What's the problem I don't know
Well maybe I'm in love
- Accidentally falling in love, Counting Crows
...
My heart raced whether, in anger or some kind of emotion I won't bother to say, I don't know.
The next thing I knew my lips were caught in entanglement with his, soft with a little hint of wine, feverishly burning me with every move.
The cold tile stuck to my thin blouse and with its coldness, it's as if I was doused in cold water and finally came out of my shock.
"Ah- shi-ah!"
He moved his hand away from his jeans and placed it on his now injured tongue. I blink back the moisture that covered my eyes making it misty, my fingers formed into a fist and I hit his chest.
"You" another punch. "Fucking" another and he didn't cower down. "Bastard!" For the last punch, I slap his face.
Then left.
Romanov watched as the little figure that was under him just seconds ago ran away after slapping him. It woke him up, that's for sure.
"Shit!"
He slumped down the tiles, ignored the wet tiles dampening his jeans and held his head as if wanting to break it open.
'Why did I do that? Why did I kiss her?' he thought.
The soft, pouty lips of her could still be felt on his lips; his adams apple rolled once more and he tried to ignore the shameful thoughts that flashed into his head. If she didn't bit his tongue he knew he would have kissed her deeper and perhaps be punished for being a hooligan.
But even though there is guilt there's still that satisfaction as if a cat has finally stolen a fish from its owner; he seems to finally realize the thing that tormented him.
He's falling for Espe. Fucking faster than he ever thought.
He didn't even know when or how— she was always there with his sister and has never expressed anything ambiguous other than goodwill to him.
It was him that was the sinner. It was him that should be sentenced to punishment and he'll take it willingly.
"Why the hell are you sitting on the bathroom floor?"
Rafaelle opened the bathroom where Espe came out, her brows creased into a furrow when she noticed the embarrassed expression that shows on Espe's face. What's more,e her back is wet but when she held her hands to ask her where she's going to, it was hot.
"Me... uh... I just.... it's nothing. I just want to sit here, what?"
He was rambling, a very obvious indication of lying. Rafaelle stepped in and looked him in the eye with all seriousness.
"What the fuck did you do to Espe?"
It was strange, Espe came off of the bathroom and her elder brother was there. She knew her friend wouldn't be the one initiating this after all she knew Espe does not hold any romantic feelings for her elder brother.
If she did she would have known it.
The lights in her elder brother's eyes dimmed in comparison with the bright pendant lights above their heads. He aggressively runs his hands through his hair before he opens his lips, trembling in anxiety.
"I kissed her"
It's as if fireworks explode in her head, the words her elder brother said seem too far-fetched from what she expected yet it feels aligned to what fiction scenes would be like.
"I'm sorry what?" Maybe she was lost in translation, maybe she doesn't understand English— too many maybe's rang to her head.
"I kissed her" he repeated once more.
And for the second time, in the same day, in the same place— he was slapped.
...
It has been 72 hours, a full three days of not entering the place where the Castellani estate rooted, and she still cannot forget that god-awful kiss.
"Ah! You fucking bastard! I should castrate you! You already took my first kiss and now you took the second! Bastard! Hooligan! Rogue!"
With every word I punched my poor pillow, imagining that it was Romanov's face that I am punching. With a flushed face and heavy breath, I turned on the AC a little bit, afraid that my mom would come inside I locked the door— I would be lectured by her saying I'm too wasteful on the electricity.
"I should clean my room, yes, just to get it off my head" I nodded to the mirror, talking to myself. "Just imagine it was like kissing a dog" that was a bit disgusting just imagining it, maybe the stomach of a baby then.
I pulled out the covers of my bed, took off the pillowcase from a month before, and slip off the sheets that needs repair— I loved these sheets since it has been with me for years.
My eyes wander around my sudden madness, the room was tidy enough to be called a girl's bedroom but still messy enough for my mother's taste.
The warm fuzzy texture of the carpet tickles my feet, I should also vacuum it then wash it since there are some coffee stains on it. The clothes I've managed to dump on my closet seem to fall like towering garbages, I too need to take out the books, or else they'll mold from too much dust.
Great, there's so much to do, surely I can forget about that stupid kiss!
...
Lourdes looked for the fourth time above, there was the sound of the vacuum cleaner and then things being thrown to the floor resounded from below.
Carson was also looking curiously above but didn't mention it, he was still working on the new parts of the cars he was about to get from across the land.
"I'm going upstairs to see what that girl of mine did again" Lourdes mutters.
"Let her be, she must be cleaning" Carson simply stated which earned the shock of Lourdes.
"Cleaning? My daughter— Esperanza? Then there must be something wrong with her, is it the interview?"
She felt that it was plausible and soon worried over her daughter's state of mind. Although her daughter seems to always listen to whatever she says, she is hell-bent on going for a career that was not even that financially stable from what she knew.
"Was it? We can ask her-"
"No, just leave her be. I'll go and get some bananas at the supermarket, do you need something?" She plans to cook Turon for Espe, her daughter's favorite snack.
"Whatever Espe's having I'll have it too"
He then watched his wife leave as if there were wings on her feet before turning his head back to his work. A smile graced his lips as he mused at her nervousness.
'She should have told him she's worried but then again she doesn't like to lower her pride in terms of her daughter's view on her chosen career path' is what he thought.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The slippers made contact with the tiles as they reverberate into the hallways, Carson squint behind his glasses and watched as Esperanza looked down sporting a messy look.
"You alright there?"
"Yep," she said perkily before brushing past her baby hairs into her ears. "Where's mom?"
"Went out to buy some ingredients for Turon" he said noncommittal but peek into the corner of his eyes and saw the obvious grin that washed Espe's face.
He can only raise his brows playfully at the two when in his home— two stubborn women that would rather hide their love for each other than say it out loud.
Maybe this is one of the reasons why he's so fascinated at Lourdes when he first met her; the eyes that spit out the fire when working on her goal and the caring, maternal side that she expresses through her blunt words.
She was a matter of contradiction and it was the first time that he has his eye fallen into a person away from his league.
***
Fourteenth chapter is up!
Asian parents don't tell their children, usually, the word 'I love you' and expresses it through food. Kudos to Romanob for acknowledging his wrong, hope he won't do that again and force a kiss on someone. If I haven't mentioned before or y'all just forgot, Esperanza never had a boyfriend before since she was studying and was forbidden. Usually Asian parents, mine as well, don't want me to have a boyfriend again in fear of being a teen mother and Lourdes herself is one. She doesn't want her daughter to experience what she undergo before.
So what do you think would happen now at Espe and Romanov? Will they put it under the rug or face it? What about the worry in Elle's heart?
Check out the next chapter to find out!
Have a great day everyone! Stay safe and healthy!
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