Diane’s P.O.V.

“Liam and I had been together for seven months now, Nana. We just had a little misunderstanding last night. But instead of giving us a chance to talk things through, I walked away from him and went to the club with Lorenz. Lorenz was my college buddy and best friend—the one I was asking you about earlier.” I smiled at her before I continued.

“Hmm… I went for a few drinks to forget the pain, but I guessed I wasn’t able to control myself. Repentance is always in the end,” I shyly admitted to her, making me bow my head. I continued to eat the soup, but I didn’t realize I already consumed it. That was when I drank the milk.

She held my hands after I gulped all the contents of the glass and placed it over the tray. “Hija, if you two ran again into a problem, take time to sit down, held hands together, and talk about it immediately. As much as possible, fix any misunderstandings before tomorrow comes.”

“In every relationship, you cannot just love your partner. I mean, love alone can’t always make your relationship work. You should take care of him, understand him, and trust him wholeheartedly.”

“Because when you trust him completely, you will never doubt him. You will listen, and you will trust whatever he says, more than what other people have to say. Your partner should be the one who matters most, and that’s why you chose him as your partner.”

“Learn from this experience, dear. Alcohol will never be a solution to problems as it can lead you to a much bigger problem later on. Next time, you just have to breathe first, calm yourself, and analyze things. You have to be completely sane for you to think straight.”

“What if Liam didn’t see you yesterday? I hated to say this, but what if you woke up in a different room, completely naked with someone else, and had already made a drunken mistake? Was everything resolved? No. It would only create another problem that might lead you to depression.”

“I didn’t know what exactly happened between the two of you and I’m not saying this because I almost raised Liam. I wasn’t taking sides here, but I want to enlighten you better. It should be a part of your maturity as a person, and I think you owed Liam a chance to explain too.”

“You two were only steady for seven months—which is still less than a year, Hija. There will be more trials in your relationship later on, so don’t give up too quickly. Don’t overthink. After all, what’s the point of having a relationship if you trust the other people more than your partner?”

Nana Lydia emphasized everything with her calm tone, but she was so serious that every word lanced through my brain. It was as if she already knew what happened even though I didn’t tell her everything. I was sure that Liam wouldn’t also voice out about it.

From what Nana explained to me, I became enlightened. I had to render my apology to Liam for being so stubborn and selfish yesterday because I didn’t even listen to him. He loved me so dearly that I even saw him shed tears.

Depriving him of trust and understanding was one thing Liam didn’t deserve from all the things he did for me. I was so guilty. Despite what I did—shouting at him, never giving him the chance to explain himself, shoving him away, and even running away from him—he still came and rescued me.

Drowning myself in too much hatred and jealousy, I forgot that Liam should matter first more than anything. I wasn’t able to think straight and didn’t even weigh the situation first. Lorenz and Nana Lydia were both right, but was I wrong not to blame myself at all?

Perhaps, I loved Liam so much to be hurt like this. I loved him so much that I could no longer analyze things properly. I loved him so much to be effortlessly eaten by jealousy.

“Think about what I said, Hija. You are so young, and you are probably too hasty in making decisions. Misunderstanding will do you no good. Don’t be impulsive. There is nothing wrong with the two of you talking to each other, but nothing can happen too if you will only prolong your argument.” Nana Lydia was effective in talking some sense to me.

“If you really love Liam, never let him go. Do not let him lose you either. Life is too short to waste with unspoken things, what ifs, and what could have beens. Anyway… I’ll be out first to do some other errands, but I’m just downstairs if ever you need me. Your belongings are also in the living room, and I’ll bring those to you later on.”

Feeling lucky to be surrounded by great people, I just nodded at her. “Yes, Nana. I won’t lose Liam, and I promise that we will sort things out. Thank you so much for your advice, I really appreciate those. Actually, I needed those because I couldn’t let my Mom know.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s an honor to meet you, dear.” Nana Lydia smiled and patted me on the shoulder before she left the room, carrying the stainless tray of food I had consumed.

It was a matter of minutes that I stared at nowhere before I decided to take a shower. I might lose my headache throughout if I would take a bath.

That was when I went to the course of the bathroom that was similar to mine. I wasn’t sure, but I guessed I soaked myself in the warm shower for about two hours. I took that long because while taking a bath, I was thinking about the steps I would do to apologize to the person I loved. Nana Lydia was right, I shouldn’t let go of Liam.

First of all, I shouldn’t have let jealousy overpowered me. I should have allowed Liam to introduce me as his girlfriend right from the start so that we wouldn’t have a problem. After all, we were only four inside the elevator. That was exactly what he would do. I just let my indecisiveness control things over.

Second, I should have given Liam the time to explain himself. He is my boyfriend, but what I did was to believe that crazy rice cake whose face was so thick to self-proclaim that Liam was her boyfriend! She was so desperate. I already had a hunch yesterday. What if Leandro just planned all of these to separate Liam and me?

