Elaine adjusted the flowers and sat down crossed leg next to her brother’s grave. It has been one week since William passed away but Elaine still couldn’t believe it that her brother was also gone. She glanced to the left of his grave towards her mother’s and father’s grave and the tears poured down with more intensity.

“Ellie” Samantha whispered as she leaned her head against Elaine’s shoulder. Samantha Watson was her best friend and her brother’s fiancée.

Samantha and Will had been high school sweethearts and despite being long distance due to their respective career, Will as a doctor and Samantha as a biomedical engineer, they had stayed strong and had moved in together once they had finished their studies. Will had proposed her a year ago and Elaine remembered how happy they all were. Her mom and dad were ecstatic. Samantha had been her only true friend despite the 3 year age gap between them. Sam and Will had their entire life planned.

Elaine couldn’t even begin to understand her best friend’s anguish.

Elaine pulled Sam closer to her and hugged her. Elaine’s life had been turned upside down in the past two years; she lost almost everyone that she held dear to her.

It started with her fiancée, Franco Costello. They fell in love; well she did, when they met on the first day of their medical school. They became inseparable. Franco was every girl’s dream come true, with his muscular body of over 6 feet, dark brown eyes which were almost black and his brown hair. He was the perfect combination of good looks and intelligence. He was her first and she wanted him to be her only. He did become her only when he proposed to her when they started their internship but he was her only up till the start of their residency. Their hospital had a transfer resident, Estelle Salvatore. Franco cheated on Elaine for four months with Estelle before she caught them screwing each other’s head off in one of the restrooms.

Estelle had profusely apologized saying she wasn’t aware of his relationship with Estelle while Franco had stood there without batting an eyelash. He didn’t approach her once. Elaine had removed her engagement ring, had thrown it at Franco’s face and had walked out of there. She refused to believe the crap that came out of Estelle’s mouth. Given she was doing her residency on OB GYN while Elaine was in neurosurgery and Franco was in Cardiology but that didn’t mean word didn’t go around the hospital.

Everyone knew about Elaine and Franco’s relation. Elaine had taken a transfer from there and had come to Wentworth East Hospital, pushing them in her past and threw herself into her training. A month later she heard the news of their engagement. She had drunk herself into oblivion that night. However things didn’t end there; after completing her residency Dr. Estelle Salvatore now Dr. Estelle Costello took a job at Wentworth East Hospital. Estelle tried to strike up a friendship with Elaine but Elaine avoided her at all cost.

A year and half from that incident she lost both her parents in a car crash.

James Clark was a renowned orthopedic surgeon and her mother Ruby Clark was a Pediatrician. Her dad had been invited as guest speaker to Harvard medical school convocation and her parents, the ever romantic couple had decided to make a road trip from it though they never made it there due a drunk driver and a truck loaded with tree logs.

It had been a heart wrenching time but William and Samantha had been with her and the three of them had made it through but now with Will gone she only had Sam who was even more devastated than Elaine.

A sob wrenched through her body as Elaine crumbled into Sam’s embrace.

Aaron groaned as Rosalie, Dante’s wife pulled aside the curtains, letting the light stream in, killing his eyes and head.

“Aaron, it has been a week.” Rose said as she looked around the guestroom and pursed her lips. The dinner she had sent in last night was still on the table, untouched. A 5th bottle of whiskey had joined the pile after she had it cleared two days ago.

“Rose close the damn the curtains” Aaron croaked.

Rose glared at Aaron. She opened the windows to air out the room. It smelled like a cheap bar.

“When did you last shower?” Rose asked, standing at the foot of the bed.

“Day before.” Aaron said as he tried to sit up.

“I don’t want the godfather of my son to die of liver failure.” Rose said as she kept her hand on her seven month pregnant belly. Rose shook her head as she watched his failed attempt to sit up straight. She helped him into a sitting position as she sat down next to him.

Rosalie took in the appearance of Aaron. He had full grown beard now and bags under his eyes which were bloodshot and swollen. He badly needed a haircut.

