Once Upon A [Stolen] Time (Stolen Series Book 1)

by Ahsan, Samreen

  “Myra, sweetheart…we never got a chance to ask you how your trip was. I hope my son didn’t annoy you,” Mr. Bernard said. I glanced at my mother, who was waiting for my response. She’d asked me several times about my experience and every time I gave her the same answer—things were not the same between Steve and me. Still, she thought the more time I spent with him, the more I would return to normal. She knew Steve was a gentleman and he’d never do anything to bring shame to his family, but she was still curious whether Steve had tried to do something unethical with me. I told her that it was not him that was the issue. It was I—my stupid heart—that fell for a man that was history. I told her how I’d found Edward. She’d listened to me silently all night, and walked out of the bedroom without making any comment. The next day when Steve came to meet me—she told him in no uncertain terms not to take me to Hue castle ever again. I didn’t know what she was afraid of. Did she worry that I’d get lost in Edward’s world? Was his desire for me strong enough to pull me into his world? Would it ever be possible to meet the man I called perfect for me? Or should I forget him like any other fictional character from a book I’d read, and move on to the next one?

  Mom knew I had many book boyfriends. I had fallen in love with so many men from the books I had read. But this was not a fictional book I had read. It was someone’s life story—captured by an unknown captor. It was hard for me to explain to anyone that the book had entrapped me too. Edward was now my captor, and I had fallen into some other time. This was not my time. My time, my world belonged to Edward.

  “It was a good trip, Mr. Bernard.” I forced a smile to my lips. I knew my mom was watching me.

  “And what about him?” Mr. Bernard pointed toward his son.

  I glanced at Steve, who was waiting for my answer, and then looked at his father. “He’s a good guy.” Steve tightened his grip on my hand. I watched my mother. “He’s a true gentleman.” She was wondering if Steve had done something to me that I didn’t like—if that was why I didn’t want to marry him. What Steve had done for me—no one else had done it. He had showed me a whole new world. He introduced me to Hue castle, where I discovered my attraction to Edward. If Steve hadn’t been there, I would have never known what kind of desires burned in me for Edward.

  Edward was my perfect book character; the only difference was, he was real—and he knew me too. And for that, I would forever be grateful to Steve.

  We ate our dinner quietly. No one asked me anything more. Mrs. Bernard kept discussing the engagement party plans with my mother. They’d hire a designer florist, a top-of-the-line event management company, our dress designers, a jewelry designer—and there was a long list of guests. I wondered, if they were having an engagement party on such a huge scale, what they would do for Steve’s wedding.

  Wedding!

  No, I can’t marry Steve. That would be betraying him and me for the rest of my life. I must tell him I don’t love him. He’s a good guy and he deserves a loving girl—not a girl who is split between two different times.

  Wedding!

  That reminded me of the woman standing in the mirror. I’d never find out who the woman was. I’d never find out if it was me and Edward, or if the man was King David looking at his wife. But did I look like Jasmine? How could I ever find the truth? Did the mirror show something from the past, or was it something that was going to happen in the future? But how could it be from the future? Edward was from the past. He could never be my future.

  I didn’t care what they were all talking about. I didn’t care what dress they’d chosen for my engagement party. All the wealthy and royal families from Britain had already been sent invitations for the engagement party in June, and then the wedding the following year. Mrs. Bernard needed an entire year to plan her only son’s wedding. Since the news of Steve’s future bride was out, Steve and I were in the limelight—on the covers of every gossip magazine in the UK.

  They’d interview Steve and he’d profess his love for me. There was no way I could back out of this relationship unless Steve let me go. And I had no reason to back out. What would I tell him? I was in love in Edward? He knew it already, and had accepted the fact that I had the power to connect the present with the past. That power vested in me had not offended him—apparently, it had mesmerized him. He’d admitted the fact that he liked the way I could discover the castle’s secrets.

