SIXTY-THREE

Riley hadn't been joking when she said she'd be there shortly; it had barely been ten minutes when Yalda heard the door bell ring, it wws only then that she pulled herself together and got off the floor. She opened the door to find Riley there looking very worried, she watched her eyes widen in disbelief as she took in her teary face.

"Goodness, what happened to you?" She asked.

Yalda stepped aside and gestured for her to come in as she tried to hold onto what was left of her composure.

"Talk to me, Yalda." Riley said as she stepped in and pushed the door close behind her. "What's going on?"

Now that she was here, Yalda didn't know what to say or do, she had needed company, yes, but she couldn't even talk about what ached her because she had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Alexander. It was only now that the gravity of what she had gotten herself into became very clear to her.

Her body shook even more and she found herself unable to stand; she once again let herself crumble tiredly. She bit her lips to stiffle the sounds of her sobs to absolutely no avail.

Her heart had never been heavier, it was so heavy and she wasn't sure crying to lessen the weight. She leaned into Riley when she settled beside her and draped an arm over her shoulder.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Riley asked her.

She nodded.

She knew she could talk to her; lately, she had become the only person she could talk to. But this was different, she would be going against a contract with a powerful man by telling her what bothered her so much.

"Tell me what's wrong, Yalda." She tried to coax her. "I promise you'll feel better if you do."

She wanted to tell her, she wanted to talk about it so bad, she wanted to let it all out, but she just couldn't.

"I'm not alright, Riley." She cried quietly. "I'm losing my mind."

Her despair was almost palpable, it clearly unsettled Riley.

"Talk to me, Yalda." She literally begged her. "How do I help you if I don't know what's wrong?"

The question was, did Yalda want to be helped? Yes, she was broken, she was finished, but did she want to be helped? The bothersome thought had her crying even more. She shut her eyes tightly to hold back the tears to no avail.

"I can't." She breathlessly told her. "I can't tell you."

Riley's eyes widened in horror and worry.

"Are you in trouble, Yalda?" She asked her.

Trouble? Yes, she was in trouble. She was definitely in trouble, just not the kind Riley would think, thus, she shook her head.

Her heart pounded heavily as it clenched again and again from the weight that weighed so heavily on her. She felt almost suffocated; she felt so much, too much.

"I can't breathe, Riley." Her words were barely audible. "My chest feels so heavy. I just want to get rid of every I feel."

Riley didn't respond immediately, she took a moment to carefully analyze what she had said before she concluded that she was crying over a man. It caused her own heart to ache for her.

"Did something happen with your boyfriend?" She asked her quietly as she squeezed her shoulder soothingly.

Her boyfriend....

The thought of Alexander caused her heart to clench once more, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Did you breakup?" Riley asked, her tone was cautious, it couldn't be any other way seeing how sensitive the situation was.

Yalda almost laughed.

She wished she was crying about some boyfriend that broke up with her. She wished she was some naive girl crying about breaking up with some handsome golden-haired jerk.

She shook her head sadly.

Perhaps she should have simply said yes, at least Riley wouldn't worry too much about her crying.

"What happened then? Is he... abusive?" She asked her quietly.

Abusive....

The word had more tears streaming down her cheeks. She hated the word for several reasons, one of them being because she was a grown woman wo had accomplished so much yet she felt abused and was unable to do anything about it.

But was it even right to call Alexander abusive? After all, he always tried to ensure she was alright. Perhaps he was just manipulative.

She shook her head once more.

"Then what is it?"

She felt like screaming, like clawing her face off.

"Riley, I can't talk about it." She cried. "I can't talk about it."

"He clearly upset you so much. Why don't you leave him?" Riley asked a question she just couldn't answer.

How could she leave him when she felt incomplete without him? How could she even possibly think of leaving him?

She was about to respond when the doorbell rang. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach and her breath and her breath faltered. It couldn't be that it Alexander, could it? She knew him well enough to know that it could be him.

"Are you expecting someone? Want me to get it?" Riley asked her.

She shook her head immediately. But the doorbell rang again and it seemed Riley couldn't ignore it.

"It might be something serious."

She helped her up gently before reaching out to open the door. And Yalda watched as the door opened to reveal Alexander standing there, looking all glorious and sinful. His gaze narrowed on Riley as he tried to recall where he'd seen her before.

All the while, Riley stood there staring at him in what seemed to be awe and disbelief; it wasn't everyday you opened the door to someone so regal and good looking. Finally, Alexander spoke.

"Is Yalda in?" He asked her.

He couldn't see her because she was slightly hidden behind the door and Riley was blocking his view of her.

"Yes, yes." Riley replied as she snapped out of whatever trance she had been in. She stepped aside to reveal Yalda, and Alexander's gaze met her moist and puffy eyes, she watched his eyes soften as he took in her pitiful appearance.

Her heart pounded heavily against her chest, erratically. Alexander was here, and so was Riley. What if Riley caught on? How could she possibly explain why her boss was at her apartment at this hour?

~~

Riley's gaze flickered from Alexander's to Yalda's, and then back to Alexander's. She stared at him for a moment longer before her lips parted in slight shock as what seemed to be realization dawned on her.

"You're.... you're Alexander Monroe." She said more to herself than to him.

"I am." He confirmed.

Riley cleared her throat quietly, awkwardly.

"I'm Riley." She told him.

He nodded once.

"I knew you looked familiar." He said. "Nice to meet you."

He obviously wasn't in the mood to converse with Riley. He seemed impatient even, plus, the tension between them was palpable, she was sure Riley noticed.

Yalda's breath faltered as she stood there trying to pull herself together. Riley's gaze flickered back to hers and the look in her eyes told her that she was beginning to understand what was happening.

"Yalda, I.... I'll leave now." She told her. "I'll call you."

And before Yalda could say anything, she picked up her purse quickly and headed out as quickly as she could. Left alone with him, she turned around and walked away. She wasn't sure where she was headed, she just knew that she didn't want to be here with him.