“Belle, wake up. Look what's here.” Emily's hoarse voice wakes me up from my deep slumber. Sitting up in my bed, crossing my legs I stretch my arms and stifle a yawn.
“What happened?” I ask, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. She approaches me, a big bouquet of delicate red rose flowers, adorning her arms. “It was laying down outside of our room,” she informs. “For Belle: it is written on this bouquet.” She renders me that bouquet. My eyes gawk at the flowers carefully. I am a little surprised to hear this. No one has sent me flowers before today. Many guys proposed to me till date but no one ever sent flowers. Who did it today? Is it Aiden? “It must be Aiden.” I flash a wide grin to Emily. “We couldn't go on a date. Maybe that's why he sent these flowers to console me. I should call him.” “Okay,” she says and begins to roll her blanket. I pick up my phone; my mind reeling with Aiden's thoughts as I dial his number. He's such a great boyfriend. Never leaves a chance to make me fall more for him. “Good morning babe,” Aiden's voice comes from the other side. “Good morning,” I greet him as my cheeks flash red. “Thank you so much for the bouquet.” “Bouquet! What bouquet?” He says. My smile fades away. “You sent a bouquet. Didn't you?” He starts laughing at my words. “Are you mad? When did Aiden Allen start sending flowers? Huh?” His words leave me disappointed. If Aiden hasn't sent flowers then who did? “I would never do that,” he retorts. “Okay. I'll call you later.” I hang up the call and stare at the bouquet, confusion and disappointment swirling inside me. If not Aiden, then who could be the person to send this bouquet? “What happened? Was Aiden not the one who sent these flowers?” Emily asks, taking steps towards me. I glance up at her and shake my head. “Then who?” Her temple tenses; I stare again at the bouquet, thinking about the person who sent this bouquet. “I also don't know,” I say. Just then, my phone buzzed with a notification. I unlock my phone; it's a text from an unknown number: “Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl. - Ethan.” By reading the text; my eyes widened in shock. “What happened?” Emily asks; she can sense my tense expressions. “The boy who proposed to me earlier; he sent these flowers,” I state. Her mouth drops open wide as she utters, “What!” I nod my head in response, staring at the bouquet. Ethan seems as if a tough guy; I didn't think he could send flowers to me. “I'm in love with this guy,” she says, taking a seat on one side of my bed as she continues, “Belle, date him.” “What!” My eyes pop out of its sockets. She nods and flashes a grin. “I would have, if I was Belle. I mean flowers…Has anyone—even Aiden, sent you flowers yet?” She asks. “No.” I shoot my quick response. “Exactly,” she blurts out. “No one, not even your boyfriend sent you flowers but that guy did. Amazing! If someone would have sent me flowers, I would die for him.” Her words echo in my ears. I appreciate Ethan's efforts to impress me but I've told him that I'm not interested. He should have given up on me but he didn't give up. Does it mean he truly likes me? “You know what, Belle. He's better than Aiden. My gut feeling is saying that,” she exclaims in joy. How could she say that? No one can be better than Aiden for me. “Shut your gut feeling’s mouth. Aiden is my boyfriend, not him.” “Who cares! Leave Aiden. I don't like him,” she insists. I clench my jaw as I glare at her. She purses her lips and blinks her eyes, feeling the density of the situation. “I mean…” “I don't care what you mean Emily. Aiden might not be the perfect boyfriend but it doesn't mean I should leave him.” She stares at her feet. A pang of guilt washing over her. “Relationships don't work like that; leaving your partner over a few mistakes. Some mistakes have to be forgiven. Some things have to be forgotten. Only then can two people make a relationship work.” “Belle.” She narrowed her eyes, her brows drawing close. “Are you going to spend your whole life loving one guy?” “Yes.” I nod. “Isn't it boring?” She asks. “No.” I shake my head. “I've loved him since childhood and I'll continue loving him until I die.” She stands up from the bed and walks away as she utters, “Okay, you love your so cold boyfriend. I'm not going to say anything ever again.” I chuckle at her words. She leaves the dorm room after taking her garments and towel. My eyes dart as I stare back at the bouquet. I type a text to Ethan: “If you had proposed to me earlier, I would have probably said yes, but now I am someone else's girlfriend Ethan. Forget me. - Belle.” Just after sending the text to Ethan, my phone starts ringing. It's Aiden. My stomach grumbles; he must get angry over me, I know. I pick up his call, my fingers trembling and my temple sweating as I reach the phone to my ear. A lump appears in my throat as I struggle to utter words out of my mouth. “Why did you end the call?” He says in a low but tingling voice, making my body