Velika: The story of a lover

They sat at the counter, drinking while watching people dance. She was smoking regardless of his talks about how it wasn't good for her. Colorful lights mingled together made them dizzy, the music brought them back to the life that they had lost a long time ago. It wasn't that long, only several years, but for them, it was like a century ago, when Daniel Heinrich wore shirts and jeans like other boys and Velika O'Sullivan had her long hair with no tattoo on her fair arms.

Velika O'Sullivan started getting drunk, she hadn't been drinking for a while, her situation required her to be sober at all times. All these years, she fought with her insecurity and ready to adapt the life of loneliness, lived alone and worked alone, she couldn't associate with the crowd, and that was when she started missing the old days she had.

She began telling Daniel Heinrich about her feelings for her husband. Ironic. She said, there were so many times she claimed that she didn't love him anymore, but by the end of the day, she missed him instead. However, when she saw him stood in front of her, she felt there was a distance between them that she could never narrow it down, and then she realized, she didn't love him anymore. Dean O'Sullivan had become an illusion of hers, he was way too perfect in her imagination than in real life.

Daniel Heinrich said he understood, he did understand. Though he had had so many girlfriends that he had lost count, but those relationships never lasted longer than a few weeks. He was careless, he didn't care about those girls, he dated them because they liked him, how could he resist others when they liked him? They liked him because he was handsome, funny, and charming. He went out for dates, but he didn't feel anything, playing around, but the nights when he was home alone by himself, drinking beer from a can and looking at the dark, star loaded sky, he thought of Clarabelle Lewis, her blonde hair and her watery blue eyes, she was the only person he loved and cared. He once thought he would marry her and had a life together, it would never come true, a man did a living like him didn't deserve a perfect relationship.

Same thought as Velika O'Sullivan.

Here they were, two people with similar stories sitting together, telling each other about their lives under the effect of alcohol. They shared their emotions, they shared the dreams they used to have, the naive thoughts they had when they were young and how cruel the reality was, how their dreams fell apart so fast before they could even try to save them.

They were supposed to be rational, but they were sentimental. He saw how insecure she was, and she saw his soft spot under his hard shell.

"This is so wrong." Said her, swinging her glass.

"What?" Daniel Heinrich asked he knew she was almost drunk, judging by the way she talked.

"We are in the middle of a war," She laughed like a child, put down the glass and the tequila spilled out a little, "And now look, what are we doing? In a bar, we kept drinking and talking shit like we are high school drama queens!"

"It's ok, Velika." For the first time, he called her first name, he liked it when she swore, the music was so loud that he had to yell, "Just give yourself a break."

"Oh yeah," Velika O'Sullivan wrapped her arms around his neck, "But I can't drink anymore, I'm drunk already."

"No, you are not." Daniel Heinrich yelled, the beat of rock music excited his nerves, once again he felt alive.

"Really? Then why do I think you are the best-looking man I've ever met in real life?" Velika O'Sullivan put her cold fingertips onto his chin, she leaned forward and looked at him closely.

"Because I am." Said Daniel Heinrich with a smirk, while Velika O'Sullivan gently slapped his cheek.

"Shameless." She laughed, took another sip of her drink, "Now take me home. I can't stand loud music anymore."

So, he took her home. She was quite the whole way when they were walking down the street. Daniel Heinrich looked at her from his side view. All he saw was this tiny but tough woman, buried in her thoughts, trying hard to keep everything to herself, he saw the soft part of her heart under all the walls she built for herself. Then without the awareness of his action, Daniel Heinrich reached out to hold her waist, and she didn't push him away This was when he realized that he might start falling in love with her. He might have been in love with her throughout the year since the very first time he met her. He remembered her in her red dress, sitting on his hotel sofa with a glass of wine in her hand, smiling at him when she saw him entered the door. This affection towards Velika O'Sullivan was wrong, Daniel Heinrich knew this for a fact, but he couldn't control it, he couldn't resist his attraction towards her. He knew that one day, he would fall under her charms, the charms that she didn't even know she had.

Velika O'Sullivan noticed that he was staring at her, so she stopped, turned around, and looked up at him.

"You are a handsome man, Heinrich," Said she out of the blue with a smile, "And a handsome man shouldn't be involved in a business like ours."

"And why is that?" He asked with a soft voice, pulled her closer to him, she didn't resist.

"People will remember your pretty face," She said, still with that loving smile, traced her cold fingertip along his cheek, "And you'll get in trouble for being too recognizable."

"Well, I guess you are right, I'm already in trouble," He said in a gentle tone with his enchanting smile, "But at least I'm in trouble with someone like you."

"What?" She asked, with a slight smile, then she said half-jokingly, "Are you falling in love with me?"

