Chapter Thirty-two

"Isn't the view beautiful?" Gwen hugged Mihai's arm and slanted her head a little so she could meet his gaze.

"Yes. You like what you see?" He looked down at her and she nodded excitedly as they walked side by side in the park with an ice cream cone in her free hand. "Thanks to me for pulling you out of the house."

"Yeah, thanks for bringing me out in my PJs." Gwen smiled sarcastically, pausing in her tracks to show him the oversized Mickey mouse pajama shirt she was clothed in.

"Sorry." He looked elsewhere, refraining from laughing as he swallowed the laughter to drown in his belly. "You still look cute and at least, I bought you what I promised."

"You did." Gwen snuggled closer to him, and they continued walking past nice shrubs. "You didn't even give me shoes."

Gwen glanced down at her naked feet and curled the grass under her toes, meandering her gaze back to his sorry face.

"I'm sorry, but you kind of look homeless, look at your hair." He laughed, ruffling her hair and making the present condition of it worse than the initial one.

"Stop it!" Gwen stomped her feet on the floor and narrowed her eyes into crinkled slits as she slapped his hands away from her hair. "It's not funny."

"Sorry." He muttered, averting his gaze to her toes, and suddenly, he pushed his head back and a laugh roared out from the pit of his stomach with wrinkles that gathered on both sides of his eyes, getting in Gwen's nerves.

"This is all your fault..." She whined, feeling insecure as the passers-by glanced at her feet now and then. "You brought me here so I could be ridiculed."

"No, but-" he couldn't form a complete sentence when all he did was laugh.

Instantly, Gwen pursed her lips then swung her hand back and before Mihai could say jack, she launched the half-eaten ice cream cone at him. Mihai ducked, knitting his brows into a frown as he slowly rose, craning his neck to glance over his shoulder at the ice cream on the floor.

"You ungrateful little troll!" Mihai charged at her and grabbed her body off the ground. She screamed enthusiastically as she left paper blows on his shoulders and in no time, they were on the floor with him above her. "You know you owe me something, right?"

His luscious tone made Gwen's heart skip a beat as she flashed him a foxy smile, blinking twice, and attempting to bite his nose.

"What do I owe you?" She curved the corner of her mouth and held her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"I haven't gotten my milk yet." He whispered, his breath fanning her face as he leaned dangerously close to her lips.

"You, silly!" She snickered, feeling as if Mihai could read her soul from how intensely he peered his gaze into her eyes. "Get off me!"

She punched her way out of his clutches, and he stretched, flexing his muscles playfully with a ridiculous smile that tugged the corners of his lips into a smug grin. They got to their feet and continued their walk around the park.

From afar, Gwen caught sight of a blond toddler, taking baby steps away from her young parents. She increased her pace with light giggles when her mother rose to get her–Gwen melted at the sight of this and smiled heartily. If there was a sound she loved so much apart from the ATM counting money, it was a baby's laughter.

"Mihai?" Gwen called his attention, and he snaked his arm around her shoulder with an inquisitive look. "Look at that kid, she's so adorable."

Mihai hummed in response, slowly strolling beside Gwen.

"Do you want to have kids someday?" Gwen asked and Mihai shrugged, rescinding his hand from around her shoulder and shoving it into his pocket. "When we're married, we could have little rascals of our own running around the house, don't you think?"

Mihai scratched the back of his neck as he visibly swallowed hard, not answering her question.

Gwen stole a glance at his face before returning it to the kid and she broadened her smile.

"How many kids would you like to have?" Gwen asked and Mihai choked on his saliva.

He held a fist to his lips and coughed, caressing his chest as he harnessed a foreign feeling that slowly spread into his system like a slow poison.

"Easy," she rubbed on his back, and they strolled farther into the garden. "You know, I've always wanted to get hitched at the age of twenty-three."

Gwen spider-webbed their fingers and waved the ring finger of her free hand in his face, "A ring would be so good on my engagement finger."

Mihai stylishly pulled his hand from her warm fingers, and she knitted her brows into a deep frown when she noticed what he was doing.

"Why are you pulling away from me?" Gwen halted, not understanding what was going on. "You don't like kids?"

Mihai shrugged, scratching at his beard and twisting a strand around his finger as horizontal streaks of uncertainty lined themselves upon his forehead.

"It's not that," he said, and Gwen blinked, listening attentively to him as he tried to form the right words. "This topic makes my skin crawl."

"How?" Gwen asked softly, never taking her eyes off him.

"I don't like the idea of marriage... I want kids for sure, but this whole engagement thing-" he paused to size her up then shook his head, staving off her gaze. "-is cringe-worthy."

Gwen gulped, narrowing her eyes at him as she couldn't understand what he was saying.

"What?" She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and the sides of her lips tugged into a smile that was soon turned into a light giggle, amounting to a loud laugh. All of a sudden, she froze and swallowed a big ball of saliva when Mihai didn't return any of her laughter with his. "Are you joking?"

Mihai shook his head and she inched closer to him, wrapping his arm with both her hands as she flashed the puppy dog eyes at him, "Why, marriage is beautiful..."

"Gwen stop," he sounded a little rigid when he moved out of her hold, starting at the grass beneath their feet. "Don't you think you're a little clingy?"

