The Traps of Black Swan

At Rivas Hospital, in Aaron's office

Aaron saw Aarvi entering wearing a short black dress leaving him completely awestruck. There is a lot he still has to understand about Aarvi and how her mind works.

In the morning, she left Rivas Industries in a short dress but returned in a long black dress hence he had thought she might have changed the dress when she went to the mall. A few minutes back, she went to meet Sean and Vance in a long dress but returned in the black dress which she was wearing in the morning. He wasn't sure what to think looking at her.

Aarvi reached his desk and flicked her fingers to get his attention on her from the dress. She asked, guessing what was going on in his mind, "Don't you like this dress?"

Aaron raised his brows in response, if he has to like or dislike the dress compared to her other wardrobe, this dress obviously looked boring and too plain. However, it still looked pretty on her pearl-like skin.

Aarvi continued hiding her slyness to see how he would react, "Okay, I will remove it." She took a step back and pulled the layer of cloth at the neck as though she was tearing it off by her action.

"What!?..." Aaron was slightly shocked by the turn of events. Tearing the dress in front of him doesn't fit in his thought process hence he was unsure how he should react.

Giggling, Aarvi twirled letting the cloth layer cascade and revealed her new look, "Tada." She couldn't help but chortle again looking at him wordless. "What were you thinking? Stripping?"

Aaron rested his heart first and moved his swivel chair back before walking towards her. He analyzed gently tapping his finger on her nose tip, "Why do my different expressions bring a smile on your face?"

"Oh…" She had noticed it too, "Maybe because I had thought you don't have emotions and feelings. You always used to be…" She pointed her face wiping off her happiness to stand aloof, "Like this. It was hard to say if you were human or a robot."

Well, he couldn't say she was the same because she at least threw the frustration of various things at him. His left arm snaked around her waist pulling her to him, "If you weren't running away or had a little higher EQ, you wouldn't have seen my stoic face."

Aarvi blamed him back, "It was your mistake. You always said heart, heart...heart, and I was annoyed and guilty for receiving affection that belonged to your sister. How can you expect me to accept what isn't mine?"

Aaron already knows that "If I hadn't mentioned the heart…"

Aarvi finished it for him, "I would have run away from your sight." Of course, she could discern that. "Okay, that's old news now, why do you always hold me? Are you afraid I will run away?"

Aaron mumbled in response, "Enjoying my privilege."

One who used to run away from everyone and was avoiding him from unnecessary contact, finally let him hold her, why wouldn't he hold her? Given a chance, he was ready to tag her to him all day long.

"Huh? Enjoy what?" Aarvi didn't catch his words.

Aaron held the long skirt of the dress and twirled her without a word.

'Trnnn…'

The room instantly filled with tearing of cloth flushing her red. It was an attachment on a bodycon dress and could be removed easily but what he did, pushed her mind to wander away.

Aaron again wrapped his hand around her waist when she was yet to get stable from the twirl. He pulled her to him crashing her back on his chest and his sexy voice sounded right next to her ear to tease her, "I can help you strip."

Her pink flushed cheeks changed to red. Aaron didn't let her run away if in case she thinks he was going to strip her, he tied her torn skirt to close her eyes and heard her flustered stone, "Aaron, why are you closing my eyes?" The darkness is her ultimate enemy, she can't be composed when she feels darkness around her.

Conversely, Aaron was calm, "Shhh… Trust me." He wants her to know why he holds her every time and also helps her fight the darkness in the day with him around. It was just a small baby step to check her improvement.

Going in front of her, he held her hands to keep her calm and asked her to breathe slowly, "Breathe with me…" Then he dragged the words guiding her breathe, "Breathe in... Breathe out…" The ten seconds cycle repeated before he left her hands and stood away.

There was pin-drop silence in the room and her breathing calm. He watched her concentrate on breathing for more than five minutes. Initially, she was normal then she forced herself to focus on breathing which quickened her breathing pattern.

