Chapter 8: 6| Circles

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Circles ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ avez pas à vous inquiéter. Je vais m'en occuper," I assured Mr. Benoit with a firm handshake, "excusez-moi." Retreating from him, I spun around and faced the rest of the crowd. Even though seeing Amara all riled up yesterday at the idea of facing me again was enough to fuel me for the next few days, I found myself attending this luncheon the very next day, hoping to get another glimpse of her, just so I could give her another taste of what it felt like to lose. I had to hand it to her for the audacity she had to finally work against me after avoiding me for the past three years. Before Amara ever fought my case, she never hesitated to cross my path, in fact, she looked forward to the opportunity to fight me just the way I did. After she defended me in court, everything changed. Not only did she disappear but ever since she came back, she made a conscious effort to stay away from me. It was evident just how much she hated interacting with me, even when she agreed to for Rhys's sake last year. But between the time she fought my case till now, our previous case was the first time in those three years that Amara didn't back down from a battle against me. Perhaps it was because she found out too late that it was me she'd be going up against or maybe it was because she finally got past whatever was holding her back. Regardless of what it was, seeing her yesterday made it seem like that fear was creeping up on her again. I couldn't figure out why Amara began avoiding me rather than facing the challenges I threw at her head-on, especially because it wasn't like her to act that way. It irked me. She behaved as if she was so high above me that even working against me was too little of a job for her. It was about time we went back to our old ways because no matter how much we both detested it, nobody put on a fight the way we did. Over the years while I felt my hatred for her grow, I couldn't deny that going up against her was fun in its own way. "Tristan," Michael called out, catching my attention in the crowd as he walked over to me. I let out a soft breath and pulled my sunglasses back on. "I have a friend," he began, resting a hand on my shoulder, "he needs your help with something. Come talk to him." I turned to look at him but kept my hands tucked firmly into my pockets. "On zaplatit vam mnogo," he added sharply. "Deystvitel'no?" I asked blankly, "he'll pay me a lot?" Lifting a hand, I shrugged his grip off. "And how much of it do you want under the name of commission, Michael?" "Come on, son. It's only right for me to get my cut for bringing you the best clients." "I don't want your clients, Michael. I won't defend the people you want me to. I've been an attorney all these years without your help and I've been doing just fine." A light, frustrated huff escaped him, "Tristan-" "I keep telling you. You can't make up for everything you did to me. You can stop pretending now. Nobody's around to listen." Ignoring him as his gaze hardened, I walked away from him, losing the crowd behind me as I continued down the narrow trail in the garden. With the luncheon being hosted in one of the finest golf clubs of New York City, this garden alone was large enough for me to slip out unnoticed. My jaw ticked as I continued walking down the trail until I reached the garden maze. Stopping at the gate, I sighed and took a quick scan of the area. Growing up, I spent most luncheons and parties running around inside this maze, often, even getting lost but I hadn't walked past those gates in years now. Unhooking the latch, I pushed the gate open and walked through the maze aimlessly, searching for the fountain I knew stood at the other end of it. Minute after minute passed and eventually, without knowing how, I reached the other end as that fountain came into view. My footsteps slowed to a halt as I walked closer to it, stopping a few feet away when my gaze landed on her. There she was, Amara Milano. My eyes followed her as she walked around the edge of the fountain, having climbed on top of it rather than simply walking around the whole thing. One wrong move and she'd stumble right into the water. A sparkling white mini lady Dior bag dangled from her fingertips, her heels discarded on the grass nearby, with the hem of her matching white dress brushing against her legs, just below her knees. My eyes traveled over her, taking in the knot tied on the left side of her waist, each inch of the dress hugging her nicely. Her hair was in loose waves down to her hips, swaying behind her lightly as she continued walking. One wrong move and everything designer on that girl would turn to ruins. I quietly moved forward, taking advantage of how focused she was on her own footsteps, far too busy to notice me until I was too close for comfort. Her eyes darted to my shoes, quickly traveling up to face and doing a double-take. It was impossible to miss the surprise in them. A startled gasp escaped her as she lost her footing and slipped off the fine edge she was walking along, making a dive for that fountain. But my hand shot out impulsively and grasped hers, catching her before she fell into the water and pulling her down to the ground instead. Her hands flew up to my chest as she crashed into me and steadied herself, her eyes meeting mine. A shaky breath escaped her as her gaze turned into a glare. "Do you always sneak up on people like that, Harper?" "Do you always risk falling into fountains like that, Milano?" I asked, lifting a brow at her sharply. Her hands slipped off my chest as she backed away and slipped her heels back on. