Chapter 32: Chapter 32

The bad things we wish never happened could be sometimes the best things that could have ever happened to us.

- Grace Chanbee

[Author's POV]

A year later......

[University of California, Berkeley]

Justin sighed and opened the door to the hallway, scared of making himself noticed and trying his best to remain calm so as not to cause unnecessary attention to himself as he walked by timidly and nervous as hell being his first day in college.

He drew a deep breath, reminding himself in his mind that he was no scaredy cat to be feeling so intimidated. He was a tough guy and he had been amongst the selected people to study law at his first try into such a prestigious college.

If he hadn't worth it, he wouldn't have been admitted; therefore, he needed not be afraid. He deserved to be there and he wasn't going to be so terrified like he were a girl.

Brushing aside his fears and extreme nervousness, he adjusted his tie and looked down at himself. His white shirt had been neatly pressed and his black trousers as well. His Italian shoes were designers as well as the rest of his outfit. He was going to make a good impression and he knew that for sure.

Overcrowded with his thoughts, he didn't look forward and was still staring down at his shoes when he bumped into someone which made the books he was holding crash to the floor.

He looked up and saw a muscular built man frowning at him and his insides crawled up in fear although he didn't show it visually. He just wore a perplexed look.

"Look where you're going, boy," The man yelled and walked away.

He sighed and bent to pick his books when someone also bent and started to help him out as well.

He looked up to see a beautiful girl with black hair putting on shorts and a tank top with various piercings on her ears, lips, nose and cheeks. She also had bold tattoos all over her arms and a few on her thighs.

He stood up and she did as well and gave him the books she had taken.

"Thanks for your help," He said, faking a smile.

"You're welcome. Anyone ever told you that you look cute?" She asked, licking her lips.

Justin blushed and was left speechless.

"You should be a freshman. I haven't seen you in my three years of studying in this university. Ever had sex? I would be proud to be your first," She said with a wink.

The smile on Justin's face dried up as he looked at her, confused at how to reply her without hurting her feelings.

She didn't wait for him to reply and took out her complimentary card from her purse which she held out to him.

"This has my address and phone number on it. Call me whenever you're ready," She said, still with her flirtatious smile.

Justin shook his head politely.

"Why? You don't like me?" She asked.

"It's not that. Hey, take a look at my tat. Do you love it?" He asked suddenly, folding his sleeves to reveal a written form of tattoo on his wrist.

"What's that? Amber?" She asked, staring at the letters written boldly and in italics on his wrist.

"Exactly, it's a good thing you can read," He said, grimacing.

"Wait a minute. Is that the name of your girlfriend?" She asked, really disgusted.

"Yeah, I love her so much. She's the prettiest being that was ever created and she has self respect, unlike you," Justin replied.

"What the... Screw you!" She retorted and stormed off, the sound of her boots causing heads to sway in her direction.

Justin sighed and resumed walking, hoping to find his lecture hall in time.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out and answered the call when he saw it was his sister who was calling.

"Hey, bro," She said happily from the other end.

"Hey. How are you doing over there?" He asked.

"I'm doing really great. This place is beautiful, I made new friends and there's this guy who has been making passes at me as well. He's really nice and I think I'm liking him. I'm just scared he'll stop being so nice to me if he knew I had three kids," She told him.

"If he doesn't like you the way you are, he's not worth it, okay?"

She sighed. "Yeah. How about you? How's the school like? Did you meet any girl you feel like you could be interested in?" She asked.

He arched his brows, really annoyed at her statement. "I've told you I'm not interested in any girl, okay? I met one today who shamelessly threw herself at me. I'm not interested in anyone though, it'll forever be Amber," He told her.

"Justin, you have to move on. It's been a year now without anyone knowing anything about her and her parents. They're living a private life and Amber's probably..."

"Don't say it!" He yelled, causing a few people to stare in his direction.

A petite Blondie walked past him and that caught his attention for a while as that stature reminded him of Amber.

He had the urge to turn around and see who it was but he had to brush that feeling aside because he had made the mistake of mistaking someone to be Amber too many a time.

"Hello. Are you still there?" His sister called with urgency from the other end of the phone.

"Hey, let's talk later," He said and ended the call abruptly.

He missed seeing Amber every night and day. He always thought of her and he couldn't have eyes for any other girl since she had been taken away from him.

