My One True Love

Chapter Nineteen: Feelings

WILLIAM...

That had been close, too close. Adalet had almost seen the box that contained her present but I hadn't expected to see her that morning. I had woken up early to go to the jewelry story Judy had recommended and after that I had gone to order lasagna for dinner and I had just gotten back to the hotel to rest a little and call my parents to tell them about the project's advancements and to wish them happy holidays.

I was just going to open the door to Chris' and my room but it opened before I could take out the key. "Hello mate, there you are. I was looking for you," said Chris as he sighed with relief.

I examined him closer and saw he had already showered and was dressed to go off, he was also very restless. "What is up with you today?" I asked confused as I saw him rush to the stairs.

"I overslept and I still need to get Judy a gift," he called and I chuckled as I saw my friend disappear.

I walked inside our room and saw it was still early so I decided to take a nap before I got ready for the day. I placed the box I had been carrying on the nightstand and then I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

.

"William. William," I heard somebody call but I was too comfortable to open my eyes and answered. "William!" With that yell I jumped and bolted up. Chris was standing at my doorway looking amused. "I see you fell asleep and forgot to call your parents since yesterday. They just called me to see if you were all right," he said as he threw my phone and it landed on the bed.

Chris left and gave me some privacy. I grabbed my phone and saw it was already noon that meant it was a little after three back home. I dialed my mother's phone since my father didn't usually answer his phone at home. "Hello, son? Oh thank God, we were worried about you," said my mother and I heard her sigh in relief.

"I am sorry mum, I was busy with the supervision and I did not get the opportunity to call," I said even though it wasn't a good enough excuse. "Oh and before I forget, Merry Christmas mum, is father there with you?"

"Yes, he is listening to you, you are on speaker, son," she said and I smiled.

"Hello father, Merry Christmas," I said cheerfully and I heard him laugh.

"Merry Christmas son, and I must tell you that yesterday we sent the package you left, to Scotland. Adrianna should have received it by now," he said calmly and I sighed, I had forgotten I had left Adrianna's so that she would receive it by Christmas.

"Thank you, father and mum. I appreciate your help," I said sincerely.

"Our guests are arriving son, call us when Christmas stars in your time zone, please," said my mother and I agreed before hanging up.

I sighed and considered calling Adrianna and finally did but she never picked up the phone. Since our last fight we hadn't talked very much, she was probably still heartfelt and mad but I wasn't going to apologize for taking responsibility of my job.

I walked out of my room and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. A few minutes later I was ready to go and when I walked out of the bathroom I saw a sandwich on the table. "I thought you might be hungry so I made us an entrée to help us get through the day," said Chris as he came up behind me.

"Thank you, mate," I said. I hadn't realized I was hungry until now that I had seen the sandwich. It was now almost three and the woman that I had payed for the lasagna told me to meet her around that hour to pick it up. "I am going to go pick you the lasagna for tonight. Would you like to come?" I asked and he nodded and we headed out.

..

Dinner wasn't what I had imagined it to be. Adalet's parents had surprised me, at least her father. It was obvious he only wanted to protect her and that helped me understand why he didn't trust us very much.

When the clock had struck midnight, I had called my parents and they had wished me a Merry Christmas once again and had told me what they did that night. After hanging up with them I tried to call Adrianna but she never answered and I sighed, this fight had gone on long enough. So I decided to be the better person and sent her a text:

Merry Christmas. Say hello to your family for me, please.

I miss you.

I sighed and waited for Chris to finish his call with his family before we headed back inside. When we opened the door I was confused as to why Adalet's parents looked like they were leaving. In fact, they did leave shortly after they wished us a Merry Christmas and suddenly there was just Adalet and I in the room since Chris wanted to give Judy his gift in private.

I saw how nervous Adalet was and I felt the same way, we hadn't spent much time alone since the Christmas Parade where I had found Adalet had a suitor and part of me felt bad for ruining things because it was not my place to feel jealousy when I had a girlfriend back home.

I took out her gift and saw as her face lit up as she opened the box. "I only got one charm because I plan on adding one every Christmas, one that helps you remember a certain memory or in this case, a certain phase in your life," I explained sheepishly and I saw her smile widen. I sighed in relief, I was glad she had liked her present, it was an idea I had come up with myself and going through all that trouble to make it happen, I could see it had been worth it.

Adalet didn't say anything as she gently took out the bracelet from the box. "I love it," she said softly and I thought I saw tears of happiness in her eyes. Before I could react, she was hugging me tightly and unconsciously I hugged her too. I could smell her perfume that smelled fresh and my heart warmed as the hug lasted longer than I had expected.

When we pulled back I offered to put the bracelet on her wrist and she agreed as I did. After I finished she ran to her room, leaving me confused. Had I done something wrong? But then I heard the sound of her moving a few things and then a door closing before she came back with a box.

I could see she was nervous as she handed me the box and slowly, I opened the box. A smile creeped into my face when I saw what was inside, a laptop case with my name. I laughed and pulled her in for an embrace. This had been how our friendship had started and that meant a lot to me.

"Open it," she said in my ear and we pulled away but still stood very close to each other as I opened the case. There was a folded poster inside and when I rolled it out a world map stared back at me. It was all black with the exception of the United Kingdom and the United States. At first I thought it was just a poster that represented our friendship or the places where I had begun to actually question a lot of things.

