Chapter 14

 

“Hey, till when are you going to keep sleeping?” his voice was a light whisper in my ear. I sat up almost immediately. I was feeling a little light headed but it could just be because of too much sleep. I’ve been lazing around a lot lately.

I look around the dimly lit room and yawn. The curtains were halfway closed, which gave me more reason to continue sleeping. I was about to lie back on the pillow when Robin carried me into his arms and dragged me away from the comfy bed.

I sigh. “Put me down…” I honestly am in no mood to talk.

“No.”

“Robin,” I say a little louder. “Put me down.”

“You’re getting too lazy. We’re going back next week you know. Isn’t there anything you want to do?”

He puts me down on the sofa and hands me hot cocoa and puts a box of my favorite cakes with pink frostings on the table. I feel a little more awake then. “There are a lot of things I want to do.”

He smiles, and it gives me a strange feeling of happiness and boldness. His smiles are getting too contagious. I take a sip of my cocoa as I go through the list of things I could do with Robin today.

“I want to ride a bicycle and enjoy the sea breeze. I want to sit under the shade of a tree after that, and eat ice-cream…”

“That’s it?”

I smile as I take a bite of the cake. “Of course not.”

For some reason, he starts laughing. “What’s funny?” I ask.

“You got frosting on your nose and it’s all over your lips.”

Oh great…I shrug, trying to act as casual as possible. “I don’t see how this is funny.”

He sits next to me and pushes my hair away from my face. His hands gently brush my cheeks and the next thing I know; he’s licking the frosting off my lips. I feel my whole body stiffen. I start feeling the heat creep to my body.

“Hmm…it does taste good,” he says. I’m pretty sure he’s smiling. I stand up abruptly, causing him to laugh. Yes, very funny. What a great husband I have here…

“I was just going to the bathroom you know…”

“Wait, you still have frosting on-”

“I can take care of that myself, thank you,” I say as I run to my room and lock the door. Any minute and my damn heart will fall out. It’s beating way too hard at the moment. If I’m that weak against Robin, then how can I handle myself around him? Ever since when have I become like this anyway?

 

--------------------- Meanwhile --------------------- Gabriel’s POV

“What are you talking about?” I ask Jessie as she makes her way towards me. She looks different from when I last saw her. Her long straight brown hair was put up into a neat ponytail. She was wearing an over the knee black strapless dress and had a black leather jacket on. I couldn’t help but notice that she had two guys in black standing just a few feet away from her.

“Come back home with me Gabriel. Please…” she said again. We were standing in the middle of the airport with me dumbly looking at her.

“Let me guess…my father sent you?” I say bitterly. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it because in the past 2 years I always thought of her as a friend…an amazing one at that, because it felt as if she understood me and her bubbly personality made me happy to have her around. True, I only saw her once a month in these 2 years but I still trusted her.

“I’m sorry Gabriel, but…”

I raised a hand to stop her. “That’s enough. Go back; I don’t want to see you ever again.”

The hurt in her eyes were obvious but she still managed to crack a smile. “I can’t go back without you…”

“Whatever…just stay away from me,” I turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm.

“I can’t stay away from you either.” I pull my hand away from hers. No way am I going back to that hell of a house.

“Why?! Why can’t you come back? Give me a good reason at least…”

I stopped for a moment, hesitating but I can’t afford losing now…can I? My life in the past…is gone. I don’t need it anymore…I don’t need to remember, because all it brings is hatred.

“I will bring you back! You just wait Gabriel. Joe, take my stuff to the new house.”

“What?!” this time I turned and the look on her face just said everything. She’s really serious about staying here and she’s stubborn about it. Her two bodyguards started carrying the 4 huge suitcases outside.

“I already rented the house in front of yours. So, we’ll be neighbors.”

“Who are you exactly?”  I ask. “Till when are you planning to stay?”

“I’m Jessica Mason. My family works with yours in the new project about the-”

“Yea, yea…not interested. Why are you here to get me? Why would you?”

“Well, why won’t you come back home?”

“None of your business…”

She runs her hand through my hair and starts ruffling it. For a moment I feel like a stupid kid. She smiles. How could this girl have managed to trick me in these two damn long years?

“Jess…”

“Hmmm…?

“You can stop now,” I say, and she lets her hand fall to her side. My hair must be sticking out in odd angles now. I didn’t seem to care much though. “How is he? Father I mean.”

“Oh he’s fine. A little worried and stressed out over you maybe,” she says. “Hey, I got some amazing new games. Wanna play?” her bright green eyes lit up as she said that.

“I won’t go back with you,” I say as she wraps her hand around my arm and we both make our way to the car. Jessie…she’s not someone I can stay mad at for too long. Besides I did kind of expect father to have sent someone to look over me anyway.

Maybe the day that I would have to go back will be soon...

