“Bryle? What really is going on? Do we really have to get married? Was your sudden proposal not enough for them to be convinced about us?” I ask Bryle who is currently typing something in his phone.
We just arrive inside his room, and I have a lot of questions that he needs to answer. The principal agreed to give me a three days excuse because Bryle asked her to. She couldn’t even say no to him.
He sighs before turning to look at me, “I’m so sorry for dragging you into this mess, Alwin. But... I really think we should.”
His answer makes me gape in shock and wonder. “But why?” I ask in a soft tone.
I know I don’t really have the rights to question him because I’m only working for him but I wanna understand what he’s trying to do. I may have agreed to become his fake lover but I never expected us to come to this point. This is such a shock on my part.
“I wanna understand your point on this, Bryle. This is all too shocking for me,” I add.
He paces back and forth in front of me, “It’s dad again. He didn’t took my proposal on you well and he had gone ballistic when we arrived home. He was so angry at my decision, Alwin. And now that someone had leaked a video of us, he started to get more angrier. Nika’s family already found out about our current situation and they were so mad at dad,” he rambles while gesturing his hands here and there, “I know he has something up his sleeve right now for us so I’ve decided to officially marry you.”
“Isn’t this too much, Bryle?” I ask, “I think there’s no difference if you marry Nika,” I tell him my thoughts and he immediately stop pacing and looks at me, frowning.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean— you decided to make me your fake lover to runaway from a loveless marriage. If you marry me, you are still gonna end up having a loveless marriage, Bryle...” I try to explain but he just glares at me.
The last sentence I said feels like a punch in the heart to me. Knowing that he doesn’t feel any romantic feelings towards me and will never feel any romantic feelings towards me hurts so bad.
“I don’t understand, Alwin.”
“What’s there not to understand, Bryle?! If you’re going to marry me legally, we are gonna be bound as husbands! Marriage is sacred and it can only happen once in your life. I don’t wanna be tied in a loveless marriage, Bryle... Please understand me! All your sacrifices just to have your freedom will be gone to waste too. What’s the point of all this if you still have to marry someone else along the way?” I almost scream in frustration.
‘Please don’t make me say it, Bryle!’
“But you are not just someone else to me, Alwin...” His voice is soft and gentle, as if he’s trying to tell me something.
‘Please, stop giving me false hope!’
“Of course, I am not someone else to you anymore same as you’re not someone else to me anymore too. But I want to get married to someone who will love me, Bryle...” tears start pooling in my eyes and I immediately wipe it with the back of my hand. “The marriage may be real... but aside from that, everything is just an act! You don’t love—”
Suddenly, warm, soft, and wet touches my lips and my eyes go wide. Bryle is kissing me! His eyes are closed, his palms are cupping my cheeks gently, while his lips are attached to mine steadily.
I blink in shock, unable to move. Thousands of questions swarm my mind. I want to push him away from me but I don’t have the energy to do so. My heart is telling me to reciprocate the kiss but my brain tells me not to. It is so confusing that I just stand frozen in place until he finally pull away from me.
“I like you, Alwin,” he starts while caressing my cheeks gently, “I genuinely like you. This maybe is too sudden for you but so do I.”
“B-Bryle...” I trail off, stuttering in the process.
“Shhh... I know. I know this is too shocking for you but I really do like you, Alwin...”
“I-I don’t know what to say, Bryle. I’m so confused...”
I don’t want to tell him my true feelings towards him. Because just like what I’ve said before, this might be just a temporary happiness.
He nods his head in understanding, “It’s okay. I understand that you’re still confused. You don’t have to tell me anything yet. All I want is for you to know the truth,” he smiles at me lovingly, “Yes, I admit that the reason why I made you my fake lover is because I don’t have any romantic feelings towards Nika and I don’t want to marry her. But when I started to feel things towards you, I know to myself that I am okay to be wedded to you and be tied to you forever even if you don’t have any romantic feelings towards me. I know that I’m acting like a selfish bastard right now because I am not considering your stand on this but I think marrying the person I like is better than marrying her,” he kneels down in front of me and put his head down, “So, please... Marry me, Alwin...”
I hold his shoulders to make him stand up, “B-Bryle! Please, stand up! What are you doing?!” I panick but he won’t budge.
“No. Not until you agree to marry me. I promise you, Alwin, that when everything’s finally okay, I will let you go! I won’t force you to be with me for a very long time!” He says.
‘Why would you let me go if you like me, Bryle? Do you even really like me for real?’
“Fine! I will marry you! So please stand up!” I finally give in.
My heart beats so fast inside my chest. The realization of marrying Bryle is too overwhelming for me.
He stands up to his feet and face me. He smiles in delight before hugging me tightly. “Thank you so much, Alwin!”
I hesitantly wrap my arms around his waist to hug him back. After what feels like an eternity to me, he finally pulls back from me but his palms remain on my cheeks.
“B-Bryle...” I lowly call his name when I see that he’s slowly leaning his face towards me.
His face is getting closer and closer to me until there is only an inch space between us. His eyes travel from my lips, to my nose, and up to my eyes. We stare at each other for a while before his eyes travel down to my lips again. I don’t know what has gotten into me but I unconsciously lick my lips and it feels like I’m anticipating for him to kiss me.
I see how his adam’s apple bob up and down before he finally captures my lips into a passionate kiss. This time, our lips are in sync with each other. His right palm that is resting on my right cheek crawls to my nape while his other hand travels to my waist and brings me even more closer to him.
Our passionate kiss turns into a sloppy kiss. I immediately clutch his shoulders for support when I feel my legs start to buckle and turn weak. His hold on my waist tightens even more.
He licks my lips, seeking for an entrance inside my mouth and I unconsciously tilt my head to the side to deepen the kiss. When his tongue explores my mouth, it feels like an electricity jolts through my body. I let him lead the kiss because I’m turning weak every passing seconds.
“B-Bryle...” I moan out his name and he hums in response.
When I feel like I’m running out of air, I immediately pat his chest before pulling away from the kiss to gasp for air.
But he didn’t stop there though. My eyes go wide when I feel his lips on my neck. He is biting, sucking, and licking my neck and my earlobe.
“B-Bryle... Wha—ahh!” I suddenly let out a moan when he sucks something pleasurable on my neck and I turn crimson red at that.
Did I just moan?!
I hear him chuckle before pulling away and stare at me smugly. I embarrassedly turn to look away from him. ‘Oh my gosh! That was so embarrassing!’ I scream in my mind.
Suddenly, he holds my chin and make me look at him. I can’t take this anymore! I want to run away from here before something more than a kiss could happen.
“B-Bryle...” I stutter out his name.
“Hmm?” He hums in response.
“I-I... I have to go!” I immediately step back a little from him before bolting out of his room.
I can hear him calling out my name from a distance but I didn’t try to look back at him and just continue running until I’m finally out of his mansion.