17

Lana’s POV

I watched his back as he walked ahead of me. I could not tell where he was leading me to, and I was scared of asking him where he wanted us to talk. I simply kept my mouth shut and walked after him, keeping my eyes on his back still.

We arrived on the other end of the mansion and walked out the wide doors. We were now in the garden, which looked beautiful under the night sky and the glow of the lights around. We strolled to a bench in the middle of the garden, which overlooked a small pond and sat on it. I made sure there was enough space between us and kept my gaze on the flower bush across from me.

“I brought you here to say that I am sorry,” Drake said, straight to the point, which almost sounded forced.

I side-eyed him and saw he was looking to the side while fiddling with his fingers. I looked away and sighed. I needed this to be done with.

“I said a lot of things I should not have said, and I apologize for it,” he said and heard him take a deep breath. “I was the one who punched you and I have not been at rest since then.”

Drake rose to his feet and took several steps forward and stood there in silence for some seconds before turning around.

“I have been such a bastard, and I know that there is nothing I can do to get your forgiveness.” He bowed his head for a second before looking back at me. “I apologize for hitting you, for saying such hurtful words to you. It was wrong of me to do… You are a friend to me, and I should choose what I say.”

“You’re right,” I said, rising to my feet. “You said a lot of things that I never imagined you would say but let’s forget about the hitting part because it was dumb of me to step into a fist fight between two angry men, but I won’t forget the fact that you suddenly chose some girl over me. Forget about me confessing my feelings to you, it just hurts how you don’t even care about what I think or do anymore all because of Nina.”

Drake exhaled hard as a look of annoyance crossed his face. I could tell that what I was saying was beginning to piss him off, but I did not care. Drake was no longer the person I knew, and I was not going to go easy on him.

“Look. Can we not talk about her?” He demanded.

“Who? Your new girlfriend?” I chuckled. “I wonder how long that will last until you see the truth.”

“What about you, huh? You and my brother are suddenly acting like you have something going on. Did you forget that he is a womanizer? You think using my brother to forget your feelings for me will suddenly make things right?”

“No!” I yelled. “I am using your brother to forget you, not my stupid feelings. Besides… your brother was the first person I ever liked. I liked him before I even thought of you as a crush. I always had feelings for him and only stopped because I saw him as an older brother but now. I think I have my chance… those feelings never stopped. Since you have rejected me, I can easily move on and be with whoever I want.”

A strange look filled his face before it got replaced by a comical one. He laughed and moved away from me to laugh more. I was pissed by his reaction. I had expected him to act hurt or at least look jealous. Did Paul not say Drake was always this way when he knew some guy liked me or wanted me.

“What’s funny?”

Drake sighed as he stopped laughing and faced me. He smiled widely then approached me. I swallowed at the proximity and took a step backward. I kept my eyes on his broad chest when I noticed he was staring at me. The last thing I wanted was to look into those eyes of his and forget myself.

“You know what?” He said in a taunting tone.

I gasped softly when he cupped my chin and made me look up at him. I gulped at the intensity of his eyes on my face then looked at his nose. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I felt a funny feeling in my stomach from his touch and closeness.

“I really don’t mind that you are interested in my brother.” He brushed the spot close to my lips, making me almost shudder. “I really want to see how this ends and don’t worry, I will here for when he breaks your heart.”

I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him away. I watched him stagger while chuckling. Why was Drake doing this to me? This was not the boy I fell for. Why was he acting strange and praying that I got hurt?

“What? Are you hurt?” He taunted more. “Good… I hope you are because I feel hurt that you do not want my happiness for once… You told me before that I should stop my whoring lifestyle and find someone to settle down with and I have… Nina makes me feel things no woman has ever made me feel. I want Nina in my life and as my friend, I expected you to understand but instead, you act this way… I hate how things have become of us, but you can’t blame me. How old am I? I have always wanted to settle down early just like my parents and Nina is the one for me. If you are not happy with that, I don’t even think we can be friends.”

I remained silent as he finished speaking then walked past me. He stopped behind me and sighed.

“I hope he treats you right but don’t come to me crying when he uses and dumps you.”

With that, I heard his footsteps retrieving. A few seconds later, I was alone, thinking over what he had said to me. I felt a hollow sensation in my chest as his words echoed in my head. I felt foolish, unwanted and ashamed. I was just a foolish girl.

“What am I doing?” I asked myself.

If Drake was so hooked up on her, it meant that no matter what I did to make him want me, it would not work. I was only going to appear desperate and stupid in his eyes and he would see through my plan so easily. I should be happy for him like a good friend, irrespective of the fact that Nina may not be a good person. Heck, she may even be a good person, and I was judging her through my emotions.

Which meant one thing for me now. I was not going to go on with the plan. If anything, I was going to stop loving him. I was going to move on with my life. I was still young and had not achieved anything meanwhile the likes of Drake, Paul and Nina had everything they wanted, even the youngest member of the Hamilton family had a plan for herself. There was no need for me to be this way. I was no longer a teenager.

“Lana?”

I jumped slightly at the sound of my name and turned around. Paul was standing at the entrance of the garden with a look of worry on his face.

“Paul,” I said and cringed when my voice cracked, followed by tears filling my eyes.

“Fuck,” he said and rushed over then wrapped his arms around me. “It’s okay… Everything is going to be okay.”

I started to cry in his arms, soaking his shirt with my tears. My heart burned from the hurt I was feeling and the feel of his arms comforting me. I cried more as his words of comfort filled my ears. My thoughts were scrambled too as he spoke. All I could think about was how dumb I was and how unwanted I had turned out to be. I lost my best friend, my friends and had no one all because of my actions. I cried more as my body filled up with pain.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Paul said and cupped my face then pulled my face backward.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes then looked into his eyes. I held his shirt with my hands, clenching it hard as another round of tears threatened to spill. I needed to control myself.

“I hate seeing you like this,” he said in the softest voice ever. “Fuck. Stop, please… I hate seeing you this way, Lana. I hate seeing you cry.”

I nodded and bit my bottom lip hard to stop myself from crying. I knew my eyes were red and my face ugly from crying, but I didn’t care right now.

“What can I do to stop the hurt?” He asked and rubbed the pads of his thumbs on my cheeks. “What can I do to make you stop feeling this way? I promise, I will do anything to make you not feel this way again.”

“I don’t know, Paul,” I replied. “I just want to stop feeling this way, but I don’t know how to.”

Paul eyed my face, taking in every part of my face before he smiled softly.

“How about this?” He asked. “Let’s forget about meeting my team and go on a vacation. Just you and me. I promise to make you feel wanted and special… Hm?”

I blinked from shock as I registered what he said in my head and thoughts.

“I want to make you feel good about yourself.” He paused and closed his eyes, as if summoning the will to speak. “I want to make you forget about him. I need to make you ignore every shit he has put you through. I want to make you the happy girl I have always known. So, please. Grant me that permission to have you all to myself.”

I gasped. “What?”