  I knew making a game based on Hue castle was his ultimate goal. How could he ever forget it? Why did he listen to my mother’s demand not to take me there? She’d threatened him that she’d call off the wedding if he ever took me there again, and he’d told my mother to trust him and that he’d never want to lose me. Why did it have to be so complicated? Why did Steve have to fall in love with me? Why did I have to fall in love with Edward? Why and how did it become a love triangle?

  Edward—oh, how much I missed reading about his life. I wanted him to cry. I wanted him to grieve over his sister’s death. I wanted closure for him, but he chose darkness over tears. He didn’t even wait to become a king—he just vanished from history. He didn’t go back to Emma and keep his promise to his sister, to take care of her child. How could he do that? How could he never go and cry on Veronica’s grave? Why did he turn into a stone? I wished I could find answers for all that. I wished I could drag him to Veronica’s grave and force him to shed tears for her death. He had to cry. He needed to show some sorrow—he loved her so much. It was not the hex that made him into stone. It was Veronica’s death that made him a monster. He’d buried his own heart and soul with her dead body. It was an awful sight to see.

  It was dark and gloomy the day he dug the grave under the black tree and buried his sister. Even the clouds refused to cry. He didn’t utter a word. He didn’t shed a tear. He’d just stared at the black sand. His heart had stopped beating and became emotionless. He had even stopped talking to me secretly by the lake. He had stopped desiring me. He had stopped dreaming about me. I wanted to break all the walls around him, but it was impossible. My desires were completely ridiculous. I was forced to live in the present and it was actually my world. I should not run away from it. I was born in this time. I was raised in this time, but still my heart was stuck in the fifteenth century.

  I heard conversation in the background—they were still discussing the party. Steve was engrossed in talking to my father. The topic of his game never surfaced in any of our family gatherings. I could hear their voices, but my mind was drifting to another world.

  Physically I was present in this world—but my soul traveled to Edward’s time. I was chasing shadows from the past. I’d ruin my present if I kept thinking about Edward. But how was he able to touch me? Why did he jerk back when I placed my hand over his? Why did I talk to him? There were so many untold secrets locked in that mirror. If only I could go there once more and see if the mirror could show me something I hadn’t seen in the book.

  I didn’t notice when the main course ended and was replaced by a lavish cheesecake.

  “You didn’t eat anything, Myra.” Steve’s concerned voice brought me back to the present world. I looked at him, lost. He was studying my face in depth. His gaze said that he understood where I’d been, but he didn’t talk about it. “How about some cheesecake?” He offered me a spoonful.

  I glanced at both the ladies in front of me, who were staring at me in awe. It was quite embarrassing for me, sitting in front of Steve’s mother while he was spoon-feeding me like a baby. I should love all this attention. I should love Steve as much as he deserved it. But my stupid, greedy heart desired a dead man. I wanted to feel Edward’s touch again. I wanted his heart to beat the same way it beat that night before I foolishly said the wrong name. I should have shut my mouth and let him feel me. Why did I take David’s name? I should have let him talk. I should have told him what he looked like, because I knew how much he longed to see his own reflection. I wished I could show him how he looked. I wished he could see himself through my eyes—the depth of my love for him. He�
�d never know that I did exist for him—I was not his stupid fantasy—I was not someone looking for King David. I wished I could rewind time, to go back to the mirror and talk to him. But that mirror was the most unpredictable thing I had seen in my life. Every time I had looked past it, it showed me something different. If I did get a chance to go there, what were the odds of meeting Edward again?

  The mirror held a special power. It was not just an ordinary mirror—perhaps it was a portal to connect the past with the present. And it was only possible if two people touched their foreheads to it at the same time. It was only a coincidence that I was there when Edward placed his forehead on the mirror. He had done that so many times—looking with hate into his beastly reflection. But the moment I stood on the other side, he connected with me.

  After that night, he never returned to the mirror and confronted his reflection. He stopped inflicting pain on himself in return for the pain he caused, because he stopped feeling others’ pain. Their cries didn’t touch his heart anymore. Their pleas didn’t melt his heart anymore. He’d become just like King Stefan. I wanted him to become Edward again. He should not have to die in self-loathing.

