Chapter Fifteen (UNEDITED)

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"A man in love is cautious with the decisions he makes, words he says and actions he takes, so he never purposefully causes her pain. He believes in her when she struggles believing in herself. He is her foundation, where she feels safe to be her true self." – Elizabeth Bourgeret

Tristan's POV

"Stella. Wait." I stood up and followed her to the ladies' room.

"Leave me alone." She said, almost pleading, before she pushed the door.

I hesitated following her inside, but what the hell, I messed up with her again!

Damn it. What is wrong with me? Now that I plan to make things right between us and here I am, ruining little chances I have with her again.

I reached for her hand but she was quick in evading my touch.

"Don't touch me. Don't you ever touch me!" Her eyes were flashing angrily at me.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. I don't know what came over me." I raked my hair with my hand, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation to justify my actions. "It was just for fun, to make the party... livelier."

"Fun? Well, you did a great job in entertaining everyone at my own expense!" Her expession was thunderous.

I heaved a sigh. Oh God. What have I done. I don't think she'll ever forgive me now.

"I'm sorry Stella."

She was breathing heavily and from her facial expression, I knew she was holding back her tears. Her voice even trembled as she spoke. "You think I'm a doll, with no feelings... no emotions? You think my heart is made of plastic that I wont get hurt? I may look like a bitch Tristan, but I also have a sensitive heart."

A single tear dropped on her right cheek and she wiped it off immediately with an angry hand.

Damn. I made her cry.

"I know. I know how sensitive you are... so delicate... and I'm guilty of being so insensitive and stubborn who refused to acknowledge that. I'm a stupid fool Stella. God knows how hard I tried to build a wall between us, to stop this crazy feeling that I have for you. But... I can't help it anymore. It's getting so difficult to keep on fighting everytime I see you."

"Stop."

"Please Stella..." I moved closer to her, but she stepped back.

"No. I don't want to listen to you. Just leave me alone." Raw hurt glittered in her eyes.

"I can't leave you alone. You have to know what I feel."

"NO! Damn you Tristan. Do you know why I hate you so much? Because you're always playing with my emotions. You say things that makes me so confused. You're so unpredictable like the weather in your country. Right now you're so adorable and in a snap, you easily switch off. I don't understand you." Biting her lip, she looked away.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel that way, but I didn't understand myself either whenever you were around. You made me feel so vulnerable and all logic flies everytime I looked into your eyes."

Stella's heavy lashes that shadowed her cheeks flew up. She was looking at me with a surprise expression on her face.

"But now, I realized... these suppressed feelings I have for you is the reason why I always act stupidly towards you. I have to get this off my chest."

"Tristan..."

"Stella. What I said awhile ago. I mean it. I love you."

Silence. There was a sudden long brittle silence.

I was waiting for her reaction. But she was just staring at me with wide eyes.

A cold knot form in my stomach and I felt as if a hand had closed around my throat. The tension I felt inside was torturing me.

I was trying to figure out what to say to her when the door suddenly opened. It was Stella's cousin, Jasmine Monteiro.

"Oops, sorry... um, am I interrupting anything?" Jasmine asked.

"No, it's okay. I'm leaving." I replied then turned to Stella again. "I guess we'll continue our conversation later?"

Stella nodded and I spun around and left.

Stella's POV

He loves me?

I felt numbed. Cold. Shock.

He really loves me?

I couldn't believe what he'd just said. I was tongue-tied when he said he loved me. I was like an innocent little girl, so dumbstruck. I didn't know how to react. I froze like an ice sculpture.

"Are you okay?" My mom asked me again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I took a sip on my champagne flute then cleared my throat.

"You don't look okay. Do you want to go home now?"

"No. I'm enjoying the party." I watched the guests dancing in the dance floor.

"That's great. I think you should dance with Michael Ferrari. He keeps on staring at you."

I looked at Michael and instantly, our eyes met. Yeah, mom was right. He was keeping an eye on me. My eyes shifted to Tristan, who was talking to a group of businessmen in another table, and immediately his burning eyes held mine still. I looked away, embarrassed for being caught staring.

"I'm not in the mood to dance. I'll just sit here and enjoy this delicious champagne."

"Just take it slow, princess. That one you're drinking contains 7.5% alcohol." My dad, Rafael Valiente butted in.

"Okay dad."

I was surprised when Tristan stood up and came to our table. "Good evening Sir, Maam. Can I join you in your table?"

Dad stood up and shook Tristan's hand. "Sure. Please join us."

