~~~ CHAPTER 43 - Habit ~~~

It was indeed an awkward moment.

I froze on the bed; Nigel grinned like he just made a three-point shot in the basket; and mom was smiling widely for minutes.

Finally, mom fell asleep again which I was quite thankful of or else she would make me feel so awkward to be even here in her bed. Nigel, then, kissed the sleeping beauty in the cheek. I did it, too, after him. Then, we went out of her room.

"So, can I leave now?" I asked him as we were treading the hallway.

"What do you mean leave?" he asked perplexed.

"Well, I need to go back to the center---"

Nigel held my right hand. "Haven't I told you they're excusing you until tomorrow? Besides, it's already late." He then pulled me gently towards a familiar door along the way. "No way. I'm not letting you leave tonight, you're staying here."

I stared at the door where he was leading me. How could I forget this? This led to my former bedroom which was just across his. When he finally opened it, what immediately met my eyes was the bed, which looked like a princess' bed. It produced a happy flapping of my heart. "Here, princess. You're staying here," he said. "Come on."

We went in and, truly, when I behold everything in there, I was astonished that everything was kept in place. My goodness, I didn't know I missed this place until now! The first thing that came to my mind was to lie down on the bed. But I tried myself to remain standing while this man was still with me in the room.

"Your clothes are kept intact in the closet and Suzana made it sure to clean them from time to time. You may change anything you like for tonight," Nigel said at my side, still holding my hand. "And the bathroom is filled with your favorite body wash and shampoo and other toiletry."

My favorite body wash and shampoo? How did he know about them?

Hearing him mentioned body wash and shampoo produced electric bolts in my body... How did he know about my wash and shampoo? It felt so weird to realize that this man here seemed to know everything about me. Was he acting like a stalker or something? Or was I just assuming?

"If you need anything more that's not here, you may just knock on my door," he added.

Knock on his door? Seriously?

"I... I think, everything's provided here. Thank you." It was my way of informing him that I was never going to be knocking on his door. No way. "So... l-let's call it a night," I said finally, sending him the message that I wanted him out of the room already.

He didn't move as if he didn't have a plan of leaving me.

"Nigel... it's time to call it a night," I repeated in case he didn't hear me a moment ago which was also very impossible.

Standing at my right, Nigel eventually moved by pressing his side to mine and my stupid body didn't even complain. I felt his arm brushing mine. "Mom just saw us," he said softly.

Oh, why did he have to still mention it?

I blushed. "I-It was nothing," I stammered.

"We both know it was something, princess," he said in a teasing tone at the same time playing with my palm with a finger that I felt the tickly sensation in that portion of my hand.

I jolted and tried to pull my hand away. "Stop tickling me, will you?"

"So, you're ticklish, huh?" he teased me again.

I snooted at him and the brute was just smiling.

After a short while, he clasped my hand harder and brought it to his chest as he faced me.

"This is the beating of my heart, princess. Feel it."

Indeed, I felt the fast beating in his hard, lean chest. I stared at his eyes and he stared at me as well.

Then, he said, " This is how my heart beats for you, princess. You make me feel nervous and jittery. You make me want to cuddle and kiss you all the time. You make me want to see you everyday. You always give me sleepless nights. You make me feel like I'm a teenager again."

I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Oh, the man was throwing me some cheesy lines. What should I do?

So, I teased him. "Really? Sounds like you have a serious anxiety problem. Better have it checked first, Nigel Joaquin. Don't act yet like you're in love," I said, pinching his chest.

"Ouch!" He jolted. "That's harsh."

I gave in a laugh because he just looked so adorable.

I was still laughing when he enclosed my body in his arms. "I love you, Althea. This isn't just any anxiety problem," he pronounced softly, kissing my forehead. "I really, really love you."

I closed my eyes. Whatever, Nigel Joaquin.

Still hugging me with his chin resting on my head, he added, "Thank you for letting me hear you laugh. Thank you for everything tonight."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

For the first time in years, with a happy heart, I was lying in bed.

I knew that there were still things that Nigel and I hadn't talked about but I was surprised to realize that my heart had started to forgive him. It seemed like every single reason that made me run away before was starting to turn into tiny particles of dust ready to be blown by the wind to be forgotten...

Maria Stella.

