Rosaline locked herself in her room and surveyed it carefully.She slowly swept her eyes on each item in the room.Fragments of her childhood played in her mind like a movie on a reel._______‘Mom, Dad! I got the first prize on an interstate quiz for primary level.’‘For next time, try winning fair and square rather than begging Tina to drop out of it. It’s okay to fail, but you can’t succeed by stepping over your sister.’‘Mom, I did not ask her to drop out. She got disqualified from the selection.’‘Don’t slander your sister. She already told us the truth. The poor girl was crying but still tried to protect you. Yet you slander her like this.’_______‘Mom, I was selected for a piano competition.’‘Well, that’s good enough considering your standards. Tina would have won it if she had not injured her fingers while playing with you.’‘Mom, she has not injured her fingers. It was painted and not bruised.’‘You are getting more and more out of hand. Why do you always have to hurt your
Choking on her childhood filled with grievances and longing for her parent’s trust, Rosaline took deep breaths to calm herself.She was a grown-up, not a child longing to be loved and accepted.She had responsibilities and things and people to care for as an adult. She did not have time to wallow in self-pity.She then quickly texted Liam -“It went as bad as it could. Not only did my parents not listen, but they also told me not to slander you and not to mess around. Hope there’s some positive news from your end.”Unbeknownst to her, things were just as bad at William’s end.His mother had an emotional outburst, started crying, and said she would rather die than face her-in-laws in disgrace of having such an unfilial son. She said that a girl selected by his Uncle was a million times better and more cultured than the tramp he was screwing.William could only look at his mother, and remind himself that she gave birth to him, so he should respect her no matter what. But it was getting
Ria was having a blast teasing William.“Brother, how about you pick something you think your girlfriend might like? Since Lina and she are the same age and have common interests, it might suit Lina well.”“I don’t want to pick things for others. ““Brother, please help! I’m the bride.”“Fine.”“Hehehe. Brother, the ‘I’m the bride’ thing always works.”“Of course! You will be an old maid after marriage.”“Brother!” Ria stomped her feet in annoyance.“Alright! Alright! Let’s go.”“Fine. Since you are helping me.”“Does the gift have to be jewelry?”“Yeah. I mean, I have only seen people give jewelry only as in-laws’ gifts.”“Alright, how about this?”William pointed at a pair of platinum diamond studs with two diamonds knotted between platinum bands. The asymmetrical design looked quite simple but gorgeous. William did not know about Lina, but he could picture his ‘Lexi’ wearing something like that. Since it was small, she could wear it casually.“Looks good, brother. I’m sure Lina w
William checked Rosaline out head to toe. The more he looked at her, the more he felt her emotions were all over the place. Usually, she was shy, but when she had held his gaze earlier, it was like she was trying to search for something. Like she was trying to access him.When she had held his arms before breaking free, she seemed to seek comfort and, at the same time, deny it. He wondered what she had gone through so early in the morning. When he left her yesterday, she was doing fine. When he talked to her in the morning, she seemed fine.Then he remembered she had gone home that morning.She was staying at Tessa’s the whole month. She barely went home. Mostly she just went home to pick something up.‘What’s wrong with her family? How can they make her so sad in such a short time?’William got lost in thought.When Rosaline called him, she realized he seemed to be elsewhere. He was looking at her, but his mind had drifted far away.Suddenly she had an impulse to tease him.So, sh
William was lost and confused.He was afraid of being unable to control himself, so he pulled himself back.When he was still trying to push the various naughty images forming in his head, Rosaline pulled him towards herself, but he subconsciously resisted. Just as he realized what had happened, she bit him and ran away. He could only see hurt swimming in her eyes as she pushed him away. He quickly gathered his emotions and the shopping bags he had dropped and ran after her.Rosaline ran away and exited the Mall. She had walked briskly, almost running. When she reached the fountain outside, she calmed down a lot.She walked around in the flower garden outside the mall and sat in the fountain. She let out a sigh and tapped on her forehead. However, she did not think it was enough and tried to knock on her head several times.But before she could do that, William stopped her, “Don’t hurt yourself.”William had run after Rosaline only to see her inside the lift closing down. He kept h
Rosaline felt like she was melting in the kiss. She looked at William with half-closed eyes as he continued to savor it.She was lost and could not think straight. Her thoughts were all over the place as she felt like she was slowly going limp and breathless.However, she felt something beneath her that jolted her awake. She pulled back with eyes wide open. William looked at her with hooded eyes, aware of what shocked her, as he slowly took deep breaths, in no hurry to explain.After a minute or so, when realization dawned on her, Rosaline went from being shocked to being embarrassed.Then he finally broke the silence. “Now, you know how much you affect me.”“I am sorry. I didn't mean to.”“Don’t be. It’s good to know I affect you too.”William kissed her on the corner of her eyes and hugged her taking deep breaths to ease his tension.“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”Rosaline said as she realized he always thought of her no matter what. “Then don’t say anything. Just le
Rosaline kissed William slowly with trembling lips for a long time before she calmed down.William kept his eyes on her trembling lashes as he let her do what she wanted. Finally, after what felt like forever, Rosaline stopped and took deep breaths while resting her lips against his.Strangely, William felt this was more tempting than when she kissed him.Unconsciously, he tightened his hands on her waist.Rosaline did not know why this made her happy.‘Shouldn’t I be mad that he finds this more tempting than when I kissed him? Why does this make me happier instead?’“I don’t like calling you Alex.” Rosaline finally spoke.“It’s not your name. Besides, it does not suit you. I also don’t want to know your name yet. Let nature take its course. We’ll know it when we know it. I don’t want to call you Will since everyone calls you that.”That made William smile.“Take your time, and let’s slowly find out what you want to call me.”“Kiss me!”“What?”“Kiss me like you want to.”“Don’t push
“You are so annoying.” Rosaline sighed as she playfully kicked William in the chest. “I’m also very horny.” William kissed her knee as he held her feet. “Serves you right.”“Then, how about we forget about getting you fed, and I eat you instead.” William teased her. Contrary to his expectations, Rosaline looked at him thoughtfully.That made him anxious. “I have never thought about that.”“Hey, I was just joking. Don’t overwork your pretty head.”“I know. I just never thought about that.”“We should go with the flow. Don’t overthink things, alright.”William patted her shoulders and comforted her, all the while feeling strange about where the conversation flowed.“I’m not overthinking anything. When you said it like that, for a second, I suddenly wanted to.”“What?”William stared at her wide-eyed.‘How did she go from being confused and flustered to that? Her train of thoughts is amazing.’“I didn't mean it like that. I just..,” Rosaline paused, turning to hold his hands as she l