"Caroline's been quiet, hasn't she?" Jenna commented, looking through my appointment book.

I looked up from my notes and nodded. "It's strange, but I have a meeting with them later today. It's there in the book," I told her, nodding to the book she was holding.

"Yeah, it's right here. At Aiden's house," Jenna said, tapping the entry with her index finger, "Don't you just hate the people who ask you to do later meetings?"

"You know that the only reason they get later meetings is because they pay for the services that include meetings at their convenience," I reminded her and she made a face at me.

"It must be nice to have a billion dollars," Jenna sighed and then laughed, "By the way, did you see that the Versatile store down the block has been closed for renovations?"

"Versatile? The brand that Caroline models for, right?" I asked.

Jenna nodded. "I saw the place was empty when I came this morning. It's been that way for a while now."

"Isn't that the only store they have?" I asked.

Jenna nodded. "That and their online store. Wonder why, though. It was such a beautiful store."

I shrugged. "Caroline didn't mention anything, but then again, she hasn't called me or emailed me frantically for about a week," I said.

Jenna smirked at me. "You must be having some peace then." We laughed. "Now, get out of here. You have to go meet them on time. Caroline looks like the type who would go berserk if you kept her waiting."

I rolled my eyes and closed my book, getting up.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I told Jenna, as she walked out.

I made my way home thinking about being in the same room as Aiden and Caroline after what Aiden had told me when we met at the tailors. I decided that I wouldn't let any part of what he said get to me and I would just do my job.

I put on a mustard colored sweater and a black skirt over black stockings with a pair of black pumps. I pinned my hair back, away from my face, but kept it loose.

Looking at the clock, I left my apartment just in time to make it to Aiden's house by seven and since it was Friday, I wanted to avoid the traffic.

Since the doorman knew me, he smiled and let me up to Aiden's floor.

I happily walked down the hall that lead to Aiden's door. It was the only apartment on that floor. I rang the bell and waited for someone to come to the door, hoping that Caroline would have arrived.

After several moments, I heard the door unlock from the inside and it was opened.

Aiden stood there, wearing a loose-fitting linen shirt and a pair of light linen trousers.

"Hi!" I said, brightly and then I really looked at him.

There was a glass of amber liquid in his hand. His hair was a mess, unlike his usual well-groomed style and there was a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Rosalie?" he said, his brow furrowing.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him, my smile faltering, "We had a meeting scheduled for right now. Did something change?"

"Oh, God," he said, under his breath, "Come on in, Rosalie. You should be seated for this."

He turned around and walked into the house, his head hanging low. I closed the door behind me and walked in.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked, gesturing to the beverage trolley in the corner, "You can actually have one this time."

I shook my head, even though he couldn't see it, and frowned in confusion. Aiden's behaviour was getting more peculiar by the minute. "No, thanks," I told him, setting my binder on the coffee table, following him with my eyes as he slowly made his way to glass panels that overlooked the city. "Aiden, is something wrong?" I asked, knowing fully well that something was definitely wrong.

He was quiet, one had against the glass pain, his head bowed, just staring at the lights below. I slowly walked over to him.

"Everything's quite bright, isn't it?" he asked, as I got closer to stand a few feet away from him, "Looking from up here. Everything seems to bright. I'd never stopped to notice it before."

I looked at him. There was a small, but happy smile on his face.

"Aiden, what's going on?" I asked him.

"Well, Rosalie, it would seem that Caroline and I are no longer together," he said, downing the last sip of his drink.

I stood there, sandwiched between his piano and the glass panels, completely dumbfounded. I turned my head to look at him, but I couldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, but that would mean that we no longer require your services," he said, probably misinterpreting my expression.

I opened my mouth and inhaled to say something, but no words managed to form.

"I'm sure the advance we paid you can cover your effort so far," he said, his head bowed to the ground.

I frowned. "Aiden, are you alright?" I asked, not really caring about the advance payment a billionaire gave me.

He raised his head slightly to look at me and seemed to realize, almost for the first time, that I was actually in his house. He straightened himself fully and stood tall and confident like he normally does.

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning and making his way to the counter to pour himself another drink.

I angled myself to look at him.

"You just broke off an engagement. You broke up with your fiancée. How are you doing?" I asked.

He turned to me, with his brow furrowed. "I'm fine," he said, waving his freshly replenished glass around.

I took a few steps towards him as I spoke. "You're practically drowning yourself in that liquor, Aiden. Obviously, something is wrong," I told him.

He cracked a smile. "I guess I've taken a page out of your book then," he joked, "At least I'm not a lightweight. I promise I won't demand that you buy me junk food."

