Chapter 20: StayKiaraBy the time Ethan pulled up at the hospital, my hands were shaking. He asked me if I could walk or talk. I shook myself and scrambled out of the car, clutching his hand in mine to stop it from shaking. He didn’t mind.The front receptionist knew I was Dr. Vijay Sharma’s daughter, giving me the room number and when she asked about Ethan, I said he was family. We rushed to the room number 203 and my heart dropped in my stomach.My mom was on the bed, various IVs and pipes attached to her frail pale body, her eyes closed as she breathed slowly from the mask propped on her face, covering her nose and mouth. Ethan held my hand tightly and I knew he wanted to assure me, but he himself was shocked.“What happened?” I asked my father, who was talking to a doctor, looking worried.He turned to me and sighed in relief when he saw Ethan too. He pulled me in a hug. He smelled like medicines and the mild scent of Mom’s sandalwood. “Your mom was having chest pains for a while

PART FOUR“I love you.”Chapter 22: Potty mouthKiaraThe sun hid behind the grayish clouds, warning us about the upcoming water shower as humidity hovered heavily around us in the thick, musky wind. Today's atmosphere was a bit on the gloomy side and the streets looked dull. Everyone walked with an umbrella just in case it started to shower."I hate studying!" I grumbled, stomping toward the Brian Library, named after the late owner of the land, whose will was to build this library just beside a café. Brian Library was very famous among the students and everyone came here to study for the upcoming exams.Ethan raised his eyebrow, not surprised by my moodiness. "That bad?"I huffed, "You don't say."When I say that Brian library is famous among students, I mean almost every student residing in Lakewood. And that means, my ex-crush and annoying piano classmate, Paul Corey would be here.Tingles shot through my skin when Ethan wrapped his muscular arm around my waist, pulling me close t

Chapter 24: The Swim CompetitionKiaraPrunh! Prunh! Prunh!Another horn blared off and the swimmers dived in the water, their parents cheering for them while the coaches marked down the time, making sure which team was winning; Summer High or Winter High.“So, what will I get if I win the competition?” I looked beside me at Paul, who was just wearing his swimming trunks, his wet, muscled chest on display, and I could see some freshman ogling him.I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “You will get nothing from me, Paul. You know I am with Ethan, then why are you so hell-bent on asking me out every single day?”He blinked and replied, “Because I was an asshole for taking Shaley to the ice cream truck instead of you, and I want to show you that I can treat you better than him. At least give me a chance, Kia.”I looked over his shoulder to see a tan back with little claw marks while he talked to his swim mates. And flickered my eyes back to Paul.“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely with a

Chapter 26: I am Too SpecialEthanI listened to the beeps of my heart monitor and how it got fast when I thought about Kiara and her hurt stricken face when I said those things to her. I had never hated myself more than I did at that moment, lying to her and seeing a tear slide down her cheek just because I was being an asshole.I wanted to see her and apologize to her as soon as I said that, but I was so mad and angry. Even Liam scolded me for saying that to her when she left us. And I took all that anger out by fighting with some guys who were teasing Rio with harsh words just because of his sexuality. I couldn’t take it anymore and I snapped at them.My mothers scolded me when I came out of the unconsciousness, and I hated hurting them, seeing them sad because I couldn’t control my anger. So, when they said Kiara and everyone was waiting patiently to talk to me, I bailed. I told them I didn’t want to talk to anyone and wanted to be alone.I didn’t want Kiara to see me like this. S

Chapter 28: My Queen and Her ThroneEthanI was in deep slumber when I felt a thick blanket tucked over my body and Kiara snuggling beside me. I smiled lazily and pulled her closer.She kissed my cheek and muttered, "I am sorry."I kissed her forehead, breathing in her coconut scent and sighed, running my hand through her soft hair. "It's all right. You can tell me whenever you're ready." My voice was husky as I was still sleepy, but I felt her smile against my chest and that was enough for both of us to sleep contently.***Later that day, Kiara was back to being normal and to 'apologizing' for her last night’s freak-out because of her hormones, as she put it. She offered me to take me on a movie date, which was more than nice. We came back home hand in hand and had dinner with Mr. Vijay, her father, because he wanted to have dinner with his daughter’s boyfriend. I was so proud of myself for dating her when she introduced me to him as her boyfriend. Even though he had given me ‘The T