Yes, I still thought about her. I still asked where she was this time. I still asked what happened to her and Nigel.

But I knew in my heart that if there was really something in between them in the past, for sure they had already ended it. That was just what I felt and I believed what I felt.

Before I fell asleep, Nigel's smiling face was the last thing in my mind.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Too excited to behold the gleam of the morning light in my condo window, I woke up very early. I actually watched the sunrise from my window and I couldn't help but smile. Why did the early morning sunlight brought a smile in my lips? Was I happy finally?

After my weird yet gratifying encounter with the morning light, I then showered and checked on my old clothes and some old stuff in my walk-in closet. Nigel was right, everything was kept intact... tops, shorts, capris, leggings, jeans, accessories, bags, shoes, even underwear. They were all arranged neatly in the exact places where I left them.

I found one of my favorite blouses before and I wore it. I paired it with a pair of black leggings. I was surprised that they still fitted me perfectly.

After I made myself to look presentable, I decided to go out. When I opened the door, I was utterly gaping my mouth as Nigel was there standing and leaning his back against his bedroom door just across the hallway.

"Hey!" he greeted me immediately. Apparently, he was still maintaining that cheerful disposition he had yesterday. He wasn't wearing a business suit, instead a tight-fitting black shirt and jeans.

Was he waiting for me to come out of the room?

I closed the door behind me and smiled at him.

"Love the smile in your eyes," he said as we were walking heading to the dining area. "Really love your eyes."

Oh, this man was so unfair!

"Just my eyes?" I queried.

"All of you, princess, but of course, your eyes are special. Even if I'd tell you, you wouldn't still understand the effect your eyes have on me. Just think of the word hypnotizing." He winked at me.

I blushed. Though I couldn't see it but I could feel the heat in my cheeks. "What's with my eyes? They're just eyes."

However, I couldn't deny the fact that mom was telling me about it years before. She said I really got the beauty of my eyes from my mama. Papa once said to me, too, that mama's eyes kind of hypnotized him that was why he married her.

Hypnotize? Exactly the same word used by Nigel?

"You couldn't object an artist's close attention to details, princess," he pronounced.

Artist's close attention to details?

I asked him through my eyes and he just winked at me again. What was with the winking?

He looked like an infatuated teenager. Oh, my! I chuckled at the thought of his being infatuated with me, and he was the one giving me now an inquiring gaze why I was even chuckling.

Don't give me that crap, Nigel Joaquin. I am also attracted to your damn deep dark eyes. Do you know the feeling when you gaze at me and I feel like I'm caught in an unescapable trap? Yeah, they are always that intense ever since... and, I think, starting today, I'll no longer deny the fact that I've been trapped in those stares since a long time ago.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

We made our way to the dining table and mom was already seated there waiting for us. We sat down and took our breakfast.

She would have her monthly check-up today so she had gotten herself ready, too. She was cheerful also and she was eyeing me meaningfully all the time... like she was was trying to remind me of the kiss last night. Oh, mom, please!

"You're coming with us today, princess," Nigel said, not as a form of a question if I was to go with mom for the check-up, but as a form of a statement telling me that he had already finalized my itinerary for the day.

Such a demanding douche bag!

So he was going with mom too?

"Are you not going to work today?" I asked.

He beamed at me. "For the two most important women of my life, all my appointments today are cancelled."

What? Well, wow.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Mom's check-up was conducted successfully and her doctor was giving her a long litany of reminders.

Oh, mom! She was such a pity. I wish I could be with her all the time so I could look after her and so I could make sure that everything forbidden to her would be out of her sight.

We took our lunch out and everything just felt right. Oh, having an enjoyable meal with them twice today, I realized that there was nowhere in the world that I'd rather be... I wanted to be with my family... mom and Nigel... They were my family.

Oh, there were just things in the world that you thought you could just deny... but in the end, you would come to think that no matter how you tried to deny them, there were just forces that would let you feel that you were meant for them and that they were meant for you.

I was staring at Nigel in our lunch table when he caught me watching him. Sexily, he raised a brow as if to ask me what I was doing.

I immediately bowed down my head and stared at the food on my plate instead.

I think I've never really forgotten how I truly feel for you, Nigel. I just try to deny it but, gosh, the feeling is just right there. Would it really be possible to be falling in love with the same man over and over again in our entire life?