Aaron was almost happy assuming she crossed her previous time limit and she isn't remembering that day after closing her eyes for long but the telephone on the desk rang and Aarvi squatted in a jerk and covered her ear, burying her face in her knees and started trembling afraid to even breathe or make a tiny sound.

Aaron cursed the caller and himself in his mind as he quickly pulled her to his embrace, "I am here... I am here... " He untied the blindfold and wrapped his arms tighter as his soothing voice sounded, "Open your eyes… I am sorry, I thought you weren't remembering... I am sorry…"

Aarvi brow tightened feeling her head heavy and unawarely snuggled to his warm embrace holding him tight trying to register what just happened.

Aaron asked when she wasn't trembling, her breathing and heartbeats were even, "If your subconscious mind remembered that day, why didn't you open the blindfold?" Whenever her therapist tried to treat her, she always aborted the treatment as soon as her subconscious mind overrides the memory.

She responded pressing her head telling the changes, "I forgot I was blindfolded, the wind… I think Air conditioner, I was able to listen to the air blow from the AC, and the telephone ring was too loud enough to give me a headache."

Aaron compiled her words caressing her head, "Your hearing sensitivity was high in defense." But he couldn't understand why she forgot about the blindfolded, "Did you perhaps remember Vance Hays?"

Whenever she meets or sees somebody related to the past, that day's reaction was too strong hence he guessed.

She shook her head and corrected, "Billy Craft." And finally, she composed back to normal and whinged, "Wait, you make me patient whenever you want. Am I a patient or your girlfriend? Say the first, I am leaving right now."

Flicking on her head, Aaron scooped her to his arms and stood up before placing her on his desk, "How did you feel as soon as I reached you?"

He helped her drink water first then she thought back and responded promptly, "Warm and secure." Okay, she understood why he holds her when she is around.

Seeing him move away kissing her forehead, she held his tie and pulled him back in front of her, "So you want me to feel protected all the time."

Aaron hummed in response pressing his lips on her forehead again. She continued, "Don't you feel me as troublesome? I feel like your patient instead of your girlfriend. You don't have to be responsible for my baggage, I will get rid of it."

Aaron grimly stared at her saying, "I don't kiss my patients." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, "Only reserved for my love."

The pinkness creeping up on her cheeks greatly improved his mood and continued, "I know you want to fight alone but I want to walk with you. I don't like to sit alone and watch."

She swiftly stopped him seeing him again leaning to kiss her, "Go and work. You are too distracted already." She already lost count of kisses she was receiving.

'Is kissing addictive?' A doubt raised in her head but she got off from her desk and ran away in search of Milo Wen Whilst Aaron let out a chuckle behind her thinking 'My Love' works smoothly on her.

As soon as she left, he dialed a string of numbers to instruct them to check any connectivity between Billy Craft and Ava Kelly but he was kind of sure they wouldn't find anything.

He could easily end the games of the people she was playing but he knew that wasn't what Aarvi wants and she wouldn't like it if he alters her plans.

---

After fifteen minutes, Aarvi entered Aaron's office wearing a new set of clothes she found in Aaron's changing room in the hospital. Aaron was checking Naomi's research draft hearing her explain.

He saw Aarvi in his hoodie that slowly brought a smile remembering Little Cupcake wearing his jacket and running behind him asking how she looks.

Whereas Naomi purposefully moved closer to Aaron's chair and painted her face with fake innocence to make Aarvi jealous.

Aarvi complained suggestively looking at the sleeves, "Aaron, what was the hurry? Who tears off the dress? Please be gentle next time." Then she slowly raised her flushed dainty face and shocked then quickly calmed seeing Naomi.

Naomi's face was dark as coal, feeling her blood boil when Aarvi grabbed the black piece of cloth from the floor to hide it.. Now she understood what Aarvi and Aaron were doing in the office when she had called to office telephone that wasn't answered.