent him he thought to himself.

Or is it that he met someone who apparently doesn't know who he is.

He opened his mouth to speak but was cut short by the driver who asked Aria if she had any Idea who's presence she was in, and could have continued to say more before Seth quickly interrupted and told him it was okay for her to also use the uber.

Aria now having a change of expression towards him then gave him an almost genuine smile.

Still confused but also grateful as she thanked him and then tell the driver where she was headed.

Noticing how jittery she was and how swollen her eyes had become from crying, Seth asked her if everything was ok and if she was in trouble.

Hesitant to answer at first but was trying to be grateful and polite, she responded to him narrating how terrible her morning had gotten.

"I guess I'm not the only one having a bad morning" he said as he chuckled nervously whilst slightly playing with the ring on his right index finger.

The uber driver then looked up from his mirror glass, staring pitiful at him, which Aria took notice of and then she asked what had happen.

Feeling hesitant as well, Seth gave in as he felt comfortable idea of opening up to her.

Having arrived at her destination before Seth could start explaining, Aria scrambled through her bag looking for her purse when her I.D card fell off unbeknownst to her and Seth.

Noticing that she was trying to pay in cash, Seth opted to settle her payment. This gesture made Aria to look at him intently as she genuinely smiled and thank him.

Sparks definitely were flying at this point, but time was not in both their favor as Aria hurriedly came down the uber and ran into the office.

Seth then realised he didn't ask her name when he noticed the string of the I.D card at the top of his shoes, he picked it up as to see what it was.

"Aria Soledad, Chinese filipino" he mumbled to himself as he smiled vibrantly and was about to ask the driver to take him back, when his phone rang displaying multiple messages with missed calls.

His secretary had anxiously been trying to reach him all morning, urging him to get to the office as soon as possible to be part of the impromptu shareholders meeting that was being held.

Knowing how important it was for him to be there, he placed the card in his pocket and asked the driver to hurry up.

Aria who was now five minutes late for her presentation, hastily barged into the conference room garnering everyone's attention towards her.

Luckily for her, Ashley (28) who was more or less her office bestfriend had held down the fort till she arrived.

Smiling gratefully towards her, Aria asked her to hand out copies of her presentation to the residing bosses so she could waste no time in setting up the projector.

Displaying a bar chart of funds used by the company for the past two years, she started her presentation discussing that over a million dollars funding had been used which was not accounted for.

A hour had gone by and her presentation was done gracefully.

One of the bosses Amid Delacosta (32), who was the head of the marketing department requested to work hand in hand with her to help uncover the missing funds.

It obviously was a big deal as you could clearly see Ashley squealing with a congratulatory hug towards her.

Seth on the other hand was on the verge of having a mental breakdown the moment he arrived at the office, being very much aware of the fact that the meeting was held to see if he was capable of running the company at a young age of 23.

He anxiously met with his secretary Adeleine (40), who was eagerly waiting for him to arrive.

No sooner he stepped out of the car she was all over him, starting with the updates then moved on to combing his hair making sure he didn't look a mess.

Miss Adeleine had been his nanny for as long as he could remember, loved and cared for him as if he was her own child and so Seth reciprocated the feeling of motherly love towards her.

She became a second mother or the mother who stayed as Seth liked to say, especially when his parents were busy with work and couldn't be present for major events in his life.

He always could count on Adeleine to show up and cheer him on.

When his parents died, she moved in with him to be by his side as he grieved their losses and later on opted to be his secretary.

Having Adeleine by his side would make fitting in to the company easy.

Seeing that he was on the verge of breaking down, she held her hands to his face, reassured him that he's stronger and adamant than they're aware of and he's gonna go into the board meeting and persuade all of them that he could handle the company affairs.

Feeling grateful and relaxed, he hugged her and said he will make her proud as he entered into the conference room.

Upon his entrance the entire room went extremely quiet, immediately noticing he had everyone's attention on him, from board members to high esteemed journalists and News Stations.

His anxiety almost took over again, but then he saw Adeleine smiling back at him from the back of the room, mouthing the words "Show Confidence" to him.

Feeling a boost of confidence, he walked up to the podium which was already accompanied by his Godfather Alphonso (45).

They hugged eachother and Alphonso whispered in his ears "make us proud little buddy" before giving way for him to take full control of the podium.

Being in that moment, Seth knew he had one chance to save his parent's legacy which he had an idea on how to go about it.

He shakily said his greetings and then confidently got to the point that he was aware of the doubts surrounding whether he's fit to lead the company.

Seeing the verbal murmuring and shareholders nodding their heads in agreement, he continued saying he's going to appoint a designated CEO from one of the shareholders, who will run the company on alongside him for the whole year as he proves his leading capabilities.

Who could be the designated CEO he appointed?

Could this change be disastrous or bring great results for his company.

Electric Butterfly

Loud gasps and enraged voices quickly filled the room upon Seth's sudden announcement, shocked and visibly upset at his bold decision.

