Yes
Yes
How did everything turn out this way? The day suddenly felt very long as she tried to recall the incidents of the day up to when Leo had said those three words to her before saying her name.
"I love you, Mia Lucas."
Those words had been echoing in her ears repeatedly for the past few minutes.
Love? Was it the kind of love she was thinking about? How? How did it happen? A month ago, if someone had told her that one of the sons from the King's family would tell her he was in love with her, she would have called the person crazy and wouldn't even laugh it off as a joke because it wouldn't have been funny.
What did he like about her? She spent more minutes trying to think about what he probably liked about her to the point where he wanted to date her, but she found nothing. She was nothing but rude to him from the moment their eyes locked. He had been the one helping her since then even when she fainted twice. So what did he like about her?
Leo glanced at her once in a while as he drove. She had been quiet. After his confession, she had looked at him with wide eyes that made him wonder if she hadn't ever thought that he was going to say those words to her one day. It had been obvious right?
He was sure she hadn't heard anything else he said after his confession. She had followed him in a daze when he led her to his car and since then, they both hadn't said a word. Those words he had said, he couldn't take it back now. He didn't regret saying them.
He didn't know whether he was going to regret it later or maybe love would teach him a bitter lesson again, but he wanted to take the risk. She was a risk he was willing to take.
He believed he loved her a lot. He liked to see her every single time. His heart raced whenever he heard her room's door open and whenever he realised she had returned from school.
He liked to see her smile, he felt heartbroken and wanted to protect her whenever she cried, he wanted to be with her every single time and beat up every 'Benjamin' who made her sad.
If it wasn't love that he felt for her, then what was it?
"You didn't say anything." Leo suddenly broke the silence and spoke.
He was nervous and really curious. He wanted to know what she had to say about his confession. He knew Mia liked him, but he didn't know if it was love. She had already mentioned it a couple of times that she didn't want anything from him nor did she want to go into a relationship with him. Could he change her mind? Maybe he could!
Mia's heart raced wildly when Leo finally spoke.
After a few seconds passed, she opened her mouth to speak.
"I..." She tried to say something but nothing came out of her mouth. She didn't know what to say. She needed to really think about this before saying anything because whatever she said now was going to change her life whether for the better or worse.
Leo waited with bated breath for her to say soemthing. He kept asking himself what if she refused him? He was probably going to feel worse than he felt when Cherry cheated on him.
"I... don't know what to say." She said honestly while still looking out the window.
This was better than turning him down right?
"How about... you consider being my girlfriend?" He asked and saw her shift uncomfortably.
"There's no rush." He quickly added. "You don't have to give me an answer right now. You can give me your answer tomorrow."
"Are you serious?" She finally turned to ask him with a serious face.
"Yea, sure. You can give me your answer tomo—"
"That wasn't what I was asking." She corrected immediately.
"Are you serious about wanting me to be your girlfriend?" She asked while looking at his face intensely, checking for any sign to show he was joking.
He turned to glance at her quickly before facing the road again.
"Yea. You think it's a joke?" He asked back with a frown. He didn't want his confession to be treated lightly. It had taken a whole lot in him to be able to say those words out.
"I don't..." She exhaled sharply before she continued.
"Are you sure what you feel for me is love? What if you are––"
"I know what I feel Mia Lucas." He quickly interrupted.
"I meant every word I said and I cannot take it back because I meant every bit of it."
He still noticed her hesitation. She seemed a bit scared. He pulled over by the side of the road and turned to face her.
"Do not tell me you are beginning to think about my family status right now?" He asked in a pleading voice.
The last thing he needed was that bullshit that happened in the movies or novels where the lady starts saying those cliche words like: 'We are worlds apart, we cannot be together, look at my family and look at yours' blah, blah and blah.
He didn't want to deal with that right now. He wanted to know how she truly felt about him.
"That is a reality we both cannot deny." She said, looking at him in the eye without breaking contact.
Leo sighed and cupped her cheeks when she was about to look away.
"I own my life. I do not let people dictate my life for me. So... I am just going to ask you one question." He looked deeply into her eyes while she stared right back at him, waiting for him to ask what he wanted to ask her.
"Do you... love me also?" He asked with uncertainty as he searched her eye for the answers.
Mia was taken aback by the question. Her heart began to pound so fast she felt she would have a heart attack and not make it to the hospital before she died.
She gulped nervously and tried to move away but he didn't let go. He just kept looking into her eyes. He had been wrong thinking he would find an answer in her eyes, her eyes even looked more confused than she looked.
"Mia?"
"I don't know." She answered.
"I... really do not know if what I feel for you is love but I know I like you a lot." That was the truth. She had never been in love before. The farthest she had gone was having a crush on Benjamin so she didn't know if what she felt for Leo was love or simply attraction, although she suspected that it was more than just attraction right now. She liked him. Seeing him made her happy. Seeing his smile made her want to smile no matter what she was going through. She enjoyed his presence, they didn't even need to communicate but just being there beside her made her felt safe and bubbly inside. She liked him a lot and that was why she had been jealous of Cherry. Seeing Cherry the previous evening had made the jealousy return but she chose to trust Leo. She trusted him more than she trusted anyone and she didn't know why. She had heard he was a playboy. She had seen it with her eyes, but she still chose to believe him.
Was this what it meant when they said 'Love is blind'?
If she was blinded by it all, it meant she probably loved him, right? But she couldn't just jump into it right now. She wasn't sure she could do this right now and she also wasn't sure she was ready for commitments. She still had a long way to go, she still had her life ahead of her... but he wasn't stopping her from doing any of those right?
The debate in her head was beginning to make her head spin so she touched her forehead.
She noticed he had already let go of her face but was still staring at her seriously.
"Do you still feel something for Benjamin?" He asked with dim eyes.
Mia shook her head immediately. "I don't."
"Do you like anyone else apart from me?" He asked again with narrowed eyes.
"No." She shook her head slowly again.
He released a long sigh of relief.
"I'll be traveling soon." He said.
"I thought I would stay a bit longer, but no. In probably two weeks or less, I would be out of this country for a long time."
He had wanted to take her out on a real date where they would then have all these conversations but it seemed like nature kept bringing distractions. So now that he had the chance, he wanted to say it all to her at once.
Mia suddenly remembered he was going to travel and frowned sadly. Not like she forgot actually, but she had thought a miracle would happen to make him stay back but reality was really harsh. This was his dream and she was genuinely happy for him.
"I know it's selfish of me to ask, but I want to leave this country knowing that you already are my girlfriend. I don't think I'd be able to live with the knowledge of you being with another man." He confessed in a gently voice that made her feel butterflies in her stomach.
"So I am asking because I am curious.... would you still like me as much as you do now if we were apart for two years?"
Mia looked into his eyes. It was as if he was pleading with her to say yes. But she was still sad. The thought of him traveling made her sad. How had she come to like him this much and depend on him in such a short time?
Mia moved closer and dropped a light kiss on his lips, taking him aback.
"Yes."
That was her answer.