Chapter 13 part b

 “Do you know what time it is?” Robin groaned for the fifth time since I’d gone to get ready. He’d already reserved a room at a different hotel so all I had to do was pack up. I still can’t believe he seriously did this.

After a few more minutes I came out with two bags. “All done,” I said with a sigh of relief.

“Leave it. I told someone to take it to the hotel. We are going out.”

Oh, so that’s why he looked so impatient all the while. I grinned. Well at least we weren’t staying stuck in a hotel all day.

“Where…are we going?”

“I’m taking you to see the sunset…at the beach. So we might be late.”

I blinked in surprise. See the sunset? Really? I mean, don’t get me wrong…I love the sea, the sunset, everything about it is beautiful but Robin is actually going to take me there?

“What? Don’t want to?”

“Huh?! Of course I want to. Are we going now?” I may have sounded more excited than I meant to, and that caused him to grin in that cute way.

“Well, we need to do some shopping first.”

20 minutes later and I’m dressed in a white strapless, below the knee dress and a huge hat + cute white ballerina shoes. Robin was wearing a button down white shirt and black jean shorts.

 “What’s with the white?” I asked as he grabbed my arm and started applying large amounts of sunscreen. He shrugged. “Turn,” was all he said.

 “Why?”

“Or shall I just do your legs?”

I felt a blush now creep up to my face. “Excuse me?”

This time he looked at me with a puzzled look. “What?”

“N-never mind. I can do it by myself,” I said. He laughed. Something I didn’t find funny at all. Can’t a girl be embarrassed?

I managed to apply the sunscreen on my legs and face as Robin drove to the beach. “What about you?” I finally asked. “I’ll do it for you.”

“No need. I’ll be fine.”

I narrowed my eyes at him but he was too busy concentrating on the road. 5 min. later and I dabbed the sunscreen onto his face. He turned to me for a split second before turning back to the road. We were almost there anyway. He only needed to park the car.

“Hey, are you asking for trouble?” he groaned.

“Hey, hey you’re going to get sunburned you moron. I can’t let that happen!!” I retorted. I was beginning to really lose my temper; something that didn’t really happen a lot.

 

“Why? Is it really that important?” he said after parking the car.

“Yes, very.”

“Fine, kiss me and I’ll put it on.”

“Hey-”

“I’m not forcing you…” and then he just abruptly got out of the car.

To be honest, it bothered me. He was someone very important to me now, whether he knew it or not and not just because he was my husband but it was much more than that. Maybe ‘admiration’ as he called it. I was going to have a great time today and not just keep worrying about him.

So I got out and walked to his side. Before he could say anything I stood on my tiptoes and planted a kiss right on his lips. At first he seemed to be taken aback but then he put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. His lips were hot against mine and it took all that I had to pull away first.

I immediately grabbed his hand and started to put the sunscreen on for him. “You need to take more care of yourself,” I was surprised I could still talk normally at this point although I was a little breathless. He didn’t say anything so I sneaked a look at him and found him staring at me so intently.

“Ok, I’ll do it myself…” was all he said, and then we both walked toward the sea which was surprisingly very empty. As in there were only a few people there. Usually you’d expect the place to be packed with people but there were only a couple of swimmers and surfers only.

“Seriously?” I didn’t mean to say it out loud but it just happened and I found myself looking at Robin. He grinned. “Yea…You don’t like crowded places.”

How can he know so much about me? Could he have probably known white was one of my favorite colors, thus the white clothes or was it just a coincidence?

“What does that have to do with this place being so…empty? So no one’s coming because of me?” I was being sarcastic. I really didn’t expect it to be like that, but…

“Yea…The beach here belongs to the resort. I got it booked for today. So, just wait a few more minutes and this place is all yours.”

“For real? I mean, you actually booked the place?”

He shrugged. “If you want we can stay here longer…”

I shook my head. This was enough. He had already done a lot for me. Honestly, I’m lucky to have him by my side. I sneaked a sideways glance at him and smiled. All of a sudden, I found myself hugging him. “Thank you…for everything.”

He seemed to tense for a while but then he hugged me back, and buried his head on my shoulder. I could hear the sound of his heart beating against his chest, or was it mine?

Chapter 13 part a

I dropped down onto the soft violet bed as soon as we got a room at the Grand hotel. I was exhausted…it felt like I hadn’t been able to sleep well the whole week.

“Hey, aren’t you going to call back home?” Robin asked as he lay down beside me. He was just as tired as me if not worse. I groaned but managed to get up to make a call.  

Mum picked up immediately…asking if everything was alright. After assuring her that everything was fine, I talked to Brenda for a while, and when I looked over to check on Robin, he was already fast asleep.

I took that opportunity to take a long hot bath and then got dressed in blue shorts and a white tank top. I brushed my hair and dried it off. Then I nudged Robin gently, until he managed to open his eyes.

