Whispers on the Hill : A Tale of Unexpected Love and Hidden Secrets

Chapter 2: The Past that Haunts

Arga sat at the edge of his tent, gazing out at the sprawling hillside bathed in the soft glow of the morning sun. The peace of this place felt like a world apart from the chaos he had left behind. For a moment, he allowed himself to forget about everything—the debts, the failed business, and the shame that had driven him to flee. But no matter how hard he tried, the past was never far behind.

He had once been a young entrepreneur full of ambition, with grand plans and dreams of making it big. He had launched a startup with his friends, pouring his heart, soul, and every bit of his savings into it. For a while, things seemed promising. The business was gaining traction, investors were interested, and Arga felt unstoppable. But like so many dreams, it all unraveled too quickly.

A miscalculation, a bad investment, and suddenly everything was falling apart. The debts piled up faster than he could handle, and before he knew it, Arga was drowning in a sea of loans and legal notices. The friends who had once been partners disappeared, leaving him to face the mounting problems alone. Each day became a battle to keep creditors at bay, but it was a fight he couldn’t win. The shame of failure crushed him, and the debt burden felt like chains tightening around his chest.

As he struggled to keep the business afloat, Arga lost more than just money. He lost sleep, his health, and even the people he thought he could trust. Betrayed by one of his closest friends who had secretly siphoned funds from the company, Arga was left to pick up the pieces. He knew then that it was only a matter of time before everything collapsed utterly. He had become a pariah in his circles, a man who couldn’t keep his promises, who had let everyone down. That was when he decided to run.

He didn't plan on hiding forever. He needed time to think, to escape the suffocating pressure, and maybe to find a way to fix the mess he had created. The hill seemed like the perfect place, away from the prying eyes of those who once admired him and now only saw his failures. Here, he could breathe again, even for a little while.

The night he arrived at the hill, Arga felt like he had finally found a place where the world’s chaos couldn’t reach him. He pitched his tent, lit a small campfire, and stared at the stars. The silence was comforting, starkly contrasting to the noise that had been his constant companion for months. He had no idea how long he would stay or what he would do next, but for now, this was enough. He didn’t need to answer any phone calls or face harsh questions. He felt a semblance of peace for the first time in a long time.

But that peace was fragile, and it was shattered the moment he found Marissa lying unconscious on the path. In the following hours, as he helped her back to her villa and saw the concern in her eyes for him—a stranger—something shifted inside him. She had no reason to trust him, yet she did. And he found himself wanting to know more about her, to understand the quiet sadness that seemed to linger behind her warm smile. Perhaps she, too, was running from something, just like him.

Arga knew he was selfish, but he craved the solace he felt around Marissa. He craved how her presence made the weight on his shoulders think just slightly lighter. Yet, in the back of his mind, the fear of his past catching up with him never really left. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep hiding. The creditors would eventually find him, and when they did, all of this—this fragile peace, the tentative connection he was beginning to form with Marissa—would be at risk.

As the days passed, Arga spent more time around the villa, often under the guise of checking on Marissa. But the truth was, he didn’t want to be alone. He hadn’t realized how lonely he was until he started talking to her, and then he realized that someone was willing to listen without judgment. She didn’t pry into his past, and for that, he was grateful. But how much longer could he keep his past a secret? And if she found out, would she still see him the same way?

One afternoon, as he was sitting on the hill watching the sun dip below the horizon, memories came flooding back—his office, the calls from creditors, the betrayal, and the crushing realization that everything he had worked for was gone. Arga clenched his fists, trying to push the thoughts away, but they were like ghosts that refused to be exorcised.

He had to face it. Running had given him a brief reprieve, but it wouldn’t solve anything. Sooner or later, he would have to decide whether to keep running or to stand and fight, even if the odds were against him. But for now, he would take it one day at a time, finding comfort in the quiet, in Marissa’s presence, and in the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, things could get better.

The hill was his sanctuary, where he could pretend, if only for a moment, that the rest of the world didn’t exist. But deep down, Arga knew that peace was only an illusion that could be shattered at any moment. Looking back at the villa, where Marissa’s silhouette was visible against the dim light, he realized he wasn’t the only one with ghosts to confront.