I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
52. Sudden Offer

Joel waits at Ariel's apartment door agitated. For the umpteenth time he looked at his watch and sighed softly.

"Why hasn't he come back yet? After dropping off Christina, I went straight to the park to meet her, but both she and Bram were invisible. I thought he was coming home soon, but the truth is_," Joel muttered with a heavy breath.

Wanted to be angry but he realized he had no right to it. Meanwhile, outside the apartment, Bram's car is seen stopping in front of the apartment building.

"I'm very grateful for today, Bram," Ariel said sincerely.

"You don't have to thank me for such a simple thing, Ariel. I would gladly do it again if I had the chance" Bram said.

"But I have one question for you" said Ariel, sliding her seat as she looked at Bram.

"What's that?" ask Bram.

"Are you feeling better now?" ask Ariel.

"I don't understand" Bram said, frowning.

"What happened to you today? What's making you so upset? When you came this morning, you were clearly angry, what was the cause?" ariel Cecar.

Bram was stunned, looking closely at Ariel's eyes which were now right in front of him, where their distance was only a few inches.

"Am I that clear about showing my emotions?" ask Bram.

"You're pretty good at hiding your feelings, but don't think you can hide them from me" Ariel replied.

"Is that why you also accepted my invitation today?" tanya Bram smiled wryly.

"Regardless of the reason I accepted your invitation, I really enjoyed today" Ariel replied.

"However, rather than that, I want to know what the reason is" he added.

"Only about work" said Bram.

"It would be better if you said, it's not something I should know, instead you should lie to me" Ariel said.

"But I can understand if you don't want to tell me, I won't urge you, thanks again for today" Ariel said.

"Sorry" said Bram.

"But, honestly, I also really enjoyed today, thank you for coming with me today" Bram said.

"Good night, Bram" said Ariel.

"Good night, Ariel," Bram replied.

As Ariel was about to get out of the car, Bram held Ariel's hand, making her turn back to look at Bram.

"What's wrong?" ariel was confused.

Bram paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and exhaling swiftly, looking at Ariel who was still waiting for him to speak.

"Are we going to stay friends, Ariel?" ask Bram expectantly.

"Of course, we can stay friends, just like today" Ariel replied.

"Is it wrong to expect more of that?" bram asked softly with his head bowed.

"I wouldn't say that's the wrong thing. But you know how it ends, right?" ariel replied asking.

"Can't we fix this and go back to what we used to be?" please Bram.

"You know that's not possible, right?" greet Ariel gently.

"I really regret what happened in the past, Ariel. I regret it every time I have lived up to now" said Bram.

"I'm stuck, no matter how much I try to change for the better, no one sees me for who I really am as when you see me,"

"I know, I promise I won't say anything like this again. I'm trying to keep it. But_,,,"

Bram hung up his sentence, his head bowed deeper and deeper, then groped quietly. Forcing a smile on his lips even though it looked like a broken smile.

"But, I would rather you create a longer distance than this. My feelings for you are still as strong as the first time we met, Ariel," Bram said.

Ariel was silent for a while, her heart touched with the sincerity that Bram showed her. However, his feelings were nothing for Bram. He also did not want to show Bram false feelings, because he also realized it would only heal new wounds.

"I'm sorry if I was being cruel to you. But, I can no longer make room for you in my heart. Although I said I wanted to, but my heart refused" Ariel said carefully.

Ariel still let Bram's tag on her wrist.

"I know, and I can also see what the reason is from your eyes even though you haven't noticed it yet" Bram smiled forcefully.

"After today I will really stop to say such stupid things again. I've lost you once, so I don't want to lose a friend like you" Bram said.

"I also know, it's not the first time I've promised something like this, it's just that I didn't expect it to take more time, and the thing I really don't want that to happen is you hate me,"

"We're going to be friends, right?" please Bram.

"I told you before, didn't I? We remain friends today, later and will remain so on" Ariel replied with a sincere smile.

"That's, very precious, Ariel. Thank you," Bram replied.

Bram smiled again. This time the smile was warmer. Bram let go of Ariel's hand and extended his hand with the finger facing up.

Ariel smiled and raised her head, accepting Bram's hand with pleasure.

Shortly after, Ariel breaks into her apartment building after Bram's car disappears from her sight. When the elevator door opened, he was surprised by Joel standing in front of the door of his apartment.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. What took you so long to get home?" joel replied asking.