“Don’t you want to shower?” I asked.

 

He shook his head and went back to sleep. “You need to change at least. Come one, get up!” I dragged him up into a sitting position but he just pulled me back down with him. His hands wound tightly around my waist and pulled me so close to him that I could feel his warm breath on my neck.

Although my back was to him and I couldn’t see him, I could imagine him smirking. I tried to pull his hands away but he was too strong and I couldn’t help but feel really small and weak against him.

“Robin!” I hissed. I hated it when people didn’t change into comfortable clothes when going to sleep. How can he just fall asleep in those jeans? “Hey!!”

“Can you just sleep now? You can complain about whatever tomorrow…” he said. I half suspected he was sleep-talking.

“No, Robin! Change first, then you can sleep.”

 

“You do it for me then. I’m sleeping…”

My jaw dropped and I had a sudden urge to turn and smack him, but when I did manage to turn to face him I couldn’t bring myself to wake him up again. He looked so angelically cute, so vulnerable even. Sometimes I forget that he actually looks very cute…I used to tease him about his cute looks back in 7^th grade. I remember telling him he could pass as a girl if he just put on some make-up and a dress.

Ever since then, he’d acted tougher and even started going to the gym frequently which is how he got his hard abs. He looked much tougher now…he could pass as hot easily, but I can still see the cute him. I ran my fingers through his light brown hair. It was surprisingly soft. I kept stroking his hair until at some point I also fell asleep.

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I woke up at around 10 AM. Robin wasn’t there. I walked to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I changed into black skinnies, and put on my black cardigan over my white tank top. I walked out to the balcony to see the view outside. It was beautiful. There was a fountain with an angel statue on top and trees all around. My favorite roses and tulips were planted on one side, and daffodils on the other.

I watched as people walked back and forth. At some point I saw someone quiet familiar walk up toward the roses. I kept staring at him until he looked up straight at me…as if noticing I was watching him. A knowing smile formed across his face.

Oh God!! Mark…it was definitely him. I could tell from his blonde hair and that smile. It almost felt as if he was someone I knew all my life. He waved while I just stared. Why is he here?

I ignored him and went back inside to look around. There were two bathrooms, an open kitchen with a small table and two chairs. There was a huge plasma TV and velvety sofas all around it. It looked comfy.

The strange thing was that Robin wasn’t here. I tried to go out to look for him and that’s when I saw a note stuck to the door. ‘Come to the lobby when you wake up. I’ll be waiting for you.’

Really? He sticks it here? I mean usually they put notes somewhere next to you so you would know immediately once you wake up. How long has he been waiting anyway?

I made my way out and asked directions until I got to the lobby. The place was pretty big, and I wasn’t used to it yet.

Yesterday I was too tired to think straight. I found Robin sitting on one of the red plush chairs, his head down…his hair covering his eyes as it usually did when he didn’t push it back. His elbows were resting on his legs. He must have been waiting for me for a long time.

I walked up to him and he finally looked up. Was he angry? I couldn’t tell. He just stared at me for a while before getting up and brushing his lips gently against mine. “About time you wake up. I’m starving,” he said with a smile.

I felt a blush creep up to my face. He never did that before. At least, the last or first time he did was a long time ago. “Y-you haven’t had breakfast yet?” I asked while cursing myself for being shaken up by a small kiss.

“I was waiting for you. It’s boring to eat alone,” he replied. I raised an eyebrow and gave him an are-you-sure look. As much as I know, he used to not care about such things at all.

“Hey, what’s the point of getting married if we don’t at least eat together?”

He had a point. Even if we just ‘admire’ each other, and there is no love, we can still make the best out of it. After all, we were once upon a time friends you know.

“Hey, wait up!” that voice made me stop in my tracks. Robin tensed beside me and I could see his hands curl into a fist. Not now… Why is Mark here again?

“Hey…Mark,” I said, trying to make things a little less awkward. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and looked at me. He seemed amused, and maybe a little … happy?

“You still remember me?”

Duh! I just saw you yesterday, and you were pretty much flirting with me; was what I wanted to say but one look at Robin, and that shut me up.

“What do you want?” Robin snapped.

“Whoa! Chill man, I’m just glad there’s someone I know here,” he said while nodding towards me. Oh no, not a smart thing to say. The last time I checked, he didn’t even know my name. So what makes him think he knows it now?

 

I put a hand over Robin’s arm and he seemed to calm down a bit. “What did you say? Why are you here anyway?”

“Excuse me? It’s not like I can’t be here,” Mark said with a smug smile.

“I know you moron, but what I mean is why are you following us?” Robin asked again.

“Oh I’m not following you…I’m here for my cousin, Clarissa.”

Huh? My God…why is it that my life is full of surprises? Everything that happens has to creep me out. How is he my cousin when I don’t even know him? Or is he my cousin from my dad’s side? Or is all this just a prank?

