The Day He Matured

Another day passed like every other day, I was working around the large villa alone.

I miss Brian more and more every day. Sometimes, thinking about the kiss he gave me every morning, I feel the sweetness spreading in my mouth even though I don’t eat candy.

It’s been almost a week since Richard confessed his feelings for me, so today, I decided to tell him my feelings so that he won’t waste time on me anymore.

Honestly, if Brian and I don’t become a couple, I still can’t accept Richard because my love for him has drifted to the end of the sky.

Time did not erase my image in his heart, but it made me forget the first unrequited love in my life.

If we had confessed, dated, picked up, and used to have sweet memories together, even if it was very few, I would not have forgotten so easily.

After all, the memory is just the times when I stood looking at him from afar with admiring eyes.

“I’m listening, Bella.” A warm male voice came from the other side of the phone.

“Richard. I called to answer your request that day.” I mustered up all my courage and spoke up.

“You keep talking.” His voice was low, with a hint of sadness.

“I have thought about it carefully, Richard. I cannot accept you.”

“You’ve… fallen in love with someone else, right?”

I did not expect Richard to ask me like that. I bit my lip for a long time and then confirmed that I had fallen in love with someone else.

However, when Richard asked who the man was, I refused to say his name, only saying that he was a warm-hearted guy, giving me a sense of security.

In his somewhat hesitant question, I knew he had a hard time when he decided to dig into my private life.

“I’m sorry, Richard.”

“It’s not your fault. Can we still be friends?” His voice is getting smaller.

“Of course.”

The surrounding space fell silent and I could imagine the space on Richard’s side was also like that.

After a while, he smiled lightly and asked me how I decided to pursue my passion.

Even though he said he wanted me to study fashion design as part of his future business plan, unrelated to personal feelings, how could I agree?

Although I accept to keep a friendship relationship, I should still leave a certain distance between me and him.

Brian wouldn’t be happy if he knew about this, right? He has enough financial resources to help me fulfill my dream and even more.

Moreover, his attitude in relation to Hellen was so clear, I could not be vague, although he did not forbid me from keeping a friendship with Richard.

“I… I… I haven’t thought about it at the moment. Richard, please find another person to cooperate, don’t wait for me.”

“I got it. I keep working, goodbye.”

Richard’s sigh ended the unhappy call. I know I hurt him, but I also understand that this was the right decision.

I hope that time will help him forget his feelings for me and open his heart to receive someone who truly loves him.

After finishing the work, I pulled out my thick notebook and started drawing.

I love fashion design so much, I just need to close my face and I can see the models striding down the catwalk, wearing brand new clothes on them.

And then, I’ll memorize them and draw them on paper. I just draw, never make them into real clothes.

At some point, I will definitely cut and sew my designs and introduce them to fashionistas.

When the clock chimed to signal that it was five o’clock in the afternoon, my heart beat wildly, waiting for the moment when Brian returned.

Strangely, before, I didn’t want to face him, and I prayed for him to have a busy work schedule.

However, since I accepted to love him, I did not want to leave him at all. I wish he moved his office into this house so I could run over there every now and then and watch him.

I must have been madly in love. What about him? Is his mood as chaotic as mine?

Today, he came home a few minutes before his mother. Alina was just driving through the gate when she rolled down the windshield and handed me a black plastic bag.

“Crab, steam them. I know you like crabs, so I bought them, these crabs are so fresh.”

I nodded and took the crab bag and ran into the kitchen. Turns out, she even noticed my favorite food. If she knew that me and her son were dating, would her feelings for me be different?

Perhaps she loved me the way a kind mistress sympathizes with her employees. Her statement that day proved her point clearly.

The meal with more crabs should last longer than usual. In front of Mrs. Alina, Brian did not peel the crab for me, he let me do it myself. He just ate one crab and then got up and went back to his study to work.

Honestly, this kind of stealthy love makes me very tired, but, I can’t do anything else. I’m so scared, I’m afraid that I will become the cause of his and his mother’s discord.

