CHAPTER 14

Chris: Why not! Place, do tell.



Old man: My dear chatty wife. What's going on?



Mallory: Christopher, meet my husband Ian Stevenson. And Ian this is chr…



Ian: Christopher Hunt. The one and only.



Mallory: you know him?



Ian: Of course I know him.



Chris: I'm sorry, but how?



Ian: I've worked for your father. And people who know your father, they know you as well, as your father talk about you a lot.



Chris: I don't know a lot about the company and the employees.



Ian: I know that.



Mallory: He wants to know our story.



Ian: Haha! I'm not surprised. It's a magical story. Do you believe in magic and fantasies?



Chris: No I don't actually.



Ian: You will. By the end of our story you will believe in magic. But we can't tell you our story here, in public. You have to come with us to our home and then we'll tell you our story with tea and cupcakes.



Mallory: Don't mind him son. He's so possessive about our story. He keeps it well hidden.



Chris: I can understand. It must be so close to your heart.



Ian: It is young man, Very. So you're coming?



Chris: I'm right behind you.



We walked to the parking area, they got in to their car and I stepped in to mine. They drove off and I followed them behind. The moment they told me they are also a couple with age gape, but happy in their life, a flicker of hope made it's way to my heart. I wanted to know everything about them. Their story, their life, their relationship and their wedding. I have witnessed their happiness. After 5 minutes drive, I parked my car in front of a small but beautiful house. They invited me in and I followed. Ian took me to the living room and Mallory made her way to the kitchen. Ian showed me all the pictures, framed on the wall. They are really a happy couple. Wall was full of photos. There were few pictures belonged to some young people, must be their children. But most of the pictures belonged to the couple. About 10 minutes later, Mallory came with tea and cupcakes.



Ian: Now tell me young man. What do you want to know?



Chris: Everything. How did you meet? How did you fall for each other? How did you get together?



Ian: I have been living here since I was born. My father gifted this house to my mother as a gift. I have an older brother, but he lives in L.A with his family. He left New York for his higher studies and career. But I stayed here with my parents as they were old and needed someone to take care of them. I didn't get married, i wanted to do everything for them by myself. Then one day, about 40 years ago, Luke family came and got settled in our neighborhood. My mother loved to bake and gift it to her neighbors as a welcome.



Mallory: My parents bought that house for me. I never liked the life of apartment. We came here, in this town. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson were very welcoming. I can remember, it was our second day here and Mrs Stevenson brought us a pie. In a short time my parents and I got attached with Mr and Mrs Stevenson, we even celebrated occasions together. We were new here in this neighborhood but Ian's parents made us feel like we're living here for ages. My mom was out of the city. She went to her parents for a week and I stayed with my father. One day, I came back home from school and found my dad on the floor, fighting for life. He had an asthmatic attack. I didn't know what to do, his inhaler wasn't working on him. I ran to Ian's house for help.



Ian: She knocked and I opened the door. She was crying and shaking in fear. She told me her father's condition. We both ran to her place and I called the ambulance.



Mallory: I called my mom and told her everything. She asked Ian to stay with me until she comes. He stayed with me. He took care of my dad and also comforted me. Those few hours care he showed, in all those moments. I didn't even know when, but I fell for him hard.



Ian: The moment I got out of the hospital as her mother had arrived, I knew something had changed. But I was being realistic, just like any other men could be. I thought we have almost two decades between us, we would never gonna work. Plus I wasn't interested in her. She was a kid in front of me. I ignored her and her calls. She used to visit our house daily. I avoided meeting her as well because I didn't want to give her any sign that I'm into her or we have anything between us. But she was so stubborn. The more I tried to push her away, the more she came closer.



Mallory: It's hard when you love someone more than yourself, ignores you or push you away. But I made up my mind and promised myself that he will be mine and I will only marry him.



Ian: In all those push and pull, I fell for her too, harder than I could ever believe. But I was an egoistic man, how could I accept my defeat, and that too against a girl. I made my mind to push her hard enough so she would hate me.



Mallory: It was his birthday, Mrs Stevenson invited me too. I went to his house. I can still remember that day. I went to his birthday party, I was really happy. I gave him the gift I made for him. He tore the wrapper. I shivered in fear seeing him angry.



Ian: It was a wooden heart, carved by her and our names on that. I could tell, I knew she can carve wood pieces. I have seen it in her house and she is good at it.



Mallory: He took it out and showed it to his friends. He insulted me in front of everyone. He threw it on the ground and yelled at me, like my love, my feelings, my emotions were nothing to him but a piece of crap.



Ian: I saw tears in her eyes. I was yelling at her and she clap her hands on her mouth, tight enough to block her sobs. She ran back to her house.



Mallory: I ran to my house and went straight to my room. I locked myself in and cried. I cried whole night. Everything he had said to me, his words kept playing in my head again and again. There was an ache in my chest, my heart and by every passing moment it was increasing. I cried until I didn't know when, but I fell asleep.