I didn't laugh; I couldn't. "Aiden, it's alright to be sad or upset," I said, "This isn't a small thing. You two obviously had a relationship that –"

Aiden scoffed. "Relationship," he laughed and took a sip, "That's a joke."

"Weren't you two together?" I asked, "Weren't you and Caroline quite literally planning your wedding last week?"

"Ah," Aiden pointed to me, "Last week. There's been a change of plan."

I stared at him and he dropped his shoulders. "Rosalie, please come and sit down. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing and I'm so sorry that Caroline didn't inform you. She's usually the one who corresponds with you, so I assumed that she would have told you."

He gestured to me to come over to the couch. He sat on a single seater sofa and motioned for me to sit down at the couch near him. I went over to sit down and leaned towards him.

"Are you alright, Aiden? When did this happen?" I asked.

"It happened on Monday," he said, "And really, Rosalie, I'm perfectly fine."

"Did you guys have a fight?"

"Oh, yeah," he nodded.

"Can't you two work things out?" I asked.

"There's hardly anything to work out, Rosalie. We weren't well suited for each other," Aiden shrugged.

"Why in the world were you getting married then?" I asked, almost outraged that I had been pouring my time and effort into a fruitless event.

"That, Rosalie," Aiden said, also leaning towards me, "Is the billion-dollar question."

"Well, you can afford the answer, then," I told him, annoyed.

He grinned. "You are quite smart, Rosalie," he nodded.

"Are you telling me that I've been working my ass off for an event that you didn't even want to happen?" I demanded to know.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure Caroline wanted it," Aiden told me, flippantly.

I got up, unable to take what I was hearing sitting. I practically stomped back over to the glass windows and looked over the city, completely unaware how unprofessional I was being.

I heard Aiden's glass touch the coffee table. This was followed by footsteps on the tile, crossing the living room and coming closer to me. Aiden stood behind me, breathing softly. He was quiet for a while, probably deciding what to say.

"Rosalie," he said, softly, "Please look at me."

I turned and angled my face up to look at him. He looked back at me, deeply for a few seconds. "I'm sorry that this was sudden. I genuinely did think it would happen, but Monday night's happening came out of the blue. And as to Caroline and me, well, that situation is complicated. She and I were in a strange position, Rosalie. I barely know her, and I know you've seen that she and I didn't get along even though you never said anything. This is probably for the best."

I turned my gaze away from his persistent hazel eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry to speak to you like that," I told him, "It was very unprofessional of me."

He held my arm. "No, Rosalie, you had every right to say what you did. I've seen the way you work and the things you do. I would love to have someone with your work ethic on my team. And I understand what it's like to put a lot of effort into something, only to have it be disregarded. And I'm truly sorry about it."

"Are you actually doing alright, Aiden?" I pressed, "You said yourself that it was unexpected."

He sighed and nodded, dropping his hand. "It definitely was a surprise, but Rosalie, you don't know the circumstances. It's for the best. In fact, in the past few days, I think I've started to become myself again. I even took to playing the piano again. You put that thought in my head and now, it's what I want to do after getting home from work."

I nodded and gave him a small smile. "I'm glad you're alright, I guess. I don't know if the drinking really implies that, though."

Aiden shook his head. "I don't know, I think I got to thinking a little. I haven't told my parents yet and Caroline and I agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone for now. So, I trust that you won't tell anyone either."

"I won't. I promise," I told him.

"I'm sorry this was a waste of a trip for you," he said, "Would you like to stay for dinner? My housekeeper, Carmelina, is a good cook. She made me a quiche Lorraine today."

I smiled. "Thanks, but I think I'll just get home," I told him.

"You sure? I'm not saying it would be as good as a quiche of my own creation, but it's definitely good," Aiden pumped his eyebrows.

"You cook?" I asked.

"Ever since I went to school abroad," he said, "Don't you?"

I chuckled. "I make eggs, bacon and bake frozen pizza and that's about the extent of my culinary skills," I told him.

"I could teach you sometime," Aiden suggested, shrugging.

I laughed, nervously, feeling a strange heat creep into my cheeks. "Thanks for the offer. I think I'll get going, Aiden."

I walked over to the coffee table and picked up my things. Aiden walked me to the door.

"I hope I see you around soon," he said, probably out of politeness because he and I would probably never see each other again if he and Caroline were as bad a match as he made it out to be.

"You, too," I nodded, smiling, "It was nice meeting you, Aiden."

"Lovely meeting you, Rosalie," he said, "And please, not a word of this to anyone, right?"

"You have my word."

*

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I spend way more time than I would care to admit looking for the perfect pictures to go at the top of the chapter. I hope you all are enjoying them. :)