(Beverly Hills, California.)
Lee Minji took a warm shower late at night because she had trouble sleeping. Extremely cold weathers wasn’t her thing. She missed her new Cali friends at the club.
They’d been binging her for days, inviting her out but one peek from her window at the snow down the streets was enough reason to turn her off!
Minji was halfway done towelling her hair when the doorbell sounded. She cocked a brow, not expecting Selena that late.
She hastily retied her bathrobe properly and wore her slippers, almost tripping in the process as she rushed to the door.
“Coming!” She yelled, folding her head towel well. After Minji opened the door, she found a better distraction. The only difference was that he looked a bit wet…. and broken?
“Wine?” Damon Lorenzo raised an expensive bottle of French wine with two glasses. Minji opened the door wider and stood aside. He pushed himself inside.
She had barely shut the door when Damon captured her lips in a hot kiss. He was slightly tipsy and she was alluring, and it all came together. The kiss became fiery and she melted into it.
Within seconds, her back came roughly in contact with the soft duvet. Minji was too occupied to figure out how she got there. A wet jacket flew off somewhere and so did her head towel. But when she leaned in closer, Damon suddenly paused and jerked off her in a flash.
Minji looked up in confusion and caught his dull eyes staring at what he had started. And the next thing she knew?… The wine bottle flew and connected with a wall!
“What the hell’s wrong with you?!” She gasped and moved away. Damon didn’t answer. He raked his hair in frustration and paced around.
“I really screwed up. I screwed everything up straight to hell!” The first glass shattered.
“I’m such an idiot!” He yelled and the second one followed.
“Damon, stop that! You’re hurting yourself.” She rushed to him, noticing a cut and took his bleeding hand. He pulled his hand away and crashed on the nearest couch, fisting his hair.
Minji crouched in front of him. “What happened?”
“She told me never to see her again.” He whispered. She touched him.
“Why?”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her. I didn’t mean to ruin the strange relationship we had that made me so happy. I think I meddled too much. I only wanted her to be happy again and to stop hiding from the world, her world.
“I wanted her to stop suffering and smile again. But it backfired. Now I’ve lost her forever.” His heart quivered again. Minji gently reached for his face and framed it. Damon’s hands fell and he stared at her.
“What happened wasn’t your fault, okay? Whatever you did came from your heart. Even if it didn’t work out the way you’d planned, you genuinely did it for her.”
“She didn’t see it that way. She thinks I betrayed her. Her words hurt me. I’ll never forget the look on her face when she told me to stay away.” The beautiful Asian pushed his hair away with a smile.
In a heartbeat, the passionate playboy had suddenly morphed into a sulking child.
“Then you’re going to do the opposite. If she tells you to leave, be steadfast. If she pushes you away, be rock solid. And if she ignores you, steal your way back into her heart. If she really got hurt the way you put it, then she really needs you now more than ever.” She whispered despite the pain in her own heart.
“You really think so?”
“Think so? I know so. Tsk! I’m a girl afterall.” She almost rolled her eyes. Damon stared intently at her before breaking into a small smile.
Minji touched the curves of his addictive lips and smiled back. They stayed that way for sometime until he looked away in an uncomfortable way.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, noticing it. Damon held her hand softly, breaking away from her grasp and rubbed them.
“We… I.. let… I don’t… I think we should stop… whatever we are…” He breathed. It was Jenny’s turn to lower her gaze.
How could she tell him that for the first time in her playgirl’s life, he was the first person her heart easily melted out to.
“Okay… let’s stop.” She smiled despite her stinging heart. Damon smiled again, relief evident in his eyes.
“But on two conditions.” Worry peeped into his eyes again and she giggled.
“It’s nothing much! Just… Don’t move out soon. I still want to be close to you even if we aren’t together.” He nodded and placed a kiss on her hand.
“The second?” She shifted her eyes down to his lips and inched closer.
