Chapter 9

Myrah's POV 

My eyes were itching and burning when I woke up. I got up and massaged my eyes, which made me think of the unpleasant events from the day before.

They continue to hurt from my possibly excessive crying. I realized that I had acted immaturely after giving it some thought throughout the course of the night.

I gave a quiet yawn and slid out from under my covers. I could have slept all day in the insanely comfortable bed, but I needed some sunshine.

I saw him as I stood up and prepared to use the restroom. Alexander Valentin, my spouse, 

  had his blanket on the floor and was dozing off on the couch. Evidently, it dropped during the night. I felt awful because I had a giant bed to myself and he was sleeping on a couch that wasn't particularly comfortable.

I went over to him gently. Thank goodness the floor was carpeted. Simply put, I didn't want to disturb him. After picking up the soft blanket, I couldn't help but put it up to my nose.

Oh, gracious skies! It may have been me, but it smelled just like him, and despite being on the floor, it was remarkably warm. I tried not to wake him by covering him with the blanket. He fortunately didn't.

I took in his striking features. I seized the chance and knelt down since I needed a better look. He was simply ideal. In every way, he was perfect. When his eyes were closed, he appeared serene and beautiful.

I yearned to touch his skin since it appeared to be so soft. I just wanted to smear my hands through his messy hair. His lips were quite attractive and beautiful. They were so insanely alluring that it was difficult for me to maintain my mental integrity.

I nearly had many first kisses in high school, but something always went wrong. Throughout high school, I had fictitious lovers since it seemed I couldn't get myself to like any guy and want a relationship with him.

I once believed I was asexual, but my father advised me to let nature work things out on its own rather than trying to force anything.

At the time, I didn't give it much thought because I was usually out and about with my parents, my friends, or Alisa and Alton.

I used to be the family's white sheep back then. All of that is now just a terrible memory. It seemed like I had blocked out all ideas of dating and finding a partner to even hook up with five years after my dad passed away.

Because I was too consumed with my difficulties, I declined any invitations to parties or dates from guys in my university years.

My marriage happened far too quickly, and I never even had the chance to go on dates and decide which man I wanted to start a family with. I had a lot of dreams and fantasies after I learned who my husband would be. I felt as if all of my suppressed hormones had come to the surface.

I immediately found myself wanting him to do everything I had read about in love books throughout my life, both to and with me. The stars were not in my favor when I wanted him to accept me for who I was and grow to love me despite all of my flaws.

His true love had already been discovered. Although I couldn't precisely say I was head over heels in love with him, I couldn't help but feel a strong attraction to him and experience other indescribable emotions.

I suddenly saw that I was turning my face in his direction. I wanted to be touched. He was right the day before. I needed to have my needs met, but I didn't even know how to articulate them.

After meeting him, my hormones were suddenly powerful and high, but I had to maintain my femininity and wait for the proper guy. His eyes shot open just as I was going to kiss him on the cheek.

In a low, seductive voice, he demanded, "What are you doing?"

Every morning when I woke up, that was the voice I wanted to hear, and those were the eyes I wanted to see. I quickly got to my feet and moved away from the curtains, pretending to be preoccupied with pulling them open.

With embarrassment and the stirrings of shame, I felt my cheeks heat up. How was I ever supposed to justify that?

When I pulled back the drapes, the sun came out. Outside, it appeared lovely and inviting, ideal for a beach. I turned around to face Valentino, who was now sitting upright and staring directly at me. I was terrified.

"Myrah, I have a question for you."

Oh! I admired his pronunciation of my name. It gave me a peculiar feeling in my gut and made me feel special.

Your face was mere centimeters from mine.

I instantly humiliated myself by saying, "Uh, well...uhm...I wanted to...uhm... I'm going to take a shower. I then locked myself in the bathroom.

I'm so foolish!

I finished my shower in an half-hour, and fortunately, there was some clean clothing in the bathroom drawer.

Someone remarked that we should go out and make me happy, even if that meant carrying me. I chose a dress I believed would make an impression on him.

Why did I suddenly crack a stupid grin?

When I heard a voice coming from the bedroom, I was about to open the door. There was only one person whose voice made me squirm uncontrollably.

"I also miss you, honey. I had trouble falling asleep last night because of thoughts of you. I miss everything about you, including your physique and lips. I'm eager to see you once more.

For a while, Valentino was silent, but I could hear his faint giggles.

Caylee, "No. I'm so bored right now.

Ouch! What made everything hurt so suddenly? I was, in fact, plain uninteresting to him. What exactly did I anticipate? He was supposed to easily shatter my heart, yet I always blindly forgave him.

He was grinning broadly as he continued speaking on the phone with Caylee when I opened the door. His smile even reached his eyes. He had never before grinned at me.

Valentino muttered, "Hold on, baby," over the phone. He then removed the phone from his ear and gave me an embarrassed expression.

"Myrah, I'm very sorry. Even though I said we would go out, Caylee needs to chat, and that could take some time. Perhaps later?"

Wow! How can I make my choice outweigh my top priority?

"Sure. I don't need an explanation from you. I'll simply leave on my own.

While you enjoy yourselves with your amusing lady, I go out alone and am bored.

The question, "For real?"

"Yes, I said, "I'll be back later," and he nodded before returning to his call.

This simply made me a loner; therefore, I made the decision to ride alone for the day.

I pulled a few items out of my luggage that I might need and placed them in my beach bag. I then took some fruits out of the kitchen and placed them in a picnic basket. I prepared some smoothies, kebabs, and sandwiches before packing them.

I also brought some potato chips, fruit drinks, and yogurt. Like always, I'd enjoy myself.

I changed out of the dress I had worn to try to impress Valentino, which I had failed badly at, and wore white high waist shorts, a turquoise blue bikini top, and a visor.