Beautiful and Better (ENGLISH)

Thirteen

I love him enough to disobey all these people around me.

Matthew is not perfect for me, either. But I still wanted to give it a try. My vulnerability always gives way to people to use and hurt me. But how will I know the difference between pity and love if I will forever hide in their back?

"We told you to stay from Tally now. You’re here again, clinging your ass on my sister. Do you f*****g know the word stay away?" Tate shouted.

I always see Tate as the jolly and naughty brother. But I never see him this serious and mad at the same time.

"I love Tallulah!"

"You love my sister? Then why are you f*****g her--" Tate didn't finish talking cause Matt shouted.

"You’re a f*****g liar!"

He screams over and over again while punching the men in front of men. He looks like a madman who's bursting his anger into people. He goes berserk, passing through them, trying to get close to my brother.

“Tate, please…” I beg him.

“Sorry, sister. But this kind of person doesn’t deserve you at all. If you want to be with him, then be my guess. But I won’t just watch you ruin yourself for that f*****g asshole,” he snorted and glared at Matthew, who’s standing in front of him.

I run and stand in the middle of them. I can’t just watch them fight over me.

“Please, Tate. Just let us leave alone, just let me leave,” I whispered. I was hoping that he could just let us pass by.

“Do you even know what you are doing, Tally?” I nodded at his questions.

I wanted to prove to him that I could fight for this relationship with Matthew, even if it's against them.

I bit my lower lip when he turned around on us. “Make sure u would never see you around Tally, cause I might strangle that boyfriend of yours,” he added and left.

I turned to Matt before helping him stand on his feet. He ignored the body injuries as long as we ran away from there and immediately got in his car. I even glanced at the brother as he looked at us. I gave him a sad smile as I shed tears.

This is the first time that I’ll leave without them.

I looked at where we came from, and it seems like my brother let me go too. A squeeze in my hand awakened my contemplation.

"I hope I did not make the mistake of choosing you because now I have left everything for you," I whispered.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked.

"It's okay. Do you want us to go to the hospital first to see your bruises?" worried if I questioned him.

"It doesn't exist. The important thing is that we are free," he said before kissing my hand.

We will go straight to the house I bought. It was named after Matt because I didn't want my family to know or know that I was planning this. It is also complete with the appliances inside. The only need there was us, according to Matt.

"Let's go through the grocery store first. We have to shop. We don't have stocks at home yet."

I smiled at what I heard from Matt. We already have a house, and it's just lovely to hear that we will be living under the same roof.

"Aren't you sorry?" he asked as the car stopped.

I turned to him and smiled. "No. Why would I regret being with the man I love? Maybe it's you?" I pissed him off.

"You are the best thing that ever happened to me, so why should I regret it?"

I can't help but shudder at what he said. I just bent down and secretly smiled. Until now, because I still can not believe that this handsome man is dead to me.

When we entered the grocery store, I couldn't help but smile because he did not want to let go of my hand.

We bought dishes, meat, vegetables, fruits, and other kitchen necessities. Before we met earlier, I withdrew a large amount of money on my card. And I also transferred my money to another account for my father not to trace it. It took a long time to think of this when I almost lost Matt.

If we had been given a chance to be together again, I would do it, but God heard me and gave me a second chance.

"Do you want anything else?" He turned to me when I stopped to get a bottle of wine.

"No more. I'm tired so let’s go home."

"All right. I'll pay, or do you want to wait in the car?" He asked while looking at me intently.

"I'm good. I'll wait for you," I said and smiled sparingly.

From then on, the smile on my face never left my lips as I followed him. It was one of my dreams back then to grocery shopping or holding hands while walking with someone I love. My lips could not stop smiling because of him causing this to happen. More often, when we walk, and I let him walk alone, and I don’t keep up, he turns to me and waits.

"Sugar, do you have anything else you want to buy? The queue is still long. I can wait."

I did not focus on him. I was looking at the people around us who are watching us now. I am the one who is ashamed of his behavior in front of everyone. I'm not ashamed of him, but I'm not used to it.

I gasped as he approached and hugged me. "Don't be ashamed of them. We are free, remember? This is part of what we have to fight for," he whispered before kissing me on the forehead.

I was excited to get out of the car when we got home. This is the first time I will see it up close. Matt often sends me photos of it.

I helped Matt put our groceries in the car, but he only sent me a few pieces. He was almost the one who carried everything we bought.

I just let him do what he wants while I was also busy around the house. I smiled when I saw our big picture hanging in front of the fireplace. It was shot during our vacation on Long Island.

"Did you like it?" he asked, who suddenly appeared next to me.

