If only it was an Illusion!

Chapter 49 : Keeping her on HOLD

"My house, I'll give you a tour there"

Silence concealed the atmosphere. I didn't utter any word. No matter how much I wanted to decline her request, I couldn't. It was really difficult for me to say a simple 'no' to her. I couldn't just go to her place, the place where once her father lived. I couldn't forget what he did to me, I can't ever. I didn't hold any grudge against Amanda, but I hope she doesn't expect me to forgive her parents. I acted like I forgave her mom, but, somewhere deep within I wasn't able to. I did mention that 'time' heals, but sometimes the process is longer then expected.

"I-uh", I stammered.

She rubbed my right shoulder and replied "You don't have to. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to join. It's okay", she pecked me softly on my cheeks. "...and your beards are quite thorny but they suit you"

I cupped her cheeks and replied "I've a better place in my mind. Come on", she waited for me to start the car. I turned the key and accelerated the car at a medium speed and halted at a shopping mall. She looked at me, confusion plastered all over her face.

"What....? I've read over the internet that girls love shopping, eating at the food halls, and taking crazy snaps in the mall", I defended.

"What else have you read?" she arched her brows and leaned closer to me.

"...like a lot of things" I pulled her. She crawled towards me. I drew her closer to me. Her back rested on the steering, she was on top of me.

"Name one", I arched my brows as I kissed her on her chin.

"You", she blushed. I couldn't control and I didn't want to, too.

When I saw two elderly women gawking in our direction, I pulled away. She took back her original position and exited the car. I parked the car, and walked her till the entrance. "Wait for me", I rushed towards Starbucks and picked up two coffees for us. "What..? My body lacked caffeine", I replied to her indistinct expression.

After propelling the coffee's glass towards her, I leaded her to some of the best shops with an exotic women collection. She closely examined some of the dresses and then kept it back in their original position. I knew why exactly she wasn't purchasing any dress, she was afraid that I'll pay for her shopping expense.

"I was in the impression that I had to carry a lot of carry bags. You definitely seem to be my type of girl", I winked at her. She smiled, caught my hands and walked out of the shop. After walking 3 more shops with her, I concluded "I'm going to pick one dress for you."

"I like this dress", she picked up a random dress. I closely examined the dress, it didn't match her style. I looked at the price tag below, and realized that the dress was inexpensive. I removed my card in order to do the payment but she didn't allow me to. She paid for herself before I could reach out for my pocket. Damn, this girl, I loved her so much.

I laced my fingers with her and directed her towards the food hall. "There's no way you're paying here", I winded up my sentence. She surrendered her hands in the air, mouthing an 'okay'.

I watched her eat the junk food. I didn't fantasize a lot of junk. After filling our tummy, we ordered frozen yoghurt. Amanda not only licked the spoon of the desert but also formed a moustache over her upper lip. "Look at you"', I chortled continuously. This was one of the days when I laughed my heart out. "What?" I interrogated.

"What?" she questioned again. "Oh. I'm watching you laugh"

"No, you're staring at me", I shrugged.

"Fine, but I have to agree to the fact that your laugh made my jaw drop, in a good way, of course.

The moustache over her upper lips was actually funny, very funny. "Let me help you", I pulled her closer to me through the back of her head and licked away the yoghurt. I wasn't indulged in a fantasy to like sweets, but this was by far the best sweet I have ever eaten in life. I licked her upper lip. She blushed softly so I kissed her again.

After uplifting myself from the seat, I requested her to wait for me. I moved back towards the shops we visited earlier. I picked some of the dresses she examined, but didn't buy. After finalizing 10 dresses, I placed it on the bill counter one by one and did its payment. It was just a random guess depending on her fashion style, on the shine of her eyes when she held the dresses in her hand. I just hoped that she loved it.

I packed the bags and carefully placed it in the trunk of my car. I multiplied my walking speed and gathered at the place where I left Amanda. I rushed when my eyes didn't encounter her view. "Surprise", she murmured in my ears. I gasped and turned around.

"You scared the shit outta me", I offended.

"Come on. I am not a little girl anymore", she defended.

"Let's go home", I looked at my wristwatch. It was 6pm already which meant that we yet had 1 more hour. I was pretty sure that our long drive could be a little longer so as to consume the left out time.

On reaching my car, I opened the door of the passenger's seat for her. I drove on the highways, and waited for her to speak something. She didn't speak anything. She just lip synced the songs which played on the radio. "Pull the brakes", she demanded corrupting the silence.

"What?" I arched my brows.

"Pull the brakes, please. We need to talk", Okay, wait. We didn't even hook up properly, but, does she want to break up with me already? Or did I do something wrong?

"Y-yeah" I stammered and stopped the car at the corner of the road.

Amanda unbuckled her seatbelt, and turned towards my direction. She looked tensed, her brows furrowed. She finally initiated a conversation "I didn't tell you something"

"Proceed"

"I-uh, I got a call from James this morning"

"James what...?" I reacted

"He called me in the morning to wish me", she breathed in and continued "He was under an impression that we hate each other. He uh- wanted me to help him destroy him"

"And... why didn't you tell me earlier? You know this could be dangerous. I wouldn't have ever left you alone back then if I knew that he contacted you. I was under an impression that he left, lately. You should have told me Amanda. Damn, how could you stay silent about this for so long", I banged the steering wheel with my palms. I had all the right to rant. I didn't want to lose her when I just found her.

She came closer to me. She cupped my cheeks after turning my face towards her direction. "Look, this exactly is the reason I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't want you to worry. I had a plan to correspond with you regarding this after my birthday, but I just couldn't keep it any longer till myself", I rested my on her shoulder and curled my hands around his neck.

She hugged me tightly. "This is the best birthday ever. Thank you", she pulled away and kissed me on my cheek.

"The best is yet to come", I smirked.

I unlocked the screen of my phone and looked at the time. It was 6:45pm which meant that I could finally drive her till my mansion. I was excited about it but also scared at the same time. I wanted everything to be perfect. She deserved the best, if only I could name an island for her, I would. She was mine, only mine. I wasn't going to let James or any other guy come between us.