Chapter 1
I pulled my suitcase through the hustle and bustle of Heathrow airport while looking for someone who would pick me up, Niall Horan, that’s the name. My Mom was supposed to pick me up today, but because she’s too busy taking care of her wedding to be held in two months, she told Niall to pick me up.
I gave up and finally sat down in one of the available seats in the Heathrow corridor and pulled out my cellphone, I immediately called my Mom to ask about Niall.
“Hi, Hannah, have you arrived in London?” my mother asked, sounding the hustle and bustle of the vehicle horn. Looks like my mom is driving.
“Yes, I just arrived 15 minutes ago.” I replied, putting my suitcase beside me, “Are you driving?” I asked,
“No, I’m not driving. I’m with James now to buy some equipment, but we’re stuck in traffic around Bournemouth.” she answer, I can tell from her voice that she is depressed right now. I chuckled for a moment and immediately remembered the reason I called,
“Ah, I just remember. I called you because I want to ask about Niall. Is he already at Heathrow?”
“Hmm, I don’t really know about it. He should have been there, haven’t you met him?”
“How can I meet him if I don’t even know his face?” I heard the laughter of a man who I thought must be James, they were laughing at me. I just frowned while watching the people who passed in front of me.
“Hahaha, just look for a man with blond hair.” My Mom said with a chuckle, I looked around and found that there were 5 men with blond hair.
“Well, that really helps, Mom. There are at least 5 men with blond hair around me, are they all named Niall?” I replied sarcastically, one of my characteristics that sometimes makes other people upset. I again heard Mother laughing and began to feel upset.
“Sorry, okay I’ll call Niall and tell him you’ve arrived. Where are you now?”
“Ah, Heathrow?”
“I know you’re at Heathrow, I mean where exactly are you?” I smiled a little while looking back and found that I was in front of Caffe Nero, well it shouldn’t take long to find me.
“I’m sitting in front of Caffe Nero, and I’m the only girl here. He should be able to recognize me easily.” I said, Mother murmured softly.
“All right, wait a minute. I’ll tell him right away, be careful on the way. See you at dinner,” she said, she immediately hung up without waiting for my response. I put my cellphone back into my handbag, I paused for a moment while watching a child who was playing with his father near the playground. And for a moment I thought of my Dad.
My father died when I was 7 years old. He died in a single accident where his car plummeted into a cliff, it happened because the road at that time was very slippery because of the rain and he tried to avoid a truck that was shaking so that his car lost control and slipped into the cliff. I was very young at the time, I even thought that he was only staying at grandma’s house when I realized that he was coming home late. But my guess was wrong and I realized that something was wrong when I saw my grandma and grandpa coming home crying and hugging me and Mom. I still remember Mom becoming hysterical and immediately ran to her room and shut herself in her room for several hours, while I just paused while watching my grandma who had been crying and my grandpa who always said that my father was in heaven now. I was too young to understand that, so I wasn’t very sad at the time.
Over time, I began to feel the loss of the father figure in my life. I always felt jealous when I saw my friends walking with their father or when their father picked them up at school, whereas I had to walk home alone because Mom was too busy to take care of her work. Mom always told me that I don’t need to be jealous of my friends because Dad always with me, and the fact that Mom always take good care of me is a plus in my life.Since Mom moved to England to work in a publishing company, I began to feel lonely in Seattle. Usually I always spend time with Mom, whether it’s watching a movie, jogging, shopping, or just chatting at our favorite coffee shop in Seattle. Before she left, she promised to take me to England to continue my studies. Because at that time our finances were very limited, Mom could only finance me until high school. I am very happy that Mom knows James, he seems like a good man. Since Mom is in a relationship with him, he often sent us money so I could continue my studies. Mom also often tells me that James is a man who is very responsible and well-established, Mom said James was the founder of one of the famous publishing companies in London. “Miracles will always come,” that’s what Mom always tells me.
A pat on my shoulder broke my daydream and shocked me, I turned to find out who had disturbed my daydream. I found a blond young man smiling at me,
“You must be Hannah Taylor, right?” asked the man, which I had definitely confirmed was Niall. Finding me just silent, the smile on his face slowly faded. “Or not?”
“No, no, you’re right. I’m Hannah Taylor, and you must be Niall Horan.” I answered as I extended my hand to invite him to shake hands, Niall welcomed it warmly and smiled again.
“Thank God I could find you, it took me a day to look for you in the middle of this airport crowd. Nice to meet you,” he said as he pulled his hand from my hand and put it in his blue jeans pocket.
“It seems like not that long, I just landed about 15 minutes ago. You’re too much, and happy to meet you too.” Niall nodded his head and turned to the large suitcase that I carried.
“Give me your suitcase, let me bring it.” He reached out to grab my suitcase, but I immediately grabbed my suitcase and brought it closer to me. Niall winced seeing my behavior,
“It’s fine, thank you. It’s not too heavy, I can carry it myself.” I said, Niall shook his head while giggling.
“No, I can’t let you carry that. You will make me look like a heartless man if I let a woman who just came from Seattle bring that big suitcase by herself,” I considered his words as I bit my lip, and I handed my suitcase to him. “Perfect,” he said, he then grabbed my suitcase and walked before me. I followed him from behind,
“If it’s too heavy, you can give it to me.” I said feeling bad if he had objections carrying my suitcase.
“This suitcase is only as heavy as cotton, I can carry 3 more suitcases with only one hand.” he replied, I obey him and walk in silence. Finally we arrived at the parking lot and Niall opened a Mercedes-Benz-A-Class and put my suitcase in the trunk. These people must be very rich, judging by the car alone is indisputable. I hid my admiration by looking around and clearing my throat.
Niall walked towards me and opened the passenger door , I immediately entered it. Once I entered, the scent of citrus filled the car and immediately calmed me down. Niall then entered and sat in the driver’s seat and focused on driving this car.
“Is it only you or all British men acting like this?” I asked, smiling and glancing at him, he glanced back at me and smiled broadly. Ah, I’ve fallen in love with his smile. Wait, what am I thinking?
“What do you mean by ‘that’?” he asked me back, I turned for a moment and answered.
“Polite and very gentleman,” I replied and looked back at him, Niall still fixated on the traffic and looked thoughtful.
“You might say that every man should behave like that, not just English men.” He said, he then looked at me briefly. “Why? Does Seattle men never behaved like this?” he asked.
“Hmm, they are polite but not stiff like you.” I answered simply, Niall looked at me with a confused look. “I mean I’ve never seen a man who is too polite and very rigid in front of a woman,”
“No, I understand what you mean. I’m just surprised at you, don’t you like men who respect you more than men who only want to fuck you?” he said, I blinked my eyes in surprise.
“Well, of course I prefer men like you ...” Niall turned to me and looked at me for a moment with a teasing look, “I mean a man who behaves like you, I just ask.” I corrected my words so that he wouldn’t misunderstand, but Niall was still staring at me with a teasing look.
“Stop looking at me like that!” I snapped, but I could not help laughing. Niall then joined in and turned his gaze towards the road.
“You know, Hannah? Looks like we’ll be best friends after this, I like you.” I looked at him with teasing eyes, he then immediately corrected his words. “I mean like your attitude and your mindset,”
“Well, fair enough.” I replied while holding my smile, Niall turned his head for a moment and joined in the smile.
I like him......... as a friend and nothing more.