Well, it was about time not to let him. He must know where he should stand because the next time he would do that again, I wouldn’t stay still and feel pathetic. Yesterday was gone, and I promised myself that it would only be the time I allowed Leandro to insult me.

Third, I shouldn’t have headed straight to the nightclub and drowned myself in alcohol just because of my hasty decision. Before I passed out, I remembered that there was a commotion but I didn’t know the reason. Liam even got into fights with those men who I danced with. Damn, because I couldn’t remember how they touched my body.

When I was done with my refreshing shower, I was surprised to see the person who was currently sitting at the edge of the bed, patiently waiting for me to come out of the bathroom. A fierce joy had suddenly engulfed me, and my heart leaped for a second. He was dashingly handsome while wearing a brown tuxedo.

He was holding a bouquet of red roses, and he was lusciously smiling at me. His lips were even inviting. I could see the admiration in his eyes the way he stared at me. And the sweet dimple on his right cheek that used to be his incomparable trademark from the day we first met still never failed to amaze me. Beside him was a paper bag, which I thought was another gift from him.

Liam humbly rose to his feet to approach me, but I wasted no time and preceded him. I forgot that my body was just covered with a towel, and it could fall at any rate. I hadn’t worn anything inside of it, but I didn’t care anymore.

Regardless of the tears that soon welled up in my eyes, I just sprinted towards him and hugged him so tight. If I walked away from him yesterday, my hug was silently informing him that I wouldn’t let go of him this time.

“I’m sorry, L-Liam. I was so selfish. I promise that it would never happen again. Whatever problems we will encounter again, I will give you time to explain yourself. Please, forgive me. I’m so sorry!” My tears continued to fall while my face was buried in his chest, dampening his tuxedo. I stood at five feet and seven inches, but Liam was over six feet tall.

“Hush now, sweetie. It’s okay. I forgive you, and let’s just forget about it,” Liam stated. He looked at me before he gently wiped the tears from my face. “At least, I now knew how grave my girlfriend was when she’s jealous. Woah, it was already a matter between life and death!” He then winked at me before placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

Seamlessly beaming at how Liam teased me, I leaned my face on his chest again and listened to his heartbeats. He just came from work, but he still smelled so good. I could bury my face on him all day long and just sniff his musk throughout.

Soon after, he spoke again while caressing my nape. His touch sent shivers down my spine as always.

“Next time… don’t ever let yourself be drunk again, huh? That would make me fight again, or worse, kill those bastards! Fortunately, I could protect you because I was also skilled in martial arts. You’re not getting conscious as to what was happening around you when you’re drunk, Diane!”

Liam’s voice slightly hardened as he gnashed his teeth, indicating that he was angry at the things he had witnessed. I couldn’t do anything but bite my lower lip as I looked at him intently.

“Did you know how many crazy bastards were already touching you while you were busy dancing on the pole? I am willing to protect you with all my heart, but you also knew how selfish I am when it comes to you.” He was squeezing my cheeks while saying those words. It was like a small punishment for what happened, and I guessed I deserved to be taught a lesson.

I wasn’t aware of what happened because all I wanted last night was to forget everything. I could feel that Liam was disgusted, but his love for me was overriding his rage.

If I would put my feet into his shoes, I also wouldn’t want any woman to touch him. I couldn’t imagine women surrounding him.

All I could respond to him was, “I’m sorry,” while hugging him. I realized I was guilty, but at the same time, I felt so blessed because Liam was so understanding—the kind of trait I never gave him yesterday.

He was right. I was guilty, and I was not thinking about my imbecile actions. Although I did not ask, I knew that Lorenz called Liam for rescue. Lorenz alone could not handle those men who tended to harm me in the nightclub. I wasn’t even sure if my best friend knew how to punch.

Sometimes, I got really stupid too. Lorenz tried to stop me so many times already, but I didn’t listen to him. I ended up luring my best friend into a fight because of my recklessness.

“I’m sorry too if I retched straight to your American coat last night, huh? Nana Lydia told me about that mistake, and I’m so sorry for being a complete mess. I promise I will never drink alcohol again.” I pouted my lips before removing my arms from him.

He held my arms and looked at me straight into the eyes. “It doesn’t matter anymore, Diane… it was only a coat,” he said before giving me the bouquet of red roses. “What matters most was what happened before you vomited. It was priceless, and I would never trade that for anything else.”

What he said made some frowns occur on my forehead. I was about to open my mouth and ask him when Liam placed his forefinger on my lips.

“Get dressed, sweetie… because you didn’t know how much I was trying to resist myself here to make love with you. I might ravage you with that towel on,” he told me before kissing my nose. “I’ll just wait downstairs, then I’ll take you home.” He held my jaws and softly claimed my lips before leaving the room.

Wait? Did I make another drunken mistake? What happened last night before I puked at him? Damn, I couldn’t remember anything!

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Author’s Note: The next three (3) chapters under Liam’s P.O.V. are all flashbacks.