Chapter 6

"How long is she gonna be unconscious?" I ask the nurse in charge of Layla.

"I don’t know but the main surgery will take place in two weeks so between does time she will be conscious."

I release a heavy breath "She’s gonna be fine after the surgery, right?"

"Yes, she’s gonna." She responds

I smile and turn my gaze back to Layla. Tugging a strand of hair behind her ear, I take her hand in mine. I can not wait for her to be fine, to finally be there with me. I miss her voice, her smile, her mischief; I miss everything.

"I love you, Layla, get well soon," I murmur as I use my thumb to caress her hand before I leave a peck on it.

My attention is drawn to the nurse behind me when she speaks "Miss Bella."

In response, I turn around and reply to the nurse "Please call me Bella." I insist

"Umm…. Okay, could you please come with me for a minute, I need to speak with you privately. " She says, her tone is slightly somber, causing a flicker of unease to wash over me.

"Is everything okay?" I ask

She hesitates for a moment, her eyes filled with a mix of anxiety and fear. With a trembling hand, she clutches onto her bracelet. "Yes... actually no," She stammers, her voice quivering. "It's important and I really need to tell you."

Her behavior makes my heart skip a beat, and I can't help but ask, "What's going on? Is it about Layla?" My voice is filled with concern and worry. I can’t afford anything to happen to her.

"Yes, but that’s not all. You just have to promise me that you won’t say a thing to anyone."

"I promise."

"Okay." She releases a heavy breath, her voice trembling with fear. "The Lycan-" She starts to speak but abruptly halts mid-sentence when a voice chips into the room.

"The Lycan what?" The voice says, causing her to jump in fright. I turn around to see Austin walking into the room. He glances at me and then the nurse, his expression filled with anger. I wonder why he always looks angry.

"L- lycan Austin." She stammers holding her bracelet tightly.

"I need to talk to Bella so leave the room." He commanded

"Y- yes, Lycan." She nods quickly, her voice trembling. As she hesitantly exits the room, my curiosity piques. I can't help but wonder what she wanted to say about Layla.

"Could we talk later? The nurse and I were talking about Layla and I think it’s very important." I say to Austin

"We are announcing our marriage tonight." He simply says ignoring me

"What!" I exclaim "Why?"

"I don’t think I need to answer that unnecessary question." He says

"You actually do, we are not even engaged let alone married."

"We are. I’m gonna give you an engagement ring before the party and you will wear it."

"Wait what?" I inquire confused "I thought the contract is just for us to pretend to be married, no one said anything about announcing to everyone or even the engagement ring."

"What kind of marriage will it be if no one knows about it? Even a court marriage needs witnesses." He says "You don’t have to act dumb all the time." He scoffs

"Excuse me!" I cross my arms above my chest.

"The celebration will be tonight." He turns to leave but before he could I called his name out making him turn to look at me expectedly.

"I don’t think I can’t do this." I say, my voice barely above a whisper. I don’t like backing away but right now, I don’t have a choice.

Releasing a heavy breath, I continue to speak "I mean, if everyone finds out about us then I’m screwed."

"Why so?"

"My boyfriend is gonna be very upset and he might end up doing things we both will regret."

"I don’t regret things and besides this is not my problem." Austin says

"It is because he knows I have no feelings for you and that’s just gonna make-"

"Who says you have no feelings for me?" He inquires cutting me off

"I don’t."

"Yes, you do." He says as he makes slow steps toward me, like a lion preparing to attack its prey. "You do have feelings for me."

"No, I don’t."

"Yes, you do."He repeats.

"W-what are y-you talking a-about?" I stammer, my voice trembling with nerves. My heart pounds in my chest, each beat a rapid drumming that intensifies my anxiety.

"What do you think?" He asks, there was this edge to his voice that made goosebumps rise on my skin.

"I don’t know." My voice comes out as a whisper. I take a few more steps back only to hit the wall.

Finally, Austin reaches me, closing the distance between our bodies, his fingers move to graze my cheeks and down my jaw, his eyes pinning mine in place.

"Are you nervous? Cause your breathing is very...." He trails off, bringing his head down to the crook of my neck. "Fast." My heart flutters as his warm breath tickles my skin. I can feel my cheeks turning pink as his harsh breath sent shivers down my spine, making me feel something I haven't felt before.….. Something that I like?

"Do you feel anything?" He whispers, his lips grazing my neck, as he trails soft kisses on my nape, sending my skin and heart into overdrive.

I suck in the air feeling the warmth of his lips, releasing a heavy sigh I manage to let out "No."

"Really?" He asks, nibbling my ear lobe, making this weird sensation run down my stomach. I grit my teeth together, trying to stop the sound that was about to erupt from my mouth.

"I feel nothing," I murmur, trying to calm my breathing.

I feel one of his arms encircle itself around my waist, pulling me closer to him, a small gasp escapes from my lips as his striking dark eyes met mine. "You seem to be harder than I thought."

I am about to remark on that but before I could, his lips silenced the words that were about to escape me. And at that moment, a surge of tingles shot through my entire body. It felt like a million tiny fireworks exploding along my spine, setting every nerve ending ablaze with an indescribable sensation.

I have never felt this way before, not even when Matt touches me, though he hardly touches me. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, normally I would have pushed him away and punched him in the face in such a way that he wouldn’t try this again but yet here I am doing nothing and instead of hating this, I think I’m enjoying it.

This should feel wrong but it doesn’t. I should hate it but I don’t. All I can think about is the way his lips move so gently on mine, fitting together like puzzle pieces, and the warmth of his body pressed against mine...it's like experiencing a whole new world of emotions. My heart...it's racing and I can't deny the undeniable feeling I feel.

Every touch, every breath, it's as if the world around me fades away and all that is left is this intoxicating feeling that I can’t control. I am in zero control of myself or my mind, it’s almost like I’m whirling around in emotions. The emotions I’m not meant to feel for him….the emotions I should feel for someone else…. Matt.

I’m betraying Matt!

I shove Austin off of me, my heart pounding in my chest. He looks taken aback by my reaction, but in an instant, a wicked grin spreads across his face. "Allow me to take a guess... Matt?"

My eyes widen, breath catching in my throat as I struggle to regain my balance. "How the heck do you know his name?" I stammer

He pauses for a moment, looking like he is thinking of a perfect reply before he speaks "Did you feel anything?" He changes the subject once again

"How do you know about Matt?" I repeat

"You think I will make a girl sign a contract without knowing everything about her?" He says.

He scoffs before he says "I know Matt, I know him very well and I don’t care if he won’t be happy about our relationship."

"Is that why did you kiss me?" I ask him.

He smirks "You felt something, didn’t you?"

"No, I did."

"You're a really bad liar, you shouldn’t do that in public but what you should do? Keep that blush on your face till the party."

"What! What are you….. Why?" I ramble unsure of what to say.

"You are a very strange man. You kissed me just so I can have a blush on my face!" I say questionably

"Of course what else were you thinking? You thought I kissed you because I suddenly turned into your Prince Charming and fell in love with you?" He scoffs.

"You need to quit dreaming, you’re here for a purpose so stick to that while I stick to mine." He tucks his hands into his pockets as he moves toward the door

Groaning, I tuck my hair behind my ears as I watch him exit the room.

I already hate living with him.