Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

When Elsa scoffed, Owen shrugged his shoulders. "What? You don't believe me—"

Without letting him finish, Elsa grabbed his collar and dragged him to a corner.

"Hey—this is a new shirt." He complained as he removed her hand from his collar. "There is a much better and polite way to do this, okay?"

"Do you think I care?" She crossed her arms in the front as she glared at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Owen shrugged. "Stop it, you are freaking me out."

"Owen, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

Elsa kept staring at him without saying anything. She knew he was up to something but she couldn't put a finger on it yet.

"This is the first time you have brought a woman in our group and that too for a trip," she remarked. "So you want me to believe that it's nothing?"

"She is not my girlfriend if that's what you are trying to say," he explained.

"I know she is not. No one would be happier than me if she was but she is not." Elsa sighed. "I know you don't date but don't you think it's high time you start thinking of settling down?"

Before he could say something, she added, "You will turn thirty-two in less than a month. You are the only one who doesn't even have a girlfriend in this group. Forget about that, you have never even been in a serious relationship before."

"How long are you planning to continue this way? Do you have plans of staying alone forever?"

"Hey—" He placed his hands on her shoulder. "I know you are worried about me but I am fine and happy the way things are in my life right now. And now that you have settled down and will be married soon, I have nothing to worry about. Justin is a great guy and I know he will always keep you happy."

"What about me then?" Elsa grabbed his hand. "I am worried about you just like you are always worried about me. I want to see you find the perfect woman for you Owen, I want to see you settle down, start a family of your own. I want to see you happy."

Owen did not say anything, he just kept listening to her. This was the first time Elsa was trying to intervene in his personal dating life. He didn't mind, he didn't mind even a little bit. Instead it felt nice to know that she cared about him so much.

"Do you like her?"

"Who? Juliana?" Owen scoffed. "No. I am just trying to teach her a lesson because she robbed me."

When she did not say anything, he insisted, "Trust me, I don't like her even a little bit."

"Why?" She inquired. "She is beautiful and seems quite nice. Why don't you like her?"

Without waiting for his reply, she remarked, "Or you don't wanna like her. Not just her, you don't wanna like anyone."

She sighed and helplessly shook her head. "I know you don't believe in love and relationships and I know the reason behind is what happened between mom and dad. But Owen, love is nothing like that. It's just about meeting the right one."

"And in mom's case, she fell in love with the wrong guy and everything went downhill," she added. "But just because things didn't work out for her, doesn't mean it will not workout for anyone."

She tightened her grip on his hand. "Being with someone you love is the best feeling in the world. I don't want you to run away from this beautiful feeling just because you think it will never work."

"I am saying it has to be Juliana, it can be anyone. But please, don't try to shrug off or compress the feelings if you ever start feeling them."

Without saying anything, Owen sighed and pulled her in his embrace. He then kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about me so much. I am your big brother, I should be the one taking care of you."

"There isn't a rule, right?" She remarked. "I am always worried about you, constantly, every second."

...

[Ben's car]

As soon as they resumed their journey again after the short break, Tina tried her best to stay awake for half of the journey. She had spent the first half in a deep slumber.

She woke up only after they had stopped for the break.

When she started folding the jacket Ben had wrapped around her earlier, he stopped her.

"You should wear it, the weather is getting chilly."

Without arguing, she wrapped it around herself. The pleasant weather had all of a sudden turned gloomy as dark clouds slowly enveloped the sky.

"How was your trip?" He questioned her again.

"It was okay," she answered. "We managed to secure the deal."

Keeping quiet for a while, she inquired, "How was your week?"

"As usual, nothing special." How could he tell her that he had the most horrible and frustrating week in his entire lifetime?

"Oh—" Tina clutched her chest and started coughing vigorously. Somehow she had ended up choking on her own saliva.

"Are you okay?" Ben frowned.

She nodded as she continued coughing vigorously.

He quickly stopped the car at the side and grabbed a bottle of water from the back.

"Here, drink this—" He gave it to her.

When she took a few sips, he gently patted her back until she stopped coughing.

"Are you okay?"

Tina nodded as she closed the bottle. Her face was flushed after coughing too much and her eyes were filled with tears.

When Ben inched closer and wiped the tear from the corner of her eyes, she froze.

"How can you choke like that?" He frowned.

"I—" Tina nervously bit her lower lips.

Oblivious to what was going on, Ben took out his handkerchief and inched closer again.

"Be more careful—" He stopped when their eyes met. This is when he realised how intimate their position was.

...