Tristan looked at me. A faint light twinkled in the depths of his ocean blue eyes. Oh my goodness. His nearness was so overwhelming. I swallowed tightly as he sat down next to me.

"How's the airline business?" Dad asked Tristan.

"It's doing very well. Progressing. We're planning to add more planes for commercial flights this year."

"That's good. If you want, we can give you our quotation. Just give us the details."

"Absolutely. I'll do that."

"How's living in New Zealand?" Mom asked Tristan.

"Actually, it's great. The weather is really good, a lot of sunshine, fresh air and great food. You should visit there some time." He smiled and my eyes froze on his lips. Darn, he had the most sensual and beautiful lips.

"Of course, we love too. I'm sure Stella would love to visit New Zealand." Mom replied happily.

The mere mention of my name made me choke on my champagne. I coughed and Tristan immediately gave me his handkerchief.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. His hand was on my back, rubbing slowly... deliciously.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said between coughs.

"You're drinking too much champagne. You're flushing." He moved my champagne flute out of my reach. "Here, drink some water." He held the glass of water near my lips.

"I told her to slow down." Dad shook his head. "Maybe she'll listen to you Tristan.

I looked at dad and mom, they were exchanging malicious glances at us.

"Do you want to grab some fresh air outside?" Tristan suggested and studied my face with his enigmatic gaze for an extra beat. For a long moment. I looked back at him. I studied his face unhurriedly, feature by feature.

"Yes. I would love to."

****

"I thought we're going outside?" I hesitated when Tristan led me towards the elevator.

"We are. Come on, Stella. Get in." Tristan was inside the elevator. "Just trust me."

Trust me. Such a big word coming from Tristan. How can I trust him when he himself couldn't trust me.

"Do you trust me, Tristan?"

"Of course, I do. I trust you Stella with all my heart."

"What about Mia... and Xander."

There was a pause, then he heaved a sigh. "Mia is a big girl. She can take care of herself. Besides, he is Xander's responsibility now."

"And... you're not against them anymore?"

"No. Whatever makes her happy, I'm happy for her, for them."

A suddenly felt a bottomless peace and satisfaction. I went inside the glass hydraulic elevator and stood beside Tristan. "I trust you, Tristan."

His smile broadened with pleasure. "Thank you. You made me so happy, Stella."

***

I was in the garden full of flowers. I could smell their fresh sweet scent. Roses, Lilacs, Daisies... so beautiful. Then I was lying on a bed, full of rose petals in red, pink, white, peach and yellow. I rolled my body onto it and some of the petals were sticking on my naked body. A man was sleeping beside me. He was naked also. Slowly, he opened his eyes. It was Tristan. He was touching me, intimately. His hands slid from my knees down to my thighs. Then he kissed me with burning passion...

"Wake up, Stella."

"No." I moaned with pleasure.

"Stella. It's almost nine in the morning. You have to attend the board meeting at ten."

I immediately opened my eyes. And I was greeted with the glorious smell of flowers.

"It's from Tristan." My mom said.

I looked at the dozens of roses, in different colors inside my room. They were so beautiful.

"Your dad and I just realized last night that Tristan is your mysterious boyfriend from New Zealand." Mom smiled brightly. "We don't understand why both of you have to keep your relationship a secret."

"Um... it's called privacy mom."

Mom's eyebrows rose. "Well, you're already twenty three, you can do whatever you want. Besides, your dad and I approved of Tristan."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that. But I'm not yet ready for a serious relationship."

Last night, Tristan and I spent talking at the roof top of the hotel. It was like starting to get to know each other again. We shared a lot of personal informations... our likes and dislikes... family, friends, businesses and plans for the future.

I remembered last night when he said I love you again.

"I think I fell in love with you from the moment I saw you. It was Mia's first day in your school and I saw you sitting on a bench alone. You were looking at your phone, smiling. I said to myself, I'm going to court you when you're older." He smiled and studied me thoughtfully for a moment. "I love you so much, Stella."

"Tristan... I..."

"Shhh. It's okay. You don't have to say it back to me now if you're not sure. I'll wait until such time you'll say it without reservations."

"You know I like you, Tristan. But a lot of things happened between us. The hating, the hurtful words we exchanged... the incident in Arizona... I'm not sure what I feel towards you anymore."

"I know and I'm so sorry. I regretted everything I did. I messed up my chances with you. I just wish you will learn to love me back, even just a little. And I promise you, Stella, I'll spend the rest of my life making up with you."