Ian: She left the party, I finally succeeded to push her away. But instead of feeling happy, I felt an ache in my chest. I had seen her crying before when her father was in the hospital. But this time I was the reason of her tears. I stared at her while she ran away sobbing hard. I picked up the wooden heart she brought me and dismissed everyone. I went to my room and laid on my bed. I kept twisting and turning on my bed the whole night but couldn't sleep for a second. It was dawn, I got up and went to make myself a cup of coffee. It was weekend. I knew by morning that I'm in love with her more than she is. I heard a knock on the door, I opened it. It was Mr Luke. He asked me to look after his daughter as they both had work on weekend and Mallory had fever. I agreed to take care of her and they both left. I finished my coffee and went to her house.



Mallory: I opened my eyes when I heard footsteps coming to my room. I thought it would be my dad but it was Ian who opened the door of my room. My parents actually left me with the last person on Earth I wanted to see. All those emotions and aches welled up and turned in anger. He took stepped in to my room and I picked up everything around me and started throwing in his directions.



Ian: That day I saw her madness. She even threw a photo frame on my head. It hit me hard. But I deserved it. I had hurt her.



Mallory: He came close to me and sat at the edge of my bed. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me to him. I was slapping and punching his chest and his face. Then he said something that made me froze in his arms. He apologized to me and finally confessed his love to me.



Ian: I denied my feelings for her so long. I was scared of the world, scared of what people will say. Just like you.



Chris: How do you know?



Mallory: 5 minutes are enough for me to tell him that you also have a same story and same problems like us.



Ian: Christopher, listen to me. I was also worried about people. But can you bare tears in her eyes just because of this stupid world? I know, people will talk for some time, then they will get another topic for their gossips but your pain will be permanent. Can you see her eyes filled with tears because of you?



Chris: No I can't.



Mallory: Then don't think too much. Just let it happen.



Ian: Both of our families stood against us. My brother, who hardly gets time to call his parents, he flew back just to stand against our relationship. We were alone in this fight, but we were stronger than all of them. We fought for our lives, for our love, and if I'm being honest, it was hard.



Mallory: When my parents came to know that I'm in love with a guy who's 18 years older than me they tried to tie me up with my cousin. But God was with us. I turned 18 and we stubbornly married to each other. We both got kicked out of our houses. Our families didn't accept us at all.



Ian: That's when your father became an angel in our lives. I had been working for Hunts for 11 years by the time we got married. Mr Hunt is a really nice man. He newly became CEO that time. I told him my problem and he gave me his apartment. I also got a raise.



Mallory: A year after our wedding, we went back to our families with a baby in my arms. We proved everyone wrong. You can do it too.



Ian: But son, she can't fight without you. Women are stronger than us men. But they need support from us. Be the same support for her as I became to my wife. If your father can understand us, he will understand you both as well. Look at us, we have kids. They have their own lives. They are happy and so are we.



Mallory: I couldn't have fought this world without Ian. He is my strength, he stood by me and fought this battle together. In a year we were able to defeat everyone, we proved everyone wrong.



Ian: A woman can fight the whole world easily if you are there for her to support her. Now it's up to you, to fight for the love of your life as a man or leave it like a coward.



I listened to both of them. They both were right. I have to fight for my love. I stood up with a smile.




Chris: You both easily solved all the problems in my life. She asked me today, "are we committing a sin?" It's time for her question to be answered. I'm not a coward. I will fight for my love.



Ian: Now how you're planning to do that?



Chris: I guess like you, with an apology I owe her.



Mallory: And how will you apologise to her.



Chris: Just like Mr Stevenson.



Mallory: It wasn't just an apology but a promise. Before his apology, he wrapped his arms around me and held me like I meant the world to him. Every single word he said to me that day, were coming straight from his heart. You need to find your own way to reach to her. We all have a special thing we do. A moment, a habit that consoles us, make all our fears vanished, ease all the pains in our hearts. I'm sure you both have something special too. You need to find that moment, that habit, that always had brought comfort to you both, or I can say that has brought you both together.



Chris: I think I know what you both are talking about. We do have that particular moment that brought us together.



Ian: Tell me what is it?



Chris: It was a kiss that brought us together. It all started with a kiss.



Mallory: Go and tell her that she meant the world to you. I have seen it in your eyes Christopher, now it's her time to see it as well. Go and tell her that she is not alone in this fight. That you are with her and you both will fight for your love.



Chris: Thank you Mr and Mrs Stevenson. I promise you both I will fight and soon I will visit you again with her.



Ian: Go get her boy, good luck.








(Hi readers. I hope you like my story. Comment below and let me know what you think about my story and it's characters. Also, let me know who's your favorite character in the story No Matter What..)