The silence that followed Louie's shout was oppressive. His breathing was ragged, and his hand gripped the phone so tightly that his knuckles were white. I watched him, my heart pounding, trying to decipher the storm of emotions reflected in his eyes. What had Josep said to unleash such fury?
Brianna approached me slowly, a worried expression on her face. She gently took my arm, as if offering silent support. The atmosphere in the kitchen, which just moments before had been filled with laughter and delicious aromas, now felt charged with an almost physical tension.
Finally, Louie lowered the phone slowly, as if it were a dangerous object. His gaze was lost, his jaw tight. It took him a few seconds to refocus on us. There was a mixture of rage and frustration in his eyes, but also a deep sadness.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice hoarse, running a hand through his tousled hair. "I didn't mean to shout like that." His apology, though sincere, failed to dispel the unease that had settled in the air. I knew that whatever Josep had said had hit him hard.
"What... what happened, Louie?" I asked softly, approaching him cautiously. I needed to know what had caused that explosion, what threat loomed over our future.
Louie looked away from mine, his face still tense, although he tried to soften his expression. "Love... I don't want to talk about it, okay?" he said, trying to calm the tremor in his voice. He ran a hand through his hair again, a gesture of frustration. "I'm not going to give weight to what that idiot Josep said." His words, though intended to minimize the impact of the conversation, failed to hide the rage that still simmered within him. The mention of Josep seemed to have struck a nerve, and although he tried to downplay it, the tension in the air remained palpable. His refusal to talk about it only fueled my own uncertainty and worry.
His face still held traces of tension, but his gaze was now vulnerable, desperately seeking reassurance in mine. "Please, Josephine," he said, his voice barely a whisper filled with deep anguish, "promise me... swear to me that no matter what happens, we will always be together. And if life separates us... we will find a way to always return to each other." His words, spoken with such intensity, echoed in the silence of the kitchen, laden with a fear I had never seen him express before. The urgency of his request deeply moved me, revealing a vulnerability that made me want to hug him and assure him that nothing and no one would separate us.
I hugged him tightly, clinging to his tense body as if I feared he would vanish. "I swear to you, love," I said, my voice choked with emotion. "I swear to you by all that is sacred, Louie. No matter what happens, we will always find our way back to each other. Nothing and no one will be able to separate us forever." I felt his arms wrap around my waist with the same intensity, as if he needed to hold onto me to anchor himself to reality.
When we separated slightly, his eyes still shone with a mixture of relief and a lingering shadow of worry. "I need to hear it from you," he murmured, his forehead brushing against mine. "I need to know that you feel the same, that you will fight for us as I will."
"Always, Louie," I replied without hesitation, my hands caressing his cheeks. "I will always fight for us. You are my life, my everything. There is no future for me without you." My words were sincere, born from the depths of my heart. The thought of losing him, of something or someone coming between us, was unbearable.
Brianna watched us silently, her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and understanding. She approached and hugged us both, forming a small circle of comfort and support amidst the tension. "We're in this together," she said firmly. "The three of us. No matter what comes." Her presence, her unwavering loyalty, was a beacon of hope in this moment of uncertainty.
Brianna pulled back slightly from our embrace, her gaze now fixed on Louie, with a seriousness that reflected her concern. "What did Josep say to you, Louie?" she asked softly but firmly. "Something really affected you. You need to tell us." Her voice conveyed unconditional support, but also a need to understand what threat loomed over us. She knew that Louie's silence would only fuel our anxiety.
"I already said I don't want to talk about it, Brianna," Louie repeated, his voice still rough and filled with palpable frustration. He tried to look away from Brianna's insistent gaze, but she looked at him with unwavering firmness, her eyes glinting with a silent determination. "Louie," she hissed, his name spoken in a warning tone that made him stop.
Instead of answering Brianna, Louie hugged me tightly, clinging to my body as if he were afraid of losing me in that very instant. His grip was almost desperate, seeking in my closeness an anchor against Josep's hurtful words. He held me tightly as he finally spoke, his voice hoarse and broken by contained rage and fear. "He said... he said your future is already decided, Josephine. And that I'm not included in that future. That I should enjoy it while I can, because the day your parents find out you're with me..." His voice trailed off, the implied threat hanging heavily in the air. The image of my family's reaction, their fury and their determination to separate us, was a constant shadow in my mind, and hearing it articulated by Louie, with the certainty that Josep seemed to possess, chilled me to the bone.
Brianna waited patiently for Louie to calm down a little, although his protective embrace around me didn't lessen. Finally, with a penetrating gaze directed at him, she said firmly, "I'm sure he told you something else, Louie. Your reaction was very strong. What else did Josep say?" Her voice, though soft, left no room for evasion. She knew there was more behind that explosion of rage and that desperate plea.
Louie shook his head slowly, still clinging to me. His voice was a barely audible thread, filled with a sudden weariness. "No, Brianna... please don't ask me to keep talking." He pleaded, his voice cracking slightly at the end. It was evident that the conversation with Josep had left him emotionally exhausted, and the thought of reliving those words seemed unbearable for him at that moment. The firmness with which he refused indicated that what Josep had said had deeply affected him, leaving an open wound that he didn't want to expose.
"Love..." I said softly, my voice barely a whisper against his chest, trying to envelop him in the warmth of my affection.
Louie clung to me even tighter, his embrace conveying a deep need. He lifted my face between his hands, his dark eyes fixed on mine with an intensity that stole my breath. "I love you with an intensity that no one else will ever understand, Josephine. I love you with the certainty that I want to spend a lifetime with you. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. And even though we're young, I can assure you that it's with you that my soul wants to be for the rest of my life. I can assure you, by the intensity of my feelings for you, that this is not a passing love. I can assure you that these feelings are not just a teenage romance." Each word resonated with a palpable truth, a commitment that transcended our youth and was rooted in the deepest part of his being. His declaration, so passionate and sincere, filled my eyes with tears and made my heart beat with an overwhelming force.
