Eleanor 'Ella' Cruz stared at the email. The message didn't change again. She was dumped, via email. How much more ridiculous can this get? she mocked herself. A new email chimed answering her that, yes, it can be even more ridiculous.
The first email was from Hugh Hawkins, her childhood friend, her supposed intended husband as the talks had been all but finalized and the engagement date was being discussed. No, no, let's be more precise. This email was from Hugh's personal assistant. Hugh didn't even want to spend few seconds to type a message , "Let's break up.", or patience to leave a voice mail. Apparently his voice is worth gold and he would not waste it on the discarded fiancé. And stupid thing was, Ella had no clue on why Hugh wanted to break up. What break up? They were not even formal couple. She had good impression of him when they played together few years back but in recent years they had not even seen each other face-to-face. Because of the good impression from the childhood, she had nodded her head when her parents had discussed the wedding, thinking that someone with good history would be better basis for marriage rather than marrying someone completely stranger. Huh! A stranger would have courtesy to inform her face-to-face, directly, instead of sending a formal mail via secretary in the office.
A rich pampered girl that Ella was, the one who was molded from childhood to be a perfect wife, a perfect hostess, was feeling the ridiculousness of being dumped for the first time when the second mail chimed and brought out catastrophe. What now, she raged as she read the mail, is severing relationships via mail has become vogue while she was on a holiday? The sender of the mail was the head butler of Cruz family, at the family estate, taking care of her grandparents, the true powerholders of Cruz family. The butler had even thoughtfully attached the DNA report showing she, Ella Cruz, had no relationship with the family. The butler had politely informed her that Cruz family had found the missing heiress of the family and to ensure easy transition, she, Ella, was barred entry to all places where Cruz family might be seen. He thoughtfully added that, the card in her hand had been charged up recently and that much amount should be enough for her to live her whole life happily. The Cruz family was not so poor that they will take back the investment they had made on her. It was a polite 'Get lost and never show your face' mail.
A fake daughter of Cruz family. That would explain Hugh sending the break up letter. All Ella could think now was that, 'Thank God, I am alone here. No one can witness my breaking down.' She was breaking down, she could feel it. She was losing her sense of self. After all, what was she if she was not a child of Cruz family? Throughout her childhood and in later years, she was not allowed to think beyond what her family had planned. She had forgone her favorite subject and completed her degree in something she had no interest in, something with no job prospective, just because her parents decided it was the correct thing to do. It was not just her studies. It was her hobbies, friends, her whole d*mn life that she was not allowed to think for herself and was predetermined by the family. Like a lamb, she had followed, happily following orders, because, by doing that, they would express their love and care. As she stood in the tropical paradise resort suite, she shook when she remembered the first and only time she had defied her family, no tried to defy her family, as she had failed utterly in that endeavor. The cold looks, the silent treatment and the isolation.... Was it a wonder she had turned into a puppet from then on? And now, they were cutting the strings holding her together and telling her to get lost, what was she going do? What was she supposed to do?
The bright sun rays failed to remove the chill she was feeling. As if escaping from her monsters in the mind, Ella rushed out to the beach. Somewhere, anywhere would be better than being alone.
That's how Ella spent her last day of the holiday, pushing herself to swim and surf and laying down in the beach sipping innocent looking drinks in between, not realizing that she was slowly getting drunk and she was becoming more daring and brave thanks to those happy little drinks. By the time moon rose high in the sky, she was completely free of inhibitions.
"Okay, lt's done and over. So what if i don't have safety net of family and friends? i am young and healthy. There is no one to stop me or hold me back. I can try all the things I wanted before. I can find out what I actually like. Ella, this is the freedom. Embrace it. Don't run away." The pep talk helped a bit. The margaritas helped a lot more. In a drunken haze, she slowly walked towards the residential area, to reach her suite.
On the way, a bonfire party was happening, full with energetic boys and beautiful girls. Ella watched them for a while, feeling so far away from them, though the age difference between them would not even be two to three years. Even in college, she was never allowed to go on such outings. It looked fun. as she walked towards her dwelling, she kept turning back looking at the happily frolicking people, listening to their laughter and chatter and stumbled. Thankfully she was able to grab something to halt her fall.
That something was a shirt adorning a gorgeous looking chest. She curbed her inner desire to hold it, pet it, caress it. She had to look up to see the person who had halted her fall, knowingly or unknowingly. What a face! No wonder the chest was so tantalizing. It had to be, for the face was nothing short of mesmerizing to her eyes. If this man had come to her life before, she would have broken all the rules, just to look at the face. He was the sort of the person her family would frown upon with hair covering the nape of neck, open shirts and torn shorts. Ella liked this picture though. It showed all the good points, allowing her to drool over.
Ella suddenly had a wild, alcohol induced thought. Maybe it was the tropical setting or the laughter coming from behind. Maybe it was sheer recklessness of knowing that she was alone, truly alone in the world. She was now free anyway, no strings holding her. Why can't she do what she wants to do? "Hey gorgeous, are you single?" she asked. That was her bottom line. She would not become the third party. The man just nodded and that was enough to fire the spark within her. Wantonly, she grabbed her his head, pulling him down and started kissing him messily. This was her first kiss. This would be her first night. From tomorrow, her life would begin an entirely new chapter.