I'm Not Daria
Letterbox

"Please don't misunderstand me, I mean about Mario. Listen to me."

"What other reason could make you throw him out? You're jealous and you want her to leave because you think we like each other, don't you?" I still don't look at him. I can't. I will forget all the reasons why I was angry with her if I risk looking into her charming eyes.

"I'm not going to lie to you, that's one of the reasons, even if it's small. You remember the day when we went to buy her a birthday present and you scolded me for not appreciating it? I feel so guilty about it. I'm not an adult, I don't want you to think of me that way because I'm not like that. So I watched him and he was a good man. He is also very talented and it frustrates me because he let his talent go to waste here, just because of the money. He has so much potential and so much to learn. Staying here would only hinder his growth. I didn't want that to happen to her. I wanted him to get what he deserved, so I arranged an interview for him. I asked him if he wanted to study and get better and of course he said yes and I told him about the interview and he was happy. I could see that staying here was just a job for her and she was very passionate about cooking before she was offered to be Daralyn's cook. I'm sorry I hurt your heart for that."

Hearing this made me feel a little relieved, but I felt sad because Mario was not waiting for me to recover to say goodbye, he just left by just leaving a letter for me. We are very good friends. He deserves more than that.

I thought back to the letter I read last night.

Dear Daria,

As you read this, maybe I was on a plane, on my way to Tokyo to make my dream come true, thanks to Devan.

I knew you'd be so mad at me for leaving. Believe me, it is no less difficult for me. If you have to say goodbye to them directly. I'm not sure I can do it.

Cooking was my favorite, but unfortunately working for the Daralyn family made me lose interest in this area, but not completely. Because of you, my little sous chef. I started to love cooking again.

You are my best friend who I hope doesn't have to part. But life happens and now here we are, so far from each other.

Someways. I hope you don't forget me. I wish you the best of your life. Eat well, be healthy and stay happy. That's all I want for you, though,

I've been debating this ever since I got accepted into the restaurant and I'd be sorry if I didn't tell you

Not as a friend, but as a woman. I've liked you for a long time. Do you remember us sitting in a garden with cherry blossoms all around us ? it was the best day of my life. I'm happy, just sitting next to you, even if we don't talk, I'm happy to see you. I told him about a woman at the time. That I liked him and he chose a man who wasn't me. That's ridiculous.

It's you, I'm sure you already know. You just went to breakfast with Devan at a cafe. It wasn't a big deal but I still fussed about it in my head.

I'm worried that after reading this, you don't think of me as a friend anymore, but I don't want to know. I just wanted to tell you because this thing would probably burden me for a long time if I didn't tell you.

But I think I know your answer. You don't like me that way. You just see me as a friend. You like Devan. It was obvious but be careful he was dating Luna. I just don't want you to get hurt.

But don't worry. I'll forget you. It won't be easy because what I feel for you isn't just an interest or a crazy or a fancy. More than that, though I'm sure you didn't know it because I hid it well. It may take some time to get used to your absence in my life, but I'm sure I'll get there. I'm sorry if this confession makes you uncomfortable, but I just wanted to tell you

Goodbye, I hope we can meet again. I'm gonna miss you.

Take care of yourself

Mario.

I know it. She likes me. And he's right. I didn't like it back which made me relieved that she didn't tell me that directly because she didn't want us to part like that, with me breaking her heart. But Mario is much better. He deserves someone who is not a fake and so does Devan. I lied about my entire identity. I don't even know who I am. But these two very handsome people like me. And I like one of them.

I like Devan. And like the kiss we shared, I wanted more kisses. How selfish of me.

I was so immersed in the thought of the letter that I didn't realize that she was still talking until I heard her say those two words again.

"I'm sorry,"

If it was the latter, it made my heart ache a little but it also felt relieved as he started to master the situation. We can't do this. This is not true.

Before I could answer, despite not knowing what to say, he spoke again.

"I'm sorry for surprising you like that. I should have been able to control myself. I didn't plan it to happen that way."

I still didn't know what to say to him, so he continued.

"You said things I didn't want to hear coming from you and I didn't think before to do what I did. I'm sorry for doing that without your permission"

I gave a stiff nod to him.

"Make sure mistakes like this don't happen again. We don't want to regret the things that happened. Let's just say it didn't happen and we'll be fine."

He didn't speak for a few seconds. "Error? A regret? Wait a minute.you think sorry? That kiss was a mistake for me?"

I jerked my head at him to give him a warning look. "Yes, of course. It was a big mistake and we have to make sure that we don't do it again."

He leaned in the kitchen and looked at me. "It's not my fault don't regret what happened. All I regret is kissing you without your permission. You were so surprised, you obviously didn't expect it. I apologize for surprising you like that, I don't know, all of a sudden I needed it. I need you so much in my life".

"Devan, what's wrong with you? You're scaring me"

And it's true, her unhesitating confession really scares me because she seems determined not to run away anymore, not only stopping but also embracing her feelings for me. And that's not good news for me because if he continues like that, maybe I'll just give up and let him have me.

He held my hand with his warm and soft hand.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, I know you're overwhelmed by what I just said, but I want you to know that I don't want to run from you anymore because as you can see, I don't want to run from you, I'll keep coming back to you. Actually, I don't want to run away.I want to be with you and see the beauty that exists between us. I want to feel this feeling for you. So please allow me to like you"

It was him, the words I feared would come out of him one day.

I bow my head. I didn't hear it. Tell it to myself. Don't influence. I didn't hear it. Remember what disaster it will bring. You didn't hear anything.

I looked at him with a smile. "You should go on a date with Luna. You sound so missed." I said as I ate another spoonful of Nutella, a little messy as it spread a little on my lips.

"Want to?" I asked as I pointed towards the sandwich and Nutella.

He just looked at me without changing his serious expression. Then her gaze floated down and before she could lick Nutella off my lips, she leaned over the table, placed her finger under my chin, raised my head so I could look at her and then pressed her lips against mine, it makes me stunned again. It was a small peck that lasted about three seconds and then he pulled away.

"Yes, thank you. It tastes good." He said, rubbing his tongue against his lower lip

I wanted to scold her for what she had just done but I fell silent because as she pulled away, I saw something behind her shoulder

I saw someone looking at us