I heard Adalet clear her throat and then she said, "when you visit a new place you scratch the map with a coin or key or something and color will appear in its place." I smiled, it suddenly made sense and I knew there were still some other places I had to scratch in the European continent but decided to do it later.

"You really are amazing," I said without thinking and I turned to look into her eyes, her beautiful eyes. I didn't realize my eyes were trailing down to her soft-looking lips until it was almost too late. My hand reached for her face and the both of us pulled together like two magnets, my heart was beating rapidly and a voice inside my head was telling me to stop but it felt right and I really wanted to kiss her. But the moment was over before we could finish. Chris and Judy stepped out of Judy's room and headed towards us with wide smiles.

While Judy showed Adalet her Christmas present, I stepped back and saw that Chris was eyeing me carefully with his eyebrows raised. I quickly turned away in shame, I had almost done it, I had almost broken my promise to Adrianna. I wasn't like that so why was I acting like that? I was too confused and lost in my thoughts but I felt the sudden urge to run outside to get some fresh air.

I needed to get out. "It is getting late Chris and the girls probably have things to do tomorrow morning," I said and Chris probably saw my discomfort because he agreed and we began to say goodbye to the girls.

When I reached Adalet, she hugged me without a warning and my already confused thoughts began to raise more questions and doubts that had been surprised. I tried to relax and I heard her as she whispered In my ear, "Thank you William. Merry Christmas."

I pulled away and tried to smile as casually as possible before responding, "Merry Christmas Adalet, I will see you at the concert, all right?" She gave me a wide smile and nodded. Chris and I walked out of the apartment and I finally sighed.

I rushed down the steps and towards the exit and Christopher didn't question me, he just followed me in silence for which I was thankful. He knew I needed time to think and clear my mind. We reached the hotel a few minutes later and when we reached our room, we still hadn't uttered a single word. "Judy is wonderful and I see the two of you as a really good match. I think she would be good for you," I said sincerely once we were inside.

Chris smiled brightly and nodded in agreement, "yes she is, mate, but I have decided to take things slow." I nodded and silence rested over us again.

"I do not think you should deny your feelings for Adalet but I think you should talk to Adrianna first so that you can be sure of what to do," he suggested and then he walked into his room.

I sighed and got into my pajamas, I tried to fall asleep but it was hard. I couldn't keep myself from tossing and turning and I finally gave up and sat in front of the sliding door that led to the balcony. Outside the stars shined brightly above me and I wished I knew what to do.

I didn't know how much time had passed but I could see the moon begin to disappear in the horizon. I looked at my phone and realized that it was now 6:30am in London which meant Adrianna was probably awake. She had the habit of waking up early even if it was a holiday. I dialed her number and waited for her to answer, I hoped she answered.

"Merry Christmas, love! I am so sorry for not picking up yesterday, everything has just been happening to fast and I just got up," she said when she picked up and I let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn't sound mad anymore.

"Hello love, it is nice to hear your voice. Merry Christmas. Did you receive the gift I sent you?" I asked trying to keep things calm.

"Yes! I loved the dress and I plan on using it at the gala. What do you think?" she asked, her tone had even changed, she seemed happier now.

"I think it would look lovely on you," I said with a smile. I had bought her a navy, long dress with a bit of cleavage on the back and it shinned with the light.

"Oh stop it, Will," she said cheerfully and my eyes widened. She hadn't called me that in years and I had never thought it to be odd but I guessed she was trying to fix things between us. "I was wondering, would you like me to go to New York for New Years?" she asked sounding hopeful. I didn't see that coming, I thought she wouldn't change her mind anytime soon.

"That would be great, love. I would be nice to see you before the gala," I said but I was still about doubtful of her coming to New York.

"It would only be for a few days since I need to get back before the gala, your mother actually called me and asked me to help decorate for the gala!" she said excitedly. It looked like my parents were coming around and for the first time, I didn't know how to feel about that.

"Then I am sure the gala will turn out better than any of the ones before," I said encouragingly, the last thing I wanted was for Adrianna to take things the wrong way. She was a master of trying to figure out the hidden message in words even thought there wasn't a second meaning in some cases.

"Thanks, love, that means a great deal to me. Now, I have got to run and do some errands but I will send you the details of my flight," she said and I heard her send me a kiss and then she hung up.

I sighed and got up from where I had been sitting on the floor. I was glad Adrianna was happy again and that she was trying to be a part of my life but I couldn't help but wonder if it had been too little too late or if she was hiding something and was trying to keep the truth from me by acting sweetly. I shrugged and got into the bed.

I had thought I wouldn't be able to fall asleep like a few hours ago but this time I was able to rest. That night I dreamt of could be's, I dreamt of how it would have been different if Adrianna had decided to accompany from the beginning, of what it would have been like if I were about to marry her like I had planned a few months back before my parents had objected. I wondered how it would have been different if my parents had liked Adrianna from the beginning. Then my thoughts changed and I thought about what could have been if I had met Adalet when I was single, I wondered what would have happened if I had kissed her before...

But what ifs didn't exist and I could only worry on what was happening in the moment, I just hopped that what came in the future helped me be happy and with the person I was meant to be. I guessed I was beginning to believe in fate and destiny little by little as the events happening around me started to unfold.