𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔, d. dobrik

054. chance encounter

ミ★
"david."

Aubrey drove down the bustling streets of Seminyak wistfully. It was the weekend, which meant she actually had time to spare for herself. Most Bali locals hated Seminyak because of the absurd amount of tourists and foreigners, but not her. The cute cafes and people reminded the Hughes a lot of Los Angeles.

The now 26 year old girl tried to go there as often as possible because of its familiarity and the great breakfast spots, but it was just too far of a drive to make on the weekdays when she had work. She lived on the quiter side of the island, in a riverside villa that she had gotten for herself when she realized that she wanted to stay in Bali for much longer than she thought.

Aubrey thought Bali was just going to be a very brief getaway. She thought it was going to be therapeutic and that it was just a way for her to calm down before going back to her life. But then, she got way too comfortable and found her sanctuary. The girl didn't even understand why she was so scared and reluctant to go back to her life in LA until months after her departure.

Aubrey Hughes had fallen out of love with her life.

She didn't even realize how unhappy she had been until this overwhelming sense of relief came over her when she arrived in Bali, until she noticed how much better life seemed to be without...him. When she first figured it out, she was utterly confused. The feeling was something she did not anticipate, and she couldn't even believe that it was happening due to how much he meant to her at that time.

Then, with a long and tumultuos journey of self-discovery, Aubrey found out that avoiding cameras and being filmed because of the trauma of being hated was not okay. She found out that planning numerous business trips just so that she didn't have to stay at her cold house was not okay. She found out that purposefully avoiding any fights and arguments with your boyfriend because you're too scared to lose him was not okay. But most of all, she found out how much David Dobrik owned her, and how he wasn't the person she fell in love with anymore. Two years ago, she was holding onto a relationship with a stranger.

This did not mean she did not know how cowardly she was for leaving him without a single explanation why. She knew that she had given herself a pass through her wealth. Her mind had definitely kept her up countless times because of it, but she hoped that he understood. She hoped that he knew that she had to choose herself.

Bali wasn't a completely selfish pick either, she didn't just go to Indonesia to have fun tanning by the beach and lounging around in her luxurious villa, she went because the foundation had started a project there. She just decided that she was going to be a bit more hands on than usual.

Aubrey built a school from the ground up. She constructed the school especially for the kids living in poverty who couldn't afford to go to school in the rural areas of Bali. When it was finally finished, she assumed the role of the school director and things just fell into place after.

Her family and Dani had visited her a couple of times, in which all of those times had been in super incognito and discreet. Robert made sure she disappeared and all traces of where her location was is deleted. They even had to pay off one of David's investigators once when he got way too close to figuring out where she was.

The good thing was, her part of Bali wasn't as in touch with the world as the others, so no one recognized her there. The tourists also could not care less since they're on vacation mode. She even changed her last name just in case someone would google her.

Aubrey did a lot of good work in Bali, but she knew her time there was running out. Bali was incredible, but it will never be home. She had to grow up and go back to where she belonged, California. She had promised herself that she'll go and visit David to give them both closure, or if he completely hated her then she'll simply make sure that he never had to see her again.