"What if I said I am?" He stopped, so did she. He turned towards her and put his hands on her shoulders, she didn't step away. Instead, she looked into his eyes with a mixed feeling that he couldn't comprehend, "Would you love me?"

"Oh Heinrich," She sighed, let him hug her tight, and kissed her on her forehead, she could hear his strong heartbeat, "Why would I not love you?"

This was the moment reminded her of Amy Winehouse's cover of the song 'will you love me tomorrow'.

###

When she woke up with her head spinning in the morning, she didn't know what to feel, she curled her lips and stretched her arms, she remembered was they were at the bar, drinking, then she asked Daniel Heinrich to take her back, then she thought she fell in love with the German, and now she woke up in the loft. Where's Daniel Heinrich? She looked around, then she heard the water running in the bathroom, she smiled.

The sunlight was bright and warm, sneaked through the window and shined on her skin, warm and unreal, just like a fictitious dream, she almost forgot about her wedding ring until she saw the little sparks of light made by the reflection of the sunlight on her rings' surface. Suddenly she had this kind of assorted feeling like the rings were spies that surveillance her life, followed her everywhere. Straight up she jumped out of the bed, picked up her dress on the floor, put it on, the moment her feet touched the hard, woolen carpet, she knew what was the reality to her, she gently knocked on the bathroom door.

The door opened and Daniel Heinrich was standing in front of her, before, his pretty green eyes, brown hair, and the slight accent all reminded her of Dean O'Sullivan, even they were different accents, now for the first time when she looked into his eyes, she took him as Daniel Heinrich, not a shadow of Dean O'Sullivan. It was Daniel Heinrich who stood on her side, who slipped into her heart and settling a special place in there. How strange, years ago when she received the order to capture him but let him go, she considered him as a smart villain, never expected to be this close to him. Life is just full of odds.

"Good morning." Said Daniel Heinrich with a smile on.

"Morning, Daniel." She smiled too, leaning against the door. For some unknown reason, she was nervous when she said his first name.

"Well, I like it when you call me by my last name," Daniel Heinrich lifted his eyebrow, laughed, "You are the only person can pronounce it properly. But I'm going to address you by the first name now, it's easier to differentiate the O'Sullivans."

"I do speak a little German if you didn't know." She laughed too.

"I didn't know that," He said softly, "What's on your mind, Velika?"

"Well," She paused, pretended to be serious, "Why do I feel I'm cheating?"

"From the aspect that you are still married to him," Daniel Heinrich laughed, she saw the little wrinkles on the corners of his eyes, "Congratulations lady, you are cheating on your husband."

"I should get a divorce," She frowned, didn't laugh, "I should have done it years ago."

Daniel Heinrich shook his head with a sigh and held Velika O'Sullivan in his arms, patted on her back. She loved Dean O'Sullivan, after all, he went through the toughest years with her, he gave her the courage to live, they totally could keep their vows if Romeo Leontes didn't step a foot in. That's why she fought and fought, she had her arrogance, she wanted to revenge, just like Astoria Leontes and himself, at least that was what his logic was. She had the chance to get Dean O'Sullivan back if she wanted to, then why she would divorce him. Did she not love him anymore, just like she claimed? Daniel Heinrich couldn't answer, but he knew it wasn't because of him.

"Why?"

"Because," She smiled, devastated, "Despite the fact I don't love him anymore, and I wonder if I ever did, I'm tired, and I want to be free from the chains attach to my back.

She sighed, he could feel her despondency, he held her tighter against his chest.

"Can I ask you where you were for the past five months?" Asked Daniel Heinrich, with a gentle voice, "You were completely off the grid."

"Oh," Velika O'Sullivan seemed surprised, she didn't expect him to ask this, "I was in New York. I knew a guy who makes fake passports so I could get there without being followed up."

"Why New York?" Daniel Heinrich frowned.

"Well I was visiting a friend," She looked up with confusion, "Why? Since when I need your permission to be somewhere?"

"Just out of curiosity." Daniel Heinrich smiled and let her go, "You seemed to be in New York a lot. I remembered you were calling your friend the night before we went to the conference."

"I guess," Velika O'Sullivan shrugged, acted like she didn't care much, "Visiting friend is always a nice thing to do."

"Is your friend the reason you stayed in this game?" Asked Daniel Heinrich abruptly, he had this brooding look on his exquisite face.

At first, Velika O'Sullivan didn't say a word but she looked suspicious, she kissed him on his cheek and then said:

"No, and don't ask too many questions. It will put you at a disadvantage."

'New York,' Thought Daniel Heinrich, 'Who would be her friend on the other side of the country?'

Then he thought of a name that he hoped sincerely that she didn't visit the owner of it.