The next morning...
The sound of the knock on the door pulls Alicia out of her deep sleep, and she groans tiredly as she forces her eyes open. Trying to sit up on the bed, she feels her legs heavy like something is pushing her back to the bed."What's that?" She mutters to herself as she runs her fingers through her hair lazily. Realizing that she didn't sleep alone in the room, her eyes widen as she finally manages to sit on the bed, but she cringes when she finds Ren sleeping like a mad person with his head resting on her lap while having his hands wrapped around her legs."What the..." She cringes angrily as she screams, snapping him out of his deep slumber."Can you let me sleep, please?" He whines sleepily."Get away from me you pervert!" She curses under her breath as she pushes him off the bed and he lands on the ground."Ah!" He winces in pain, holding his butt."That was mean, Alicia," He yawns, rubbing his sleepy eyes.The knock on the door pulls their attention, and Alicia glares hard at him sternly before she drags herself to the door and pulls it open, revealing their maid."Good morning, ma'am Alicia," the maid greets her politely as soon as she opens the door."Good morning. Is there anything I can do for you?" She asks the maid while scrutinizing her with her eyes."No, ma'am. Your dad asked to call you and your fiance down for breakfast," The maid says to her and she can't help the scoff that tears through her throat at her last statement. That's funny and crazy. All thanks to her friend, she now has to stay in the same room with a random dude as her fiance or so-called boyfriend."Alright. I'll be with them shortly," She says to her before walking back into the room and slamming the door behind her. She looks around the room and rolls her eyes when she can't find him anywhere. He must be in the bathroom.Plunging herself on the bed tiredly, she stares up at the ceiling and sighs briefly. Recalling the kiss from the previous day, she slowly touches her lips and bites them. It has been eight good years since she last did stuff like that, and she felt her heart race at the thought of it. The thought of how soft his lips felt on hers, how sweet they were, and how curved they were as they kissed her, she can't help but smile to herself for no reason."Snap out of that, Alicia," Her subconscious mind snaps at her, and she sighs briefly."What are you daydreaming about?" Ren's voice disrupts her thought, and she quickly sits up on the bed, but she freezes when she spots him standing with just a towel hanging dangerously around his waist. She gulps down nothing and her mouth drops open in shock as she feeds her eyes on his perfect body. His perfectly toned abs make her heart thumps heavily against her chest like it'll force itself out anytime soon, his broad chest is everything to stare at all day, and his sexy lips make her remember the kiss from yesterday. Why the heck is she suddenly admiring this young man?"What are you staring at?" The corner of his lips slowly twitches into a smirk, and her breath hitches momentarily when she feels his breath on her face, whilst staring into her eyes intently like he's trying to see through her. She was so lost that she didn't even know the time that he walked over to her."Wh...What are you doing?" She stutters nervously, and he smirks before pulling away from her."You should stop drooling at me in the future. It makes me feel uncomfortable," He says coldly, not sparing her a glance. She can't help but glance at him to be sure that he's still the same man from moments ago. The sudden aura that surrounds him feels so strong and dark for anyone to think that it belongs to a twenty-six years old guy."It's disrespectful walking around half-naked in a woman's room like that. You should wear something and stop playing around," She rolls her eyes nervously as she stands up to her feet and walks briskly into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She crashes against the wall as soon as she walks inside the bathroom, and releases the air she has been holding unknowingly."You don't like men again, Alicia. That was nothing, so just snap out of it," She mutters to herself as she rubs her chest vigorously.A few minutes later in the dining room"Where's everyone?" Alicia asks when she walks into the dining room to meet just her parents and Ren, having breakfast."They're all gone. My brother said that he had something to take care of back in his office, and they needed to go back very early," Her dad explains after she takes a seat beside Ren who's busy staring at her."And why are you staring at me in that manner?" She snaps at him, forgetting that her parents are around and she's supposed to act like everything is fine."I told you not to style your hair like this. It makes you look cute. You know, I don't want another man to drool over you," He smiles at her, and she rolls her eyes angrily. This guy is going to drive her nut someday, no doubt."You shouldn't be mean to him like that...""No, dad. Alicia is not always like this. I guess I