Returning from the deck to the stateroom, the enclosed space and dense crowd made Paula Rouco doubly uncomfortable.
Tonight, we’ll spend it on the cruise ship.
The guests, ready to go to the bridal chamber.
But Paula Rouco had a cramp in her stomach and an urge to get acid up her esophagus.
She hurried to leave the crowd and returned to her room.
Just as I reached my room door and was about to put my card in, the cruiser seemed to experience a huge wave and wobble a bit.
Night waves are even more violent and frightening than day waves.
She was a bridesmaid, wearing a dress with high heels, and her whole body broke a little as the cruiser lurched and swayed again.
A large, warm, dry, slender hand grasped her wrist firmly and held her steady.
“Careful.”
Paula Rouco looked up and the man’s handsome face and deep gaze gazed down at her as well.
Without further ado, Severo Laris picked up the room card that had fallen to the floor, swept it up and escorted her into the living room.
Paula Rouco forced the discomfort and burning sensation from her stomach to the tube in her throat.
When Severo Laris saw her face, he reached out to touch her forehead, but she slapped it away, covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet.
Severo Laris hurried over to her, leaned down, reached out and patted her back, and asked in a muffled whisper, “Mareo?”
Paula Rouco hadn’t eaten anything all day and at the moment all she was throwing up was acid.
Severo Laris frowned, distressed and worried.
When she finished vomiting, Severo Laris helped her up, went to the sink, turned on the faucet, and the water poured out loudly.
He took a small, clean, disposable towel from the side, dampened it with water and wiped the stain from the corner of her mouth.
Grabbing another glass of water, he held it up to her mouth, “Rinse your mouth.”
His tall, erect body confined her in his arms so she wouldn’t fall as the cruiser rocked again.
Careful, without fail.
Paula Rouco reached out, took the glass of water he held out to her and rinsed her mouth, which tasted much better without the sour water.
Severo Laris wrapped his arms around her back again, taking her small, soft hands between his large ones and rinsing them under the stream, and whispering in her ear, “You can’t do this, you’ll have even less energy after vomiting from the dizziness, you need to eat.”
Paula Rouco remained pinned in his arms, rambling, only to feel the gentle rush of water over her hands.
Severo Laris asked warmly, “What do you want to eat? I’ll get it from the back kitchen.”
She said nothing and Severo Laris thought she didn’t want to eat anything.
“I don’t want to eat messy things, have some white porridge, okay?” He asked her in a consultative tone.
Paula Rouco had an empty stomach and a little hunger, in fact she didn’t hear what he said and nodded unconsciously.
Severo Laris turned off the faucet and grabbed a clean towel to dry himself. His small, slender hands then gathered it in a horizontal embrace.
Carried from the bathroom to the bed.
Severo Laris knelt and bent down to remove the heels from her feet.
The heels were new and a little worn, and on her cold white skin a small red mark was especially noticeable.
Severo Laris looked at the rubbed red marks on her feet and ran his fingers over them tenderly.
With a little itch, Paula Rouco unconsciously retracted her feet under the sheets.
The lighting in the cruiser’s rooms was dark and dim.
Severo Laris, fearing her gaze, reached up to turn off a few more wall lights, leaving only a few small ones.
A faint smile of warmth came into the corner of Severo Laris’ eyes as he watched her cower in bed under the covers, like a mouse on the defensive.
She said, “You stay still and I’ll get the food.”
Severo Laris had just left the room when Lastra approached him.
“Lao Lin, Lao Sheng’s side is having a bridal shower, you a best man is not there, not like this, ah, yes, there is Paulita, the maid of honor and best man are not there, the guests bully the bride and groom ah.”
Severo Laris looked towards the closed door and said, “Paulita is dizzy and just threw up, I have to take care of her, you and the other maid of honor take it easy, neither Paulita nor I can go.”
Lastra looked at the door to the room and asked, “Is Paulita ok?”.
“It’s fine, I’m here, you go ahead.”
“Okay, if you need anything, remember to call us.”
Severo Laris nodded slightly, “Hmm.”
…
Half an hour later, Paula Rouco is lying in bed, almost sound asleep.
In the daze, a deep male voice called out to her, “Lita, wake up, it’s time to get up and drink the porridge.”
Paula Rouco opened her eyes wearily and rubbed them to see Severo Laris approaching with a large bowl of white porridge and a small plate of snacks on the side.
She scratched her disheveled hair and was helped to sit up by Severo Laris.
“Is there still white porridge in the galley?”
On luxury cruise ships, there is rarely white porridge in the middle of the night, but usually in the morning.
Severo Laris did not hide it and said, “I used the pressure cooker in the galley and cooked it.”
“…”
Severo Laris picks up the bowl, takes a spoon and pours himself a mouthful of white porridge.
The white porridge was hot and he lifted it to his lips and blew on it before passing it to his mouth.
Paula Rouco did not open her eyes, but just looked at him silently, with a look neither sad nor happy.
Severo Laris said, “What’s the matter, don’t you want to eat, didn’t you have to be fed before eating when you were sick?”
“But we have broken up, you don’t have to be so kind to me.”
Saying this, Severo Laris froze, then he smiled slightly, looked at her with a dark look and said, “I want to be nice to you, this has nothing to do with whether we broke up or not, besides, we can get back together.”
“But we…”
Before she could finish the sentence, Severo Laris looked her straight in the eyes, focused and serious, “Paula Rouco, can’t you see that I’m seriously pursuing you?”
“…”
“I don’t care if you play dumb or if you don’t respond, because love is something that should be personal. It is not necessary for you to respond to my feelings for you. It is enough that you enjoy the good I do you.”
“…”
Love? If you love her, why did you leave her and break up with her in the first place?
Her tears, in the dim light, flowed slowly down her face.
I don’t know if it was because I felt things were different now, or because I was moved to tears, or because I was now vulnerable due to my illness.
He couldn’t tell the difference.
Severo Laris reached up and wiped the tears from her face with his fingertips, “Don’t cry, I didn’t court you to make you cry.”
She asked, “If I never agree to reconcile with you, will you always be kind to me?”
“Seven years ago, I was wrong to leave you behind, and seven years later, I will not lose you again.” said Severo Laris cautiously.
Paula Rouco lowered her dense eyes slightly, tugged at the corners of her lips and shook her head softly, “Severo Laris, but we can’t go back.”
Seven years old, whose feelings can withstand the flood and emptiness of time.
She was no longer the child who could continue to bother him without dignity.
Severo Laris was not disappointed, he just smiled slightly, looked at her and said, “You are not coming back to me, then I will try to come back to you, it was never about going back to the past I wanted, lita, I want your present and your future.”
Even if she didn’t give it to him now, it didn’t matter, a life was very long, he could wait, as long as he wanted.
She is quiet, silent.
Severo Laris approached her little head and rubbed it affectionately, saying, “Eat your porridge, an obedient child does not waste food.”
With these words, Severo Laris got up and left the room.
Give him enough space to digest all the emotions of the night.
Today, he has depression and treats his feelings and emotions with more indifference than the average person.
He doesn’t force it, knowing she will be uncomfortable.