My hands rose to caress his cheeks, feeling the warmth of his skin under my fingers. His words, so charged with emotion and certainty, dispelled any shadow of doubt that might have tried to creep into my heart. His love was a beacon, a constant light amidst the uncertainty that sometimes surrounded us.
"I love you too, Louie," I whispered, my voice choked with emotion. "I love you with every fiber of my being. You are my refuge, my joy, my everything. No matter what the future holds, as long as we are together, we can overcome any obstacle." My own words were born of a deep truth, of a feeling that grew with each passing day by his side.
Brianna watched us with a sweet smile and slightly moist eyes. She approached and hugged us both, uniting our small triangle in a gesture of unconditional support. "That's what matters," she said softly. "Your love for each other is real and strong. Don't let anyone make you doubt that." Her presence was a constant reminder that we were not alone in this, that we had a loyal friend willing to fight by our side.
We remained embraced for a moment longer, absorbing the strength and comfort that emanated from our union. The threat that Josep's words had brought with them still hung in the air, but in that instant, surrounded by our love and friendship, we felt invincible. We knew the road ahead would not be easy, but we were ready to face it together, with the certainty that our love was an unbreakable bond.
After that moment of deep connection, we slowly separated, although our hands remained intertwined. The tension in the air had not completely disappeared, but it had lightened thanks to our words and Brianna's support.
"What do we do now?" I asked softly, looking at Louie. Josep's call had interrupted our peaceful morning, and now we were facing the reality of his interference.
Louie squeezed my hand firmly. "Now we finish breakfast," he said with a renewed determination in his voice. "We have a week together in this house, and we're going to make the most of it." His change in attitude was evident. Although Josep's words had affected him, he wasn't going to let fear or anger consume him.
Brianna nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! And after breakfast, we can do whatever we want. Pool? Movies? Raid the pantry for all the sweets we can find?" Her contagious energy began to dispel the heaviness of the moment.
I smiled, feeling a bit of the morning's joy return. "I like the idea of raiding the pantry." I looked at Louie. "And whatever we want to do, we'll do it together."
Louie returned my smile, his eyes shining with a mixture of love and determination. "Always together." He leaned in and kissed me softly. "Now, let's eat before those pancakes get completely cold."
With a renewed sense of unity, we sat back down at the table. Although the shadow of Josep's threat still loomed over us, we decided, for now, to focus on the present, on the time we had together and on the strength of our love and friendship. The week in the mansion, which had begun as a refuge of freedom, now also felt like a battlefield where we would have to fight for our future. But we were ready to do it, together.
"But first..." Louie said softly, his gaze fixed on my eyes with an intensity that foreshadowed what was to come. He leaned in slowly and kissed me. It wasn't a soft kiss like the ones before. This kiss was possessive, urgent, as if he needed to claim me to the world, to reaffirm that I was his and his alone. His lips pressed against mine with an intensity that disconcerted me for a moment, but I soon surrendered to the passion that emanated from him. It was as if every second we spent apart was an eternity, and this kiss was his way of holding onto me, of making sure we were still connected, despite Josep's threatening words. His arms wrapped around me tightly, pulling me towards him until there was no space left between our bodies. In that moment, fear and uncertainty vanished, leaving only the certainty of our love and the mutual need to be together.
The intensity of Louie's kiss did not diminish. His lips clung to mine with a palpable urgency, as if every second we spent united was a defiance of fate. His arms wrapped around me tightly, preventing me from pulling away, and I clung to him with the same need, seeking refuge in his closeness.
In the midst of this passionate embrace, Brianna's voice broke the silence with one of her typical comments. "Well, well," she said in an amused tone with a slight cough, "does anyone else feel like breakfast is getting dangerously cold while a tongue-wrestling match is going on here?"
Louie and I pulled apart slowly, both with slightly flushed cheeks and ragged breaths. He still kept his hands on my waist, as if he feared I would disappear.
Brianna continued with a mischievous smile. "I understand the urgency, lovebirds, but if we don't eat soon, those pancakes are going to look like bricks. And believe me, not even the most passionate love can fix a cold pancake." She winked at us before adding in a softer tone, "Besides, we need energy to plan how we're going to deal with the jealous Prince Charming." Her attempt to lighten the mood, though tinged with humor, didn't dismiss the seriousness of the situation.
Louie let out a small laugh, although his eyes still held a glint of worry. "You're right, Bri. We don't want to waste this feast." He gave me one last short kiss before finally letting go and taking a seat.
I smiled too, grateful for her attempt to lighten the mood. "Yes, let's eat. And then... then we'll think about how we're going to deal with Josep." The thought of facing him, or worse, facing my family because of him, gave me a pang of anxiety, but the determination in Louie's eyes gave me strength.
Brianna was already attacking the pancakes with enthusiasm. "First things first, we need to fill our bellies. Ideas don't flow well on an empty stomach." She took a big bite and then looked at us with a mischievous smile. "Any preliminary ideas? Should we hire a bodyguard for Jo? Or maybe a team of hackers to delete Josep's phone number?"
The suggestion, though exaggerated, made us smile. "I don't think we're at the hacker stage yet, Bri," I said with a chuckle. "But I appreciate the offer."
Breakfast passed with a mixture of lighthearted comments and meaningful glances. We knew that the conversation with Josep had opened a crack in our bubble of happiness, but it had also strengthened our bond. We were ready to face whatever came our way, supporting each other every step of the way. The week in the mansion, though threatened by the shadow of external interference, was still our opportunity to be together, to love each other freely, and to plan our future, a future where Josep and my family's expectations had no place.