“Don’t fool around,” Andrie said, straightening up in his seat. He looked ahead, shoulders tensing slightly.
Azora swallowed hard. She felt embarrassed by his demeanor but fought against it. “I’m not fooling around.”
“Really?” Andrie replied sarcastically. He glanced at her before returning his gaze forward. “You had pledged loyalty to Anthony. What now, Azora?”
“Yes. My loyalty is on you.”
Andrie sighed and turned to look at her, his eyes scrutinizing. Shortly after, his eyebrows furrowed. “What are you implying, Azora?”
“You know what I mean,” she said, her voice tinged with determination.
Andrie’s frown deepened. “Don’t talk foolish–”
“I’m not!” she shouted. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. “I l-love you–”
“Shut it up, Azora!” Andrie snapped, turning to her with tense shoulders. His breathing quickened. He was angry. “Don’t talk nonsense anymore!”
“I’m not talking nonsense–”
“I AM NOT ANTHONY, AZORA!”
She gasped at his outburst. Her eyes widened as she stared at him, unable to believe he could yell at her like that. “A-Anthony–”
“No. I’m not Anthony,” he said softly before taking a deep breath and looking away. “Stop imagining things.”
Her lips formed a line as she looked at him, who couldn’t meet her gaze. She sighed and leaned back in her seat. “I know you’ll deny it, but I still believe that you are Anthony.”
“He is dead.”
“No. He’s not dead.” She glanced briefly at him then faced forward again. “You are him.”
Several seconds of silence passed between them. She didn’t speak, sitting up straight when Andrie finally broke the silence. “What makes you think that I am Anthony?”
“Y-You… uh, you kissed m-me like the way he did in our last kiss.” She turned slowly to Andrie, nearly gasping as their eyes met. He had been staring at her face intensely since earlier. She gave a hesitant smile. “Really. I mean, I am honest. And I am telling the truth!”
His eyebrows furrowed again and his lips formed a thin line. Uh.
She laughed nervously. “You know… I-I am loyal to Anthony.”
“So you initiate the kiss just to prove that I am him?”
“What? Initiate the kiss?” She laughed. “As far as I remember, it’s you who initiated the kiss!”
“And you’re pointing the blame on me? It was you who gave the idea,” he retorted.
“What?” Azora’s eyes widened and she quickly looked away. She stared hard at the steering wheel that Andrie held with one hand. “I didn’t!”
“You were.”
“No, I didn’t!” she replied irritably and pouted. “It was just a joke and you bought it!”
She saw Andrie raise an eyebrow out of the corner of her eye. “I thought you’re honest.”
His face contorted at what she said, and Azora met Andrie’s gaze boldly. As she locked eyes with him, it was almost as if she saw herself in his eyes. Familiar was his way of speaking, his manner of using words, and his skill in laying traps.
Her eyes widened suddenly as realization dawned on her. She parted her lips, and it seemed Andrie knew exactly why her expression changed because he grinned mischievously at her.
“Y-You…”
His tongue clicked. “I told you, you can’t trick me with words.”
She gritted her teeth in frustration. Her fist clenched. “Just tell me that you are Anthony!” she blurted out.
Andrie shook his head slightly and shrugged. “Don’t be ridiculous, Azora. Just accept the fact that my twin brother is dead. Move on.”
“No,” she insisted firmly.
Her mind raced quickly through memories with Anthony, times when she trusted him with her secrets, even though he never revealed his own, instead telling her about a scar he got when he was young, the scar on Anthony’s lower waist. It was as if a spark had passed through Azora’s eyes. Right. Why had she only remembered that information now?
She looked up and saw Andrie gazing intently at her. If she wanted to see that scar, she needed to…
Azora’s expression softened. There were still beads of sweat on her forehead as she tried to calm herself down. She wasn’t used to flirting with a man. She was raised with delicacy, making it difficult for her to show motives to Andrie. Besides, there was still a slight possibility that her speculation wasn’t true. Andrie might really be the person she was facing.
She swallowed and her hand trembled as she reached for Andrie’s hand holding the steering wheel. She opened her mouth and fought against the chattering of her teeth from nervousness. Her muscles almost shook from the cold she felt at that time.
Meanwhile, Andrie just kept staring at her. He followed her every move, making her almost nauseous with nerves.
“I-I…” She took a deep breath. “C-Can I kiss y-you?” she asked nervously.
She lowered her gaze and almost closed her eyes. Why? Why did she have to go through all that embarrassment? Even in front of Japen or Robert, she wasn’t that desperate to almost swallow all of her pride.
She heard Andrie’s faint laughter, making her even more crestfallen. She knew. She accepted the shame she had done. She bowed her head.
She was surprised when Andrie took her hand and intertwined their fingers. He pressed a button, which made the seat back of the driver and passenger seats fall back. Azora gasped and quickly sat up straight. She was surprised to see the two seats falling down.
“What–”
She didn’t finish what she was saying when Andrie pushed her down on the passenger seat already in the back. She was about to sit down when Andrie embraced her and smiled at her.
Her heart stopped beating for a moment. Why did he just look at her like that?
“Andrie,” she called.
“Mmm…” His smile widened. “You called me Andrie? I thought I am Anthony?”
She fell silent at what he said. Her eyebrows slowly furrowed. It looked like she finally found the opposite. She couldn’t escape his verbal game, and she was always the loser. She had to be smarter in the game with Andrie.
Out of frustration, without hesitation, she hooked her arm around Andrie’s neck and pulled him down without saying a word.
Their lips met immediately. She felt Andrie’s lips curve into a smile before he fully enveloped her parted lips.