Loving Him

Chapter 12

“Do we really have to do this? Shopping is so tiring,” Levi complained as Mike pulled her along.

Mike spoke with a saleslady, who then approached Levi and said she would help her pick out dresses that would suit her.

The woman clearly had a good eye for choosing dresses. That was a relief, if Levi were the one to choose, Mike would probably dislike all of them. After all, Levi preferred wearing t-shirts, pants, and pedal shorts.

She was almost dizzy when she saw the price of the dress the saleslady had picked. Her eyebrow shot up. “Excuse me, Miss? Don’t you have anything cheaper? This is too expensive! Isn’t this supposed to be on sale?” she protested.

Levi began to suspect that the sales attendant was taking advantage of them, just because the sales attendant noticed the buyer had money, she was now flattering her, saying everything looked good on her. Levi was smart, so she decided to try them on first before taking them.

“That’s branded, Ma’am, that’s why it’s pricey. But I’m sure all of those will suit you—you’re really beautiful,” the sales attendant said.

Levi noticed that her words didn’t sound fake at all. The irritation she had felt earlier melted away like ice. She smiled at the saleslady.

She tried on all the dresses, and Mike was almost left speechless every time Levi stepped out wearing one. No matter the angle, her beauty was simply captivating, something he could never get tired of looking at.

Levi snapped her fingers in front of him. He looked like he was seeing a beautiful fairy. She smiled and teased him. “I think your jaw just dropped because of my beauty, huh? So, Mike, are we buying all of these?” Levi said with a grin.

He didn’t answer, instead, he walked ahead and headed straight to the sandals section. Good thing he stopped at the flat sandals area—if he had gone to the high heels section, they would’ve ended up arguing again. Levi hated wearing high heels, they just weren’t her style. Standing at 5’8”, she didn’t need them anyway.

They didn’t take long choosing sandals. Mike picked out ten pairs, while Levi only wanted two. But since Mike was insistent, she just let him be—after all, he was the one paying.

Truth be told, Levi didn’t like wasting money. It was Mike who insisted on buying her clothes and all sorts of other things. He said she needed them since their wedding day was fast approaching. She couldn’t quite understand herself, but she felt nervous about their upcoming marriage. She never thought what she used to read in novels could happen in real life, but sometimes, fiction really does come true.

She got into Mike’s car while he loaded some of the bags into the trunk. She was exhausted from all their shopping. Today was supposed to be the food tasting for their wedding preparations, but Mrs. Montenegro had taken care of everything. Mrs. Montenegro said it would be a garden wedding. Since Mike’s family wasn’t Catholic, a judge would be officiating the ceremony.

Levi dozed off during the drive home and only woke up when she felt a gentle tap on her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Mike’s serious face. She noticed that it was already dark outside.

Stepping out of the car, she thought they had already arrived at the mansion, but the house before her was unfamiliar. It was huge, and she couldn’t help but stare in awe. She turned to Mike, puzzled.

“Whose house is this?” she asked curiously.

“It’s a gift from Mom. This is our home, sweet home. We’ll be living here after our wedding. Do you want to go inside?” Mike replied calmly.

“Really? It’s so big! If we ever play tag in here, you’ll never catch me,” Levi said playfully as she walked ahead of him.

“Really? How sure are you that I won’t catch you?” The corner of Mike’s lips lifted into a teasing smile.

“I’m a fast runner,” Levi replied with a grin.

“So, should we start running around inside?” Mike teased again, noticing how Levi suddenly froze in place.

“Is there a swimming pool inside?” she quickly changed the topic, realizing she had nothing clever left to say to the teasing that she herself had started.

“I guess there is of course, it’s Mom we’re talking about. She gives everything for the people she loves. Let’s go!” Mike said as he opened the white gate.

Before Levi stood a wide garage and even a playground for kids. She winced at the sight of the playground, was Mike really planning for them to have children already? She couldn’t even imagine herself making a baby with him.

The living room was spacious, everything was spotless, and the house was fully furnished. Even the five bedrooms upstairs were large. Levi was speechless, it was clear that Mike’s mother had carefully prepared everything for them.

When they went to the garden, Levi was amazed by how beautifully it was landscaped. On the other side, she saw a large swimming pool—one section for adults and a smaller one for kids. Even the lounge chairs looked elegant.

“What do you think?” Mike asked her. She glanced at him and smiled.

“It’s perfect! I have nothing to criticize about the design or anything,” Levi replied coolly.

“So, are you ready for our game of tag?” Mike teased, slowly walking toward her. Levi couldn’t help but grin as she stepped back.

“Come on, Montenegro. I was just kidding when I said that,” Levi replied quickly.

“Run, Levi,” Mike said with a playful smile. His mischievous grin made her laugh, and she took off running toward the side of the pool. They ended up chasing each other around until Mike caught her, wrapping his arms around her—and they both fell into the pool.

They were both soaked. Mike splashed water at Levi, who had her eyes closed, while laughing heartily.

“Stop it, Mike! I give up!” she shouted between laughter. When she felt him finally stop, she suddenly sensed a hand underwater pulling her toward the deeper part of the pool. Levi screamed, her sharp voice echoing around.

She opened her eyes underwater and saw Mike grinning mischievously. He was laughing, and soon they both swam back up to the surface.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked with a smile, his gaze locked onto hers. Levi suddenly felt uneasy with their position—they were by the edge of the pool, and she was trapped in his arms. The water that had felt cold moments ago now seemed to turn warm. She couldn’t help but let out a shaky breath.

“I... I’m fine...” she stammered, feeling almost hypnotized by his eyes. Her gaze unconsciously dropped to his lips. She wasn’t naïve she could tell he wanted to kiss her.

“Levi…” Mike breathed her name, slowly leaning closer. Levi refused to close her eyes, afraid he might be teasing her again, so she kept them open. But in the blink of an eye, his lips captured her slightly parted ones.

Levi laughed and told Mike to stop, but he playfully pulled her underwater. When they surfaced, Mike asked if she was okay, and their closeness made Levi nervous. Their eyes met, and before she knew it, Mike kissed her. At first, she was too stunned to react, but as the moment deepened, she realized things were going too far. She tried to push him away, asking him to stop. Mike finally let go, visibly upset, and walked out of the pool.

Confused and shaken, Levi hugged herself. What had just happened wasn’t what she wanted. She had always believed that love, not desire, should be at the center of a relationship. She wasn’t sure what she truly felt, was it love, or just attraction?

Later, Mike handed her a robe and told her to take a shower. He spoke coldly, saying he didn’t regret what happened since they were about to get married. His words sent chills down her spine. Levi didn’t respond; instead, she went inside to find the bathroom and took a hot shower to calm herself. But even as she sat in the bathtub, she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened by the pool.

After bathing, she put on the robe and went back downstairs, where she saw Mike preparing dinner. Her stomach rumbled from hunger. Despite the tension, she sat at the dining table. The food smelled good.

Breaking the silence, Levi tried to start a conversation, but Mike only served her food quietly, his expression still serious.

She didn’t say anything more and just began to eat. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder, was this sudden kindness his way of making up, or something else entirely? The thought made her uneasy as she realized that soon, after the wedding, he would have a husband’s rights over her—and that frightened her.