  I was again lost in his world, when Steve placed his other hand on my lap. I winced at his touch.

  He was still holding the spoon for me. I took what he offered and savored the taste of fine cheesecake in my mouth.

  “The reason I asked you all for dinner today was to finalize the date of the engagement party next month,” Mrs. Bernard announced. Everyone looked at her. “I’ve prepared a press release for tomorrow, to announce the final date in June.” She took a sip from her wine. “I was thinking of making it June 11th, since it’s also Myra’s birthday.” She looked at me lovingly.

  Everyone was smiling. The cheesecake in my mouth turned into a cotton ball stuck in my throat. I hadn’t thought about the fact that June 11th was Edward’s birthday too, and apparently the date of his engagement. What kind of bizarre situation was my fate pulling me into? We shared the same birth date, and now the same engagement date.

  I coughed and cleared my throat. “Sorry.” I coughed again. “Please excuse me—I need to use the ladies room.”

  I pushed the chair back and stood up. Steve rose to follow me.

  “Please stay here,” I said politely to him. “I will be right back.” I hastily left the grand dining room. It didn’t take long to find the powder room. I instantly closed the door behind me and leaned against it. Tears crowded my eyes and I lost the strength to stand. My back rubbed against the door as I slid down and sat on the floor, knees against my chest. I wanted to cry louder, but was ashamed to let anyone hear me.

  They were all talking about my lavish wedding. They were deciding the date of my engagement party next month. They were all showering me with love, and I was so ungrateful that I walked away and chose to cry in the powder room. I should appreciate the fact that I was marrying into one of the richest families in the UK. My future mother-in-law was planning a wedding like a princess’s ball. Didn’t I want that, truly? Getting married like Cinderella? And when it was finally coming true—I was stuck in the past.

  I kept crying. I didn’t care if my makeup was ruined. I didn’t care what Steve would think if he saw my face all messed up. He had seen me looking worse than this. Edward and I had an untold tale. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. I would have to find a way to talk to him, so I could come out of this misery once and for all.

  There was a light knock at the door.

  “I know you’re in there, Myra.” I heard Steve’s voice. I was sobbing silently, but I guess he felt it. “Please come out, or let me in.” He took a deep breath. “There’s no one in the corridor. If you want to cry—cry openly. Don’t suppress it.” Just as he said it, I burst into an audible cry.

  I heard him taking a deep breath again.

  “I can still open this damn door, but I want you to let me in.” He sounded frustrated. “This is not going anywhere. Let’s go for a walk and we’ll talk about it.” Hope flared in me. Was he planning on breaking up with me? If he were, what difference would it make, besides losing a good friend? I was not going to get Edward anyway, or even find a way to talk to him.

  I rubbed the tears from my cheeks and checked myself in the mirror. Sometimes these waterproof makeup products actually do work. My mascara and eyeliner weren’t ruined at all. I straightened my dress and opened the door for him. He was leaning against the opposite wall of the grand corridor, legs crossed, arms folded, and staring at me with sympathy. Was I actually crying to get pity?

  He held my hand and walked me out of his grand manor. We went silently for a few minutes. The night had become a bit chillier than I expected. Suddenly he stopped. He looked down, dropping my hand and putting his hands in his jeans pockets—probably gathering his thoughts. He kept rubbing his right shoe on the grass. Finally, he shook his head in resignation.

  “I’ve been thinking lately...” His tone was mild.

  I looked up at him, waiting for him to say more.

  “I’ve been watching you since the day you first read the book. I don’t know what the future is going to bring for us.” He looked up at the sky. “When I came here, my greatest mission was to make the prototype for my game.” He straightened his neck and looked at me. “But then you came and trampled everything—my dreams, my mission, my game—everything that I planned.”

  “Steve, I—”

  “Let me finish, Myra.” He held out his palm to shush me. “You’ve changed since the day I confessed my feelings to you. We’re no longer friends. It’s not the same as when we started.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. He took me by the shoulders and held me firmly.