“For the last time… let it feel different.” She whispered and connected them to his willing ones…
***
Natalia’s tears stung Arian’s heart painfully. He never wanted her to cry. He hated himself more than ever seeing her tears. He tried to reach for her but clenched his fists at the last second.
He needed clarity. His heart yearned for some sort of assurance before totally falling again.
Natalia wiped her cheek and stood up. “What exactly is your point, huh?”
The gorgeous French bit his lip and remained quiet.
“You don’t trust me? You believe I just wanna waste your time and break your heart again?”
“Then why did you come back? How did you know about my disappearance? Last I asked, you told me you felt nothing for me anymore. You told me you’d moved on and took your time to break up with me all over again…”
”Are you really such a dimwit?! Arian, can’t you see I’m still madly in love with you?! Everything I said was a total lie! Did you really think it was easy for me to forget about my first love and move on so easily? And if you must know, your mother told me!” She confessed and he flinched in shock.
“Yes, she did! She came to me, worried sick about you! She asked… no, she begged me to find you! The same family you’re avoiding are the ones desperately trying to find you. You want to know the real reason why I came back?
“I had a choice, Arian! A choice to either honor her or prove that you really meant nothing to me. But I screwed it! I went crazy thinking the worst had happened to you! I blamed myself, Arian.
“I hated myself knowing I almost made you take your life. Did you think it’d been easy for me too?” She choked. Arian noticed her usually vibrant buttery whipped skin suddenly became pale.
“Natalia, you need rest. Co…”
“Don’t touch me!” She yelled and moved away. “Did you really think I never wanted to come back?”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“One of us had to be practical! Our relationship was only causing the both of us pain. And most of all, I had to protect you from the bastard that’s after me! I couldn’t be anything close to you or he’ld have gone after you as well.
“But when your mom came to me, I lost it! Coming to you was dangerous and stupid but my practical head stopped working. I had to find you. I had to protect you from yourself by being by your side.” She grabbed her aching head.
“I don’t think I make sense anymore… But I don’t care! I thought you’ld be safe by staying away but I forgot emotional pain kills faster.” Her tears burned down her cheeks.
All of a sudden, Natalia whipped her head to Arian and glared at him, ignoring his softened, remorseful look.
“Since you think so cheaply of me, why don’t we level the field?! You claim to love me but yet, you don’t trust me? What’s love without trust? Why didn’t you throw me out after concluding I came here to mess with your heart again?”
“I…”
“I’m not cold hearted, right?” She snorted disdainfully. Arian’s eyes widened and opened his mouth to say something but;
“Typical! But guess what? You’re the most damnable bastard I’ve ever known!” She let her anger take over.
“Do you know what you are? You’re an ungrateful jerk not only to me but to those around you!” She ignored the unusual brightness slowly gathering in his eyes.
“Since you waltzed into my life, heartache and pain became a constant! If you had never showed up, I’ld have never prioritised you and had more time with my grandmother before she passed away! Do you know what you’re only good at?… making people cry! Or more precisely, wasting people’s tears!
“And I blame myself for it, Arian! You know, Elva as usual was right to tell me to stop fooling myself and really move on! I made a mistake coming here.” She looked around breathlessly.
“What the hell was I thinking coming after you?! Goodness, the press!” She framed her forehead with both palms.
“If they ever…” She gasped. “I.. I have to leave.” Natalia breathed and hastily slipped her feet into her flip-flops. Arian caught her before she got to the door.
“Arian, let go of me!” She demanded and struggled to break free. “I said let go!”
“I won’t! Stop being difficult.” He held her to himself closely.
“Stop acting like you care! There’s no reason for me to stay. You don’t trust me and I certainly can’t stay in the same house with a stranger. I’ve already made the worst mistake of my life by shamelessly chasing after you like a desperate mistress!
“If the media gets hold of this, it’ll cause more problems for me than for you. I’m tired of making sacrifices for a forbidden love! Now let me go Arian or I swear, I’m gonna scream!….”