Chapter 2 Listen to your Heart

Alicia was in the bathroom. When she heard Kyle shouting at her mother , she wanted to step out of the bathroom and strangle him to death . Samuel was impatient thinking about what Kyle had to talk about with Alicia , so he also went upstairs . Seeing the door to Alicia's room open , he entered the room and looked at Kyle who was looking back at him in anger .

Samuel then realized that Alicia was not there . He asked Lily "Where is Alicia "?

"I don't .... I don't know ." Lily stammered . Her voice was full of fear .

They all were about to go out of the room to find Alicia when they heard the door of the bathroom being opened . Everyone turned their eyes towards the door and found Alicia standing there , looking at them . Lily and Samuel sighed in relief. Alicia smiled and said "What are you all doing here ? Mr. Smith , I was coming to meet you downstairs ."

Kyle was happy after hearing that she was coming to meet him . He said " I wanted to talk to you alone ."

Alicia felt uncomfortable after hearing this .

She tried her best to hide it but Kyle sensed it . Alicia finally gathered her courage and said "Mom and dad , please go downstairs ."

Lily and Samuel both gave her a worried look . She blinked her eyes to assure them that she would be fine . Lily and Samuel walked out of her room and went downstairs . They went into the living room and sat on the sofa . They were worrying about Alicia .

Inside the room , Alicia and Kyle were standing at a distance from each other . Kyle closed the door of the room and Alicia looked at him nervously . He placed the bouquet of roses which he brought for her on the bed and took a step towards her with a smirk on his face . Alicia gulped the lump formed in her throat and started taking her steps back . She stopped as her back hit the wall and found Kyle standing close to her . She could feel his warm breath on her face as his dark brown eyes were staring into her deep blue ocean eyes .

"Are you afraid of me ?" Kyle asked .

"N...no ."

"Can I kiss you , Alicia ?" He asked in his low and sexy voice .

I ... Before she could complete her sentence , Kyle slowly moved his lips closer to her lips . She closed her eyes . Kyle's lips curled into the smile . He knows he can kiss her but he doesn't want to force her in anyway .

Alicia was still standing with closed eyes and waited for him to kiss her lips but what he did surprised her . She slowly opened her eyes when Kyle's lips touched her forehead . Alicia felt touched by his actions but still thought that it's a forced marriage and this disturbed her .

Kyle held her hand and walked towards the bed. He made her sit on the bed sitting beside her . She wasn't saying anything to him. Seeing her silence , Kyle said "Alicia , I know you think of our marriage as a forced one but trust me , I really love you ."

Alicia looked in his eyes as he continued "I have always dreamed about you being by my side ever since I saw you at the party . I was depressed due to some past incidents . I was not able to sleep properly at night and it felt like I lost my happiness and peace . For the first time , I slept peacefully with you appearing in my dreams ."

Alicia smiled at him .

"Alicia , I promise you that I will always keep you happy. Even if you don't want a physical relationship with me , I just want you to be by my side . Our wedding is after one day and I am excitedly waiting for you to be mine forever. Just don't think of our marriage as a forced one please ." He said while holding her hand and looking in her eyes hopefully .

Alicia wanted to say something but words were not able to come out of her throat . She was feeling sad for him but she couldn't erase the thought of being forced to marry him . She was fighting through her feelings and was confused whether to feel sad for herself and get angry with Kyle or to happily accept this marriage because she was feeling sympathetic towards him . Kyle's words have caused a great mess in her brain .

Seeing that she wasn't saying anything , Kyle breaked the silence and said "I think I should go now . Take care of yourself and please be happy because that's the only thing I want . "

She stood up from the bed and looked at him . Kyle placed his palm on her cheek and said " I love you , Alicia . See you at our wedding ."

Kyle left her room and went downstairs to find Samuel and Lily sitting inside the living room with worried faces . They both were so lost in their thoughts that they didn't come to know when Kyle entered the living room . He cleared his throat to draw their attention towards him . Samuel looked up and saw Kyle standing in the living room .

"Mr. Smith , sorry I didn't realize when you came downstairs ." Samuel said getting up from the sofa . Lily also stood up from the sofa .

"It's okay . I should go now . Mr. William , Can I get Alicia's number?" He asked calmly .

"Sure , Mr. Smith ." Samuel said and gave him Alicia's number .

