The ocean eyes

8. I'll never let you go

Something had definitely happened; he had never seen Gulf so gloomy. He himself is not in the best mood after talking with Jom, so he was in a hurry back to see his golden boy and make sure that everything was okay between them.

What did he think?

That Gulf would never give it up.

That the feelings between them are the most real and strong.

But now fear binds him hand and foot again when Mew sees how depressed the guy is. He carefully sits down next to the sofa and stretches out of habit to take his small hand in his own, but for some reason he doesn't dare, so he just puts his hand next to his thigh. "Something happened?"

"Yes, my father..." Gulf trails off, as if unable to continue, and drops his face into his hands.

"What is with your father?"

"He is unhappy that I disappear with you for days. More precisely: he is unhappy that I am disappearing away from my family - he does not know about you yet. But he is already asking questions, what or who distracts me so much from the affairs of my family."

"So this is not a problem: tell him that you and I are walking and..." he stops, because he does not know how to describe what happened between them at night.

"The problem is different: he agreed on the engagement."

Mew frowns in bewilderment. "And what is it? Something bad?"

"Oh, Mew, you are... out of this world because of your memory loss," Gulf sighs in resignation. "An engagement is a promise to marry someone specific. So: my parents agreed on my upcoming marriage with the daughter of their old friends."

Now real horror washes over him from the inside in a wave, freezing everything in its path. Now his hands cannot just lie on the soft surface of the sofa - he is forced to lock them in a tight grip on his knees so that they do not shake. Like his lips, which barely whisper. "And what are you thinking?"

"What about me? How can I opt out? It means quarreling and breaking off all relationships with the family."

"And you... Are you going to marry this girl?" Mew barely squeezes out the words, because his brain seems to be petrified and can't understand what is happening around.

"I have to, Mew, I have to - this is the desire of my family," Gulf looks at him somehow strangely desperate.

"And what about me? What about us?"

"Us?"

"Yes, us! You told me yourself that arousal occurs when someone you like is around. And you also experienced it, as I did. It turns out that you like me. Is it true?" He is really confused, because these things do not fit in his head.

"Mew, you are... so simple and naive," - and there is a melancholy in his eyes. "Marriage is more than "like". This is a union for strengthening ties, for multiplying the wealth and power of the family. And I am also lucky that I have known Jenny since childhood, we have been friends with her for many years. She is very sweet and beautiful, I really like her. It would be worse if the engagement was with a stranger."

"Like? Do you like her?"

Everything inside him sinks, because his worst nightmare has come true: there is someone whom Gulf likes more than him.

"Not in that sense! I like her as a person," Gulf suddenly understands why he has become so gloomy now, and takes his hand. "But anything can happen: this sympathy can develop over time into stronger feelings. Because I once thought I was in love with her."