Rosalie never liked Olivia. They had met so many times, double dates and family dinner. Rosalie remembered the disgusted expression on Olivia’s face when Dante and she had announced their pregnancy. She knew that woman was trouble but she also knew that Aaron was irrevocably in love with that woman so she kept her opinions to herself. When Dante had lugged a drunken Aaron through their front door a week ago, Rose had immediately known that Olivia was the cause of his current state. After putting Aaron to bed, Dante had told her the whole story and Rose was enraged beyond hell. How could she even think of killing an innocent unborn child who had no means of protecting itself? She wanted to chop that bitch into pieces. Then tears had flown when she thought what Aaron must have gone through.

“Look Aaron, we have given you a week but now I am putting my foot down, enough is enough. That bitch doest deserve a single tear you have shed for her. I know I can’t even begin to understand your pain when it comes to the loss of your child but you need to stop all this” Rose said as she waved her hand around the room.

Aaron simply stared at Rose, trying to bring her concerned face into focus.

“Okay” Aaron groaned. The pain was too much. It was like someone had sawed open his chest with a blunt knife and then ripped out his heart. He was beyond enraged at Olivia and then there was the loss of his unborn child. He knew he had to keep his distance from her because god forbids he will rip her head off with his bare hands once he saw her. The worst part was that his heart bled for her as well. He had loved her with his everything but she had just thrown all that to hell.

“Shower and shave. Breakfast will be ready soon. Come downstairs.” Rose said as she patted his cheek and stood up to leave.

After making himself resemble a decent human being, Aaron came downstairs, leaving that room after one week.

He came to dining room and sat down. Dante had just returned from his kick boxing session. Dante was an ex secret service agent. He had left that job once he had married Rose to settle down and had started up a business in security services.

“Look who is alive” Dante said as he pushed a plate of omelets and toast towards Aaron who muttered a thanks and started eating. He hadn’t realized how starved he was. He had barely eaten anything since that day and alcohol had been the only thing making its way down his food pipe.

“I think we need to get your liver checked” Dante said as Rose smacked him across his arm.

“Aaron, you feeling better?” Rose said as she placed a bottle of Advil and orange juice next to his plate.

Aaron nodded as he forked a piece of bacon into his mouth.

“Honey, it will take time but there is nothing that time can’t heal. We are here for you” Rose said as she sat down across from Aaron, next to Dante.

“Yeah man. You can crash here as long as you want and I have already put your Upper East mansion for sale plus had your real estate agent look for other penthouse property in Manhattan.”

“Thanks” Aaron was grateful for this aspect. He knew he couldn’t handle anything related to that mansion. He had gifted it to Olivia on their 3 year anniversary and he had hoped that they would make beautiful new memories there but he had never been so wrong.

Olivia Miller had been his savior. Aaron had a troubled childhood and he had just tasted fame and money when he had met Olivia. His company had just made its first billion after years of hard work. He had been a certified playboy and the fame had started getting to his head. Olivia had moved to New York. She was a shy and innocent girl with big dreams, of taking the modeling world by storm. She already had various modeling stints but nothing major. Aaron had fallen in love with her on first sight. She had held him to the ground. Her strawberry blonde hair and baby blue eyes had been his undoing. Soon they were dating and getting serious and Aaron had never been this happy despite her changing behavior as she started to gain fame and became a supermodel. He kept on overlooking everything thinking that it would all settle down and it did after his unborn child lost its life.

“I have to head into the office today” Aaron said as he washed down the Advil with the juice. He knew a pile of work would be waiting for him but he had a competent PA along with the vice president of the company but still he needed to be there, mostly for him, to drown himself in work and try to forget about the current circumstances.

“You will be back for dinner?” Rose asked

“Yeah” Aaron said as he stood up. He had to make a detour to his house and grab a few suits and his essentials.

After getting his stuff from the mansion, Aaron spent the whole day neck deep in meetings and finishing up deals and other paperwork which had piled over the past week. Both his secretary, Cecelia and his vice president Robert Wellington were glad to have their boss back even though in a robotic form.

Aaron looked up from a contract he was proof reading and saw it was already 8.00 p.m. He decided to call it a day and grabbed the folder which had information about various penthouses which were up for sale.

Aaron wanted to move out of that mansion as soon as possible and stop crashing at the guest room at Dante’s.

Just as he was about to grab his suit jacket, Cecelia knocked on the door and pocked her head in.