shiver. “I was with Emily. That's why…” He interrupts me as he says, “I guess I'm just not as important to you as your friend Emily is.” “No. Aiden,” I choked with tears in my throat. “You are important to me. Emily is just my friend. How can you be jealous of her?” “I just don't like when you spend time with anyone else other than me.” He exclaims. “It should be me, only me who gets your attention.” As I glance at my feet, I feel heavy in my chest. No one ever said something like that to me. I like spending time with my friends. Why does he want me to give my whole attention to him only? “Belle.” His voice takes me back in the moment from my thoughts. “Who has sent the bouquet to you?” “That guy who proposed to me earlier,” I reply as I stare at the bouquet and caress the delicate rose flowers. Red roses have always been my favorite. Without even realizing it, Ethan sent me the flowers I love. “Throw it away,” he demands. “Aiden, I love these flowers,” I retort. I can't throw these flowers away. How can someone? Flowers are heavenly and beautiful. I won't throw it away. “Throw it away,” he says again. “But Aiden,” I say. “Are you throwing it or not?” He screams loudly at me. My soul trembles at his voice as I manage to speak. “I’m....I am throwing.” “Good,” he retorts. “And if he sends something else in future, inform me. Okay. I'll take care of you. You know I love you, Belle.” Tears shimmering in my eyes, his words pricking my heart. How could he yell at me and behave as if nothing happened? “Now say I love you too,” he demands. I swallow my saliva. “Aiden, I don't want to.” “Say I love you too babe. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you,” he accosts. His stubbornness doesn't leave any other option for me. “I love you too,” I say. “Good,” he retorts and chuckles. “Okay bye then. Take care babe.” He ends the call; abrupt questions and thoughts swirling in my mind. Why does he always get angry when another guy shows interest in me or when I talk about my friends? Why does he can't endure me sharing my time with someone else? Does every girl's boyfriend behave the same or is it just mine?Aiden wants me to throw this bouquet but I don't want to. Ethan sent these flowers with feelings and throwing this bouquet, crushing these flowers means crushing his feelings. I know there's nothing between us—no chance at all. But his feelings, just by thinking about hurting his feelings, hurts me. Mom always said if a person gives you a gift then you should always keep that—no matter what that gift is: jewelry, money, expensive, non expensive. Gifts are a person's emotions. How can I throw this bouquet? “Why does Aiden have no emotions?” I murmur. I stand up from the bed, grasping the bouquet. As I walk outside of the campus, I look for someone to give this bouquet. It would be better to give this bouquet to another person rather than throwing it away. My eyes search for a person, and it lands over an old lady, walking on the sidewalk. I take big steps towards her and offer her that bouquet. She furrows her brows. “This is for you. You are beautiful,” I say. Her eyes sparkle as
I sigh as I press Aiden's apartment’s bell. The apartment is located in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Manhattan. Aiden must be getting bored; he can't go anywhere because of his fracture, so I thought of surprising him by showing up here. After envisioning me, he'll be dazzled, and delighted also.My face lits up as he opens the door. “Belle, what are you doing here?” His jaw drops, his face stunned. My boyfriend, my Aiden—looking handsome as always in his Gucci leather jacket.“I missed you.” I close the gap between us and embrace him in a tight hug, my head resting on his chest; he's 6 feet tall—maybe his height was the thing I fell for.“I missed you too,” he says.I pull back, glancing down at his fracture. “Is it better now?” I stare back into his eyes. He nods his head. “It is.” “Let's go inside,” I say and we both enter his apartment. My eyes dart as I witness the sunset view of the Manhattan skyline through the glass walls of his drawing room. I never dreamt
Laying my phone down, I sit on my bed and uncap the bottle of Chanel Le Vernis in ‘Rouge Noir,’ the rich, deep color is my favorite shade. With steady hands, I begin to apply the polish on my long, slender fingers. Just then, my phone starts buzzing. Who's calling now? Without glancing at the phone screen, I picked up the call. “Belle, what are you doing babe?” Aiden's voice comes from the other side. I press the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I continue applying nail polish. “I'm busy,” I say.“Busy? Doing what?” he asks.“Applying nail polish.”“Nail polish. Seriously! Is nail polish more important than me?” he exclaims.“Yes. And by the way we've broken up. Did you forget that?”“You broke up. I didn't. You aren't allowed to break up with me until I want that.” he utters. “And when will you want that?” I ask.“Never,” he retorts.
