PROTECT YOUR HEART

When Elena arrived at the villa, Kyle took her shopping, just as he had promised.

He picked out a lot of clothes for her and paid for them. Afterward, he asked her to change into one of the gowns.

When she did, he stared at her, feeling impressed.

"Wow, you look really beautiful," he said.

"Let me drop you off," He offered when they left the boutique.

She smiled and asked, "So soon? Actually, my stepmom asked me to sleep outside, so I was wondering if we could spend more time together."

He stared at her in surprise, "Sleep outside? Is that what she normally does?"

"Well, that's Patricia for you," Elena replied.

"In that case, come and stay with me in my room."

Elena widened her eyes, "Your room? As in, you mean at the villa?"

He nodded, "Do not be afraid, okay? Nothing is going to happen."

"Of course, I trust you." She said feeling uncomfortable.

"Come with me. You can comfortably spend the night in my room. You're my girlfriend now, and you shouldn't be worried about anything or anyone. I'll look after you while I'm here."

As Kyle led Elena back home, his friend Brookes was shocked when he saw her entering his room. Kyle began to give her some of the things she would need: a toothbrush, towel, and a lot of other things.

When she went into the bathroom to keep the things Kyle had given to her, Brookes came into the room and said to Kyle, "You weren't joking when you said you had found yourself a girlfriend. I can only say one thing; you're both desperate."

Elena came out of the bathroom and saw Brookes walking away with an angry expression on his face. She could tell that he did not approve of her relationship with Kyle, but she didn't really know why.

That evening, Kyle offered her dinner, and she gratefully ate it. They were both quiet for a long time in the room and finally, he laid on the bed and asked Elena who was sitting quietly on a chair to join him in bed.

She laid beside him while he spent a greater part of the night thinking about things he could do with Elena to make Samantha jealous.

Everything he was doing was to make Elena feel comfortable around him, so if Samantha saw, she would die of jealousy.

His plan seemed to work when he woke up in the morning and went directly to the kitchen to make breakfast. He spent his time making cooking for Elena, and when he was coming out from the kitchen, he had a bright smile on his face.

Samantha, who was heading to the kitchen at this time, saw him and said, "Wow, you look really happy."

"Yes, I don't just look really happy, I am very happy," he said. "I've gotten a new girlfriend."

She laughed, "You? A new girlfriend? Come on, Kyle, I know you better than anyone else. You can't have a new girlfriend."

"Well, I guess you're about to find out how wrong you are," he replied and walked away.

She couldn't believe it. Kyle actually had a girlfriend. Yes, she had seen him the previous day with a dirty girl, but she didn't believe anything would come out of that.

She knew that Kyle loved her very much, but then she noticed that the door of his room was left open, and she heard voices inside, laughing.

She walked towards his room, peeped, and saw Kyle and Elena eating. Contrary to the person she saw yesterday, Elena looked different, polished, and beautiful, and she kept smiling. She felt a strange pain in her heart and quickly walked away from the room without realizing that Kyle had seen her. He felt so happy about it.

When they had eaten, he asked Elena, "Would you like to go to the pool for a swim?"

She smiled, "Yes! I'm really good at swimming."

"Really? That's nice," he replied.

"You know, my friend, Natalie and I always go to one of the rivers here to swim. We've been doing that since we were very young, so I'm a very strong swimmer."

"Wow, you're just so perfect for me," Kyle chortled. "It's a good thing I got you a swimsuit yesterday. You can use it. I'm sure it will look good on you."

Elena agreed with him and went into the bathroom to get changed. When she came out, she became self-conscious because the swimsuit exposed her thighs and hips. However, he said to her, "Why do you seem so flushed and worried? You look sexy and beautiful in your swimsuit."

She smiled, "Yeah, it's not that I'm worried. It's just that I feel uncomfortable. I'm not used to putting on clothes like this."

"Well, this is what big boys and girls wear, and now that you're my girlfriend, it's only natural that you look the part," he said.

He held her hand and led her out of the room and towards the pool. What she didn't know was that Kyle had seen through the window that both Sam and Jordan were sitting close to the pool and deliberately went there with her because he wanted to piss them off and make Samantha jealous.

When they arrived at the pool, Sam saw both of them, and the expression on her face changed.

"Who is this?" She asked.

Kyle smiled at her, "This is my fiancee, Elena."