Wendy felt all the air leave her lungs at the question and she held her chest, caressing her heart.

"I'm clingy and marriage is cringe-worthy?" Gwen inquired, wrinkling her face at the bitter taste of the words she just repeated in a question-like manner. "What are you saying?" She giggled, her shoulders quivering as she continued, "You're not being comprehensive right now. Are you stressed?"

She attempted to hold him again, but he moved away with his eyes never selling him of whatever emotion he was feeling.

"You see." He raised his hands in mock surrender. "You're clingy, always touching me and wanting to be touched. Are you some cat?"

Her jaw slackened, and her stomach felt terrible. Gwen's palm pressed against her stomach, and tears welled up in her eyes. She took a step back, her fingers curled around each other and pressed against her chest as she blinked rapidly at him.

"Cat, clingy?" Gwen muttered, his last sentence kept her fear at bay–fear that he was one day going to leave because of her overly soft nature. She was overdoing it again; she loved a man more than he loved her again. She swallowed hard, trying to decipher what was going on by staring straight into his eyes, searching for answers, and got none... His game of stoicism was good as his face held no emotions.

"Mihai, what is wrong with you?" She managed to say amidst the piercing feeling in her heart.

"Nothing, Gwen. Nothing." He sternly replied and she gasped an alien feeling into her system as her name sounded weird in his mouth.

"You said I'm clingy, I say creepy things and now you call me by my full name?" Gwen asked, the pace of her breathing increased as her heart slowly pumped anger into her veins. "Really?!"

"Woah! Where did that come from, when did I say you were creepy?" Mihai finally let an emotion escape–confusion, not what she was looking for.

"Saying that marriage is cringe-worthy, damn it!" She snapped her fingers, refraining from having an outburst. "What exactly do you men want from me?"

"Gwen, calm down." Mihai tried to cup her shoulders, but she pushed his hands away.

"Don't touch me, I'm some cat!" She air-quoted the cat and set her lips in a grim line. "I'm leaving and do not follow me." She spun, walking away from him.

"Gwe—"

"Don't call me that!" She yelled from over her shoulder with her palms balled into fists.

"What do women want?!" Mihai yelled with frustration, laced in his voice but Gwen was too upset to give a reply.

Gwen boarded a taxi and headed straight to Armani's, knowing she'd be dead meat if she tried to go home all by herself. While seated in the backseat, Gwen stroked her chin, wondering how Mihai could go out in the evenings without getting killed or anything. Who was he?

Your dark lord.

Her inner woman replied, and she bit her tongue, refraining from uttering the first three curse words that rang in her head. How could he have said she was too clingy?

"Ma'am, we're here." The taxi driver woke her from her trance, and she pursed her lips, realizing she didn't have any cash on her, and she face-palmed, wondering if she never paid attention to her late mother's teachings which says, "No matter who you're going on a date with, always take some cash with you just in case."

Gwen picked up her phone and dialed Armani's line. She locked gazes with the driver from the rearview mirror and chanced a sorry smile at him before asking him to be patient, while she gets the cash. The moment she took the call on the second ring, Gwen said, "Hello?"

"Hi." Armani didn't sound like her cheerful self, but Gwen ignored it.

"I need you to bring some cash, I'm in front of your house. Hurry, the taxi is waiting." Gwen explained and hung up once Armani accepted. Wendy focused her gaze on the door, waiting for it to creak open as the street light flashed on it.

Suddenly, Armani strode out of the building, hugging herself in a spaghetti hand dress that was only below her butt. Marni rubbed her arms in a bid to keep them warm and Gwen drank in the glow of her caramel skin, she never seized to admire her skin color whenever she saw her.

"Hey," Armani muttered, paying the driver and getting Gwen out of the car. "Are you okay?"

Gwen shook her head profusely as she made gestures while explaining what happened.

"Since marriage makes him cringe then why the hell is he dating me?" Gwen's nose flared as she trailed behind Armani, wondering why there was something off about her friend.

"Maybe he needs more time. You should talk to him instead of just reacting..." Armani responded, climbing up the stairs, while Gwen's eyes were glued to Marni's round buttocks as she studied the pattern in which her cheeks moved, clapping with each step she took.

"Some time?!" Gwen yanked at her hair but not hard enough to pluck it out of her scalp. "My mother told me not to stick to a man that doesn't see a future with me."

Marni sighed, holding her door open as she waited for Gwen to walk in. Gwen glanced at Marni's face, noticing wrinkles of tiredness, looming over bloodshot eyes that dragged the string of concern, which was hung behind her endless rants, but she was too enraged at Mihai to change the topic.

"You love him right?" Armani shut the door and sat on the couch, looking up at a nodding Gwen. "Then talk to him instead of making a mountain out of a molehill."

"True, but he shouldn't hurt me," Gwen's voice broke as she rested on the couch and held her head. "I'm fragile like a Faberge."

"I know, that's why I-I-" Armani had a familiar shake in her voice as she stammered then palmed her mouth. "Gwen he broke up with me."

Armani's lips trembled and tears welled up in her eyes as she crawled to the ground and laid in a fetal position.