trust issue or hunch ?

At 9:00 pm, Steffi arrived home after spending time alone in the park. She no longer communicated with Bill or Liam, and now she was very confused about her wedding plans with Bill, which had been carefully planned and known by both families. The next day was supposed to be their pre-wedding photoshoot.

"Steffi..."

Steffi stopped in the middle of the stairs when she heard her name called. She turned around and saw her mother walking towards her.

"I thought you would be with Bill," said Grace.

"I'm not with him," replied Steffi, continuing up the stairs.

Grace frowned, feeling that something was wrong with Steffi. The middle-aged woman in a maroon suit followed her daughter until they reached the upstairs bedroom.

Steffi threw her bag onto the bed, then on it in a prone position, hugging a pillow. She fell silent, frustrated, remembering what had happened that day.

'What Liam said matched what I thought about Bill. This all seems rushed... Bill should understand me, especially since he knows I have trust issues, but he's angry... Now he's quiet, quiet when tomorrow is the pre-wedding photo session... Maybe he's just playing with me, going to leave me... But this is just because of one problem!'

Steffi talked to herself in her heart, feeling frustrated with Bill's attitude. 'That day he proposed to me in public... He should have thought that I didn't reject him because I didn't want to embarrass him. But apparently after that, he thought I should always be open to him as if I belonged to him... That hasn't happened... I haven't belonged to him yet! I'm still free to do whatever I want as long as it's not something that will cause him to lose something!'

"Sweetie..."

Grace sat on the edge of the bed behind Steffi, who had her back to her.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

Steffi remained silent, thinking that if she were honest with her mother, she would only get new problems. Of course, her mother would defend Bill because Bill always caught her attention.

"If there's a problem, just say it... Maybe Mommy can give you a solution," Grace said patiently, stroking Steffi's hair.

"Everything's fine," Steffi said shortly.

"No, Mommy knows everything's not fine. If there's no problem, you'll come home with Bill, you'll be happy, not brooding like this," Grace said, a little more firmly. "Remember that you're getting married soon, so you have to have a calm feeling, regardless of the burdensome problems that disturb your mind..."

Steffi took a deep breath. "He's angry with me," she said.

"You mean Bill?"

"Yeah...."

Grace crossed her arms, looking at Steffi suspiciously. "He's a patient, gentle, neutral man... of course, he's angry for a reason that cannot be tolerated."

Steffi turned around, looking at her mother and saying, "I knew you would defend him, especially since all of this is because I met Liam!"

"You met Liam?" Grace was surprised.

Steffi sat up, bent her knees, and rested her hands on them. She was lost in thought, remembering her meeting with Liam, Gea, and Bill, which eventually led to anger and silence between them.

"Steffi... Please explain, maybe Mommy can give you a solution..." Grace became anxious. "You and he are going to get married... You need to improve things soon..."

"Mom, I only met Liam for a farewell dinner because I realized that we couldn't be together anymore... I don't intend to go back to him or make Bill angry," Steffi explained angrily. "I just told him about Liam's doubts about his commitment to marry me, but he got angry. He should have convinced me to trust him again, but he just got angry... He knows I have trust issues, but he thinks it's all gone once I accepted him... No... It's not true. I'm still haunted by fear and anxiety... He should help me, understand me... Do not get angry and be silent like this... I'm frustrated now!"

"Oh my God..." Grace sighed.

"I don't know what he wants now... He hasn't contacted me again," Steffi said resignedly.

"You should apologize because your actions were wrong from the beginning," Grace replied.

Steffi immediately frowned. "Mom, are you blaming me too?"

"Maybe what you meant by meeting Liam was for a farewell, that's not something wrong, but you should have been honest with Bill before meeting him so that he wouldn't be as angry as he is now... Of course, he's afraid that you'll be influenced by Liam, especially since he knows you just broke up with him," Grace said worriedly. "You should apologize to him... You should never have cared about Liam's words... You don't need to doubt Bill anymore," she continued.

Steffi pouted, looking at her mother who seemed to take Bill's side.

"He's going to marry you, tie himself to you... So what makes you doubt? If he's not serious, he will never plan to marry you... Maybe he'll even look for someone better than you... But he chose you... Because he loves you and wants to be with you... So don't doubt him anymore!"

Steffi sighed. "But this still feels strange to me. Everything is too rushed."

"And actually, you can refuse, postpone... But you didn't do that... You accepted him and gave him a chance... So now you feel unsure, it will be like you played him," Grace said worriedly. "This is no longer just about you and him, but it's about both families... So I hope you two will soon reconcile and continue your wedding plans," she continued.

Knock, knock, knock...

Steffi looked at the door, as did Grace.

"Come in!" Steffi called out.

Grace sighed and looked at Steffi. "You have to apologize to him immediately. You're the one who's wrong here, not him..."

"Bill..." Steffi whispered as she saw Bill opening the door. She didn't expect her fiancé to come without telling her, and now she was curious about why he came.

'Is he still disappointed? Will he cancel our wedding or continue it?' she wondered.

Grace quickly got up from the bed, welcoming Bill, who looked fresh in a dark blue suit and black jacket.

"Bill..."

"Mrs. Grace," Bill greeted warmly, then looked at Steffi, who was reluctant to look at him. "I want to talk to her," he continued.

"Oh, of course." Grace nodded with a smile. "Then, I'll go to the kitchen."

Bill just nodded, while Grace immediately left the room. He approached Steffi, then sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry for my behavior earlier," he said.

"You're not wrong," Steffi whispered, slowly looking at Bill. "And I thought you would stop seeing me because of this..."

"No, I won't stop seeing you, and we will still get married," Bill said, taking Steffi's hand and looking at her sadly. "I should have known... my fiancée is not doing well... I should help her instead of leaving her alone with trust issues, doubts... forgive me," he continued.

Steffi turned her face away, not knowing what to say.

"Please... don't pay attention to Liam's words," Bill said, lowering his face. "Maybe my behavior is too strange, but that's what happened. I want us to get married because I'm ready, even though we haven't been together for long... for me, it's a normal thing, especially since you are so attractive... don't think that someone wanting to have a serious relationship with you in a short time is a bad thing... that's not true at all. You're too beautiful to be wasted... I don't want you to be attracted to someone else and get hurt again," he continued.

"You don't need to sweet-talk to me... it just makes me sick," Steffi said, immediately lying down and turning her back on Bill.

"I'm not sweet-talking you... I'm just telling the truth."

"And that doesn't mean anything to me... I don't even know what I want," Steffi said sadly, slowly shedding tears. "I'm tired of my thoughts... I'm always scared!"