Words I Was Afraid To Hear

Mich.e.l.le met Riley at a secluded area of a nearby cafe .

After their drinks were served, Riley cleared his throat .

"So, what are we talking about?"

Mich.e.l.le traced the rim of the cup with her finger . "My mom and dad bought a house . "

"Oh . . . that"s good . At least they could finally check out of their hotel . " Riley flashed her a smile .

Understanding his confusion, Mich.e.l.le shook her head . "No, no . . . they bought US A HOUSE!"

"What?! Why would they do that?" His apartment actually has a sentimental value to him . He has a lot of memories in it, good and bad . However, now is not a time to tell that to his new girlfriend who is talking care of the couple dogs he had with his ex .

Mich.e.l.le began tapping her fingers against the porcelain cup .

Before she could answer, he spoke . "Regarding your mother"s complaint about our marriage, I have a solution . "

The last four words in his sentence was masked by her synchronous interruption . "We have a problem . "

Riley furrowed his brows . "What problem?"

"Uhm . . . it"s actually connected to the reason they bought us a house . . . " She bit her lower lip and looked down at her cup .

"Hey, look at me . " He took her hand in his . "You can tell me anything . In fact, I"m really hoping that there will come a time that you will be willing to tell me everything that"s going on in that head of yours . " He flashed her a bright smile .

Mich.e.l.le looked back at him with a wry smile, then she frowned . She took a deep breath and had a serious lool on her face .

"Mom and Dad bought the house so that we can have children as soon as possible . They said that they don"t like the idea of raising kids in an apartment . " She finished her thoughts in a breath .

Riley was too shocked to react . The two elders have been thinking way ahead of things . His solution was only to register their marriage to appease her parents . He did not predict that they will ask for grandkids immediately .

"Uhm . . . I know our relationship isn"t like that so . . . " Her face became gloomier . She knew they had almost just started dating . Marriage is out of the question .

"Yet . " He got his senses back . "Our relationship is not at that point yet . " He corrected .

"But . . . " She had a worried look . She really liked how their thing was going before her parents arrived . She did not want to scare him off with marriage .

"But, it doesn"t mean that I don"t see us getting there . " He gave her a warm smile, while tightening his hold on her hand .

"Riley . . . I"m sorry for all this . . . I . . . I never expected them to visit so soon . . . " She had excuses in her mind . What he meant has not yet dawned in her .

He kept his smile and looked at her intently . He understands her insecurity . Even he had learned that people can go away because they were scared of a lifelong commitment . He even had to learn it the hard way .

He raised the hand which was clutching hers and kissed her hand gently .

Mich.e.l.le snapped from her fl.u.s.tered self when she felt his warm lips on the back of her hand .

"Mich.e.l.le Park, I can"t afford the wedding your mom requires right now . I don"t even have the ring to propose . But Mich.e.l.le Park, I want to marry you . "

Her eyes widened in disbelief, then they dimmed as her eyes welled up and she pursed her lips .

Riley was bothered by her reaction . He might have expected some tears, but they way she looked right now told him that the tears which are about to fall are not out of joy .

"Mich.e.l.le . . . " He raised his other hand to caress her face but stopped midair when she spoke .

"Don"t do this . " Her dark eyes looked back at him .

"But I really want to . . . "

"I"d rather tell them the truth . " She looked down, a tear fell in her cup, rippling the tea inside .