His sister had informed him that her father had transferred her to India to facilitate better treatment even though he wasn't sure she was going to survive it. After watching the video recording and going through the files which showed evidence that his father had been innocent of all the charges laid against him, Mr Sanders had told the public about it, thereby finally giving his father a good heritage and he had also given him the sum of a million dollars just to express how sorry he was.

It turned out that Gilbert Sanders wasn't really a bad man after all and it was actually still Helios who had spearheaded the embezzlement of money in his company many years ago. His father, Drew Al-Hassan had gotten wind of it and had confronted him about it, recording their conversation unknown to him.

Unfortunately, after dropping off the safe with Mr Sanders' former secretary, he had been arrested because Helios had somehow managed to turn the tables and constructed false evidence to back up his claims which had resulted in the unfair judgement his father had received.

Justin wished that his father were still alive to experience his justification for himself and he also had the opinion that rich people weren't that bad after all. He was well aware that Gilbert could have easily remained mute about the whole issue to preserve his status but he had shown not only remorse, but as well as selflessness in telling the truth to the entire public.

His revelation, however, had made him receive so many backlashes from people and he had gone far away from the eye of the public. No one knew where he, his wife or even their daughter were as they were dedicated to living a serene and solitary life.

His company was still functioning well but the whereabouts of The Sanders' remained undisclosed and a secret which they intended to keep.

Even though he hated to admit it, he knew his sister was probably right. Amber was most likely to have already been dead and her parents could probably not take the heartache so had just relocated to a place they weren't known.

He had visited the church more often than before to solicit for God's help in bringing back his Amber to him but his prayers hadn't been answered. He had even gotten a tattoo of her name just to feel like she still existed in the world as she did on his wrist, but still, there had been no sign of Amber.

Aiden was still in Arroyo Grande and had taken over his silk business which he had expanded after managing to graduate with a pass mark from high school. He had been the one who was always around just to make sure he didn't fall into depression, but now that he was alone in Berkeley, he was likely to lose his mind with the thoughts, memories and pictures of Amber always in his head.

He couldn't concentrate; he couldn't focus. He missed her, he wanted her, he needed her. He hoped and prayed for a miracle. His head told him he was wasting his time and should move on while his heart told him to keep believing even though his belief was as weak as a grain of salt.

Not able to take his mind off Amber, he stood right there in the middle of the hallway, falling to his knees, yelling his lungs out and grabbing unto his head with his free hand as he experienced the series of pain he had been facing each time all he could focus on was Amber.

"Namaste, are you okay?" He heard a small voice ask.

Feeling really stupid, he simply nodded and tried to stand up.

"Are you sure?" The voice asked again.

"Yeah. All I need is my medicine and I'll be..." He stopped halfway through his sentence, opening his mouth agape in shock as his eyes met hers instantly.

He staggered and nearly fell but she held his hands, refraining him from falling till he got his balance back.

She let go of him and gave him a small smile then turned around but he rapidly held her hand and she stopped in her tracks while he pulled her to face him, staring at her from her crown to her feet.

His heart thumped loudly and his teeth clattered as he couldn't find the right words to say. He just wanted time to stop for him to take in all the shock.

Her eyes were blue, her hair was blonde and she had the sweetest smile ever with her lovely set of sparkling white teeth.

She looked similar...no, exactly like his Amber and damn, he loved her already. He shook his head immediately. What if he was dreaming? What if it was another one of those times he mistook someone to be his precious Amber? Still, no one ever had the same striking resemblance with her.

She waved her hand. "Hello, cat got your tongue?"

He swallowed, blinked hard and let go of her hand as he felt really stupid.

"Sorry, just thought you're someone I know," He said.

She smiled and shrugged. "I'm someone you know."

"What?" He asked in a state of perplexity.

"Let's start over again, shall we?" She said, extending her hand to shake hands with him.

He looked at her outstretched hand still confused as hell as to what was actually happening.

"I'm Amber Sanders," She said with a broad smile.

His heart leaped for joy as she pronounced those words but he still was scared of being disappointed so he just looked at her numbly.

"Don't believe me? I have proof, Justin Al-Hassan," She said and pulled up the left sleeve of her cardigan exposing a black beaded bracelet.

"Is this the same..."

"Yes. It's the same bracelet you gave to me. You said it belonged to your mother and you told me nothing was ever going to change between us. Why are you staring at me that way? Do you have someone new? Has something changed?" She asked, seeing it wasn't the kind of reaction she wanted.

