Chapter 77

Harmony was just staring at Drake. She was lost at words. What would she say? She was afraid that everything that he said were a joke. She was thinking that the man was pulling a prank on her.
She let a deep breath and acted as if she was not affected at all with everything that he said.
She smiled while looking at him.
And then she laughed.
Drake"s eyebrows were drawn together when he heard her laughing.
"What"s funny?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "You!" She said as she continued to laugh.
"I cannot believe what are you saying to me," she said and then she shook her head.
"God, so you think it was all a joke?" Drake said in a serious tone.
She suddenly stopped from laughing. She saw how the man"s face turned dim.
"Hey, what"s wrong?"
"Why don"t you ask yourself?"
"What the---"
"I love you, Harmony. That"s all what I wanted to tell you with everything that I said to you. This isn"t a joke. Yes, I failed to follow the contract," he said in a low voice.
And for the second time around, she was dumbfounded. Harmony felt like her heart was hammering so hard inside her chest and her ribcage was already about to collapse.
She could hear the loud sound of her heart as it pounded.
"I--- I cannot understand," she said stammering while looking at Drake. She couldn"t get what the man was trying to say. Or, probably, it was not sinking in her mind because she was refusing to believe.
Drake let out a deep sigh.
"What is so hard to understand with that, Harmony? I love you," the man uttered again.
She was speechless.
What should she be saying? She never thought that she was going to hear those words from the man. She knew that Drake had been clear on what their relationship was.
"I love you, Harmony. I know it"s so hard to believe as I felt the same way too," he said while he was not removing his gaze from her. "At first, I was in denial. I couldn"t understand myself but every time I wake up in the morning, you are already inside my mind. When I sleep, you are the last thing inside my mind. I felt like I lost my mind when you are not around. I tried to scold myself and to remind that we are not the normal couple, but tell me, how can I teach my heart to stop? How can I cut the feelings that started to grow inside me? I know that Paul came back in your life and I am willing to wait. I will respect all the decisions that you are going to make. I don"t want to rush you," Drake continued.
Harmony was just looking at him and she could tell that the man was sincere in every words that he was saying. He could see the love and the fear in his eyes while he was confessing his love for her.
But what she was supposed to say?
She knew to herself that she was feeling differently to Drake but was it right for her to tell him about what she felt towards him. But what if the man would mistakenly thought that she was still into Paul? What if he would distance himself from her because he was hurt as she didn"t respond in his love declaration?
She didn"t know what to think of. She never imagined this seen even in her wildest dream. Drake just said that he was in love with her.
She couldn"t believe it. She wanted to ask him when and how that happened. But she felt like she had swallowed her tongue.
Suddenly, Drake pulled her closer to him. He hugged her so tight as if the man didn"t want to let her go anymore.
"D--- Drake, I--- I cannot breath," she said when she felt his hugged was so tight and it was as if the man was unable to hold his emotions. She could hear his heart pounding so fast as her head was resting on his chest. She wanted to hug him back but because of the shock, she was unable to move any part of her body.
"Oh, I am sorry," he said as he pushed her away from him and distance their bodies.
"It"s okay," she said while looking at him. Harmony couldn"t deny that she saw sadness in his eyes probably because she didn"t said anything about his confession. "I am sorry if I am unable to say anything about what you just said. I am not sure if I have heard everything right or if I understood everything correctly," she continued.
"No worries. I just said what I am feeling but you have the right not to answer me. Beside, I am not pressuring you. Take your time," he said and then smiled at her. "But please don"t avoid me because of what you have learned about my feelings for you."
She nodded her head. She had no plan of doing that. She couldn"t just leave him after everything that he had done for her and her family.
"So, can we still continue our relationship in front of my family like what we have talked about the first time?"
"Of course. I am still on it," she said and smiled at him.
"Thank you, Harmony. You didn"t know how much you made me so happy," the man said and she saw how his eyes brightened up compared earlier.
"No, I should be the one saying that towards you. Thank you so much for being there and thank you for understanding on what I am feeling," Harmony said.
She held his hands. "I am sorry if I cannot say anything about what I feel because I am still on the process of healing. I hope you can wait for me until I am whole again. Until I am ready to love again."