Dinner was ordered at home, when they finished eating they threw away the packages and washed the cutlery. Then they both went to the armchair to continue with the series they had started watching days ago.
From time to time Ariel would look at Felix to observe his reactions, the series was one that she had wanted to see and she was interested in knowing if Felix liked it. In one of those glances she realized that Felix was not even looking at the screen, his gaze was distant, she tried to see what he was looking at, but there was nothing she could find of Felix's interest, when she saw him again she found that his expression was not one of shame or seriousness, at that moment her gaze changed to herself, But it didn't seem that he paid attention to her, she could only hold his gaze in his blue eyes without knowing what they saw.
She could have asked, she could have moved him a little, passed her hand in front of his face to get his attention, but instead of either of those options she stretched enough to kiss him, taking advantage of her leaning over him like him on the couch.
That gesture seemed to bring Felix back to reality, his eyes returned to her as he noticed her again.
-Are you ok? Ariel asked, Felix's expression seemed, for lack of a better word, sad.
-Yes, I'm sorry, my mind got lost in other things. – He answered.
-Wherein? – Ariel asked as he turned off the TV, the series already forgotten and unimportant in comparison.
"Well, it's not... nothing, I suppose. – He said with a trace of sadness.
-It seems that it is something that hurts you. – Ariel said putting his hand on Felix's chest, right in his heart. His eyes looking up made Felix feel somehow moved.
-Well, I suppose it is in a way. - he said looking at her as he hugged her, as if what he wanted to say was going to make her walk away. "I was thinking about my parents. –Said.
"Oh," Ariel replied as if that was all the explanation he needed.
-Yes, I was thinking about when it had been the last time I had a night like this when I lived with them.
- How are you?
-Yes, I'm talking about such a quiet night, such a comfortable dinner, a family moment like that, and while I searched my memories, all I could see were sad moments or conflicts, I didn't find anything that made me happy.
Ariel nodded as a sign that she heard him.
- You know, when I was with them we argued all the time, they tried to make me understand a kind of respect that I only perceived as them trying to humiliate me, as if they wanted me to understand that they were my owners more than my parents. We argued because I was trying to make them see that people were not just objects and that a child was not a slave or belonging, and we could never agree. I always thought that when I wanted to make them see things from my perspective it was because I loved them, and I wanted them to understand me, I thought that way they could understand me and that things would be better, but I never succeeded. Then I thought that the healthiest thing would be to just respond as they wanted me to do, but if I did it then, what made them different from all those people who didn't matter to me?, I thought that if I did that it would be like killing all the love and affection I ever had for them, and then there would be no turning back, that I would no longer see them as my parents, and even if that was the healthiest thing to do, it was nothing I wanted.
At this point the tears rolled down Felix's cheeks, they were not abundant and were barely noticeable, but there they were, reflecting the sadness of his heart.
- And how about now, do you still want to love them? – Ariel asked in his chest.
-Not much has happened, so I still struggle sometimes, but not anymore, they didn't care or care about understanding me, all they wanted was to dominate me and use me as some method to feel better about themselves, but it's like something is missing, like something is not balanced, I feel like if I don't love them then I should hate them, But I just want that seeing or hearing them can't affect me anymore, I was just thinking about how I should feel now.
- Don't know what to feel? Ariel asked.
-Yes, I was never good at it, I always felt uncomfortable with almost any situation, and being here now, with you, I feel as if I don't deserve this happiness, as if something in reality doesn't add up. – Felix said trying to explain himself.
Ariel kissed him on the lips as kindly as she could.
"You deserve it, you deserve to be happy, and as long as I'm your wife I'll make sure you are. – Ariel said as seriously as she could. Felix was moved and couldn't help but feel a warmth in his chest that he had never felt, was that happiness?, he took Ariel's face and brought it close to his.
-If you keep saying things like that, you're going to make me fall in love. – he said giving him a kiss with all the affection he could. Ariel was shocked and her heart began to go crazy, the kiss was not much different from the ones they had already had, but for some reason she felt her whole body tingling and she began to see little stars while the kiss lasted.
At the end of the kiss she was paralyzed with fear, she didn't know where to hide, she only knew that she didn't want Felix to see her face, she threw herself at his chest and hid her face in it. After a few seconds she looked up enough for Felix to see her eyes.
"You... do you love me?" – She asked, averting her eyes from Felix's with the greatest shyness that Felix had ever seen her, her beautiful blue eyes like the ocean hypnotized him and without knowing it he began to pour out all his thoughts.
-Love, is a very strong word, one that unites lives and intertwines destinies. – Felix said. – Love is wishing for someone else's well-being with all your strength, and doing everything to protect and bring about their happiness.
Felix took her cheek, caressing her face gently.
Love is sharing burdens, sorrows, problems and joy. – He said while Ariel stood up a little to be able to be at his level. "Telling you that I will make you the happiest woman in the world is the same as telling you that I love you." –
Ariel shuddered, those two words made her world rumble.
- Do I make you happy? - he asked looking into her eyes.
Ariel didn't trust her own voice, she just nodded her head in a tender gesture.
"If I told you, would you be willing to love me?" Felix asked with a little more hesitation than he had been showing so far.
Ariel opened her eyes, she began to think about it herself, touched her chest looking at her hand on it, and smiled as if a new light had found its permanent place in her heart, a light that warmed her soul.
She then turned her gaze to Felix and kissed him in the shortest of eternal moments.
The moon that peeked out of the window was the only witness to the total surrender of their hearts.
Slowly his lips parted and with them his warmth. With eyes full of affection he told Felix the words he longed to hear most throughout his life.
-I love you.
Ariel kissed him again and as quickly as he started he finished it.
-I love you.
Another kiss followed, longer and longer.
-I love you.
Felix hugged her from behind and did not let go until they both were short of breath.
-I love you. – Ariel said again, Felix felt different from all those times his mother told him, because he knew deep inside him that unlike the love his mother professed for him, Ariel's love would never be something that would make him question his genuineness.
-So my answer is also the same. – He said giving a chaste and fleeting kiss to the most beautiful girl in his eyes. –I love you.
They both slept comfortably in Felix's room that night, and from that moment on Ariel never had nightmares again.
Felix stayed up late, long after Ariel had fallen asleep. He found her to be a hugger, whether it was him or a pillow, she was always looking to hug him in his sleep.
Felix contemplated his new life, he had accepted this girl and she had accepted him, he found himself quite comfortable with the thought, even though he told himself that he would not fall in love, but it seemed that it was not something they could decide, it just happened, and he did not regret it.
He looked at the girl in his arms, passed one of her golden locks behind his ear, kissed her forehead, and as if Ariel felt it she smiled and snuggled more in Felix, that made him smile, who would have thought that someone could produce so much tenderness. It wasn't long until he fell asleep too.
END VOLUME 1