84 THE FEELINGLUKE’S POV Ariel turned around, with my hand still holding hers. Her expression towards me was not that nice. Okay maybe it was nice, but she looked confused with everything. And I too was puzzled myself, just carrying out these actions without thinking things through. The hurtful words that had been directed to her, quite a massive blow. Thunderstricken, harmful like a hurricane. And the hate I claim better be stuck with me, because I don’t even have knowledge of the things I utter in certain situations. “Aren’t you going to let go of me?” Ariel asked, our eyes still locked in. She tried pulling back, but my grip only became tighter. “Do you really want me to let go of you?” I asked leisurely, not taking my eyes off her. I could see that Ariel was tired of this, probably angry or frustrated. She wanted to know where we stood. But she would just have to live the life like this. With me, and I did promise my grandfather that there would be no torment. Although the hate was there, razzing would materialize, and I could try my best to shake off the feeling, hoping for the better. But the repulsion seemed like it could last for eternity. Even though it may look like it faded sometimes.“Luke,” Ariel called my name, closing her eyes. “I don’t understand what’s going on here,” she added. And I could see the granite to put an end to this moment. “You don’t have to. Just be lost in the moment.” Still holding her, I took a step forward. “Are you seriously telling me this right now?” She asked, not wanting to give in to my words. “Of course. Do I look like I’m joking?” I raised both of my eyebrows. Arie rolled her eyes after letting out a deep sigh. “Luke…” I interrupted her the moment I pulled her closer. And now, she had her mouth. partly opened, trying her very best not to get her hands around my chest. Trying to resist the connection. And abandon the moment. But could she really do that? “You want to know something, Luke?” Ariel vocalized, with our eyes still fixed on each other. 24 THE FEELING 2/3 A smirk came right into my face. “What is that?” “You’re unbelievable!” She hit my chest multiple times until I let go of her. “You really need to stop messing with my head!” “And what do you mean by that?” I aksed, although I could tell that I had a little clue of what she was talking about. Well, kind of. “You claim to hate me, right? Then what the hell is this?” Her expression showed that she wasn’t chaffing one bit. Not a single smile right on that face. A zero sense of joy. “You need to let me know; do you love me or not?” Ariel’s voice simply became louder, but not loud enough for everyone to hear her. The music at the moment, played a vital role in this scene. “A yes or no, please. Do you have feelings for me, or not? Is your heart filled with hatred, or is it filled with passion for me?” Ariel queried, eager to get an answer. I stared at her for a moment, but decided to give her a reply, simply what she wanted. “I don’t love you. The hate is just what’s here.” I continued, “It is true I’ve been in circumstances when I felt like I love you. I’m not going to deny that. But those were all lies. I’m focusing on the present; what’s going on now. And my mind has finally made it clear that my feelings for you are nothing but hate.” “If you hate me, then why did you decide to do this?” Ariel quizzed. “Do what?” I aksed her in reply. And all of a sudden, she captured my hand, tried pulling me closer to her. But my strength prevailed over hers. Like a tug of war, and I came out victorious. I tugged her to me. “Since you say you hate me, let go of me!” Ariel demanded, in a blaring tone. “I’m not going to do that,” I let the words out slowly, looking fixedly into her eyes. “You’ll have to,” she stood strong on her words. “No passion in your heart, right? So don’t touch me.” Ariel pushed me off her. ‘And if you think you’re just going to keep sleeping with me, you’re clearly mistaking.”I chuckled. “You talk like I’ve slept with you tons of time.” “If you don’t love me, then you’re just trying to get your body on mine. This action of yours right now is clearly absurd if you keep on claiming to have the 84 THE STELING 383 hate,” Ariel spoke plangently. I didn’t know if what I said hurt her. It wasn’t like she loved me, or something. Yeah, I know, she did some remarkable things for me. Like taking a poison. But come on, I knew her hatred for me was beyond the world. Three years spent, a life like hell. She kept on repeating those things. So don’t tell me she would fall in love all of a sudden. This wasn’t a movie. And even if it was, the scenes wouldn’t turn out so quick like that. I exhaled deeply. “I’m going to be honest with you around here. Like really honest. I almost caught feelings, but as time went on, I had to be strong, not letting that shit overshadow me.” Dipping my hands in my pockets, I continued, “In these recent days, I think I’ve finally transfigured back to my old self. Luke Reynold, the one who hated golddiggers, always displeased with them.” Ariel and I kept a fixed gaze, and I could tell she was starting to get infuriated, perhaps broken. But she needed to accept the fact that those good–for–nothing scenes would no longer take place. Starting from now. I shouldn’t even be touching her, or getting close. “Are you trying to call me a golddigger?‘ Ariel asked. A threatening tone that sounded like she was going to wreck me, or something. “Isn’t that what you were all those years? And that’s also how you became what you are today,” I boldly told her, moving my face closer. With a glare etched on her face, Ariel gave me a hard slap. Painful enough to take someone’s life. And I was pretty sure the marks of her fingers would unfold right on my face. “Who gave you the right to slap me?” I gave Ariel a death stare. But it didn’t seem to frighten her one bit. Her glare also, was the type that looked like it would never leave her face. “Me, myself, and I,” she answered. “And I’ll do it again if you continue to spit nonsense.” She felt so courageous. And my glare only intensified. “I see you’ve gotten some nerve, huh?” I tried huh?” I tried my best to keep the anger within me, and not unleash a demon that’s going to leave everywhere disarrayed. “You just had to act stupid.” Ariel slowly shook her head. “And all this time, I thought you were a sensible man. But turns out you’re stupid,” she uttered bitterly, and traipsed away. After that, I received a text, telling me to come outside.