Chapter 31: Chapter 31

“What time is it now?”

She was half-awake, listening to the depth of his voice. He had stayed with her for hours, while Hart was nowhere to be seen. She understood he was busy as he had spoken over the phone, but it made her rethink his promises.

There was a more important issue she kept in check. She had to tell him the truth of her decision of political marriage as soon as possible. But how would Hart react knowing his girlfriend would marry someone else? But how could she get it off her chest?

Jake repeated his question.

She picked up her cellphone. Apparently Jake’s cellphone had run out of juice, and it didn’t share the same charger with Myra’s cellphone, which was an older model. It didn’t surprise Myra that the screen showed no missed calls. Nor had Hart sent her a text.

Poor Hart. He must be busy, she lied to herself.

She saw him glance over her shoulder. She didn’t know that, but it relieved him that Myra had switched her couple wallpaper with Hart to that of a starry sky background instead. Myra didn’t want to dwell on what she didn’t know, and instead attempted to get him to leave.

The more he stayed, the more she would have felt more for the man. It wasn’t right; she reminded herself. She shouldn’t be thinking of having more with Jake.

She told herself, [Remember, you ended things with Jake months ago. Even if it was a mistake, you already moved on then. You can’t regret it just like that. There’s nothing known as a ‘regret pill’.]

[Man up, Myra. You need to protect your heart. You can’t fall for Jake.] She spoke to herself.

Another voice in her said, “If you really like Jake, you should be able to decide to be with him.”

Hearing her sigh, Jake gave her an instinctive hug. Though she couldn’t bring herself to look at him, the feeling in her heart tormented her. The kindled fire of love burned in her heart for Jake, yet the gratitude and responsibility she had to Hart for being in her life for this time was killing her softly from the inside.

“Jake, it’s late,” she whispered, trying her best to disengage him. He mumbled something inaudible that Myra couldn’t fathom. But she realised, if she turned around and their eyes met, she might go against her conscience again and fall deeper in the bottomless pit of love and desire for Jake.

Her heart longed for him too much, that she felt herself drifting further away from Hart. Jake, from the douche he was before, had changed so much. Was this love, or his duty as his father’s son, to inherit YX?

The more she thought about it, the more she feared. She was afraid of falling head over heels in love with him, after she had insisted on a political marriage to save her father’s businesses.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jake stated blankly. It hurt her deeper to feel him this way. She could tell it from his voice. He was masking his pain, but he was making himself appear strong. Much stronger than he normally was. For a second, she wished she could feel his lips on hers again, warming her mouth. She closed her eyes, visualising the sin.

She wanted Jake to touch her so badly. Even if she wasn’t willing to let him inside her, she wanted his fingers creeping under her bra, exciting her as he explored her female bits. That was the upper limit of what she would let him do to her. But she didn’t say anything or indicate her desire. She remained quiet, like a log.

“Why won’t you look at me, Myra?” His question struck her with a wave of hopelessness.

The answer was obvious to her. She didn’t want to.

“I’m tired, Jake. Will you please let me sleep?”

“I understand, Myra.” He relieved her of his grasp, then pulled himself off the bed. Something was making Myra repel him, but it wasn’t because she had no feelings for him. It had to be her intimacy with the other man, Hatta Baderan. This thought made him angry and jealous, but he employed the anger management technique and counted to ten.

Myra had her eyes closed. Hovering over her, he touched his lips to her sweet forehead. Many times when they slept together in Bali, he knew despite being fast asleep; she enjoyed his touches so much that she quivered in her sleep.

She wanted to be touched, and even now was no exception. But he decided, since she wanted a political marriage, he would respect her decision. There were way more chances in the future for him to make Myra fall for him officially this time. Once she did, he would never let her go. As long as there was a will, there was a way. He would defeat Hatta Baderan easily, but for now, he was adamant that Hart was hiding something.

That wasn’t a problem for the wealthy Yus. They had a private investigator that even Myra didn’t know of. Jake swore he would get hold of proof the Hatta guy was cheating. Money wasn’t an issue, the issue was how he would get Myra to believe his evidence. Myra was a stubborn girl and from experience, he remembered how she would insist on having something, even if it meant travelling hours to get her favourite ice cream.

………………………………………………………………..

When she finally opened her eyes, Jake was gone, as she had wished. So, it was morning and after taking her vitals and having her meal, they would discharge her from the hospital. But who was going to pick her up?

“Your blood pressure is normal, Miss.”

A solemn-looking nurse told her, as she unstrapped Myra from the machine moments later. Myra just uttered her thanks as the nurse finished recording her numbers with a sturdy-looking clipboard.

“After breakfast, you will be free to leave. Your boyfriend is waiting for you in the lobby downstairs.”

Uh, boyfriend? Who did she mean? But even if she asked, would the nurse be able to tell the difference? Both Hart and Jake were tall and slim, having a workout body. In addition, both were fair and had Asian heritage. There was no way to differentiate them from the eyes of the nurse!

“Okay,” she just answered. Another nurse entered the room to hand her their patient lunch. As with the past day, they would ask if she would prefer chicken or fish. This time, she chose healthy chicken breasts. After her meal, she entered the bathroom and disrobed slowly, peeling off her hospital gown and dressed in the clothes Jake had left for her.

He was thoughtful, having chosen a loose summer dress for her. She watched her curves in the bathroom mirror, pondering if she did not own a figure that many men expected for themselves, would she have so much male attention? Starting from Lionel to the different ethnic groups of her male classmates, they probably all wanted the same thing from her. And that was why she would avoid them at all costs.

She blushed as she thought of Jake. Jake, who had accidentally seen her almost fully naked as a teenager, when she had forgotten to lock the door of her bedroom. She was embarrassed about her blunder for over three weeks and she was too shy to speak to him. She was about fourteen, and her mounds were just showing. Jake said nothing about that, and anyway, she had her lace panties on.

It was only in Bali that he had witnessed her adult body and almost torn her apart when he took her for the first time. Even thinking about it made her feel so warm that she blushed even harder. Then, a tingling feeling in her globes irritated her for a second.

She resolved she shouldn’t keep the man waiting, and put on her flats, leaving the room. But as she entered the lobby, the sight of a man in a dark polo shirt and white jeans reading at the cafe simply rendered her speechless. She gasped so hard, as if her breath was about to leave her body. Behind him, a group of teenage girls ogled at him, chattering endlessly that she feared he was going to lose his temper at them.

Man, he was sexy!

But as she strode towards him, another sight on her right prompted her to pause dead in her tracks.