  “I don’t want to lose a friend. If going back to Hue castle and talking to that dead man can bring back the smile I fell for—then I’m ready to take that risk.” A tear dropped from my eye as he spoke. “I want that Myra back—the one who jumped in excitement and hugged me, right in this garden, when I asked her to go to Hue Castle with me.” The teardrop that fell a moment ago became a river of sadness. I couldn’t contain it anymore.

  “I’m so sorry, Steve.” I shook my head in grief. “I don’t know how to help myself.” And then he hugged me. His touch was filled with warmth. Our relationship was no longer stilted. I let myself cry in his arms for a few moments and he held me tightly—allowed me to pour out my grief at Edward’s demise.

  “I’m trying to forget him but I can’t, Steve.” My head was buried in his chest. It was a warm comforting feeling that I craved. I truly needed a shoulder to cry on. His fingers caressed my hair softly. I was no longer feeling chilly in the cold spring night.

  “Sometimes fate plays weird games with us.” He kept passing his fingers gently through my hair. “June 11th is his birthday too, right?” I pulled back and looked at him agape.

  “How did you know?”

  “I’m very good at remembering dates. I saw it on his portrait.” He smiled proudly.

  “It’s also the day he was supposed to get engaged, but instead disappeared somewhere unknown,” I added.

  He held my face in his hands. “Do you know you’ve forgotten to smile?” I looked down, feeling ashamed. “Do you remember the last time these beautiful lips turned upward?” I still stayed quiet, not willing to answer him. “It was before you read his book.” He added assertively, “If taking you back to Hue castle will bring back that smile to your pretty face—then let’s resume our game tomorrow.” He smiled.

  I held my breath tightly. What was he saying? Was I dreaming, or was he actually agreeing to take me back to the castle? But who would convince my parents to let me go?

  He wiped my tears with his thumb. “Now show me that charming smile of yours,” he said politely, and I giggled at his innocent gesture. “That’s my girl.” He kissed my forehead.

  Surprisingly, I found myself hugging him tightly. I felt so much stronger. He’d asked nothing more of me than to give him my smile, and in retur
n, he was doing so much for me. He pulled back at first, startled, but then embraced me with equal warmth.

  “Thank you so much, Steve. You are a true friend. How can I ever repay you?” I stayed snuggled up to him. He pulled back again and looked at me in concern.

  “As a matter of fact, I do need something in return.” There was a smile hiding at the corners of his mouth. I twitched my eyebrows. He continued, “Let’s start filming the game. Bring your nice clothes tomorrow, and my team will do the rest.”

  “But you still can’t capture it with your camera, can you?” I questioned.

  “I can with you in my lens.” He smiled seductively. “So we will cover the entire castle by filming you. You need to bring a different set of clothes for each room, and let me capture everything behind you. My team will then turn it into 3-D graphics.”

  “Wow,” I exclaimed. “That’s exciting.” There was a genuine smile on my face—the first in a very long time. I couldn’t contain my happiness.

  “Let’s go back. Our parents must be worried.” He grabbed my hand and took me back inside the house.

  Our parents were already settled in the lavish living room, having late-night coffee. The light was too bright, due to the crystal chandelier—completely the opposite of Hue Castle’s darkness. Everything in the room was white—white sofas with silver cushions, glass coffee table, crystal centerpiece, white walls—everything was sparkling in its grandeur.

  “Where were you guys?” my dad asked in concern.

  “Just went out for a walk,” Steve replied on my behalf.

  We settled on a white leather sofa together. Our mothers were watching us intently. “I have to make an announcement.” Steve raised his voice to grab everyone’s attention.

  “The reason I came to London was to work on my game.” He looked at my mother. “And since you’re family now, it’s better I discuss it openly.” I coughed and looked at him in shock. My mother glanced stealthily at me and then back to Steve. She knew what he was about to say. “Due to Mr. and Mrs. Farrow’s superstitions, I was unable to complete my mission.” He looked at my mother with irritation. This was not going in a good direction.