Illusive Eden - He Pretends He's the Hero

"How close are you with her?" Jayden asks Anna, seating himself accross the dining table.

Anna scoops a spoonful of cold, vibrant, cherry flavoured sorbet Mrs. Barlowe made.

Impatiently he awaits her response, tapping his fingers on the wooden dining table in jumble.

Concurrently, Anna in serenity lavishes her sweet dessert, the freshness of sorbet in her tongue, bursting her body in shivers of excitement. He ceases the tappings on the table.

"You can even have my share of sorbet." Jayden says, garnering Anna's eyes on him.

Her orbs gleams in happiness, "Are you honest Brother?" She asks. He smiles, "Yes, truly."

Anna smiles bright, but her curved up lips drops a blink later, "What will aunt say? She will not like it." Anna declares, a spoonful of sorbet raised once more to delight upon.

"It is if you tell her, she does not need to know." Says Jayden, hell bent on acquiring familiarity with the girl he lost his heart to.

She giggles, "I assume you wish to know about sister Neva?" He nods at her, "Yes yes, Neva!" His heart skips a beat, her name on his lips, surreal and flustering.

Cheeks warming up, he blushes at his living picture of her.

Anna wonders why her brother Jayden appears peculiar, and awfully curious concerning sister Neva. "We are very close. I love her!" Anna exclaims.

Neva was the friend and sister she never had. She always felt pleasant and cheerful around her.

"I feel the same," murmers Jayden. Anna looks at him, "You said something?" "No." Jayden declares.

"When did she move in here? Where does she live?" He asks. Anna ponders deep, her hand unceasingly devouring her dessert.

She remembers the horrifying fall she had through the ice on the frozen pond. "January." She replies. The cold sorbet, all of a sudden, turning bland.

"And where is her home?" He probes once more, Anna glares at him. He's blameworthy of her mood swinging dull.

"Son?" Before Anna could part her lips to rebuke him, Mrs. Barlowe's voice breaks through the parlor.

"Yes Ma?" Jayden replies, he raises his brow, his mother had come to him with a see-through container brimmed with sorbet.

"Will you please take it to Mrs. Lei's home? Her house is at the rearmost of the east of our street." Mrs. Barlowe gestures at the container with a pink lid. Jayden sighs away, "Sure Ma."

"Hurry, the sun is in great heat." Mrs. Barlowe rushes her son, holding out the sorbet to him. Jayden takes it from her, he stands up.

He glances at the sulking Anna, poking, playing with the dessert.

"We shall continue later." He says, gathering Anna's abrupt irate eyes and his mother's questioning gaze. He doesn't have any clue to why she's angry.

He walks out through the door. He saunters along the street, the scorching heat of the noon sun blaring down at him.

Nevertheless, he could not be bothered a shard by the blaze. For, his head's swirling, thrashing, overflowing with her thoughts.

He wonders her age, she looked pretty young. Around the same age as his twenty year old self.

He wonders her hobbies, her favourite foods—if their interests align. He had been exposed to the beautiful girls in the city.

But Neva, she's seraphic, heavenly. Such rudeness to compare her to those complicated girls. She's different, her aura, it's bewitching, it's enchanting.

He shakes his head. What had happened to him?

He seemed completely well the day before. Before, she possesed his all. This isn't right! He had to see her right now...

The more he drowns himself in her thoughts, the higher his soul flies.

He ponders, he would marry her, sooner the better, lest someone else dominates her feelings.

Through the whirlwind of his emotions, he reaches the house his mother spoke about.

He arches his brows in surprise, at the end, someone had occupied this long deserted, vacant cottage.

It was closer to the woods, and in the midst between luscious, tall golden yellow wheat fields. The rich fruits ripening up, it could be harvested in the neighbouring month of summery August.

This cottage had been left out, been in the further, east side of Ziriri. He had to just take a turn, cross couple of cottages, and this beautiful scenery with abundant trees, wild flowers and green bushes would bless his eyes.

Nonetheless, the abandoned weedy cottage was nowhere to be perceived. The sun had dimmed it's gleam and heat, and before him stood a cottage proud and tall.

The trees encircling the property had always been here, only, it had grown taller and shaded the area blissfully.

The tangled weeds had been uprooted from the ground. A sweet breeze swirls around him, amused he smiles at the appeased meadow garden with blooming, spirited, brilliant flowers.

He breathes in deep. He loves this beautiful summer.

