Not Your Typical Love Story

No matter what, she wouldn’t go back to that party, she decided. Be strong, Myra, she told herself, compelling herself to take a few steps forward.

It was the sixth of September and marked the seventh day she was on the island of Bali. She had spent six days with Jake, the man she had fawned after since her teenage years, well, basically when she learned to like someone. Their parents had been drinking partners and old friends. Then one day, Jake went overseas for his studies and she and her father had moved to another city 1,000 miles away.

They had reunited after five years of not seeing each other through a plan carefully carried out by her stepsister to be, Sierra. After hooking up with Jake unexpectedly, six days and seven nights of bliss turned into the worst nightmare for Myra.

One hour ago at the party that night at Hotel Top One, a woman was embracing Jake amorously. He was smiling as he spoke to her, unlike how cold he was to Myra. Perhaps, she decided, she was just a toy to him. She let out a few forced laughs, casting aside the pain and emptiness in her heart. This time, she would not let go of the next chance that came her way! Forget all those stupid traditional ideals, forget what her overcontrolling father wanted of her, she would live her life her own way for once!

A rumble from the sky above caused her to stop dead in her tracks. Darn, Myra thought. Was it going to rain now, when she didn’t have her umbrella with her? She had left it back at the hotel.

Minutes later, a sudden downpour caught her by surprise. She scoured the area for a sheltered area to retreat to, but there was none in the area.

Now, how far was she from Hotel Top One? She groaned, feeling her expensive makeup washed by the rain to nothingness. Her evening dress was plastered right to her skin, weighing her down.

Just her luck.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Moments later, a tall and slim man with dark hair manoeuvred a bright red Hyundai Sonata. The streets were dim and the windscreen of his car was slightly foggy from the chilliness of the rain. Humming to the tune of the pop song playing on the FM radio, his attention was diverted by the drenched lady in the rain.

As he approached her slowly, the wipers of his car made a few strokes across the windscreen, granting him a clearer view of the lady.

Under the bright moonlight, her eyes had a distinct sparkle. He observed how she raised her hand to pat her wet hair, pouting.

So much like Milla, he said to himself.

Perhaps she would need a ride, he deduced, halting his car and rolling down the window, he called out to the girl.

“Miss, where do you want to go?”

Myra shivered in the rain. But out of the blue, a classy private-hire taxi had appeared to give her a solution out of her discomfort. This was very much unexpected. But neither had she anticipated the events of the past six days: Jake, his betrayal and now, being caught in the rain.

Being the sheltered daughter of a hotel tycoon, she detested being in this messy predicament!

After all, she had money. If money could solve her problems, they weren’t problems in the first place! She shakily stepped forward and opened the front passenger door. Now, she knew that normally passengers would take the back passenger seat when boarding private-hire taxis, but with the rain splashing around her, she couldn’t be bothered to wait in the cold a moment longer.

Courteously the man turned up the temperature in the vehicle and offered her a jacket, which she grudgingly accepted. Myra did not feel comfortable accepting a stranger’s help, but it seemed she had little choice now.

“Miss, where do you want to go?” the man repeated, with his eyes on her like a hawk.

She stared at him blankly, realising this taxi driver seemed quite a hunk. Despite the fact he appeared to be a bit older than her, he was fair and had a cheerful smile with decent facial features. Not bad looking for a taxi driver. The more she looked at him, the more she felt drawn in by his charm.

She wouldn’t believe in love so easily this time. Though she had just encountered betrayal only over an hour ago, she felt the loneliness in her heart. She and Jake were over now. It wasn’t wrong for her to find consolation in someone else. Furthermore, she and Jake were never an official couple.

“I don’t know where I want to go,” she uttered. “Just drive as you like. I have money!”

The man looked at her with a confused look in his eyes. What did money have to do with this?

“I mean, I can afford to pay whatever amount as you charge!” she declared feistily. “Now, drive!”