Unable to wrap their heads around thus sudden announcement, everyone was trying to get their voices heard especially the journalists who were asking questions left and right.

Feeling a major loss of confidence, he looked at Adeleine who had a wary expression on her face and then to Alphonso who was just looked at him distinctively.

Even with the questionable looks, he still forged ahead believing this was the only way to save the legacy of the Gonzales.

"I hope i'm making the right decision mum and dad" he thought to himself before pointing to Alphonso, announcing him as the designated CEO.

Noticing a very nuanced change in Alphonso's expression from shock and confused to a subtle smirk , Seth invited him to take the podium beside him.

"I'll explain everything later Uncle" he whispered as he reached out for a hug and then shook his hand in celebration.

At this point, he could hear the questions being thrown at him distinctively.

Questions mainly revolving Mr Alphonso Cruz capabilities to take up the mantle do a great job?

Seeing that he had no other way to convince them, Seth stood firmly onto his decision and ask the board members to give him and Mr Alphonso six months period, which was twice as less a time he had originally requested for to put their doubts to rest.

A board member then rose up and requested that they vote on the decision.

His parents being the great bosses they were before dying, swayed the votings in his favor as he had a 72 percentage of the votes, with the board members quoting his words "three months to put our doubts to rest Mr Gonzales".

After the meeting, he met with his uncle at his appointed office and explained why he did what he did.

"There was no other way for the board to keep me in charge, I heard the rumors" Seth said whilst looking at Alphonso, who seemed to take in the new office rather than pay attention to what he was saying.

"I believe in you uncle, I know we are going to do great things. You are the right person for this, you worked hand in hand with mum and dad, so I'm sure you know how to run the company and I want you to teach me everything especially things I haven't learned from books" he continued as he noticed Alphonso finally paying attention to him.

"One year huh?, we are going to do great things Godson" he replied with a somewhat happy expression on his face as he winked at Seth and then hugged him one last time before exiting the room.

No sooner he left, Adeleine entered the room, still with the wary expression on her face, she asked him if he was sure about his decision and her distrust for Mr Alphonso, insinuating that he could have a hand in his parents death.

Seth immediately closed his eyes upon hearing her, trying to not let the words trigger him, he then turn to her and forced a smile whilst telling her that it was a terrible accident what happened with his parents and that he trusted his Godfather.

Deep down Seth had an uneasy feeling he couldn't explain.

Noticing how hurt he was beyond the forced smile, Adeleine changed her wary expression to a happy one, hugging and telling him how proud she was of him.

After pulling back, she noticed the string of Aria's I.D card from earlier, which was now hanging out from Seth's pocket.

She then drew it out, analyzing the I.D card and then finally with a confused and smirking look, she asked Seth who it belonged to.

Seeing the I.D card in her hands, Seth began blushing whilst trying to take it from her hands which was harder than it seem.

He then sighed defeated in a good way and then explained his encounter with Aria and how he wanted to drop it at her workplace.

"Will this be a regular thing or something that ends within a months time" Adeleine asked, referring to his previous relationships.

"Hopefully something more" he replied back with a beaming glee in his eyes, quickly he said his goodbye and was on his way out when Adeleine requested he used one of his cars rather than an Uber.

Still unsure about who to trust, he requested that they hire the uber drive whom he had felt connected to.

Jaime was appointed as his official driver from that moment.

Aria being caught up with finding the missing funds was busy at work with Amid, who had a not so subtle crush on her and saw this as a perfect opportunity to finally get close to her.

"The funding donated for the EXEMT foundation was 10 million dollars, but only seven million was delivered. awhich means upto three million was squandered and not accounted for" Aria explained to him as she frantically went through her researched presentation.

It's no secret that there was a bigger scheme going on in the office, but could she really trust Amid, Aria thought to herself.

Seth and Jaime later arrived at Aria's workplace, feeling a little overhead he still couldn't help but be confident and excited as he entered the office.

Immediately being the center of attention.

The employees began to whisper amongst themselves as they were all surprised by his sudden appearance, especially after making the headlines in the tabloids few hours earlier making him a trending topic.

Aria was about to reply to Amid, who had asked her why she still chose to pursue her medical studies and not continue her job at the advertising agency when she heard the commotion outside.

"What is happening" she asked Amid before opening the door to check.

With a shocking turn of events, she was face to face with Seth who stood outside the door about to knock.

Before coming into contact with Aria again, Seth had randomly talk to Ashley who was more than willing to direct him to Amid's office thus explains why he was infront of the door.

Upon seeing her, Seth began smiling from ear to ear, visibly obvious about his excitement to see her.

Aria stood infront of him still in disbelief that he was actually there,unsure how to react to his sudden appearance.

Seeing that his smile was so genuinely radiant, she couldn't help but become lost in his gaze again.

For a moment, the world stopped around them as they both felt the intensified electricity.

The butterfly effect had taken full force over Aria, but is their something more there for it to either be a good or bad thing.

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