And wraps the arms around my waist. I nodded happily to him before whispering my gratitude. Instead of cooking, we are here in each other's arms and feeling the happiness we feel. These are the times when money cannot buy your pleasure. These are the things I will not trade for whatever luxury I have.

My love for this man that I will be forever thankful for.

I woke up with the small kisses damping on my cheeks. I groaned, knowing that it was only a dream. But when I try to open my eyes, it's not a dream. It's my boyfriend waking me up.

"Hmm... What time is it?"

"Good morning, sugar! It's time for you to wake up, " he whispered in my ears while squeezing himself in my neck.

"I thought we needed to wake up? Why are you cuddling on me now? I still need to check my emails if someone replied to my emails, " I remind him.

But he just pulled me even more near him as if I said nothing. It's already been one month since we moved into the house, and it's kind of a little bit different than what I expected.

I'm enjoying this whole set up with Matt.

"Can't you stay? I wanted to spend some time with you, " I smiled.

If he wanted to spend time with me or his being extra sweet, it means he wants something.

"Okay, I'll just call Stella that I'll be late, " I said, making him shout in happiness.

I was still laughing at him when I wanted to go inside. I set up a flower shop so I could have some fun. Often, as Matt is absent, it was late when he came home, so we could not talk often.

"Stella, I can't make it today. But I'll try to visit later, and you take care of the shop first, okay," when I hung up the phone, he immediately greeted me with a kiss.

This has been my life for a month now. The daily morning that’s full of love from this man. Every day he makes me feel how important I am to him. But we are not perfect because since the two of us move in together in this house, we also often quarrel. As with normal relationships, we also have disagreements. His hand caressed my body close to mine. I took out some deep breaths as his lips slid down. This was also part of my life with Matt, and I did not feel any remorse.

Ever since I left the mansion, I have lost news to my family and Ari. Although it was difficult in the first few weeks, I was able to cope. Housework, laundry, and dishwashing that I had never done before. Now it is included in daily life.

I slowly got out of bed because Matt might wake up. I took the robe and immediately wrapped it around my body. When I went down to the kitchen, it looked like a mess before I went to bed last night. I cleaned the house. Now the whole kitchen is messy again. I even beat a place with a little child with the amount of clutter all the time.

I was tired when I sat on the sofa after cleaning and cooking. I am going to the shop because I also need to check my sales. After all, I am losing a lot of money. Add to that were Matt's credit card transactions. A lot has changed in my life, along with the daily life I have. I used to be served. Now I also have to serve Matt. The number of bills needs to be considered now. It was not like before that I had no one to consider other than what I would wear. This is probably what they call adulting.

"Stella, what happened? Why are you crying?" I asked her as I saw her; her eyes were almost swollen.

"Tally, my parents kicked me out of the house," she replied, then cried again.

I help her get up and make her stop crying cause she might scare away our customers. I wanted to ask her about the sales, but all she did was cry; she's like a little sister to me, so I ask her to stay with me.

“Is that okay with your husband? He might get angry at you. I can look for another place where I can stay tonight,” she said, the reason to touch my heart.

"I'll take care of Matt. So don't cry anymore. You have a place to live as long as you help at home while you live there," I explained to her.

Reason for her to celebrate it. She jumps on me for joy at once while embracing me for what I said. Stella is also close to me. I met her when Matt and I had just moved here to New Jersey. She was kind and looked friendly, so I considered her as a friend. Besides, I have no other friends besides her.

“Thank you very much, Tally. You're an angel. I didn’t know what to do when Mom told me to pick up my things and leave the house. God, sorry, I still can’t help it. My tears keep on pouring out,” she said.

“It’s okay, Stella. Just fix yourself and stop crying. I'll be inside the office if someone looks for me,” I told her and got inside my office.

How many times have I sorted the documents? I still do not know where the missing money went. When I came out again, Stella was gone. She said she was going somewhere. So I just closed the shop first and went home because Matt might be looking for me.

When I got home, Matthew was awake, and the house was noisy again. When I entered, I caught up with Matt and his friends in the backyard. He just kissed my cheek before returning to his friends, who just waved at me.

I checked the food they prepared in the kitchen, and my jaw almost fell when I saw how messed up the kitchen is. I was busy finishing the steak when a phone rang. I thought it was mine, but when I check my phone, it's not ringing.

But something on the counter island caught my eyes. It was a phone—Matthew’s phone.

It was an unknown number before I could answer the call. It stops ringing.

A message notification appears on the screen.

“Hi, babe, when are you going to revisit me? I missed you!”

I did not notice that I had dropped the plate I was holding.