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, doing a quick scan over my attire, briefly skimming over the baby blue linen button-up I wore with the sleeves rolled up and the off-white pants that complimented it. I glanced at the fountain. "Avoiding the party." "Still don't like crowds, huh?" she scoffed lightly. I turned to look at her. "Still like falling into fountains, huh?" She paused in confusion for a moment before realization swirled in her eyes as she looked at the fountain. "Tristan!" I froze in my tracks as I ran through the maze, panting and out of breath, trying desperately to escape the party I was dragged to tonight. "Tristan!" Uncle Michael called out again, the rage evident in his voice. I'd understood by now when he was truly angry with me and hearing his voice alone was enough to frighten me to my core. Ignoring his shouts and acting oblivious, I continued running ahead aimlessly, more scared to get caught by him than I was to get lost in this maze. My footsteps slowed as I caught my breath once the fountain came into view. The fountain and the girl. I watched in surprise, confusion, and shock all at once as she climbed on top and walked in circles along the edge of the fountain, leaving me completely baffled. A snap of a twig beneath my feet cut through the air and caught her attention. I cringed as I grew stiff when she looked in my direction. My eyes widened as I watched her foot slide off the edge and her scream pierced through the air. "Careful!" I shouted, running forward as she fell back but it was far too late and a loud splash echoed in the garden. Bracing myself along the edge of the fountain, I peered inside as she sat upright and sputtered, choking on the water as she pushed her soaking-wet hair out of her face. My lips parted as I gawked at the little girl, trying to guess how old she was, if she would cry or laugh, if she would snitch to Uncle Michael and say I scared her or not. She didn't look any older than six years old. "Crap," I mumbled quietly, "uh, here. Let me help." I held out a hand, reaching for her. She stared at me in disbelief for a second before grabbing my hand, only instead of pulling herself out, she pulled me in. Intentionally. I sputtered out water as I sat upright beside her, the water still pouring on our heads, both of us now drenched and soaked to the bone having fallen inside this water fountain. "Do you always scare people?!" she screamed at me, splashing more water into my face. Scoffing, I splashed her back. "Do you always fall into fountains?! Who walks on them anyway?!" I shouted. Both of us paused, fuming as we glared at each other. Suddenly, a small chuckle escaped her and soon enough, it turned into a full-blown laugh as she threw her head back. Staring at her in disbelief, I couldn't help but laugh at how strange not only this girl but this whole situation was. Her grin widened once she saw mine and then she held out her little hand. "I'm Amara." I shook it, still wary and hesitant. "Tristan." "Amara?" Both our gazes snapped forward as an older man came into view. "Dad!" She laughed, jumping out and running straight ahead only to stop after the first few steps. Charging back, she held out a hand for me. "Sorry I pulled you in too. Friends?" I took her hand and pulled myself out of the fountain. "Friends," I agreed. Giggling, she turned around and ran into her Dad's arms, drenching his suit too. He set her down with a soft chuckle and then looked at me. "Tristan?" he guessed. I nodded lightly. "Your uncle's looking for you, you know," he said, shooting me a pointed look. "I know," I shrugged. He laughed softly and waved me over. "Come on, kid. Let's get you out of here." I snapped my fingers in front of her face and she blinked out of whatever daze she was in. "Sorry to break you out of your deja-vu moment, Malyshka. Unless you'd like to relive that night and-" "What do you want?" she huffed, running a frustrated hand through her hair. "I don't mean to disappoint but I didn't come here looking for you, Ms. Milano," I replied. Her phone ringing diverted her attention and she answered it, rolling her eyes at me. "Dad," she said, "yeah, I'll be right there. I just went for a walk." After a moment, she hung up the phone and headed back only to pause and walk back to me. "Do you always have to seek me out before we meet for a case, Mr. Harper?" "Always," I smirked, pulling my sunglasses down my nose as I looked at her where she barely reached my shoulders. The most annoyed huff escaped her as she reached up and stole my sunglasses, looking me straight in the eye. "Go fuck yourself, Harper." She gave me a push and my legs hit the edge of the fountain as I kept my gaze on her, knowing that if she pushed me just a little harder, I would have fallen in. Spinning on her heels, she strutted out, glancing at me over her shoulder once she put my sunglasses on. "Still a thief, Ms. Milano?" I called out. Lifting a hand, she flipped me off and continued walking. A tiny chuckle escaped me as I glanced down at my chest where she touched me moments ago. It felt like her touch burned right through my clothes. I glanced at the fountain over my shoulder and then faced ahead again, slowly heading back out. How does every moment somehow come back to her? Every moment circles back to her. . . . . . Chapter 6