Chapter 28 Looking Forward
Jumping back in fear at the raised tone, I was immobilised, staring at him in disbelief.
“V-Vince…?”
Calling him gently to drag him out of his fury. He realized his actions and relaxed immediately.
“Sorry.. I- I didn’t mean to yell but…”
His hands trembled slightly, curling it in a powerless fist, panting softly, unsure to touch me because he scared me unintentionally.
“Can’t you see I am standing right here for you?” He questioned painfully.
Yet I could witness the distress gleaming, the anger of my senseless statement stayed.
“Why are you still using the term ‘who will’, when ‘I’ am here? Won’t I protect you?” He whispered hopelessly.
“Since the day of your marriage with Ken to till today, I am standing in your support but sadly you just don’t see me,”
Not that I didn’t trust him, but I had my restrictions, my apprehension that were chaining me back to darkness.
Biting my bottom lip nervously, I looked down sadly, whispering back.
“Because I am afraid to trust again… I don’t want my heart to shatter, I can’t carry another regret, Vince… I am scared!”
“Alyssa,”
Calling me in his most affectionate tone, his hand cupping my face, tilting my head up to greet his resolved gaze.
“Listen very carefully, Okay?”
“Okay,”
“I married to save you from your miserable fate, to shelter you from all the pain, and will fulfill all my obligations, to save you is my task,”
He tried to explain the situation as sweetly as possible in order to discard my fear and hold faith in him.
Unknowingly, my one hand grasped his shirt for support, listening with all my attention.
Without a warning, his arms encased me in a warm, mellow hug.
“I don’t care about love or anything, I just want my stolen peace. And only saving ‘you’ can provide me that,”
My beat blazed in his rhythm. Stunned, I didn’t know how to react.
His thumb rubbed circles on my shoulder, snuggling further to dispel my fright.
I could feel the goosebumps due to his hot breath lingering on my neck, pouring all his efforts into soothing my strain.
And to my surprise, it worked.
My mind went blank, my worries faded, I no longer knew what happened as I stood like a statue, empty of thoughts and rested all my weight against him.
“In that sense, trust me a little, please? That not for you but I will do everything for myself,”
To his pleading, I gave up.
Shutting my eyes, to trust him for the final time, my body reacted on its own, flashing the recent event in my mind as I hugged him back, locking my arms around him.
“Okay… Vince,”
We remained like this for the next few seconds before comprehending our positions and pulling away awkwardly.
Scratching the back of my neck, I could feel my cheeks heating with a suppressed smile, finding an eerie comfort I lost hopes of receiving.
“Umm..” Taking a pause, I averted my gaze shyly.
“There is some ice-cream in the fridge? Do you… want some?”
“Sure, umm, I will freshen up first,”
“Me too,”
Exchanging a nod, we both went to our respective rooms, freshened up.
Taking a few deep breaths to soothe my mind but I could barely contain the butterflies received when he stood before me like a shield.
I grabbed the ice-cream bucket and two spoons, came out and saw him sitting on the stairs, using his phone nonchalantly.
Sitting beside him, I smirked faintly, “Here, cool your head down. You are fuming,”
“Thanks, I needed that,” He chuckled faintly, taking a spoonful of the ice-cream.
The size of his bite made my teeth tingle, how could he eat it without getting his teeth or mind frozen? I blinked but shaking my head, I took a small bite.
Sharing a comfortable silence, temporarily discarding the piercing statements we heard, munching on the ice-cream to cool down our minds.
We were sitting in silence until his phone rang and it was his mother, probably to confirm whether she heard right or not.
“Your Mama is calling,’’
Exhaling, he pinched the bridge of his nose, making a disquiet face.
“I am already infuriated, I don’t have the energy to deal with anyone. Let them spread the news. We will deal with it tomorrow,”
Honestly, I thought he would express regret, worry on what to tell his mother as he adored her too much but all he displayed was annoyance.
‘Did he seriously have no care for the consequences?’ I thought and my mind recalled those statements he made during the fight.
“Um… Listen, Vince,”
“Hmm?” He put his phone back, turning his attention to me.
Biting my lip anxiously, I trailed off, “About the things you said before everyone…”
Chuckling nervously, he waved his hand to shrug it off, “Oh, I just went with the flow and spouted whatever came to my mind.”
“You went too far,” I commented.
“So? Let them add a few more things to it as well and spread it like rapid fire.”
“Are you seriously fine with the drama that was about to be created?” I frowned, taken aback at his uncaring demeanor.
For a moment, it felt like he was looking forward to this.
Flashing a dubious smile, he ran his finger through his locks and began to say sheepishly, looking undeniably adorable.
“I am being honest… life had been too empty for me, monotone, nothing else. But since the moment I saw Ken cheating, things had become a beautiful mess,”
Before I could react, he gave my head a pat and rose from the stairs, brightening my gaze with his assurance and announced before walking away.
“And I am looking forward to deal with more of it,”