“I’m sorry, but I’m not so sure I know you. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember having a cousin called Mark.”

 “Well, you were young and probably forgot, but we-”

“Hey! How about you don’t bother us while we’re here, because we’re supposed to be on our honeymoon,” Robin sure was angry now, and despite having been in a good mood earlier, he practically dragged me away.

Somehow I wanted to know why all of a sudden this guy came out of nowhere, and just declared we’re cousins. Now that didn’t make any sense did it? “Maybe I should ask mum…” I mumbled.

“Don’t!” Robin hissed. “Don’t even think about him anymore. We’re leaving tomorrow…”

“What?! We just got here yesterday…”

“Yea well, I didn’t think I would see that stalker.”

“You also think he was lying?”

“I know he’s flirting with you despite the fact that he knows you’re my wife, so he’s not normal.”

Chapter 12

  I took off my dress and stepped into the shower. I was going to have to stay at Robin’s house until we got a new house. I made sure my face was make-up free and my hair was neatly brushed before stepping out of the shower.

 

I put on my PJ shorts and shirt, and blow dried my hair…brushing it again to make sure it was free of any hair spray or whatever else I had in my hair.  I heard a knock at the door and found myself feeling rather nervous.

“Clare?”

I opened the door to find Robin standing with a big plastic bag in one hand, and drinks in the other. He had changed into black shorts and a white shirt. His hair was wet from the shower he took in the other room. He smelled freshly of after shave and cologne.

I had a sudden urge to reach out and hug him but held back. He gave me a smile and I blushed. Maybe I was becoming more conscious of him now that we were married.

“Pizza? I thought you’d be hungry…”

“Well, I’m starving.”

“Good, cause I ordered two big boxes and we aren’t allowed to go out of this room until tomorrow.”

“Why not?” I asked as he walked in and put everything down.

“Apparently, mum has put rules about how we should spend all our time together…especially in these coming 2 weeks, and I’m not allowed to leave you for one second.”

 I dropped down beside him and reached for a can of coke. He opened both pizza boxes…one was pepperoni, the other was vegies. He opened another box; this one was salad.

He cut a slice and handed it to me. “Eat first. I don’t want you drinking coke with an empty stomach.”

 I put down my drink and took the slice of pizza. “Thanks…”

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 “Clare? wake up…”

“What??! Leave me alone,” I snapped. He chuckled, causing me to get angrier.

“You better get dressed and get ready cause we’re leaving…”

At this I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I could still hear Robin laughing and blushed a deep red. I had dark circles under my eyes and my face looked puffed up. I knew I should have slept early. I tried to conceal it with some powder but it didn’t help much.

Frustrated, I went back out and opened the suitcase mum had gotten for me, and grabbed the first dress I could find. It was a blue over the knee that looked just fine with my white sandals. I put my hair up into a ponytail and went downstairs.

Robin was already waiting for me at the foot of the stairs. “What took you so long?” he asked as we awkwardly walked to the dining room side by side. We both had coffee with sandwiches in a hurry and then took some time to say our goodbyes before rushing to catch our plane.

All the way to the airport none of us said a word. Not that it mattered anyway. Once we come back things might pretty much get back to normal. We’ll act like strangers when we get back to Uni. The only thing different is that we would be living together in the same house.

Our plane was delayed by 2 hours so Robin had gone to buy some snacks while I texted with Lena and Gabriel. Apparently, Lena had started to have a crush on her new “hot” neighbor. He was all she’d talk about now, and Gabriel was playing video games with his ‘friend’, Jessie. I always had a feeling she liked him even if he doesn’t return her feelings. She’s the cute, funny type…total opposite of Gabriel, but in a way they complement each other. I’ve only met Jessie once since she doesn’t really live around here, and that was only a month ago when she’d come here for something of a little ‘holiday’.

“Clare?”

I looked up from my seat to see Robin holding 2 big bags of crunchies. I smiled…it’s been a while since I’ve eaten them. “Yes?” I asked absently.

I could feel his eyes studying me intently, then finally he sat down beside me and I finally got to fill myself up. “How much more do we have to wait?” I asked.

“About half an hour or so…”

I groaned. Yea, well now I have to sit here doing nothing other than munching down on crunchies. Then a thought hit me… What was the point of going on a honeymoon? We still haven’t really had our first night…so what if they’re sending us away because of that?

I swallowed hard before taking a quick look in Robin’s direction. He seemed so calm and normal…almost bored even. I wander what he was thinking? As if he knew I was looking he smiled…he smiled without looking back at me, something about that smile felt like he was making fun of me.

“What?” I sighed. “What’s funny?”

He raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. “Nothing…why?”

“Cause I can see you smiling like an idiot.”

“Maybe it’s because someone here was giving me weird looks.”