Elena stared at him in surprise and asked, "Really?"

"Yes, I will marry you," Kyle said, smiling.

Jordan quickly noticed the change in Sam's expression and the fact that her eyes would not leave Elena's body.

After a while, she got up and yawned, "I'm tired. I will like to go in."

"No, let's stay," Jordan replied. "We were here first, and we intend to swim after relaxing. You do not have to leave for anyone."

As he said this, his eyes briefly went to Kyle and Elena. Kyle ignored their gazes, and both he and Elena dived into the water and began to swim. While in the water, he kept hugging Elena.

Eventually, he cupped her cheeks and crashed his lips on hers as he noticed that Samantha would not stop looking at them.

Seeing that Samantha's attention was now on Kyle, Jordan felt upset. He got up and finally said, "Let's go back in, Samantha."

She heaved a sigh of relief and went back with him. However, when they got back into their room, he circled her neck with his hand and began to choke her. "What the hell was that? I could see you drooling over Kyle. Do you want to go back to him? Is he the one you really love?"

Samantha pulled his hand away from her neck, "Come on, that's not the case. How many times do I have to explain that it's over between Kyle and me? I do not love him."

"You do not love him, then why did you keep staring at him?" Jordan asked.

"I wasn't staring at him. I was staring at the girl he brought, and I was wondering how she transformed all of a sudden," Samantha explained.

"What does that mean?" Jordan asked.

"Well, she looks like the same girl we saw yesterday, and that girl looked so unkempt. But this girl looks so polished and I was wondering why she changed overnight. Also, Kyle said he wanted to marry her. That's what just piqued my interest. I wasn't looking at Kyle. I was looking at the girl."

"You keep making excuses. You know you shouldn't be so worried about what goes on in Kyle's life," Jordan said sternly. "Listen, I will not tolerate this. If I notice that you are paying too much attention to Kyle, I will call off this relationship."

"No, please don't say that," Samantha pleaded.

She placed her arms around Jordan's neck and said, "Listen, Jordan, you know you're the one I love. You mean the world to me. Please forget about Kyle and the girl. I don't care. That's why I even wanted to leave the pool because I know that they would probably do something to get my attention. It was just the girl, not Kyle."

"I hope for your own sake you're telling me the truth," Jordan replied.

"Of course," Samantha reassured him. "You know I love you so much."

She placed her head on his chest and hugged him.

After they left, Kyle lost interest in swimming and said to Elena, "Let's go back inside, my dear. I think I'm tired of swimming."

"Alright," she replied.

They came out of the water, and she tied a towel around her waist before they made their way back into his room. When they got into his room, his mind went back to how he had said he was going to marry her. The look Elena had given him showed that she believed him. He wanted to tell her that he had merely said that to spite his brother and his brother's girlfriend.

He turned her to face him and said, "Listen, I need to tell you something, Elena."

"I'm all ears," she replied.

He began to confess, "About what happened outside, at the pool... well, what I said, I did not really mean.......

At this point, Brookes came into his room and said, "Excuse me, Kyle. Your attention is needed."

"Who needs my attention?" Kyle asked.

"Well, there are a few people here asking about the decorations. I think it has to do with the burial arrangements. So, they need to see you because Jordan is obviously busy in the bedroom with Sam."

"Alright, I'll be right there," Kyle responded.

Brookes moved to a corner and waited for him, while Kyle said to Elena, "I'll be back. Okay, just wait for me."

Elena nodded. "Okay, I'll be waiting for you."

After he left, Brookes stared at Elena for a while and finally spoke up, "Listen to me, Elena, or whatever your name is. I'm usually someone who likes to mind my business, but I just can't turn my eyes away from what is happening."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"Everything that is happening is just so wrong, and I can't keep quiet about it. With what Kyle is doing, you're going to get seriously hurt. And also, Kyle is a good person, but he's turning into someone I don't know."

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked, confused.

"All I can say is stay away from Kyle. It's for your own good. Kyle doesn't love you; he loves someone else. It will be in your best interest to protect your heart and stay away from him. I've done my part." After speaking, Brookes walked away.

Elena stood, surprised as she tried to understand what he had said. She knew that he was Kyle's friend, but Kyle had told her that he loved her and wanted to marry her. What did he mean by Kyle loves someone else?