Chapter 19 - Yours

Ray’s POV

"Ariaaaa! Ariaaa! Ariaaaa, wait...!"

I can't run anymore. Is she an athlete or what? "Stop, for God’s sake! Ariaaa...!" I shouted, gasping for breath.

Suddenly, my vision blurred, and everything started spinning. Before I knew it, I collapsed onto the ground, my eyes slowly shutting...

.

.

.

"Ray! Ray, wake up! What happened to you? Ray...!"

I could hear someone screaming my name, and I felt a soft hand pressing against my chest, trying to pump. Then, I sensed someone’s face close to mine—the warmth of their breath directly brushing against my lips.

My eyes shot open instantly to stop what was about to happen.

Aria quickly straightened up, looking at me with concern. "Are you okay, Ray?" she asked, her voice full of worry.

I tried to sit up, and she immediately supported my back with her hands.

As soon as I sat properly, I placed my hand over my lips and said, "What were you trying to do, Aria?"

"I was trying to save you, Ray! What happened to you suddenly?" she asked, still looking worried.

"You were trying to use me, Miss Carry," I said dramatically. "I was just acting, but I never thought you would take advantage of me... Miss Carrington. Such a shame!" I exaggerated, shaking my head.

Her expression changed in an instant. "Ohhh, really? Then let me actually use you!" she screamed, suddenly hitting me on my back.

"Ahhh! Aria, stop! It’s hurting!" I yelped, trying to shield myself.

"It’s seriously hurting, Aria!" I repeated, still trying to protect myself from her playful attack.

Dad....

Dad......

Dad....

.

.

.

Dad is calling you!" Wake up Ray

I heard the voice faintly at first, then it got clearer.

"Dad...?"

"Dad is calling you, brother. Wake up!"

I suddenly woke up with a jerk. "What—what happened, my child?" I mumbled, still disoriented.

Jay looked at me, confused. "What? Are you alright, bro? And for the record, I’m not your child. We share the same parents, so we’re both their children. What the hell are you even saying?"

I blinked a few times, trying to process everything. "Ha...umm...nothing," I muttered. "But why did you wake me up so early? My alarm still has an hour left."

"Father is calling you, brother," Jay repeated, sounding annoyed.

"Okay, okay, I’m coming. Just give me some time to freshen up."

---

As I drove, my mind kept drifting back to the dream I had in the morning.

What the hell was that? What’s going on in my subconscious mind? Something isn’t right. And then I even heard 'Dad, Dad' in my sleep as if I have a child with Ari..... Wtf.

Stop thinking about anything rubbish. Huh

I think I need to get myself checked.

---

Aria’s POV

I don’t know how this fake date thing is going to start. I’m nervous as hell.

I checked myself in the rearview mirror again. Ugh, why am I feeling like this? I can’t even gather the courage to look at Ray today.

I took a deep breath and started walking toward the bus. I already knew I was going to sit alone. Huh.

As I stepped in, I noticed Belli hadn’t arrived yet, and Ray was sitting alone. Even Ivy and Elio were missing, and a lot of seats were still empty.

Of course, there were still 30 minutes left before the bus would leave, so why would students come early?

I walked to the row where Ray was sitting but took the seat on the left side, near the window. At least if Ray didn’t talk, I would have the window to look outside.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Shift, shift," Ray said.

I stared at him and shifted.

"Belli will be angry," I said in my most ruthless tone and turned my head toward the window.

"What's wrong with your tone? Ugh?" Ray asked neutrally.

I didn’t answer and kept looking outside the window.

"Answer me, Aria. I asked something," Ray said, his tone firm now.

Still, I didn’t bother to even look at him.

He stood up from his seat and went to the seat in front of mine. Kneeling down on the seat before me, he asked again—

"Can you please speak? It’s bothering me. What happened?"

"Don’t you know what you did?" I said firmly.

"I seriously don’t, Aria. I don’t know what the hell I did. You know I’m not even that observant, so tell me—I’ll explain," Ray said with softness.

I looked straight into his eyes and said,

"I thought I was the only one who had the right to call you Mr. Eclair."

"Yeah, that’s true. What’s the problem here?" Ray asked in confusion, shrugging.

"Seriously, Ray? You still don’t understand? Ivy sent me some screenshots of your chats with her, where she addressed you as Mr. Eclair. And you didn’t even give a damn. Huh," I said with anger and disappointment.

"When did this happen? Let me check. I don’t even remember her calling me Mr. Eclair," Ray said while taking out his phone from the right pocket of his black jeans—which, by the way, seriously suited him.

Why am I diverting from the topic? Ugh.

I brought myself back to reality and said,

"You seriously don’t know? Do you even read texts?"

"So sorry, Aria, I didn’t see that. My mistake. If I had noticed, I definitely would have confronted her. But my bad—I’m so frustrated with people constantly asking about me and Belli to the point that I don’t even check things properly. I just focus on how to remove her name, which keeps getting forcefully attached to mine.

I’m sorry," Ray said.

"Okay, forgiving you this time because it was Ivy who said it. If it had been anyone else instead of her, it wouldn’t have been good for you," I said, faking my anger.

Ray smiled like a child, then returned to the seat beside me and sat down.

"Mr. Eclair will always be yours," Ray said softly, his voice the most lovable I had ever heard from him.

As I heard those words, my body felt a shiver, my heart started pounding so fast. Those words were so soothing. I wish to hear them again and again.

All I could do at that moment was smile as if I dared to speak I know Ray will get a chance to stretch it more, and I won't be able to handle the emotions. Huh...

But wait—why did Ivy share those screenshots with you, huh? Spying on me?" Ray asked with a low growl, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"N-nothing! We were just talking, and she happened to mention that you... you wished for something to happen between us..." I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper, my cheeks heating up with an embarrassing flush.

Ray remained unfazed. "So?" he asked, his tone completely neutral.

"So what?!" I snapped, frustration bubbling over. "I didn’t believe her! And to prove herself right, she sent me the screenshots!" My words came out in a rush, my heartbeat quickening at his maddeningly indifferent expression.

Ray simply nodded. "Oh... okay."

That was it. No reaction, no defense, nothing.

I clenched my fists, staring at him in disbelief. "Huh. This guy... I swear. Ugh!"

"I don’t know what new thing Darius will do today," I said to him.

"He can do nothing because this time, he’s being watched by me. And I’ll make sure that if he does something wrong, trouble comes to him."

While saying this, Ray placed his left hand on my left shoulder—as a sign of protection, I guess?

But frankly, I felt every damn insect in my tummy.

I turned my head toward the window again—but now, because I was feeling shy.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***