He pushes through the terse wooden fence gate. Walking in towards the cottage, a sweet humming floats in his ears. He searches her voice, and when he peers to his left.

There she is; his first love. His heart skipping a beat, his breath fluttering away with the cool delicate breeze...

She rests there, from where the sun rises—in a tranquiled space of the front yard, on a wooden chair, in the shade of close ash and maple trees. A tiny coffee table, an empty chair by her side.

She had not observed him, closing her eyes, humming along with the singing birds.

"Who are you?" An unforeseen virile voice makes him gasp a little, startled. He looks at him, thin distance away. He hadn't detected him at all.

He stands there, scrutinizing him, a glass of iced water in his hand. Then he strides towards him.

His height towering over him, he wore a thin white cotton shirt. His great body, his muscularity been seen through rugged.

He was handsome; and he was intimidating him.

Neva, up until now had acquired conscious of them. She creases her brows, endeavouring to discern the scene. "Rhett?" She calls him, slowly arising to her feet, she trudges over to them with her hushed steps.

They look at her, she meets Jayden's gaze. She wonders why he's here. Rhett walks towards her and holds her hand, "You should've just sat there," he says in a tender voice. "It's alright." Neva smiles up at him.

Jayden had his heart tightened, his body tensed and breath caught in his throat.

Why did she have to look at him with such fondness?

Why was this grim man with fierce eyes, mumbling sweet phrases to her, phrases which faints before it reaches his ears.

"Did you need something, Jayden?" Neva asks, shattering his uneasy ponders. Jayden glances at her. Rhett and Neva's eyes on him. She said his name, in such, relaxed tone.

His lips numb, he just stares at her, deeply.

'Lord... Why did she have to be so perfect?'

Rhett frowns, scorn reflecting in his eyes. He doesn't like his soft gaze running all over his wife. He clenches his jaw, his gaze dark. "She asked you something?"

He slits through his daydream. Jayden looks away, it's bad. His arm possesively wrapped around her waist, he feels light headed.

He scrambles words in his head to voice out something, anything.

He gulps, his throat shriveled up.

"Are you perhaps Mrs. Lei?" He clumsily asks.

"I am." Neva says, her face lightened.

She was really the Mrs. Lei.

"My ma, she wanted to give you some sorbet." He says, exhaling in relief, for he didn't mess up the order.

She smiles at him, closening her frame to him. His loving Neva before him, having left the man behind.

"Thank you. Tell her I'm grateful." She says, holding forth her palm.

He swallows hard.

After he places the sorbet in her hand, she takes it with one hand, while her other hand rests on her swollen stomach.

A bump... He hadn't seen it the day before. She's adorned in a short puffed sleeve white prairie dress. Her roomy dress below her chest, flowing down just above her ankle.

Her bigger belly could have been unnoticeable, if not for her hand shaping the bump.

'Ma... My first love remains unfulfilled.' He drops a tear in his mind, preserving his emotions for him and his loving mother.

"You know him?" Rhett asks Neva, now beside her. "I do, we met yesterday. He's Mrs. Barlowe's son, I told you, remember?" She queries, glancing up at him, he nods.

She talked about him? Why does he feel content inside? She has a ring on her fourth finger, and it strangles him. This man, he had married her.

His first love pierces his chest and pain burrows his heart.

"Do you want to come in, and drink some cold juice?" She asks, reaching his eyes. He shakes his head in refusal.

"No, thank you. I must go." He glimpses at her for the last time. Her smile, unweaving his senses. He hastens away his orbs, hurrying, pacing out Neva's sereneness.

Back to their little, hushed space. Under the soothing shadows of ruffling, rustling trees. Neva smiles, excited to see what dwells inside the container.

She opens the lid, and twinkles joy for the pink cherry sorbet in her eyes.

"I don't like him. You're not seeing him again." Rhett declares, Neva gazes at him, her eyes squinting at his words.

She grabs a spoon from the bowl she just had a strawberry ice-cream in.

"Why?" She asks. "You wouldn't wanna know." He plants an affectionate, loving kiss on her cheek.

Her rosy cheeks, blossoms more in a reddened hue, biting softly the vermillion of her lips, "Okay." Says Neva.

Her voice small, he smiles, "I love you." "I love you too." She returns, smiling dazzlingly. "Let me feed you." He says, taking the spoon and sorbet from her hands.

It had not been long, since their return from Neva's pre-natal checkup of every two weeks. He had taken a day off of his work. For, he always escorts Neva during every of her visit to the doctor.