~Aoife~I opened my eyes with a sense of leftover stress from the last night and found my redeemer was sleeping next to me. What should I say? I was lucky to have this gentleman in my life, and one more time, thanking God for him. He is my rescuer, always there when I need him.I stroked his face to appreciate him. He was in a deep sleep and didn’t realize my hand trailed on his cheek.“Thank you for being here for me,” I murmured in my mind.Slowly, I woke up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom to do my morning business. Matt was sitting on the couch when I came out, rubbing his eyes like he had woken up in the middle of sleep.“Hey, good morning.” He racked his fingers through his hair.“Good morning,” I sprinted toward him with all my emotions and hugged him.“Hey, are you okay?”“Yes, just happy you are there for me. Thank you for everything.” I snuggled my head in his chest like yesterday and felt delighted when he wrapped me again in his friendly warmth. His eyes were s
~Xander~I hadn’t slept until early in the morning, and there was no way I could get up in a few hours. I slept till after five in the evening.I found Aoife called me, but my head was spinning badly, so I hung up the phone. After some time, I drank a few glasses of lemon water and took pain relief pills to control my dizzy head. It’s not medicine; my body wanted Aoife. I wanted her in my arms. I missed her terribly.Once I found myself better, I scanned my phone, finding Aoife’s missed calls with a single message.Matt won the competition. Great, that was good news. Hastily, I prepared myself for the party. But when I came down from my room, Mom called me to meet Zareena’s family who visited to check on Mom’s health.Whether I wanted it or not, I had to sit there. I missed my big brother; if he had been here, he would have taken care of these guests. But he was out handling our projects in different states.I talked to Zareena’s dad, listening to him lecturing me to be the man of the
~Aoife~I awoke with a pounding head. Xander was sleeping beside me. I groaned in agony, feeling as if a cannon had exploded in my head. I shouldn't have consumed that much alcohol.I scanned his face and wondered how I fell in love with this man. As much as I love him, I am scared to get my heart broken by him. I stood up and walked towards the bathroom, where I saw I was not wearing anything.Great, so I slept with him even when I was angry with him. I rolled my eyes, but my aching body and the glow on my face after an intense moment with him made me feel happy. Whatever it was, I would talk to him, and we would sort everything out. I showered and wrapped my body in a clean towel just to go out and search for last night’s dress.I found the dress, but it was hard to discover my other belongings that needed to be worn under it.“Where did he throw them?” I muttered and looked under the bed, where undergarments were found. I took them out as I looked closely. They were definitely not
~Xander~Aoife, Aoife, Aoife. Her name and her words didn’t leave me for a second. How could she say Matt and she became sex friends? All the things my mother tried to tell me, I could feel it was becoming a reality.But how could I forget her? Did she really mean what she said?Luckily, Zareena took the stand for me. She saw how vulnerable I felt without Aoife. It was her birthday, and she wanted her to join her party. She wants to clear everything between Aoife and me.“Xander, I know Aoife doesn’t like me, but I want to talk to her about us. I will tell her we are just friends, and you love her only. I am going to invite her whether you like it or not. I want you two to clear everything up.” She hugged me.“I hope she understands our friendship. Like I understood Matt and her,” I murmured to myself.Although I don’t know what happened to me, after her confession, I started seeing things with doubts and knew it was wrong. My heart didn’t want to accept it. It’s hard to find peace bet
~Aoife~I prepared myself for the evening ahead. It was Zareena’s birthday, but my heart was pounding to meet Xander. I feel like I haven’t seen him in years, imagining the scene tonight a thousand times in my head. I will run into his arms, kiss him, and tell him how much I love him, or should I wait for him?I wanted to wear something beautiful to catch his attention, and I know how much he appreciates the simplicity. On that note, I took out my baby pink dress. It’s a long-sleeved, off-shoulder dress that shows some skin. It came all the way down to my knees as the delicate lace flower enhanced the beauty of my body. After putting on my pendant to highlight my dress, I pulled my hair into a perfect bun and wore light makeup. I wanted to remind him of everything we had on the Island.I love you, Xander. And today, I want every awful thing between us to go away. I reached the place and undoubtedly, Zareena’s house was enormous. She’s a rich girl, and her parents seem to be very close
~Aoife~I felt like my heart was howling alone. Zareena gave the truth that hit me hard. I never expected those words would pierce like a knife in my heart and create a vacuum I could not handle alone. I looked at Xander and sensed he regretted that moment of truth.He acted like he knew nothing. Seriously?It was a war zone between my feelings and a twisted lie in my mind. Xander tried to tell me something, but my anger and hurt were blinding. All I wanted was to disappear from there. I sat in a taxi and told the driver to drive.The driver kept asking me about my destination and I told him to drive wherever he wanted. My heart and mind were casting different channels of emotions for Xander. My heart wanted to trust him, but my mind was battling with the facts. How did Zareena know about the moments we spent on that Island? How does she know every detail between Xander and me unless someone told her? And how could I forget no one was there except Xander and me?“Why did you break my
~Matt~I brought Aoife to my place. It was hard for her to walk, so I had to pick her up to bring her to the couch.“Aoife, are you okay?” She looked bad. Her swollen eyes and makeup were all over her face. “No. I am not, Matt,” she replied while walking towards the bathroom.I tensed from seeing her like this and called Neeral.“Hey, thank you so much. But can I ask why you allowed her to drink this much?” Neeral sighed. “Matt, I came here with Victor. He is my cousin. I found her drunk and tried to stop her, but she wasn’t listening. I think something's bothering her. She was saying something about Xander. I didn’t understand, but I am sure something happened between them. She was upset, and Victor tried to take advantage of her. I am sorry.”I could hear her voice was filled with pain. Rejection from me was still fresh in her heart. She told me Victor slapped her also for calling me. He left her alone in the pub.I looked toward the bathroom and heard a thud from inside.“Thank y
~Matt~Aoife was sleeping while I looked at her, assuring her protection from Xander. My eyes become wet while caressing her cheeks. She feared Xander, and somehow, I knew it was my fault to let Aoife get close to the man who would never understand a pure heart like hers.“It’s all my fault, Aoife. Because of me, you are enduring this pain.”I remembered the day I saw her for the first time. The way she lied to me that she fell on the stairs. I knew Zareena had hurt her.Her simplicity made me fall in love with her instantly.Later, when she opened up with me, I found myself lucky to find a pure girl like her. I was about to open my heart when I saw Xander’s attitude change in Aoife’s presence. Aoife was changing Xander, and it was a good sign, so I sacrificed my love for Xander. All to give him a chance to find true love. Xander deserved that chance.I was okay to stay in that friend zone only for Xander to become a better person and let him explore his feelings.I suppressed my feeli