"Thank you and take care of Alicia ." Kyle said and left the house .

Alicia was standing near the window . When she saw Kyle getting in the car and drove away , she wanted to go downstairs and wanted to stop him from leaving . She wasn't able to understand why she felt like that but she didn't want him to leave her and she was also trying hard to convince herself that it's a forced marriage and she shouldn't feel anything about him.

She turned and looked at the bouquet of roses on her bed . She picked up the bouquet in her hands and saw a card within the roses . She opened the card , where only five words were written " Will you be mine forever ?" She thought that Kyle was actually here to propose to her for marriage but forgot about it . She smiled at it but again started feeling sad . At that time , her phone rang . She picked it to answer and saw an unknown number on the screen . She answered the call and heard Kyle's low and sexy voice "Hey , my love ."

She immediately recognized his voice and replied "Hey ."

"I am sorry I brought roses for you but forgot to give them to you . I know you have seen them and saw my message also , so I hope it's a yes?" Kyle asked .

Alicia didn't answer his question and asked " Did you come to propose to me ?"

"Yes , but forgot about it as our conversation took a serious turn about my past ." He said seriously .

"It's okay ." Alicia said .

"So , is it a yes ?" He asked again .

"You know that I will marry you ."

"I know but you feel our marriage as a forced one which means you don't love me . You know I don't want you to think of our marriage like this." He said . His voice sounded like he was disturbed by this thing .

Alicia took a deep breath and said "Kyle , I like you . I just need some time ."

"Really ."

He was very happy after hearing this but Alicia was feeling strange . She said to herself "No Alicia , you can't develop any feelings for him . It's a forced marriage . Stop arousing feelings for him in your heart ." She said to herself but she also started thinking about what he said to her . He doesn't want her to think of this marriage as a forced one .

Alicia's heart and mind were in a great mess . She felt like both her heart and mind were fighting with each other . Her heart was telling her to fall in love with him and her mind was telling her that she was being forced into this marriage because of him . She was silent for so long that she didn't realize Kyle was calling her name over the phone . She came out of her chain of thoughts and said " Yes , I should cut the call now . Mom is calling me . Bye."

"Bye , My love . I love you ." Kyle said happily .

"Bye ."

Kyle happily cut the call but Alicia was confused as to why she said that ? What's wrong with her feelings ? She said to Kyle that she likes him but she is also feeling hatred towards him . She was angry at herself .

In the evening , Lily came into her room . She was holding some bags in her hands .

"What's in these bags , Mom ?" She asked while looking at the bags in Lily's hands .

"These are some clothes for you and your wedding gown." Lily said with a serious and sad look on her face . She placed the bags on the bed and looked at Alicia .

"I don't need them . Take these bags away ." She said while looking out of the window .

"Alicia my little girl , You know I have dreamed of lots of things for your wedding . We will go shopping together , I will help you to choose your wedding gown and lot more but now these are all just my dreams which have been left unfulfilled ." Lily said .

Alicia didn't say anything but smiled at her . Seeing her so lost , Lily said "Alicia , come here and sit beside me . I want to talk to you . "

Alicia came and sat down beside her . She looked at her mother and a tear came out from the corner of her eyes . Lily wiped the tear with her hand and said "I know everything's happening so fast for you and you are still trying to process the news of your marriage to Kyle ."

"I don't want to leave you , mom . Please try to talk to dad."

"I am sorry Alicia , I can't go against your father's decisions . You know once he decides something , no one can change his decisions . " Lily said and touched her cheek .

"It's okay , I understand ."

"Do you like Kyle ?" Lily asked, trying to change the topic .

"He is nice and caring but I am confused ." She said while looking in Lily's eyes .

"Why are you confused ?" Lily asked .

"Today after meeting Kyle , I felt sympathetic towards him as he shared his past with me . He said that he cares about my happiness and he wants me to happily marry him . He doesn't want me to think of our marriage as a forced one and he always wants to be with me ." Alicia said and Lily smiled .

"He really loves you a lot ."Lily said .

Mom....

"Okay , sorry ."

"I like him but my mind is saying that don't fall in love with him and my heart feels he is a nice guy and he deserves to be happy ? What should I do, mom?" She asked with a worried look.

"You should always listen to your heart . It always leads you to the perfect ways . Just take a look at these clothes and if you want anything else , let me know . " She said , kissed her forehead and left the room .