To Cherish You Forever

Chapter 1

“Hello, I can’t make it tonight. I am so sorry, but it’s a family matter. I called and messaged you last night to cancel our dinner.” I said apologetically to Jacob. I have been going out on a date with him for almost six months now.

He has been vocal in telling me his intention that he wants me to be his girlfriend. He actually confessed on our second dinner date. However, I don’t want to rush things. He would be my first boyfriend if ever I accept his proposal. I want to know him more personally before going further. I admit that I like him a lot and we get along well. However, I really want to be completely and emotionally ready.

Yes, I finally let myself entertained a suitor. I had suitors before but I turned all of them down except Jacob. He is different from among all of them. He is very patient and determined. So, I decided to give him a chance.

I even told my parents about him and they were happy for me. They told me that it is time that I focus on myself as well. I felt guilty at first because I felt like I am being selfish. It was both my parents who convinced me to give myself a chance. Now, here I am apologizing to Jacob for not making it to our dinner date tonight. Deep in my heart, I am still not ready. Something is stopping me not just the guilt. It is just a nagging feeling that I can’t shake off.

“No worries, Alya. Please go to your family. I hope everything is fine with them. I will always be here waiting for you no matter what. You know that, right?” And just like that. Such thoughtful words from him always make me change my mind. My parents are right, I should give myself a chance at love.

“Thank you for being extra thoughtful, sweet, patient, caring and more. I promise you this time that I will make it up to you.” I said honestly. I guess six months of exclusively dating together is enough time for us to know each other deeply on a personal level.

I can say that we are very compatible with each other. We share a lot of common interests. I like how family oriented he is. He already introduced me to his parents during his dad’s birthday party. They welcomed me like a family member. I can say that everything is almost perfect with him. I like how straightforward he is talking about his women. That he used to date a lot. He wouldn’t be tagged as a young playboy billionaire for nothing anyway. Women are glued to him like a moth to a light. This is one of the reasons that I hesitated to entertain him at the beginning.

I remember too well our conversations on our second date. “Now that you started to know me, I can feel your hesitation to welcome me in your life. I completely understand that. I knew you read the news about me.” I was waiting for him to say something more after he took a long pause. No matter what expression he has on his face, he really is a very handsome man. I would never deny that his looks got my attention first.

“Honestly, I haven’t read any news about you. It’s our common friends that mentioned how notorious you are when it comes to women. That you change them easily like you change your clothes.” I had to be straightforward and honest with him. The moment calls for us to be honest with each other.

“I totally appreciate your honesty. That’s what I like about you. You are very transparent. You don’t try to hide your feelings.” Then, he was beaming at me.

“I hope I don’t come rude to you. I rather show you my real thoughts and feelings than pretend that everything is fine.” He was nodding his head telling me that he understood me well.

“Like I said, I sincerely appreciate your honesty. The thing is that I am tired of shallow relationships. I don’t want to hear unnecessary praises just to make me happy. I want a woman who is honest enough to tell me her mind. I don’t want the drama and looping around. I am tired of playing. I want to be in a serious relationship with someone I can trust my life with.” I was too stunned listening to him. I couldn’t even speak up.

“I am tired of everything. I am at a point in my life right now that I want to be stable in both my career and my relationship. And I see that in you.” I was really surprised hearing from him all these statements.

“Alya, this is just our second dinner date but I want to be true to myself as much as I want to be true to you. In so short time that I have known you, I just felt this great connection with you. I admire everything about you. I feel like it is time for us to go to the next level.” I got nervous and I don’t know what to say. I let him continue talking.

“Alya, I want you to know as early as now my intention for you to be my girlfriend. I am not pressuring you. I will give you more time to know me more. As for me, I felt like I have known you forever. That the moment I set my eyes on you, I know you are the one.” I felt at that moment that the floor was about to open and swallowed me whole. I just couldn’t contain my emotions. His confession left me speechless. It took me awhile to talk to him in a rational way. I had to gather myself straight.

“I never expected you would say those words to me. You just got me speechless.” I had to pause since I got nervous.

“I truly appreciate your straightforwardness. I am glad that you don’t give me any feeling of pressure to accept your confession. You see, I have never entertained no one in my life except you. Everything is a first time for me. I hope you don’t mind if I want to take my time to know you better and for you to know me more as well.” I said nervously. I didn’t realize I was holding his hands tightly. He looked at our hands and a ghost of smile appeared on his face.