I blushed. “Don’t you hate going with me? I mean, we’ve always hated each other…so shouldn’t you be angry or annoyed even?”

“‘We?’ I never said I hated you…you just always assumed it. Besides, if you hated me you would never agree to this marriage.” I was about to protest when he interrupted, “And don’t give me that crap…it’s not just because of grandfather’s will. Fine…let’s say you don’t love me, but you definitely like me.”

“What about you? Are you saying you love me…and that’s why you let me choose? You really don’t mind spending your life with me?”

He cleared his throat as if embarrassed about something. “I don’t believe in love. There is admiration…but not love.”

I gave him an incredulous look. “But you just….Are you saying you admire me?”

“Hmmm…” that was definitely a yes. I smiled. That was kind of cute. Robin Hughes is being shy.

“Why? What makes you admire me?”

 “I don’t know. You don’t have anything great about you, but it’s fun teasing and staying around you. You know, like…”

“Oh yes…I’m just a joke to you, huh?”

He turned to me all of a sudden as if I’d just insulted him. “Of course not. It’s like…” he looked at his watch, then back at me. “We’d better go. There’s only 15 min. left.”   

I shrugged. “We still have time, but ok,” I don’t know why but I really wanted to know what he thought of me. Maybe I really did like him now. No, actually I’m sure I like him. He’s sweet…without really trying to be sweet.

“So what were you saying?” I asked again. He really wasn’t good at this, and I was enjoying the uncomfortable look on his face. If he admired the fact that I was easy to tease, then I admire that about him too. I grinned as he just shrugged.

-----------------------------------------------------

 “Hey, Clare…wake up!”

I jumped and looked around me dumbly. The plane had already landed. Robin helped me stand up, and I tried to ignore the throbbing pain in my head. It always happened to me when I got onto the plane.

“You ok?” he asked. I nodded. “Can you walk?”

“Yea,” but as I took a step I almost fell, if not for Robin pulling me back up. In the end though, I managed to get out safely. I felt the wind in my hair…it made my dizziness subside a little, but I still wasn’t steady. Then out of the blue, Robin put one arm on my back and another under my knee…lifting me up.

“No, no, no…put me down Robin,” I protested despite my growing headache. At least the dizziness was going. “Hey!” I struggled but he held me tighter.

“Don’t move. I’ll take you to rest now, so stop making things hard for me.”

“What-”

“Can’t you see how people keep staring?”

“Oh, you’re doing it for show…”

“No…what?” he gritted his teeth, and I could tell he was angry. “That guy wanted to help carry you. Would you want that?”

I looked behind me to see a pretty blonde guy in shorts and a t-shirt. Cute, but no. He gave me a smile, but I looked away. “Is he hitting on me?”

“Why? You’re interested?” I thought there was a hint of jealousy in his voice, but maybe I was just imagining things.

“No way…Even if I was, I think I’ll pass…”

He left me sitting on one of the chairs inside the airport while he went to get our stuff. I looked around me curiously.

“First time here?”

I looked to my side where the blonde guy was now standing. Looks like he really does plan on hitting on me. I shrugged. “Yea…I guess.”

“Cool, I’m Mark.” He extended out his hand, but I just stared at it like an idiot until he finally let it fall back to his side. “Want me to get you something? You look rather pale.”

“No thanks…” I never felt good talking to a stranger, and right now I was looking around for Robin.

“Looking for your friend? He’s over there.” He pointed to a guy that stood talking to a tall cute Asian girl. No…that can’t be him, but he had the same light brown hair. I frowned. What was going on?

“Is there something you want?” I jumped at Robin’s voice. I looked back where that guy was but he was gone. How strange.

“She seemed pale and confused so…”

“I can take care of my wife,” his words were clipped. He’d made his point. Mark smirked.

“Wife? She’s still young…”

“Are you asking for trouble?” he could have exploded any moment if I hadn’t begged him to just get me out of there. His eyes had darkened and for a moment I thought he would have gone as far as snapping the guy’s neck.

I wouldn’t blame him though. Something about Mark was unsettling and it made me feel irritated, or was it just because of the headache?

Chapter 11

  I was sure I was dreaming when I woke up in my room to see Robin sleeping on a chair, with his arms crossed. I reached for the wet yet warm towel on my forehead and then gasped. What time was it? 9:52 PM. I can’t believe I’ve been asleep all this time.

 I pulled the covers off me and stumbled out of bed, almost falling on top of Robin. He stirred and I prayed he wouldn’t wake up, but he did. He opened his eyes slowly and when he saw me, he jumped out of his place.

 “Clare,” and then I found him pushing me gently back on the bed. I sat there motionlessly as he put a hand over my forehead. “It’s gone. How do you feel?” He was talking about my fever.

 Honestly, the headache had lessened and I just felt a little dizzy. Other than that, I felt just fine. I smiled. “I’m feeling much better.” The fact that he was here taking care of me all this time made me feel unusually happy.