stressed her too much over the night. She was so tired when she woke up...""What the hell are you saying?" Her eyes widen as she screams angrily. This is the height of it all that she can take."Look at my baby, your cheeks are turning to tomatoes already," Her mom teases her, while her dad chuckles softly."Mom! Dad! He's saying nonsense. We didn't do anything... He... I... We... We just slept on the bed, and nothing happened. He's just... just... Ah! Ren I'm going to kill you," She clenches her fists angrily glaring hard at her while they all chuckle softly."It's ok to be embarrassed, darling. I understand," Her dad further says while laughing. For some seconds, she admires the happiness that fills the hearts of her parents at this moment, and she can only wish that it lasts forever. She has never seen them so happy in recent years."You!" She points at Ren while glaring hard at him."It's OK, darling. Why don't we talk about your wedding?" Her dad says out of the blue, taking her by surprise."Wedding?" The two of them ask at the same time and glance at each other afterward...She paces restlessly in her room, while Ren sits on the edge of the bed having a blank expression on his face as he stares into space. "Look at me, Ren... I swear I didn't tell them to say that, OK? You have to believe me. I... I didn't know that they were going to take it this far and...and..." She sighs briefly and runs her fingers through her hair as she plunges herself into the sofa that's just opposite her bed. "What do we do? I'm not ready to get married. I'm still very young and...""It was all your fault. You could've just let me handle this and not ever show up here. Now, look what you've got me into. Shit! I don't want to get married," She laments angrily, and he scoffs. "This is not the time to blame me, Ren. My parents are going to frustrate me to death if I don't do this..." She pauses and bites her bottom lip. How the heck is she going to say this to him? "Look... I'll pay you any amount of money you want, I promise. Just uhm... Let's get married, OK? I know this is
Three days laterAlicia and Ren have been in the house with her parents for days, as they never allowed the two out of their sights. While trying to sort the marriage issues out, the two didn't stop being all romantic especially when her parents are around. Of course, they wouldn't want to stir up confusion. After dinner, the two return to their room, and Alicia heads into the bathroom to shower as soon as they walk inside the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the bathroom's closed door, the thought of her crying some days ago flashes through his mind, and he can only get curious. Why was she crying? He was sure that he didn't do anything wrong to her, so that alone convinced him that there was more to that tears than he knows. Still lost in thoughts, the sound of the door opening pulls him back to reality, and he raises his gaze to see that Alicia already walked into the room, wearing her pink beautiful robe. For some seconds, his heartbeat stops as he stares at
Two weeks laterThe past few days have been so busy for the family, since they have been busy planning out Alicia's wedding. Her wedding is finally remaining two days, but she doesn't feel much happy about it. Seeing how desperate her parents have been over the recent days, she knew that she was in trouble. Standing on the balcony of her friend's room, Alicia stares up at the sky as many thoughts flood her mind. She has been asking herself if she's doing the right thing, or maybe she'll regret this later, but she knows she has no option anyway. "Are you still thinking about it?" Lilian's voice disrupts her thought, and she sighs briefly as she glances at her, turning her gaze away afterward. Lilian walks over to her and leans against the rail. "I told you not to let it bother you. Just let it go, and you'll be fine," Lilian assures her. "I wish I can, but it's not working. I'm still trying to, you know? This is complicated. I'm scared of everything. What if things go wrong later
After spending almost all night at the studio, Alicia crashes into the car seat as soon as she hops in. She looks extremely exhausted like she'll collapse soon. Her phone suddenly rings, and she reaches out for it. She slides the answer button as soon as she sees the caller. "Lilian, I'm going to faint," She sighs deeply as soon as she answers the call, and Lilian's chuckles echo on the other end. "I guess your mom knew what would happen when she asked you to spend the night with Ren. She already had everything planned out," Lilian says from the other end. "Yes, she already did. Because why the heck did we have to take over sixty photos for just a wedding? Who does that?" She shrieks angrily. "I'm envious of you, girl. Your mom feels so happy about you getting married that she...""Please don't finish that shit if you don't want me to curse you. That is not love but setup. I know she did this intentionally so I can be stuck with Ren for the night, because why would she do this?"
