ONLY HAVE YOU

CHAPTER 10

BELLE POV

I couldn’t believe what I had just discovered. Jayden was rushing the wedding. My chest felt tight as questions kept running through my mind. Bakit kailangan madaliin? Bakit parang gusto niyang kontrolin ang lahat bago pa ako makahinga at makapag-isip nang maayos?

I walked straight toward him, trying to stay calm even though my emotions were already spiraling inside me. “Jayden… why are you rushing this? Can’t we just take our time and plan the wedding properly?”

He looked at me with the same cold expression he always wore whenever he wanted to hide what he truly felt. “Belle, this isn’t the right time to question it,” he answered calmly.

I let out a frustrated laugh and shook my head. “Not the right time? Jayden, this is my life. I have every right to understand what’s happening. Hindi pwedeng basta na lang akong susunod sa gusto mo.”

“I’m not trying to control you,” he said in a low voice. “I just need you to trust me.”

“Trust you?” I repeated, disbelief filling my voice. “How can I trust someone who refuses to tell me the truth? You can’t just decide everything for me like I don’t have my own mind.”

For a moment, he stayed silent before finally speaking again. “I’m rushing this because of someone else. Someone you keep thinking about… someone from your dreams.”

I froze. My fingers tightened against the edge of the table as I stared at him. “What? Jayden… are you trying to erase him from my mind?”

“I’m not trying to erase him,” he answered while stepping a little closer. “I just don’t want you waiting for someone who might never be real. I want you to focus on what’s here… on me.”

His words hit harder than I expected. “You don’t get to decide that for me!” nanginginig kong sabi. “You can’t tell me who I should love, who I should forget, or what I should feel!”

I could feel my emotions overflowing, but I refused to back down. “I am my own person, Jayden. Hindi ako basta susunod lang dahil gusto mo. I have my own choices.”

He closed his eyes for a second before speaking again. “I know you’re angry. And I know you feel trapped. But I’m doing this because I care about you. Ayokong masaktan ka kakahintay sa isang taong baka hindi naman talaga dumating.”

“But that’s still my decision!” sigaw ko. “That’s my heart!”

The room suddenly felt suffocating. For the first time, I realized how tired I was of being pushed into decisions I wasn’t ready for.

Then I looked at him straight in the eyes. “Bakit? Did I ever ask you to stop loving Eve?”

Nanahimik siya.

“Hindi, diba?” I continued. “Because I know you still love her. Kahit kasal pa tayo, I know she still owns a part of your heart.”

I saw the conflict in his eyes, but I continued anyway. “And I never forced you to forget her. So why are you trying to force me to forget someone important to me?”

He couldn’t answer. That silence alone was enough.

I took a deep breath and stepped away from him. “I need to leave.”

Hindi niya ako pinigilan habang naglalakad ako papunta sa pinto. But before leaving, I looked back at him one last time. “You may love me, Jayden, but loving me doesn’t mean you can control my heart.”

Then I walked out of the house. The cold air outside immediately hit my skin, but somehow it felt easier to breathe out there than inside that room.

And for the first time in a long while… I finally chose myself.