Ariel frowned, looking at Joel who looked annoyed at something. Sighing softly, Ariel turned opposite to the door of her apartment.

"Follow me!" pinta Ariel started to step up.

"Where?" ask Joel.

"Shut up and just come along," Ariel firmly stepped out of the apartment.

Ariel steps out, and that's when she realizes the whereabouts of Joel's car.

Choosing to walk, Ariel stepped towards the nearest park. Shortly thereafter, Joel was beside Ariel, offsetting his steps.

"Hey, I've heard there's an arcade not far from here. Wanna there?" tawar Ariel's.

Joel looked at Ariel silently, giving a questioning and confused look at the same time.

"Haaa,," Ariel sighed softly noticing Joel's gaze at her.

"Why do you look so upset? Did something happen when you were with him?" ask Ariel.

"Is that the only question you have in mind?" joel replied asking.

"Many questions are on my mind, Joel. One of them, why are you in front of my apartment door," said Ariel calmly.

"And don't use excuses because you're worried. I don't even have the intention to kill myself, you know?" keep Ariel.

"Is that funny to you?" greet Joel coldly.

Ariel stopped her steps, looking at Joel as if she no longer recognized him. Joel also stops his steps when he realizes Ariel is behind him.

Slowly, Ariel stepped forward to approach Joel. Their proximity makes Joel's heart beat faster.

Joel freezes when they are only a few inches away. Ariel looked up at Joel's eyes, her hands outstretched, taking off the glasses Jeol was wearing.

"What makes you so angry? The look on this face is clearly different from when you saw me with Bram. It definitely proves it's not Bram who pisses you off" said Ariel.

Joel felt Ariel put her glasses back on. The distance of their faces became closer when Ariel put glasses on Joel with a little tiptoe.

Joel could even see Ariel's eyelashes moving slightly due to her breathing. Several times Joel swallowed his saliva, trying to control himself.

"Do you still not want to talk_,,,"

Ariel's words were interrupted when Joel suddenly kissed her face and kissed her lips. Ariel gasps, trying to push Joel, but Joel's hand moves first to grip Ariel's wrist, and dances her closer.

Time seemed to run slowly, the grip of Joel's hand stretched out along with Joel pulled his face, fixed eyes Ariel who still clearly visible a shock in his eyes, then he put his forehead on Ariel's shoulder.

"You can slap me if you're mad at me" whispered Joel.

Hygiene. . . .

Ariel remained unmoved. Ariel's silence makes Joel lift his face, until their gazes meet again.

When Ariel was about to open her voice, a voice from behind her first interjected.

" Excusez moi, mademoiselle, monsieur, [excuse me, miss, sir]" said one of the two men who approached Ariel and Joel.

The two of them directed their gaze towards the two men who were smiling politely. Ariel gave a friendly smile back, while Joel smiled confusedly.

"Bonjour, [Hello]," said they nodded their heads.

"*Sole, the je range, [Sorry if I'm disturbing],"

"Es-tu la me femme que dans le parc cet apres-midi? [Are you the same woman as in the park this afternoon*?]" tanyakanya.

"Haa, what are you saying?" welcome Joel to confusion.

"Oh seigneur [my god]" said the man patting his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I forgot. Unknowingly I use the language of my country" he lamented.

"Cela n'a pas d'importance, [it doesn't matter]" greeted Ariel kindly.

"Je comprends. Tu peux continuer, [I understand. You can continue," continued Ariel.

"Merci mademoiselle, tu es tres bon, [thank you miss, you are very kind]" she replied with a warm smile.

Joel sets his sights on Ariel, amazed by the way Ariel speaks in response to them. But he was also surprised by the facts.

"Ah, before that, introduce, I am Albert, and this is my brother Darrel. We were one of the street orchestras who was in the park this afternoon" Albert said.

"We saw your Orgen game, and to be honest we were amazed at the way you played it" Darrel said.

"Well, then what's the reason you two came to me?" ariel asked kindly but did not lower her guard.

"We would like to invite you to join us in our orchestra group, where we have signed up for a musical performance in Paris" Albert said.

"We had a piano, but no one could play it. When viewed from the way you play Orgen, I'm sure you can master the piano quickly," continued Darrel.

"Can you consider this, miss?" ask them simultaneously.

Ariel is silent, while Joel just quietly waits without understanding what Ariel and the two men in front of her are talking about.

...>>>>>>>--<<<<<<<...