“I am about to leave now Cecelia, rest can be discussed tomorrow.” Aaron said as he shrugged on his suit jacket.

“Sir, this came in three days ago. I was going to give to you in the morning but it got buried underneath the documents I was mailing today. I apologize.” Cecelia said

“It’s okay. You also call it a day Cecelia.” Aaron said as he took the white manila envelope from her.

Cecelia smiled and nodded as she left.

Aaron’s heartbeat increased as his gaze focused on the emblem on the envelope.

.

Without even opening it, Aaron knew what it was. It was the medical bill of the abortion. Aaron tried to control the waves of fury that emitting from his body as he clenched his jaw and took deep breathes through his nose. He didn’t want to demolish his office.

Aaron chucked the envelope on his desk and strode out of the office with only one destination in mind.

Elaine knew she was getting more than a little tipsy as the bartender handed her the fifth shot of vodka but she didn’t care. She needed something to dull the ache in her heart and the sense of loss.

The past one week was a whirlwind of activity as she had prepared for the funeral and attended relatives and friends who came with their grievances which promptly kept the hurt and loss at bay but today when the William’s attorney read his will with only Sam and herself in presence, it came as a blow in the chest for Elaine. It was done. He was gone forever. A fresh wave of tears sprouted out despite her crying herself dry yesterday at the cemetery with Sam.

William had left his penthouse for Sam along with a letter, which after reading left Sam inconsolable. Rests of all his assets were liquidated along with the funds left to him by their parents and his three bank account were merged and left in the name of Elaine.

She had attending two will reading in a span of mere one year and six months. Even her parents will reading was on the same line, except for their family home in long island which was left in joint to the brother and sister, all their parent’s assets including several holiday home and what not were liquidated and the money was divided equally in two separate bank accounts and handed over to them.

After their meeting with Will’s attorney, Elaine had driven Sam home and spent some time with her. When she left from there it was already six in the evening and without thinking Elaine had ended up in this bar, drinking away her sorrow.

After her five vodka shots, Elaine signaled the bartender and asked for whiskey, neat.

The bartender handed it to her and said “This is the last one for you pretty lady.”

Elaine threw back the whiskey and smiled at the bartender who seemed to be swaying in her field of vision.

“You want me to call the taxi?”

“I am good.” Elaine said as she got up from the stool and swayed slightly.

“I am good.” She muttered to herself as she moved away from the bar. She was starting to feel suffocated in the bar with its dim lights and too much laughter.

She made her way outside. Once out of the bar in the fresh air, her head cleared up a little. She could hold her alcohol well but not well enough to drive so she decided to flag down a taxi.

She walked around the corner and slammed into a wall, well a chest that sure enough felt like wall.

Aaron stood at the corner of the street that led to the bar he had in mind. He had driven here in fury wanting to once again numb him with alcohol but once he reached, he got double minded. He had already spent the past week drinking and he had to go back to Dante’s place for the night. He was in no mood in spending another few days locked up in their guestroom, getting piss drunk.

Just as he finally decided and was about to turn around and leave, a woman abruptly turned the corner and slammed into him.

He automatically reached for her arms to steady her but within the next second the woman had kicked his shin and he was on his knees with his right arm twisted behind his back.

“What the fuck?” Aaron yelled.

The moment his hands touched her arms, her alcohol ridden brain didn’t differentiate a protective touch from a dangerous one and years of martial art training which was now a reflex for Elaine came into play and she had the man on his knees before he could even speak.

“Don’t even fucking think about it.” Elaine said, adrenaline running high in her body.

“What the fuck?” She heard the man curse.

Aaron was surprised to say the least. He could smell the alcohol of this woman yet she had taken him down, six feet plus of muscle, down in a second. He could have just tossed her back down over his head but he knew she had done it as protective maneuver and he stayed still, hoping she would realize he is not attempting to rape her.

“I was just helping” Aaron said a in a low voice and he felt her grip loosen on her. He hadn’t seen her face, only a flash of auburn hair when she had crashed into him.

Elaine loosened her grip. The adrenaline was wearing off and she suddenly felt weak and dizzy.

A minute later Aaron heard the woman crash behind him as she passed out cold on the pavement.