After cleaning things up, I returned to my room, curled up in a blanket. Today, Brian said he only worked until eight o’clock, so he didn’t need to eat late at night.

Tossing and turning for a while, I fell asleep. However, the sound of a text message ruined all my efforts.

On the phone screen, his words of reproach were clearly displayed, he blamed me for not going to the study room with him.

I really want to go up there, but I’m afraid to bother him. If he was talking while working, it would not be until late at night that he would finish his work.

I wanted him to have more time to rest, but it seems his childish nature is on the rise and he thinks I’m ignoring him.

And then, while I was composing a text to reply to him, an incoming call interrupted everything.

“Have you slept yet?”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“I was about to sleep when you woke me up.” I replied.

“I thought you would come up with me.”

“Have you returned to your room yet?”

“Just entered the room.”

“Brian, suddenly I crave fried fish balls and peach tea. Would you climb the wall to go out and eat with me?”

“Are you asking a gentleman like me to climb the wall? Sleep away.”

The sound of “beep, beep” made me feel extremely disappointed. This guy really isn’t gallant at all. Doesn’t he know how to say some comforting words to his girlfriend?

At least he should say, “Honey, it’s getting dark, I’ll buy it for you tomorrow” or, “Honey, I’m taking you out to eat this weekend.” At least he should say that if he doesn’t want to climb the wall.

Brian’s earlier statement reminded me of what his mother used to say. Yes, he is different from me, his face is different from mine.

He is a rich gentleman, how can he integrate into the life of an ordinary person like me? How can he climb the wall to go with me to buy snacks?

He has to go through the big door and the red carpet has to be spread under his feet to fit. Maybe I was wrong when I tried to enter this love so disparate. Maybe after just a few days, he realized we were so different.

Throwing the phone aside, I pulled the blanket over my head, sobbing. Okay, tomorrow I will break up with him, let him go to someone more suitable.

I will suffer alone, will cry alone. I will atone for my vain daydreaming.

Why did I fall in love with that man?

After more than half an hour had passed, suddenly there was a soft knock on the door. I got out of bed, trudged to the door, and opened it.

I thought Mrs. Alina needed me to do something, but what caught my eye was Brian’s cheerful face.

He held up the box of fried fish balls and two cups of peach tea in front of me and then passed me, crept into the room, and sat down on the floor.

“Did you buy them?” I sat down across from him and asked.

“As you see. Edible, not plastic.” He said as he opened the lid of the box and poured the chili sauce into a small bowl.

In the faint yellow light from the desk lamp, I saw his face was covered with sweat and his arm had a fresh scratch on it.

I deeply regret because I had bad thoughts about him. Tears fell from my eyes, drenching the back of my hand.

“You climbed the wall, didn’t you? Your hand is already injured.”

“Yes, I turned off the burglar alarm and climbed out. I was afraid that if I went to the main gate, my mother would see me. Because I promised you, I kept it a secret. This wound is small, it will heal in a few days, don’t cry anymore.” He reached out his hand and wiped my face dry, his tone very pampering me.

Then, like in the park, Brian took each skewer of fish balls, dipped them in chili sauce, and then fed me.

I wanted to say sorry, but I didn’t have the courage, so I had to hide the fact that I suspected him.

He had already entered my world, ready to be humbled, ready to throw away his image just to get what I wanted.

If I wasn’t eating the fried fishballs, I would have leaned over, cupped his face, and kissed him deeply.

“Is it delicious?” He wiped the chili sauce on my lips and asked.

“If I say it’s not delicious, you won’t buy it for me anymore, right?” I didn’t answer him but slyly asked.

“I still buy it, because I know you like it. In the past, I used to buy food for you, but I don’t give it to you. I buy food for my mother, buy a lot, my mother can’t eat it all, she will give you half.”

This guy made me cry again. I know I have chosen the right person to love.

No matter how long this love affair lasts, I will not regret it. At least when he loved me, he loved me with all his heart.