Chapter XXVI

The next morning came around.

The time just ticked past 11:00 AM when a loud knock and the ringing of the doorbell woke Briella up.

She opened her eyes before sitting up. Taking her phone into her hands, she checked how late it was.

"11..." she muttered under her breath. "Damn, I slept in quite a bit...".

Then, looking up, she yelled in her croaky, morning voice, "coming!".

With a stretch, she stood up, slipped on her slippers and made her way towards the door. Whilst walking, she wondered who it could be at the door this early.

'Nadia?... No...'.

She unlocked the door and opened it up, which revealed Ryan, standing by the doorframe, just like he did last night.

She furrowed her brows, wondering what was the occasion for his visit. "Ryan?? What are you doing here? And this early??".

"Good morning to you too," he responded, a teasing smile stretched across his lips. "I am here for the redemption of our relationship.".

From there, they both looked at each other.

"May I come in?" he asked.

"Y-you may. Come in," she replied, allowing him to enter her apartment.

"Thank you!". A short pause. He took off his shoes and put them neatly by the door, then he looked back towards Briella.

She noticed him raising an eyebrow. "You look like a total bed-mess, you know that?" Ryan voiced.

His words caused Briella to maintain her eye contact with Ryan. Now, she was the one who rose her brow. "Here you go a medal, Shearlock... I just woke up.". Then, she took in a deep breath. "While on that, excuse me while I go and get myself freshened up.".

Briella began to walk away from Ryan and towards her bathroom when his voice suddenly made her freeze. "Right. Don't worry, take your time, okay?".

She turned around and faced him, giving him a brief nod before continuing from where she stopped.

Upon her entry into the bathroom, she closed and locked the door before beginning her morning routine. It was these things that got her ready for the day that was to follow.

She finished her business and was about to brush her teeth when she heard cluttering and clattering from the kitchen. She furrowed her brows to the sound.

She unlocked the door and peered out just to see Ryan by the stove with a pan in his hand.

"Ryan?... What are you doing?".

Once more, they both looked at each other, gazed into each other's eyes.

"Didn't you say you just woke up?" Ryan asked.

"I did...".

"So, I wanted to make you some breakfast while you were getting yourself ready," he replied.

Briella widened her eyes to his words. "Oh, no, please. You don't have to do that, I-". He interrupted her.

"I said that I wanted do, not that I had to..." he responded.

From there, once again, they both gazed into each other's eyes for about a second or two, before the clearance of Briella's throat caused them both to break their eye contact.

"R-right..." she began. "Thank you...".

He replied with a smile. "You are most welcome. Also, I do owe you for taking care of me over Christmas. So what other way to show you my gratitude than to cook for you!".

With him saying that he sent her one last smile before going on with his work. To which, Briella continued from where she left off.

Though she walked away from Ryan, she could quite do the same with what he made her feel.

Walking up to the mirror, she looked at her reflection. "What is happening to me?" she muttered under her breath. "Why do I feel this way?... We were meant to be in a fight... what's this now?".

Through her words, a small smile managed to form on her lips. "But, I am glad he's back...". She looked towards the door. "I missed seeing you smile, Ryan..." she whispered.

---------

Minutes passed, Briella exited the bathroom. She noticed that Ryan was still by the stove.

So, taking into account that Ryan was still cooking, she quickly went into her room. Taking off her pyjamas, she quickly put on a fresh pair of clothes.

Exiting, she noted how Ryan was preparing the table for her to eat.

Briella took her place and kept her eyes on Ryan as he carried the piping hot food over to her plate. Slowly twisting the pan, he let the contents fall into the plate.

"You really didn't have to, Ryan. Thank you so, so much," Briella broke the silence between them both.

"No worries at all," he replied. With that, he carried the pan to the sink before making his way back to Briella. The seat right opposite to her was where he took his place.

Then, looking around, Briella noticed something was missing. And very quickly, she realised what it was.

Quickly walking into the kitchen, she grabbed the bag of bread. With that, she returned back to her seat.

"Crap..." she heard Ryan mutter. She looked up at him. "Sorry, I forgot the bread.".

Briella let out a chuckle. "Don't be ridiculous. Don't worry at all.". A brief moment of silence. "Once again, thank you for the breakfast.".

And again, Ryan replied to her words with a smile.

Grabbing the fork, Briella got a forkful of food onto her eating utensil. She placed it into her mouth and slid the fork clean out of her mouth. With that, she began devouring her food.

With a gulp, Ryan asked, "You like it?".

Raising her gaze and looking into his eyes, she nodded. "Yes! I really like it, it's really appetising.".

And after that, she continued eating her meal.

After a few bites...

"Briella?" Ryan called out.

With a swallow, Briella stopped all her movements. She dropped her fork down and looked up at Ryan. "Hm?".

"Do... do you hate me?".

His words caused her to freeze. She blinked twice, trying to process his question. "H-hate? Do I hate you?... No. No, I don't...". A pause. "How can I possibly hate you?".

"I-I don't know. That's why I asked," he replied.

With a deep breath, Briella went on to say, "Are you asking because of the fight we had? And the time we spent not talking to each other?".

"Maybe..." he responded.

"I don't hate you. I don't hate you at all... don't ever think that.". A pause. "Don't think it was your fault because of the fight... it wasn't. I do want to fall in love with someone, I do want love, but I am not sure if now is the right time..." she admitted.

Upon hearing her words, Ryan widened his eyes ever so slightly.

"Not only that but... I don't know... within a matter of months... you'll be gone. I didn't want to get attached to you...". The edges of her lips rose upwards ever so slightly because of the irony of her last sentence.

Ryan's chuckle kicked Briella out of her thoughts. "Looks like that didn't go to plan, did it?".

"Nope... looks like it didn't," she agreed.

From there, they both looked at each other. They looked into each other's eyes. Ryan was closer now, it was rare for Briella to look at him, to keep her eyes on him at this distance from him.

Usually, his eyes would show off a peaceful wave of emotions. But this time, this time it seemed like there was a storm in his eyes. The sea was no longer calm, it was rough. Rough with emotions. She could feel something, something deep within her. Something calling out to her...

Then... his pupils dilated ever so slightly.

Their eye contact was to be cut short when Briella cleared her throat. With that, she placed another forkful of food into her mouth.

Swallowing the food in her mouth, she proceeded onto asking, "and do you hate me?".

Ryan furrowed his brows at her question. "Now, what kind of a question is that?".

"The same question you asked me," she replied, taking another mouthful of food.

She could see the way the sides of his lips rose up insignificantly. "No... I don't hate you. I can never hate you. I hope you know that...". A pause. "Look, I even cooked for you! Consider yourself very lucky!" he added with a teasing smirk stretched across his lips.

It was Ryan's words that caused Briella to chuckle ever so slightly. He noticed this but decided against pointing it out.

---------

Briella finished her food a few minutes later.

Both Ryan and her cleaned up and washed all the dirty dishes.

With her apartment being clean and nothing else for there to be done, Ryan looked at Briella.

"Hey, Briella?".

"Hm?". She looked up at him.

"Wanna join me for a walk?".