"I was seventeen when I met my first boyfriend. His name is Tyler," I said, starting my own story. "We attended the same university. We shared the same minor subject and that"s how we got close. Our casual greetings turned into meeting up to study in the library together, having meals in the cafeteria, and talking about anything. As time went by, I found myself falling for him."Kaname held one of my hands and kissed its back. "Tyler," he repeated his name with difficulty. "That"s the first time I heard that name. It"s very unique."
"In my country, Christian names are usually used," I tried to explain. "I think his name has Old English roots."
"Does that mean your name is unique in your time?"
"Sort of," I nodded my head. "j.a.panese names aren"t always used in my motherland. Actually, mum wanted to name me Himawari but decided to use Hinata instead. When she was pregnant with me, she loved looking at things that had sunflowers in them."
"It suits you," he smiled. "I can"t think of any other name that would best describe you."
"Thanks," I smiled back and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Now back to my story… So, yeah, we got together and I thought it would last forever. I had always dreamed of marrying the first man I"ll be in a relationship with. Unfortunately, it would always remain an unfulfilled dream because the last time we spoke, I learned that he was getting married."
"How did things end between the two of you?" he sounded careful, as if he was treading a wild river. "I know he cheated but…"
"He slept with another woman," I replied. "Not only that, the woman is my worst enemy, she wanted to exact her revenge on me using him but she ended up falling for Tyler."
"Why did he hurt you? Did he explain himself?"
"Yes, he did, but just when I thought of giving him another chance, I learned they were secretly meeting up and continuing with the affair. I decided to end it right then and there but he"d still occasionally pop up and ruin my day. It"s been ten years but he still hasn"t given up. Not only that, the woman he cheated with is now pregnant with his child."
"Does it still hurt?" his hand tightened around mine. "Is it the reason why you didn"t have another man after him aside from me?"
"It doesn"t hurt anymore, anata," I caressed his face, its beauty marred by the frown he was wearing. "I wouldn"t be with you if I still have feelings for him. You healed me, remember?"
Kaname suddenly pulled me into a fierce hug, it was so tight I almost had a hard time breathing.
"Hina, forgive me for ever hurting you," he whispered. "I wish I could turn back time and erase all my mistakes but that"s impossible. I will make it up to you as long as I live."
"I love you, Kaname," was all I could say. "I"m so happy I met you."
"Thank you for accepting me for who I am," he loosened his arms around me to kiss me softly. "I was afraid that, after our talk, you wouldn"t want me anymore."
"That"s all in the past, what"s important is what we have now. You accepted me for who I am, how could I not do the same for you?"
He kissed me again, his lips as gentle as a breeze.
"There"s something else I have to tell you," I told him when our lips parted.
"What is it?" he asked while running his fingers through my hair.
"Some of the people in my modern life look like the people I met here."
"Really? Who?"
"Well, Mami looks like my sworn enemy Rach.e.l.le while Ayaka looks like her lackey, Joan."
"Really?" he was not expecting my reply.
"Yeah, not only that… Tyler," I lowered my lashes. "My ex boyfriend looks like the crown prince."
Kaname"s fingers froze; when I looked up, his eyes were glacial. His blue eye reminded me of an iceberg, while the brown one looked like onyx.
"All the more reason for you to stay away from him!" he said tersely. "Hina, I trust you but please, promise me that if you ever cross paths with him again, you will avoid him. Maybe that"s why he"s interested in you, he wants you because you left his future self!"
"I don"t have to promise you because that"s what I intend to do, his face and att.i.tude disgust me so much," I scrunched up my nose in distaste.
"Really?" both his face and tone were earnest.
"Yes, my love."
"Then I"m glad."
Although he said that, I still heard him grumbling to himself. I vaguely heard the words "b.a.s.t.a.r.d," "away from Hina," "touch her," and "kill him" as he did so.
"What are you mumbling about?" I asked him suspiciously. His hands were balled into fists and his eyes were once again burning with anger.
"Nothing," he avoided my eyes and started arranging our pillows closer. "It"s late, we"d better go to sleep."
"But I think I heard you say you"ll kill the crown prince just now, surely that"s not nothing?" I demanded.
"You heard me wrong," his clenched hands were hitting the pillows with excessive force.
"Are you angry?" he looked like he wanted to flatten the stuffed silk.
"No."
"Then why are you punching our sleeping cushions?"
"I"m not," his hands stopped. "I"m just jealous," he said through stiff lips.
"What?"
"I"m jealous that some stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d met you first," he ranted. "Not only that, he hurt you! Is he an imbecile? How could he let go of such a precious woman?"
I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing.
"He"s really stupid!" he repeated. "Well, I did benefit from his idiocy. If he didn"t make a mistake, I wouldn"t have met you. In fact, I think he deserves a thank you from me. If I am given a chance to meet him, I"ll definitely offer him my thanks."
My lips twitched until I couldn"t hold it in anymore. I laughed my head off until I cried.
"Oh, anata," I laughed. "You"re so funny sometimes."
"Oi, what"s so funny?" he grabbed my waist and pulled me close. "You"re always laughing at me, that"s not nice."
"But you"re just so cute," I whispered, our faces were so close I could smell his breath. "In fact, you"re so cute I kind of want to kiss you."
His facial expression warmed as soon as he heard my last sentence. "You do?"
"Yup," I nodded my head, careful that I don"t hit his forehead.
"Oh? But what"s kee—"
He wasn"t able to finish his sentence because I went for the kill and captured his lips.