 There was a knock at the door then my mum came in, followed by Brenda. I sighed, as she put a plate of hot porridge and water on my bedside table.

 “Don’t give me that look. You’re going to eat all of it unless you want me to feed you by myself,” she said.

I groaned and shook my head. “No need. I can eat by myself.”

Robin just sat there staring at me with a smile despite the fact that I had told him to go home. Brenda was already gone, and mum was downstairs with auntie watching her favorite series. I sighed when he wouldn’t leave. “Go home,” I repeated.

“I need to make sure you eat first.”

 
“You’ll leave then?” I asked.

He just nodded and I gave him a suspicious look. “Really?”

“Do you want me to feed you?” he was obviously trying to avoid my question.

"No.”

When I was done with eating, I turned to him. “Thank you Robin, really, but it’s about time you go home and get some sleep. It’s getting late.”

“Oh, he should stay here since it’s so late,” I jumped as my mother walked into the room. “I’ll get the guest room ready for you.”

I opened my mouth to protest but Robin beat me to it. “No need. I’ll sleep here on the chair. I need to take care of my wife,” he said.

“I am not your wife!!” I snapped.

“Yet…but you will be in a few days or a week to be precise.” I looked to mum at that hoping she wouldn’t accept but she just smiled and nodded.

“Yes of course. I’ll go get a blanket for you,” and she just left like that.

I turned angrily to Robin this time. “Don’t get close to me!!”

He smirked. “So this is what it’s about. You’re worried I might do something to you…but don’t worry I can wait for that. I’m not desperate.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I didn’t…I mean, I wasn’t thinking of that. I just want you to know that I’m not comfortable sleeping with a guy in my room.”

“It’s the same thing. You’re worried I might do something.”

“I am not!!”

“Then it should be alright.”

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-          Wedding Day    -

I stood in front of the mirror as my aunt fixed my dress for me. She used to be a make-up artist but retired when she got pregnant with Ben. So, I was glad when she was the one who took care of my make-up and dress.

She did an amazing job. She made my eyes look much bigger by darkening it with eyeliner and mascara. My lips looked fuller and pink, and my cheeks had a light blush. She put my hair into loose curls.

“Take a deep breath…calm yourself dear, everything will be alright,” It was then that I noticed how nervous I was. “Should I call Robin for you?”

I looked down. “What can he do?”

She smiled. “I can tell something you still don’t know. Something about how your heart has been changing because of him.”

I turned to her and shook my head. “My heart hasn’t changed. I don’t feel anything great.”

“Oh no, you might still not know but I see it…”

“What do you see?” I asked.

“I see my beautiful wife…” I turned at that. Robin stood leaning at the door…his hands crossed against his chest. He wasn’t wearing what I expected him to.

I gave him a once over. He was wearing all gold. He looked like a prince. His light brown hair also looked golden when he walked to stand beside me near the window where the sun hit his hair. 

“What are you wearing and how long have been standing there?” I asked.

“Not long…you don’t like it? The girls think I look like royalty,” he smiled smugly.

“Girls? What girls are you talking about?”

“Maya and her friends… I went out to see the guests. Now I’m here to get you.”

 I sighed. “I don’t care what those girls think! I mean, I don’t like it!!” I lied. I don’t know what was wrong with me…either I was too nervous or maybe it was PMS. I prayed it wasn’t. I don’t want to be a moody bitch on my wedding. He looked beautiful and he was trying his best. I shouldn’t be blaming him.

“Then I’ll just go change.”  At first, I thought he was just joking but then I noticed he was being serious and stopped him.

“I’m sorry,” I was almost sure I would break down now, but he pulled me into a hug.

“It’s ok…Since it’s your wedding day, I’ll give in and do whatever you want. Every girl deserves to have a beautiful wedding, and since I’m not the person who you really wanted…I’ll try to make everything else perfect for you.”

I found myself hugging him back. “I love it…”

He pulled back at that and gave me a puzzled look. “Love what?”

“Your clothes. It really does make you look like royalty.”

He smiled. “Yes of course. You look like royalty too. Wait here.”

He walked out and came back in a few minutes holding a beautiful tiara ornated with blue gems. I smiled. It was really perfect. He put in on top of my head, and for a moment I thought it was real.

“Shall we go now?” he asked as he stood in front of me, his hands holding mine. I nodded. “Thank God, you’re finally smiling,” and then he gently kissed my forehead.

----------------------------------------------------

We walked into the crowd of people together, paying respect to the elders and close family. After a while I went to sit next to my family while Robin walked around with some of his friends. Lena was supposed to be here yet I couldn’t find her anywhere.

Mum and dad gave me a hug. Brenda kissed me on the cheek and smiled. “Welcome to our family hun,” Alexander said and he squeezed my hand for reassurance. I just nodded with a smile.