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

We brought mom to the condo after our lunch. We hugged for a long time before she finally let me go. She begged me to visit her at the palacio right after my internship. Of course, I couldn't let her down. I made a promise to visit her.

Nigel took me to the institution of my internship afterwards. We were in his car when he mentioned something which almost made me choke.

"The p-phobia in long-distance traveling," he began, "you've overcome it already, haven't you?" There was tension in his voice like he was afraid to touch the subject.

Phobia?

"Y-you know about it?" I asked.

He pressed his lips in a thin line.

I stared at him and he concentrated on his driving.

"Nigel... you know about the phobia? When? How?"

With his eyes on the windshield, he replied, "Mom told me about it when you left us. While you were away, every time I visited her in the palacio, she always talked about you. One time, she told me about it."

Oh!

He continued, "It made me realize that I've known too little about you in the past... that I never gave even a single chance for us to know about each other. It made me realize that I was just too lost in my own world hating you that I actually forgot the things that you've also been through. I was only paying attention about my sufferings that I forgot you have your own sufferings too... and I even added them with more pain. That's why, I'll always be sorry, Althea. I'll always be sorry for all the things that I did to you in the past."

I wasn't able to speak. My jaw just dropped and I didn't know what to say.

"Was it the reason that you passed out one time in my car? Remember the time when we had a tour at the sugar mill? We had a long travel back then."

He glanced at me and I nodded my head.

"Oh, you got me so worried about you at that time. I didn't know what to do. I had to run you to the emergency with several crazy thoughts in my mind. I was so desperate to know what happened."

"S-sorry about it, too," I eventually spoke out.

He was worried about me at that time. I guessed so... that was the time that he started to be civilized with me which ended with that unforgettable dinner. But, after that, he turned out to be that cruel person again.

"You didn't tell me about the phobia, Althea. Well, why should you? Why should you tell me when I was someone who couldn't be trusted? Why should you when all I did was to hurt you, right?"

"It wasn't about that," I explained. "It was just I wasn't ready telling you about it at that time. I was supposed to tell you when I'd be ready. I guess, we just didn't have time to talk about things."

He nodded. "Yeah... and it was because of me. I did all sorts of things to push you away."

Yes, he was really that cruel.

He glanced at me again. "I've wasted a lot of time, haven't I?"

Had he?

"But it isn't still too late to start things right, is it?" he asked while the car made its way to the entrance of the compound of the institution where I was staying.

The guards made a salute at the approaching car.

Nigel honked a horn to acknowledge their respect.

"It's still not late, Althea. We can still make everything right," he answered his own question anyway.

When the car stopped, I was supposed to open the door at my side. He interrupted me by grabbing my left arm. "I know you've finally overcome your fears in long-distance travels. You've almost reached all provinces in the country. No doubt about that and I'm so happy for you."

"Yeah. It's just a matter of controlling your brain," I said.

"I'm glad to hear that. But, somehow, I just feel regret for not being there with you facing your fears. Wish I were there while you were trying to overcome it," he said in a low, lonely tone.

You were there, Nigel. Remember, control was your word? You said control was the key word. It was my key and I got it from you.

"I love you, Althea," he pronounced, flashing me a sexy gaze.

I just smirked and tried to open the door for the second time.

He squeezed my arm. "Starting now, I'll be the one to open the door for you."

He unbuckled first my seat belt before he got out of the car to open my door.

Oh, it was magical. Finally, I felt like he was treating me like a real princess. Finally, I felt like he was trying to justify his "Princess" nickname for me.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

That day ended with a kiss in the lobby of the institution. As we stood face to face each other, about to say our "byes", Nigel leaned down and his mouth captured mine while his hand pressed my body to his.

I knew everyone who was there in the lobby was totally surprised because I heard gasps. Well, I eventually forgot about the people surrounding us because I just let myself be lost into the kiss.

Why had french kissing become our habit lately? even in front of several people? Were we addicted to it already?

Later, the great Nigel Joaquin Sarmiento was grinning widely to everyone as he made his way out of the center... like nothing had ever happened. The brute!

Open-mouthed and blushing, I was left standing in the middle of the lobby, amidst the teasing of everyone.

Oh, love! What have you just done to me?

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

A/N

Hey there!

Happy? This is the second update for this week. Hope you liked it.
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