“Brad, please answer me! What’s wrong with you?”
“Who is the guy?”
“What guy?”
“The one who was carrying you. Bridal style, I saw you, Celine. Don’t play dumb.”
Her stomach churned. She quickly remembers Armand. Of course Brad had seen that. It makes her feel so guilty now for breaking his heart.
“It’s not what you think, that was Armand. He’s my dad’s friend. He was just helping me.”
“Helping you? What the fuck kind of help involves carrying you like that, huh? What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing! I swear, it’s nothing. He’s just a friend. He helped me after… after the fight with my dad. I was hurt, and he took care of me.”
“You’re telling me you’re that close to your dad’s friend? Close enough for him to carry you around like some damn damsel in distress?”
“It’s not like that. He’s just… he’s been there for me when no one else was. That’s all.”
“I don’t like it, it’s so weird, Celine.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just… I didn’t think it would be a big deal, I'm just sick.”
“Well, it is, and where the hell did you get the money to buy me something, huh? Are you turning tricks now?”
“What? No! Of course not! It’s just… it’s just I little money left I had, that’s all. I wanted to treat you, to make things right.”
“You don’t need to buy my forgiveness. If you think something like that’s gonna fix our relationship, you’re completely wrong.”
She felt so heartbroken after hearing his words, she just wanted to make things right, to ease the tension between them, but it seemed she only made things worse.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
But Brad was already turning away, his attention focused on the front of the classroom. Celine sat back in her seat, her mind racing.
She didn’t know how to fix this, how to make him understand. All she knew was that she couldn’t lose him.
She tried to focus on her classes, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Brad, to the anger in his eyes, the coldness in his voice. By the time the final bell rang, she felt so drained.
“Come on, let’s go!”
“Go where?”
“Just come with me.”
Finally, they stopped in front of a small gelato shop, the kind that served flavors in tiny, overpriced cups. Brad turned to her, his expression softening slightly.
“Pick something,”
“What?”
“I’ll buy you something, just pick what you want.”
“Brad, you don’t have to…”
“Just pick something, I will pay for it.”
She nodded, her heart fluttering as she selected a small cup of dark chocolate gelato. Brad paid without a word, handing her the cup with a small smile.
They sat on a bench outside the shop. Celine took a small bite of the gelato, the rich, bittersweet flavor melting on her tongue. She glanced at Brad, who was intensely staring at her.
“Brad, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know, I’m sorry too. I just… I don’t like seeing you with other guys. Especially not like that, you seemed so close to him.”
“I understand. I’ll be more careful, I don't want to break your heart, I promise.”
“Good, I admit I'm jealous because you’re mine, and I’m not gonna let anyone take you away from me.”
“Hey, are you ready?”
Brad asked Celine, holding the door of his fancy white car open for her.
“Yeah, I'm ready.”
She felt so happy when Brad asked her to go for a walk with him.
“So, where are we going?”
“I haven't decided yet, do you have any idea?”
“Well, I don't know, maybe we could go to the park?”
“No way, I hate parks.”
“Well, what about going to the mall?”
“That's boring too.”
“Why don't we go to the cinema?”
“That's not a bad idea.”
Brad said with a smile as he drove through the city. He couldn't stop admiring Celine, she looked so beautiful in her pretty dress. He felt so lucky to have her as his girlfriend.
They arrived at the cinema. It was still quite early so they decided to walk around the city first while waiting for the film to start.
“Hey Celine, can we go there?”
Brad pointed at an old, beautiful bridge that was used for people to walk around. It was a nice place for a walk and the view was so nice too.
“Yes, we can.”
They walked to the bridge. The view was so beautiful as they walked along the bridge, it made them feel so close to each other.
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it's really nice.”
“You know what? I love being here with you.”
“Oh, really?”
She smiled sweetly and stopped walking. She looked at him as she waited for him to answer her question.
“Yeah, really. Because I think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen.”
She blushed, she wasn't used to having guys talk to her like that.
“Well, thanks.”
“Thanks for what?”
“For telling me that I'm pretty.”
“I didn't say you were pretty, I said that you're the prettiest. Do you know the difference?”
“What?”
“I don't think you do. Because if you knew the difference you would be used to guys saying things like that to you.”
Brad smiled at her, teasing her playfully.
“Well, it's not that I haven't heard those things before but when you say it, it just feels different.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don't know. I just mean that when you tell me that, it feels like you really mean it. I can tell that you're not just saying it to make me happy.”
She looked at him. He was smiling at her so sweetly, he really was the cutest guy she'd ever seen.
“And why do you think that I mean it? What do you see in my eyes?”
“I see... I don't know, it's hard to explain. It's like there's something in your eyes that makes me trust you. And that makes me know that you're telling the truth.”
She blushed again. No guy had ever talked to her like that before. She really felt happy to have him as her boyfriend.