John has this chills and shivers in his heart everytime he sees fire. He remembers vividly how a fire burnt down the florist shop which was the livelihood of him and his father. He was there, but he did nothing to save him.
Worse still, it has been a trauma that had made John who he is today -cold, harsh and defensive.
He trusts no one, even though he is now owning one of the biggest florist chain in the region. He feels many are all out to take him down. He had to protect and defend his empire with all his might.
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His assistant, Silas knew this very well and stood by him, knowing his past has shaped him to not be his real self. He knows for John to overcome this psychological block, it needs to be handled in a very delicate manner. But he knows, since that day when Chloe appeared, things have started to change. Though John looks super irritated by her, he knows this girl is different from the rest. She could be just the right person to unlock John's heart. She is brave and straightforward, even though she is an employee. It is already a widely known thing that Chloe is crushing on John. She announced it on the first day she came in to work which is why John is so irritated by her.
She chases after him and showers him with warmth that he had never experienced before. She is like a sunshine that no matter how you try to cover her up, she just comes back shining.
"I have told you it is impossible between us. Quit wasting your time and stay away from me!" John said that to her.
Chloe is just not giving up. She still admires him since the day she saw him in the florist shop, doing up that bouquet for her as a demonstration to the training class. She vowed to herself she is going after him once she joins the company.
One day, John was staying back alone for some paper work when suddenly a fire happened in the pantry because of a short circuited wire. He came out and in his horror, he saw he was trapped again in the very thing he has been so traumatized by. He froze on the spot. The fire got bigger and he was still standing there, as if his feet were rooted to the ground. All his childhood memories flashed back. His dad abandoned him in the fire and he was feeling as helpless as before. He was shivering but he just could not move.
Just then, Chloe came in, she has always been waiting outside his office building every night to see him leave from work. Tonight, he took much longer time and she saw fire! But why was he sitting on the floor like a statue?? Was he crying like a baby?
My 5-minute timer rang here. But I guess I'm writing on the story this time, sorry! At least, we know where the story should have ended.
"Let's go, John! We have to go!"
"He.... He left me there and he went away.... " John was sobbing emotionally.
"Who? Who left you? We cannot talk now. We have to go!" Chloe was trying to hear him and yet she knew that's not the time to talk, if they didn't want to die.
"It's my dad. It's my dad!!! He left me in the fire!" John was like totally not himself at that moment.
"Okay, it's over in the past. I'm here. I'm here with you, " Chloe's heart swelled. Her heart immediately went out to him and she hugged him, comforting him in her embrace. "Everything is going to be alright, I'm not leaving you, " she said those words repeatedly. She knew he was very delicate at that moment and she wanted to make him feel safe.
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John heard that and somehow those words sent great assurance into him. It was like a heart that was broken for years was starting to get mended. Chloe knew they could not delay too long. The fire was spreading. She quickly made some calls when he was better. Then, she grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher to put the fire out. Silas came with some colleagues after he got Chloe's call. John who regained his "consciousness" helped her out too. When they saw the fire engines arrived, they dashed out of the building.
"That's so close, boss! Are you alright?"Silas quickly checked on John. John nodded but he was looking at Chloe. He knew he wouldn't have made it without her. As annoying as she used to be for interfering with his matters as usual, this time she saved his life because of her busybody attitude of wanting to always stay near to him.
He walked over to her and thanked her. She was so delighted that she hugged him on the spot, with her usual bright vibrant smile. Finally she knew what's underneath this iceberg - a traumatized boy who was overwhelmed by fear. "I'm going to love him in a delicate manner, " she thought to herself.
This time, John did not resist. He knew at that moment, she is different, she helped him to overcome his worst trauma and she chose to be in a dangerous situation with him, not leaving him like his dad did. John was starting to feel a very strange feeling for her. She may have just melted his cold defensive heart and given him the very therapy he has been needing all this while.
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Okay, I have to come clean. I have been watching a Chinese drama recently and I'm very much influenced by it, haha. So, I was doing freewrite and this story just kept coming to me. I improvised on the story, because that story is just too long. In case you don't know, I love my drama so much that I really think of them all day long. I used to write them in a book, covering as much details as I could to ensure I don't forget my favorite dramas, before I became a mom.
Freewrite is a prompt writing initiated by @mariannewest and @improv to write a free-flow post without correcting or editing. I checked out her post to really get what it is before I jumped on the bandwagon. Basically, there is no right or wrong, just let the mind and fingers do their work, to find our creative self and let it come out of us.
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created by @zord189
