When he reached the door he froze.In front of him stood Roman, a bottle of red wine and some glasses sitting on the counter in front of him, along with three plates, forks and knives.He stared blankly at his older brother for what felt like hours before turning around, ready to bolt, but before he had made a single step, Roman spoke up."Don't run off like that!" he shouted as he turned around and hurriedly rushed to catch up with the younger man."Sorry…"He mumbled quietly to himself as he stepped forward and grabbed hold of his wrist tightly."Celine told me that you didn't sleep very well last night. I wanted to make sure you were alright."Roman didn't let go of his wrist as he lead him over to the table and guided him to sit down next to him."Thank you."He answered quietly, hoping that Roman wouldn't hear. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He knew that Roman had been worried and probably worried about him. He also knew that he didn't deserve his worry. And yet, here he
"I love you, sweetheart."He blinked a few times and tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't contain the large grin that spread across his face as his heart filled with joy. If only he knew that he would be hearing those words soon. He hadn't really expected it, nor was he quite sure how to respond to them. However, as long as they were coming from Celine he would be able to take whatever she had to throw at him without batting an eyelid."I love you too, darling."Even if she had been surprised by his reaction, he still managed to pull her into his arms and wrap her tightly against him, holding her as close as possible while he buried his face into the crook of her neck. She couldn't help but smile. Of course she hadn't done this deliberately, but nevertheless she found that she liked the feeling of his embrace. The warmth radiating from his body, the gentle caress of his breath against her skin, the slight scent of alcohol that lingered upon his clothes and hair and the so
When he stopped talking, Celine turned around to stare directly at him again."And did you?" she asked. "Did you resist?""Yes, of course I did. I resisted the temptation and kept pushing my luck, and you became less and less interested in me, and eventually I lost all hope of ever having you.""You didn't lose all hope, however. You still loved me, didn't you?" she asked.For a moment she thought that she had succeeded in stopping him from answering her questions. When he continued to remain silent she decided that she would try again."Did you love me enough to give up your happiness to save mine?"Roman smiled sadly at her. She was right about one thing: he did still love her. He had always loved her. In fact, he was certain that he could never love anyone else as much as he loved her. Nevertheless, he knew that it was better if she thought that he had given up his freedom as an artist rather than his love for her. Besides, they couldn't afford to be distracted. They needed to g
"Do you like it?"She raised her head and looked over at Roman who was standing by the door with his arms crossed, wearing an amused smile as he waited for her reaction."Like it?" she repeated, staring back at the necklace. "How can I not like it, Roman? This is gorgeous!"A huge grin appeared on Roman's face when he heard Celine's praise for the piece, and he quickly approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he rested his head against her shoulder, "Thank you! It was my grandma's gift to me."Looking over at him, she could swear that she almost fell in love with him right then and there, because even though her heart ached, it was filled with happiness. She knew she was probably just dreaming, but she swore that she could actually feel it, and that it was a feeling she had never experienced before, she felt loved and adored by a person whom she loved deeply. If her dream was anything like the real one, then she could only imagine that he would never stop loving her
Her eyes continued to scan the page until they finally landed on one of his drawings and after staring at it for several minutes, she started laughing.It was a drawing of her.She remembered how she had told him that she would never wear a dress, and she had meant it. When they had first met, she had insisted upon dressing as a boy, so Roman had drawn her in a pair of shorts and a shirt, the outfit covered up with her leather jacket. It had been one of the first times that she had laughed. She could remember him telling her that she was beautiful, and that he liked seeing her dressed like a boy instead of a girl. She had replied to him with a sarcastic comment, stating that as far as she was concerned there was a difference between male and female bodies, and she couldn't understand how he would prefer a girl to a boy. However, it had taken Roman less than five minutes to change his mind about her wardrobe choice and to decide that she could wear dresses, as long as she wore short
"I love you too," he responded.They stood there for a moment, neither of them knowing quite what to say next, until Celine realized that there was something that she had to ask him."Roman," she began. "Would you mind if I stay over at yours tonight? There's something that I have to talk to you about...something that has been on my mind for quite some time."He nodded slowly."Alright," he said. "There is a spare room upstairs, you could use that if you want.""Thank you," she murmured. She then lifted her head, causing him to bend down and capture her lips in another passionate kiss. When they separated from each other, she looked up at him. "I'll go take a bath before I start changing. Why don't you go upstairs and get ready?""Sure." He gave her one final kiss before turning around and heading to the stairs. "Be right down."Smiling slightly, Celine waited until he disappeared up the steps before heading straight to the shower to wash away the last traces of sleepiness. When s
In the end, it took almost three hours before his parents and sister showed up at the house to pick him and Celine up for work. As soon as the car stopped at the parking lot outside the studio, both of them quickly exited the vehicle and headed towards the entrance, while Roman was busy unlocking the main doors, waiting for Celine to enter the studio first, while he held onto her hand so that she wouldn't lose her balance. Once she was inside, he closed the door before locking it once again.They walked up towards the elevator, making small conversation with each other along the way, trying to distract themselves with the new topics of their conversation, until finally the elevator dinged its arrival. They stepped inside and pressed the button for their floor, taking the opportunity to admire how amazing this particular floor looked from the inside. Not only were the colors and designs very unique and striking, but there was also a whole bunch of windows scattered throughout the r
A few weeks passed after that, and everything went exactly as it should. Everything was great. He still hadn't managed to meet any of his relatives. However, he had managed to catch some glimpses of them from the window of his father's office, and they appeared to be extremely nice people. He had spent several evenings talking to them, catching up on things that had happened to them during the last years, and learning what they had been up to in their lives. One thing was for certain they weren't happy with what was happening to them. They weren't the type of people who would hide their pain under a smile, and he had no doubt that they were unhappy with what had happened to them.Roman was just beginning to realize this when, one day, he found himself driving through the city alone. Celine had gone shopping with her friend Estelle, leaving him with one of his cousins. For some reason, she had decided that she couldn't trust him to take care of her cousin when she was out, and she