Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Have I ever burned with jealousy this deep? No, not even Selena. Maybe because at that moment I knew I was the only one in her heart. But it's a completely different story with Mabel. She made me feel like I was on a rollercoaster. When I said that, I meant it, because my feelings were tossed around by her.

I didn't mind before until I heard Ashton say that. 'Don't forget tomorrow night', what does he mean by saying that? It kept bothering me. What are they going to do tomorrow night? I knew Ashton deliberately said that in front of me, so why am I still carried away by his influence? I shook my head internally to shake those thoughts off.

I needed my own time. Seeing Mabel near Ashton almost made me lose control. If I didn't get out of there quickly, I didn't know what would have happened without my fist flying into his face.

I tried to stay calm by taking a deep breath and stuffing my hands into my pants pockets. Daniel came over to me, but he didn't say a word. He just stood next to me, looking straight ahead.

"I'm no good at relationships, but I'm not blind to not be able to see the jealousy in your eyes."

I did not deny that I was jealous, so I just kept quiet. "That bad?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You've never acted like that before. You were always calm even if something bothered you," Daniel said with a wink that made me frown. "And you let Ashton manage to irritate you,"

"Shit, right." I rubbed my chin realizing that.

"You and your grandfather's plan won't work if you're this weak," Daniel lightly smacked my chest.

"Definitely not, he refused to cooperate with me." We looked back and found Rainy standing behind us.

"Over my dead body," I replied bitterly. "Remember, I still hold on to your weakness, Rainy. Once you touch Mabel's skin, you will know the consequences." I left Rainy before I forgot that she's a woman.

Later that day, we continued our first trip to Kuta Beach for sightseeing. I purposely avoided Mabel, even though I knew her eyes would steal glances at me at every turn. She made no attempt to talk to me, other than to stay with Miranda. God, I wanted her to do that.

"Look at that blonde over there," Daniel teased me making me want to smack him in the head. His brain was only filled with women. But I accidentally followed the direction he pointed at, it was a blonde woman doing tanning. "She's a hottie, isn't she?"

The woman let her long hair loose in the sun. Somehow her face turned into Mabel's. It made me shake my head immediately to wake me up from my daydream. I meant they both had blonde hair, maybe that made my vision a bit mixed up.

I stood up leaving Daniel. Being with him made me even more restless. He kept pushing me to approach some of the women, in order to see how Mabel would respond. Hell no, I wouldn't do that.

I moved to another folding beach chair closer to the sea with direct sunlight. It was better and quieter. After all, my body deserved to sunbathe and relax a bit after the last few days a lot of things had gotten under my skin.

I closed my eyes behind my sunglasses. The sound of the sea and the chirping of birds was exactly what I needed. Until a woman's voice ruined it all because my body made its natural response. I was hypnotized her voice, as my eyes immediately searched for her figure. Mabel stood with her hands on her waist. She was wearing a red bikini with a beach sarong wrapped around her waist.

Mabel then laughed freely at what Miranda had told her. She could go from being bossy to being so cute. Beyond words, I thought.

I was about to put my glasses back on just as Mabel's eyes fell on me, catching me staring at her. Oh crap. But then she just looked away from me. It made my jaw clench. How can I resist her when she's wearing a nice red bikini and red lipstick? I couldn't even find the right word to describe her.

"Finally found you!" Unfortunately the folding beach chair next to me was empty, so Daniel quickly leaned against it. "Let me guess, you're looking at the blonde woman, right?"

"Can we drop the conversation about blonde women already?" I started to lose my mind while talking to Daniel. "And why are you following me? I want to be alone,"

"Okay then, I'll talk about the burgundy haired woman now." said Daniel, staring blankly at the direction where Mabel and Miranda had been standing. I followed his gaze and stopped at Miranda.

"What's with her being Lucas' close friend now?" I emphasized my words.

"It doesn't matter now. I heard Lucas will marry Elena soon," Daniel shrugged his shoulders.

I smirked afterwards. "Yeah, and you in a tux would be nice. I can't wait for their wedding day,"

"Remind me to wear that on your wedding day too,"

Why did I choose Daniel as my close friend? I had to keep reminding myself of that.

"Hey, Adrian. Want to go surfing?" I looked up and found Ashton standing in front of me. I was sure he felt victorious after successfully making me piss earlier. And now he's thinking of doing something else?

"If the waves are big enough, I'll go surfing."

"Well then," Ashton smiled and left the place. That bastard!

"Well then," Daniel repeated scornfully at Ashton's tone. He turned his eyes away from me then his expression stiffened with several swears escaping from his mouth. "Look!"