"You have a natural talent," the photographer praises. His words reassure me, his compliment gives me more confidence. "I think you have a bright future.” I flash a wide grin. “Thank you so much,” I say. At first I felt nervous but as the session progressed, I found my confidence growing more and more. I gave an audition, walked the runaway with elegance, like a diva.“We'll be in touch,” the casting director says, rendering me his business card; I make my way out of the modeling company.After a very tiring day, I reached my boyfriend's apartment. Now only spending time with him can freshen up my mood and energize me. “Hi!” I greet him as I enter his apartment, but he doesn't respond to me. Sitting on his couch, he continues playing his video game, his face cold and rude; the glow of his massive flat- screen TV illuminating his focused face. His fingers move deftly over the controller, his eyes never leaving the screen. Sometimes I feel jealous of his fondness for video games. He
“Belle, let's kiss now.” Aiden cups my face and leans to me. I push him slightly away from me. “I'm feeling under the weather. Sorry,” I say, standing up from the couch. Tears brimming into my eyes; I glance away briefly and walk outside of his apartment, my mind swirling with anxiety and frustration of my parents' fight. All the fights I've witnessed of my parents, reeling in my mind like a movie. What bad had I done in my past life that I was born as their child? I wish I would have died the day I was born. Walking hopelessly in the corridor of the dorm, I bump into someone all of a sudden and fall above that person, letting a gasp come out from my mouth. My breasts press on the hard chest of that person. I glance up swiftly to see him. It's Ethan. His long, dark brown hair falls in waves around his face, brushing his cheekbones. My eyes meet his dark brown eyes; his gaze is often intense and penetrating, as if he can see right through my soul. Lost in his eyes, tears fall
After waking up in the morning and getting ready for class, when I and Emily reach the school corridor, we see that there is a notice pasted there on the board. “What is this?” I knit my brows and turn my face to Emily.“This must be a section notice. Our new academic year has started, so our sections must have changed now,” she retorts.Letting a gasp come out, I nod my head. That means now I'm no longer in the same section as Emily.“Let's see,” I say.As I walk near the notice board, my eyes start searching for my name in the list. I grin as I find my name. “Emily, I'm in section C,” I shout as I try to find her in the crowd. “And I'm in section A.” She approaches me. I knew that we were going to part.“Okay, meet you at lunchtime.” I bid her goodbye and ran towards my class. I'm already late. I hope the teacher will not punish me on the
Fury consumes my whole body, as I get to know about Aiden and Ethan's friendship. My eyes land on Ethan as soon as he enters the cafeteria—his eyes meet mine. Every person present there gathers him, and starts asking void questions.“Ethan, how did you manage to impress her? Tell us the secret.” My jaw tightens as their voices pass through my ears. Ethan smirks witnessing my rage. He must be enjoying all the attention he's getting because of me. Controlling my wrath, I roll my eyes and sit down on my seat with Emily. As we begin to eat, students gather around us. “Belle, when did you both start dating?” a girl asks out of the blue.Tightening my grip on the spoon, I glare into her eyes. “He's not my boyfriend,” I say. “Oh, come on. Everyone heard what Ethan said a few minutes ago. Don't lie now,” she says. “He's lying,” I shoot a quick response; her brows furrow as she asks, “Why would he lie?”Because he wants to see my boyfriend, whom I'm hiding from everyone. “I don't care what
Turning off the lights of the dorm room, I lay in my bed. Emily is spending the night with her boyfriend today; I'm all alone, lost in the thoughts of Aiden and Ethan. I'm just worrying about how am I going to save myself from that Ethan? How am I going to solve the problem Ethan has caused for me? How will I do everything all alone? How will I manage to make Aiden count on me? And how will I manage to make Ethan give up on me? How will I do that? Gasping the air out of my mouth, my eyes land on the ring I wear 24/7, the diamond ring Aiden gave me the day he confessed his feelings to me. I still remember that day, actually it was evening; that was the most beautiful evening of my life. The memories of that day wash over me.I was reading a book, like I always do, and all of a sudden Aiden's text popped on my phone screen. Hearing the buzzing sound of my phone, I anticipated that it was Aiden. I ran towards my phone as if my life depended o