He shook his head immediately, happy to get his Amber back but still wanting to put the pieces together.

"How are you here? What happened?" He asked.

"I woke up a month after being in coma when I was in India. I was still weak and had to wait to heal through therapy and also taking lots of medication just to make sure my immune system was better after taking poisonous substances. I had my senior class all online and I applied to this school to study business administration, courtesy of my dad's wishes. I'll learn fashion and design after obtaining this degree. I'm glad I finally met you again, babe," She said.

Tears slid down Justin's eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, feeling his Amber in his arms for so long and thanking the universe that he finally had her back in his arms.

She cried as well. "I missed you so much. I couldn't contact you because my parents just wanted me to concentrate on being well and paying attention to my studies. I missed you, Justin," She said.

"I missed you too, more than you could possibly imagine," He told her as he stroked her hair.

He let her go, cupped her face in his palms and smiled down at her, unable to believe that she was still breathing, hale and hearty.

"I'm sorry for taking too long to see you, I can't even begin to imagine how much suffering you passed through..."

He cut in. "That is not a problem, sweetie. You're better now, right? No more fainting or feeling pains, right? If I have to not see you for a decade, it's okay as long as you'll be okay. I waited for you and I'll wait all over again if it means I'll get to see you healthy again," He said with a smile.

She smiled. "Thanks for waiting and trusting in me. I planned on visiting Arroyo Grande this weekend but thankfully, you're in the same school as I am," She said.

"Yeah. That's how fate works, our love story was ordained by the Heavens. Babe, do you live in a dormitory?" He asked, suddenly remembering something.

"No. I wanted to rent an apartment but I haven't gotten one yet so I came from my Uncle's place today. He also lives in Berkeley," She said, wondering the reason for his question.

He cleared his throat. "I have a nice and comfortable apartment but I need a roommate," He said.

She gave a knowing smile. "Are you asking me to be your roommate?" She asked.

"It's not like I'm asking, but if you want to..."

"Of course, I'd love to," She said in a cheerful tone.

"Yes! Thank you," He said to her.

"I guess I'm late for my first class already. Wanna go grab lunch?" She asked, staring at her wristwatch.

"Sure. Why not?" He asked and grabbed her hand and they walked together.

"You know, seeing you, it doesn't feel like a whole year has passed by. All these incidents still feel recent..."

"Yeah. It feels like yesterday," He agreed.

"Did I tell you I still don't have an inkling on what happened in the first seventeen years of my life?" She asked.

He shrugged. "The doctor already said if you ever woke up, you shouldn't be forced to remember anything," He said.

She nodded.

"Doesn't it bother you though?" He asked.

She scoffed. "I know I am probably never going to get my old memories back, but at least, I have the new ones with the people who care about me forever by my side. Although these whole lotta incidents are a year old, they all feel like yesterday when reminiscing about them," She explained.

He nodded, understanding her point. "With those you love, every memory spent with them feels too short. Memories with people are never enough nor satisfying, so why waste time on old memories when you can create perfect new ones?"

"You finally get me," She said.

"I've always gotten you," He said with a smile then stopped abruptly, making her stop as well as she wondered what was wrong.

"I felt so scared the day I found you at the back of my van, but I'm just realising for the first time that it was the best day of my life, because that was the day I met you," He said with a smile.

She grinned excitedly. "Special thanks goes to Helios for trying to kill me, else we wouldn't be here today. My dad hates him so much, but I'm grateful to him. How else would I have known a wonderful person like you?" She asked.

He chuckled and blushed. "That reminds me. How are your parents?"

"They're good, just travelling around the world," She said with a shrug.

"Wanna do that with you someday," He said.

"Same here," She told him.

He stared deep into her eyes, glad that he was going to have her forever and smiled. He then tilted his neck and as she closed her eyes, tip-toeing. Ignoring the murmuring crowd, he slipped his hands around her waist then gave her a long kiss, affirming his love for her and expressing his gratitude that she was his forever even though forever wasn't enough.

She kissed him back, her hand around his neck as he stole her breath from her like he always had.

Their love had come with so many ups and downs but it was worth it in the end and if she had to go through many stumbling blocks once again, she didn't care as long as she had him in the end.

Thanks for reading, sweeties. I love you ❤️❤️.

THE END.