Chapter 11Alicia chuckles softly as they both head to the car and hop in. Seeing the scared look on Ren's face, she can't help but laughs more. "Stop making that face, please. It was just a doll," She chuckles softly, earning a glance from him. He's yet to get over the trauma he got from watching that horrible show. "You shouldn't do something if you're not comfortable with it. You should've admitted that you're scared of horror movies," She rolls her eyes as he drives down the road. "Who said that I'm scared of horror movies? I just have a phobia for dolls, that's it," He rolls his eyes, even if he knows deep down inside him that he's scared of horror movies. "Oh, I see..." She sighs before she checks her wristwatch. It's past 4am, and they are still out at this time of the night. "Are you sleepy?" He asks after he glances at her, and she just nods her head. Because how's she supposed not to be sleepy after staying awake for the whole night? Although she had fun out there, her
Chapter 12The sound of Alicia's ringing phone jolts her out of her deep sleep, and she forcefully opens her eyes as the white ceiling welcomes her. She has barely been asleep for three hours, and now she has to wake up again. Trying to move her body, she feels an arm around her chest and her eyes slowly widen in shock as the realization dawns on her that she slept with Ren in the same room. "Get away from me, jerk!" She shrieks angrily as she pushes him off, and scoffs angrily. Her phone rings again, and she lazily reaches out to it and slides the answer button without checking the call or the caller. Her mom's and her cousins' face pops on the screen, and her eyes slowly widen in shock as she didn't know that it was face time. "Mom!" She shrieks and glances at Ren that is now awake and sitting beside her, popping his head to the screen of the phone while having a smirk on his face. "Good morning, mom. Did I disturb your call?" Ren asks sleepily as he rubs his eyes sleepily. "N
Chapter 13 "Are you OK?" Ren asks for the umpteenth time as he drives down the road, after glancing at her. She has been putting on that gloomy look, and it's making him uncomfortable. "Hmm," She hums as she stares out through the window with many thoughts flooding her mind. Will she ever get over Felix no matter how long it takes her? Will her life ever become better? What about this marriage she's about to get into? Will she regret it later? She keeps questioning herself as the car drives down the road. If only she can see the future, she wouldn't be thinking about all these, but only God can do that. "Do you need me to get you some snacks on our way?" His voice disrupts her thoughts again, forcing her to cast him a hard glare. Who eats snacks early in the morning? He must be crazy to think that. "Hey, don't be silly. Nobody eats snacks this early in the morning," She rolls her eyes as she turns her face away, earning a confused look from him. "But I do it," He mumbles as he
Chapter 14The rest of the day was filled with Mrs. Williams forcing Alicia to try on different dresses. They're throwing a grand party tonight for Alicia and her soon to be husband. "Are these necessary, mom?" Alicia asks for the umpteenth time as she watches her mom arrange flowers in a basket. "Yes, they are necessary, my dear. My only child is finally getting married tomorrow after so many years. The whole world need to know about it. I have to make it grand, and give it my all. I mean, this only comes once in our lifetime, so we should make the best out of it," Her mom rants, and she sighs briefly, releasing a deep sigh. If her mom had allowed her choose how she wants her wedding, she would've wanted something not too crowded. Even her dad never said anything about this. What would he possibly say when he wants this too? "Is Ren here yet?" Alicia turns to Adelie who just walked into the room a few minutes ago, and asks her. "No, I haven't seen him yet. I think he must be on h