“Clare!!!!!!!!” I jumped as Lena ran up to me and gave me a tight hug. “I’m sorry I’m late. I made Gabriel pick me up and took a while to get ready.”

She was wearing a short knee length blue dress and her hair was put up in a beautiful bun. She was wearing the black sandals we bought together when we went shopping. “You look great,” I told her.

“You look even better.”

Gabriel held my hand and kissed it gently. “Is he being good to you?” he asked.

I laughed. “Very…I’m glad you guys are here,” and then hugged them both tightly causing Gabriel to protest.

“You’re not being proper. It’s your wedding so act more ladylike.”

I just smiled and then felt someone put a hand around my waist and pull me back. “Robin, what are you doing?” I asked. He really never lets me stay with my friends without bothering me.

“What are you doing hugging that guy? If you want to hug someone then I’m here.”

I sighed. “What do you have against Gabriel? He’s my best friend…more like my brother. Stop bothering me…I didn’t say anything when you hugged Maya!”

“Clare…she’s my cousin. I see her as a younger sister.”

“Well, I see Gabriel as my brother and he’s my best friend.”

“You can’t say that! It’s totally different…”

“No it’s not!”

“It…oh never mind…let’s go and sign the marriage papers…and you,” he looked at Gabriel, “Stay away from my wife. I’ll take care of her. Remember your promise.”

Gabriel smiled impishly. “I won’t if you don’t,” and with that he walked to join another crowd.

“What promise?” I asked. Robin stayed quiet for a moment…then held my hand and took me inside.

We signed the papers and finally went on with the party. I was so tired yet I had to be all smiles. I walked around with Lena for a while, to greet everyone. Robin was sitting with a group of guys who I hadn’t seen before and he seemed nervous for some reason.

At some point I was sitting on one of the chairs drinking what seemed like orange juice when a guy with dark hair and a beautiful smile came up to me. I hadn’t seen him before that’s for sure, but I do remember him sitting with Robin a while ago.

I noticed he had the same green eyes. Could they be cousins?

“Hey,” he said as he sat on the chair beside me. “I’m Ryan…it’s the first time we meet.”

I smiled wearily. “Well, I’m…”

“Mrs. Clarissa Hughes. I do know who you are. I was just interested in seeing you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Brenda. She seems to really love you like her own daughter.”

I gulped. Clarissa Hughes? Really?! I felt myself smile. “Then I would like to know who you really are. How are you related to this family?”

He smirked. “Is that important? Really, what makes you think I’m related to them?”

“Your eyes,” I blurted. “They look just like Robin’s.”

“Ryan, I need to talk to her right now,” Robin came in just then and grabbing my arm pulled me away. “You look like you could get a little sleep…” he said.

“A little? Well, I’m dead tired.”

He smiled. “We’re going home then. Mum said you need to get some rest before we leave tomorrow.”

“Leave where?”

“Honeymoon to Italy…”

Chapter 10

-          Graduation Day    -

Mum was back 2 days ago with my aunt. I had a cute little baby cousin, Benjamin. It was one of those days when I just hung out with my mum and didn’t think of anything else.

My wedding was going to be in 2 weeks and the preparations were already almost done. Mum had gotten me all kinds of stuff. Lots of jewelry and make up.

What surprised me most was the beautiful long white strapless dress that she got me for graduation. It was tight at the waist and all but it opened up a little as it became longer. She even got me sparkly white stilettos to match.

I wore the dress with a beautiful gold heart pendant. My aunt made my hair into big waves behind my back, and helped me put on light makeup. She made my eyes look bigger and prettier with just a touch of eyeliner and mascara. I put on light red lip gloss that tasted like cherries. I was tempted to just chew on my lip all day.

I did have a bad habit of chewing down on my lip when I was nervous anyway. When I was done I stood in front of the big mirror in my mother’s room and felt my lips turn up into a smile.

“You look beautiful Clare. Even more than that…don’t let those girls make you feel down. It’s all in the heart,” my aunt said as she smiled back at me.

My mother joined us after a while and looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe my cute little daughter has grown up to be such a beautiful lady. It’s all too soon…you graduating and getting married. I’m beginning to regret it…”

“Mum…It’s not like I’m disappearing or anything. I’ll be here.”

“You’re getting married,” she said.

“Come on, she needs to leave now. Someone’s out waiting for you, hun,” I spun around to see dad standing at the door with a smile on his face. “You look perfect.”

I hugged all three of them before leaving. I still have to study 3 more years and this ‘graduation party’ is just to congratulate the first years for passing. So it’s pretty much just for us first years. Parents are allowed to come a few hours later when everyone’s already there.

The whole plan is to get married 2 weeks later, take a break from all this for another 2 weeks then live like we always did. Except, this time Robin and I will be living together and everyone will know about our marriage.