I turned around and found Mabel talking to Ashton. It seemed that he was deliberately inviting a fight with me. I got up from where I was and gave Daniel a short smile. "Watch me,"

Mabel still didn't notice I was taking a step towards her. All the urges I had been holding back from my body to reach for her, finally I let go. I must have her in my arms.

I cleared my throat on purpose, and their attention was already on me. "Hi everybody,"

Ashton was clearly trying to show he wasn't upset about my interruption.

"I want to take Mabel with me, can I do that?"

"She's all yours," Miranda smiled as she squeezed Mabel's hand.

I took Mabel's hand gently, bringing her closer to me. She gasped, but then just let me hold her hand. I could see how Ashton's face turned sour. I smirked at him then at Daniel who already had the same grin on his face.

I led Mabel away from them, from the crowd. It was just me and her and our silence. I knew she might feel uncomfortable after what I did, but I needed to straighten out my feelings for her.

"I'm sorry." Letting go of my hand and stopping walking, Mabel sighed. I stopped and turned to her. We stopped right at the edge of the hill which gave a direct view of the beach. "I believe I did something wrong to you without realizing it, so I apologize." She sighed once more, just looking back at me.

I approached her and lifted her chin with my index finger so that our faces were close to each other. "It was my fault, Mabel. What happened wasn't your fault,"

"What do you mean?" Mabel whispered, almost inaudibly.

I took her hand and pressed it against my chest. "Can you feel how my heart is going crazy right now?" I leaned my forehead against hers so I could feel her breath. "This only happens when you're near me, in my arms. I didn't understand why, but over time I realized why. It scared me. I was afraid of falling after what happened to my previous relationship. So I kept putting boundaries between you and me, but no matter how hard I tried, you were always able to break through and shattered those boundaries to pieces. You brought me to this point, where I realized that the heart wants what it wants."

Mabel pressed her lips then wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'm sorry if all this time I kept ignoring your feelings for me," I continued. "You don't deserve it,"

"What exactly are you trying to say, Adrian?" Mabel asked between our breaths.

"I want this. Us,"

"What?" Mabel asked in a quizzical tone.

I gulped nervously, and then proceeded to tell her what I really meant. "I want us not because we're getting married soon, but because I really want this. I want you to be with me,"

"We're together, aren't we?" Mabel asked in a low voice, but I knew there was a meaning behind her question. She wanted me to tell her what I really wanted to say besides that. That prompted me to speak up.

"I like you, Mabel. I'm serious about how I feel. In fact, I think it's more than like."

I could see the smile Mabel was trying to hide behind her blank expression.

"I'm in love with you, Mabel."

Mabel's mouth opened as her feet took a step back from me. I couldn't read her expression, and it scared me. Does she not have the same feelings as me anymore? Does she still love Ashton? For God's sake, that wasn't the time to be overthinking.

All I know was that a moment later Mabel's eyes filled with tears. I quickly grabbed her, thinking I had hurt her. But really? My declaration of love hurt her?

"Mabel," I whispered against her hair as I hugged her. But she just sobbed into my chest. The wind enveloped us and made me have other thoughts. I picked her up and took her to the car. Her body could shiver if she only wore a bikini, so I got her a sweater and put it on her.

"Thanks," Mabel muttered, her voice so muted I hardly heard her reply. She looked petite in that oversized milky pink sweater. I let her sit in the car while waiting for the others, but it seemed the others were not going back to the villa yet. So I decided to go back first.

I didn't say anything while I was alone in the car with Mabel. I thought she needed some time to think and process my sudden declaration of love.

"Adrian, can we pull over?"

I didn't answer her, but just pulled over when I found the right place. I sighed after I turned off the car engine. I hadn't had time to look at her when she suddenly cupped my face and brought her lips to mine. I greeted it enthusiastically by kissing her back.

After our brief kiss, we laughed at each other. I felt calm seeing Mabel smiled sweetly. "I really didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with what I said. I just- just wanted you to know,"

Mabel nodded and smiled. "I know, Adrian. I was just surprised you said that. I never imagined this day would come. I didn't even know if you could fall in love again after Selena or not,"

Normally when someone mentioned Selena, it would sound painful to me, but not anymore now. Her name just made me smile. Thanks to her for giving me love and affection and introducing me to the meaning of love.

"Apart from that, you haven't given your answer yet, Mabel."

"You want to know the answer?" Mabel smiled broadly, came close to my ear and whispered. "I still feel the same for you, Adrian. I love you,"

I couldn't hide how her simple words made me happy. I hugged her tightly and kissed her head. "Thank you for giving me a chance," I honestly didn't want to spoil our precious moment, but I couldn't help, but ask. "Ummm, Mabel? May I know what Ashton meant by saying don't forget for tomorrow night?"