“I believe that this is a good sign then.” He was grinning at me. Then he added something  more that made me turned beet red.

“I am glad to know that I am your first.” I didn’t realize what I said to him earlier. I just closed my eyes tightly and looked down. I don’t want to show him that my emotions are in a jumble right now.

“Alya, please don’t take my words wrongly. I am just proud and happy that I get the chance to know someone as beautiful and smart as you. You really are an epitome of beauty and brain.” I held my breath for a few moments. It was too much to bear. I got butterflies all over in my stomach. I just want to go alone somewhere. I want to scream and jump up with joy for these overwhelming feelings.

So this is how Jacob Roberts pursues a woman. I am totally impressed. If I just let my emotions ruled over me at that time, I could have accepted him to be my boyfriend. However, my mind told me to slow down.

Jacob is the only son of a shipping magnate. It was his grandfather that started the business. His grandpa, as he fondly called him, started from a humble beginning. He started working as a cleaner in a shipyard company when he was barely a teenager. He was the eldest in a family of five kids. His father died right after the youngest sibling was born. His grandpa needed to work to help his mother provide for the family.

Jacob’s father inherited the business and turned it into an empire. He had a sister who died from leukemia when she was just 12 years old. The whole Roberts fortune was in the hands of Jacob’s dad.

“Although my dad inherited the whole fortune from his father, but that didn’t stop him from growing the business further. He is very hardworking and self-driven just like grandpa. At first, I didn’t want to be part of the company. I want to build my own; free from the pressures of my dad. However, something important happened that I had to change my perspective in life.” Alya noticed that he looked angry when he mentioned the last statement. She wondered what it was but didn’t want to intrude further into his personal life. It is too early for that. Maybe someday he could open up to her more.

“Jacob, it is fine. You turned out way better and successful.” My words of encouragement seemed to calm him down.  

“Thank you. Anyway, when I finally began working in the family business then I started to appreciate him not just as my father but as a businessman. My mom is a different case. She was born with a silver spoon. She hailed from generations of old rich family whose main source of livelihood is one of the biggest vineyard in the country. However, don’t get intimidated with her. If you get to know her more deeply, you would find out that she is a softie.” Jacob said honestly. He did have some issues with his mom from time to time especially when he was going against her wishes. He still have some clashes with his dad as well. However, as he gets older and wiser, he starts to understand his parents.

I met Jacob at a birthday party of a common friend. He was introduced to me by the birthday celebrant. We were left alone so I had no choice but to conversed with him. He was asking me some questions about our common friends. I should say we hit it off the first night. I spent the whole party just talking with him about any random topics. By the time the party finished, we were already on a first name basis. I was expecting him to ask for my phone number but he didn’t. I was a bit disappointed though. I wanted to reconnect with him but I didn’t have the heart to ask for his number. Anyway, I drove back to my place after the party. While driving, I thought of Jacob. Maybe he just wanted to meet new people in that party and I was available. I came alone anyway. I didn’t want to think more about him and just passed it off as a one-time casual meeting.

However, I didn’t expect that half an hour later when I arrived in my apartment, I would get a call from him. I even hesitated to answer it in the beginning.

“Hello? Hello? Who is this?” I thought it was just a wrong number so I ended the call but it rang immediately.

“Hello? Is this Alya? It’s me Jacob. We met earlier at the party. I am sorry my line was choppy.” I smiled hearing his baritone voice. I even laughed slightly when he mentioned about us meeting earlier. He had no idea how disappointed I was that he didn’t ask for my number. But surprise… surprise.

“Hi Jacob. I don’t remember giving you my number.” I said frankly. I wasn’t sure if it came out rude.

“Yeah…I asked a friend.” And I could hear him laughed a little. It came out like an awkward laugh though.

“That’s cool! I am going to save your number then. I had a good time with you at the party. If you didn’t keep me company, I would have bored myself to death. I only knew a few people at the party.” I said honestly. And this time, I heard him chuckling.

“I am glad to spend time with a very special lady. Anyway, are you free this coming weekend?” He simply asked which caught me offguard. Well, I am actually free on Saturday. I won’t be able to go see my brother until Sunday morning. He is doing better now after regular therapies.

“Saturday is good.” I simply said to him. That was our official first date.

It always gives me fond memories of the times I spent with Jacob these past six months. I already made my decision. When I come back from my short visit with my family today, he will hear what he has been waiting for. I smiled to myself. I want to make it extra special for him.