Maya still bugs me about it, telling me almost every day that I’m going to have to go through a lot if I were to get married to Robin, but I’ve gotten used to it.

I walked outside and was welcomed by Robin’s warm arms around me. “Congrats for getting over this year safely,” he was trying to be funny but I just shook my head.

“You too, now let’s leave.”

He hesitated but let me go and I got into his car. He was wearing a black tux and his hair was combed back. He looked like a gentleman, a very beautiful one yet I could tell he wasn’t comfortable wearing it. I suppressed a laugh as he sighed.

“You too?”

“I’m sorry, but hey you look great.”

He smiled, but didn’t seem to agree with me. “And you look amazing.” He took my hand in his and slipped a shiny gold ring into my ring finger. “It’s ok to wear it now, right? I’ve been wanting to give it to you.”

I don’t know why but ever since the day of Maya’s birthday he’s been much nicer to me. As if he’d completely changed or something.

 
“Thank you,” was all I could say. I mean, it wasn’t like he was confessing his love to me.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------

One week later…

“Clare!! Get up and get ready. We still haven’t picked out your wedding dress. It’s the only thing left to do,” mum pulled the covers off me and nudged me to get up. “CLARE!!”

 

“Yes, yes mum. I’m up.”

“Robin’s going to pick you up in half an hour. Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast.”

I shook my head groggily and walked to the bathroom. Honestly, I felt sick and very sleepy. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and tied it up into a ponytail, and then I walked to my messed up closet.

Too many clothes, most of which I hadn’t even tried on yet. I could open a shop really. I grabbed a blue top and navy blue skinnies. I got into my new white flats, grabbed my phone and hurried to the kitchen. The smell of honey waffles filled my nostrils.

I grimaced. Usually I’d love eating them, but today I just felt sick. “I’m not hungry…”

Mum seemed to pick up on that and put a hand over my head. She frowned immediately. “Well, sorry to tell you Clare, but you have to eat whether you like it or not and then you are going to get some medicine to avoid getting sick,” she gave me a sharp look when I opened my mouth to say something, and that shut me up.

So I forced down the food and got my medicine and by then Robin was here. He sat with my mum while I went to wash my face and put on lip gloss.

“Where are your parents?” I heard mum ask him.

“They’re picking out dresses,” he said. For me, I’m guessing.

“And auntie…where is she mum?” I said as I walked in.

“She took Ben to shop for some clothes. She’ll catch up with us in a while. Shall we go now?” she asked. I sighed and nodded. If I could, I would have just slept throughout the day. I could already feel a headache creeping up.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to go today,” God, Robin would have saved me if not for my mum telling him that we had to go.

So we drove in Robin’s BMW to the bridal shop. When we got there my mum hurried to Brenda’s side while Robin and I stood awkwardly at the side. “Think it’s ok if we got them to leave? It will be embarrassing since I know what my mum will be doing,” I muttered.

I could feel Robin tense beside me, as if he hadn’t expected me to say that. “Well, I wouldn’t wanna see you getting tortured into a lot of dresses by my mum either.”

I smiled, and we both walked into the shop. Robin forced them to leave to the nearby coffee shop while we finished choosing a dress without their help. Apparently, they didn’t mind leaving us to ourselves.

We walked around the shop until the woman helping us chose a beautiful white sleeveless dress that had flowers ornated at the bottom. I liked it and although Robin protested on and on about how it wasn’t all that nice I decided to try it on.

He glared at the poor assistant for picking out this dress and I tried to suppress a laugh. “I’m wearing it…not you,” I said.

So, when I got it on and walked out to show it to Robin he wouldn’t look. “Come on, you’re not just here for nothing,” I sighed. He shrugged, but still wouldn’t look. “Help me choose. If you don’t like it I won’t take it, ok?”

He finally looked at me and then quickly turned away. I was disappointed for a while until he said I could take it. “You make it look pretty,” he muttered. I laughed. It was this simple to pick out a wedding dress without having our mothers getting me dresses after dresses to try on.

We got the dress and went to the coffee shop but they weren’t there. I was already tired as hell and I needed to go home to rest but of course when I called mum she told me to hang out with Robin until they’re ready to leave.

Where were they to begin with?

“I’ll take you home. You don’t have to stay,” Robin said. I shook my head. It would be rude to leave him here especially since he had stayed with me.

“Let’s get something to drink.”

We both sat in the car since my headache was worsening and I found myself falling asleep with the coffee in my hand. Robin took the coffee from me and pulled the seat into a sleeping position. I didn’t dare open my eyes as his cheek brushed mine.

It felt as if my temperature increased by another 10 degrees and I hoped he wouldn’t notice. He gently kissed my cheek and I could feel him staring at me with worry in his eyes. His warm hand held mine while his other hand ran through my hair until I slipped into oblivion…