Bewitched His Soul

"Of course, people in this country are quite open and friendly," Aria lied. She feared admitting about her relationship becauseTravis may cause her trouble. He might tell her parents and that will put a restriction on her freedom.

Her father was very overprotective and her mother  worried about every single thing. Aria having a boyfriend may not deem well with her parents, but if they learn that Justin hurt their precious daughter then things will go bad, very bad.

"Aria, tell me the name of your friend," Tristan scowled.

"Just a... casual friend. It's no one important for you to know," Aria stammered.

"Oh really?" Travis snapped. Aria lowered her head, not able to withstand his gaze.

"Fine, you know I will eventually find out the truth," Travis warned her.

"I'm leaving," Travis got frustrated when he saw she still chose to remain silent.

"Travis, your clothes are still in the washing machine. Will you come back tomorrow to take them?" Aria asked.

"Aria, I am just going to my room. Are you trying to make me angry on purpose?" Travis growled.

"No...," Aria innocently answered. Seriously she had no intention of teasing him, seeing him so hyper made her a little bit scared.

"It's no use talking to you," Travis sighed and walked into the room. Closing the door with a loud bang making Aria flinch.

The next day, by the time she got up, Travis had already left her house. She silenced her phone since she had back to back meetings with clients the whole day.

After work Piper wanted to go shopping and asked Aria to accompany her. They went to a jeweler shop as Piper wanted to buy something from her first salary to send her mother back to her home country.

"Aria took a picture of these two," Piper said. She took out her phone and saw a number of messages and calls from Travis.

"Where are you, are you okay," Travis asked in a tense tone as soon as he picked the call.

"I am perfectly alright. I am out shopping with a friend. Is there an emergency that you called so many times?" Aria asked.

"Send me your location," Travis replied sternly, avoiding her question. Aria rolled her eyes and did as he said 

"Which one did you like," Travis stood next to Aria and whispered in her ear. Within fifteen minutes he was in the shopping mall.

"Travis, stop scaring me like that," Aria was so lost in looking at the jewelry that she did not even hear his footsteps. He just  laughed and lightly put his hand on her shoulder.

"Aria is this your boyfriend?" Piper asked since this was the first time she saw Aria close to a man.

"Oh no, he is my childhood friend, Travis met my friend Piper," Aria introduced them to one  another.

"Hi, nice meeting you," Piper smiled while Travis gave her a brief nod. Piper decided to go to a different section leaving Aria and Travis together.

"You still did not answer my question," Travis said.

"Which question?" Aria frowned.

"Did you finalize your choice?" Travis asked.

"I just came here to accompany Piper. I have no plans of buying anything," Aria was not a big fan of jewelry. There were so many diamonds and precious stones her mom,  Sophia, purchased for her, still lying untouched in the safe.

"Show me that earning in the second row," Travis said to the salesman. Travis was choosy, nothing satisfied him and he kept on asking the staff to show him different pieces.

"Sir, there is a new collection designed by X person on completing his 25 years in the industry. They are very expensive, if you want to see them, I can show them to you," The salesman suggested.

"Price does not matter, show me the best jewelry you have," Travis stated.

It was a blue and white diamond necklace, the design was very eye-catching. Even Aria gasped as she saw it, though she had seen every type of jewelry in the world this particular piece in front of her was truly a masterpiece.

"Wow! This is so beautiful," Aria stated.

"Try it," Travis said. Aria took the necklace and went near the full length mirror at the corner. She was having difficulty locking the hook and turned around to ask a staff member for help. But it was Travis who walked towards her and took the necklace from her.

"If the staff is busy, I can call Piper," Aria said.

"She is not on this floor," Travis stated. Aria looked around and did not find Piper, so she decided to take Travis's help.

Travis slowly pushed all her hair to the right. She was wearing a deep cut top which exposed her back more than usual.

Aria felt his hot gaze on her back and bit her lips, he did not move and kept on admiring her back as if it was something unique.

"You need to press this one," Aria broke the silence

"Hmmm…," Travis replied after a second. He was taking his time in putting the necklace and after what felt like an eternity he let it go.

Aria looked at the mirror and said, "It's mesmerizing." Travis hands went to her shoulders and moved closer so that his chest was touching her back. His face was near her ear and both of them were looking at each other through the mirror.

"I agree, truly mesmerizing," Travis whispered. Aria's breath stuck in her throat, and she clenched her fists tighty. His voice sent shivers through her spine.The intensity in his eyes, huskiness in his tone and his body pressing on her made the whole situation more sensual. She felt as if he complimented her and not the necklace.

"Pack this one," Travis called the staff.

"Is this a gift for Aunt Ava or Hazel?" Aria asked. She knew he did not have a girlfriend, so the gift was definitely going to one of his family members.

"No, it's for you," Travis gave his card for billing.

"What? I don't want it! It's such an expensive gift and there is no special occasion," Aria refused.

"I wanted to give you something for your first exhibition's success, but I had no idea what to buy. Since you like it, I thought there would be no better gift than this," Travis explained.

"But still….," Aria was interrupted by Travis.

"Aria, come on.. Don't say no," Travis pleaded softly, making her unable to refuse his request.