forum “I will not love you.” (OxO|CLOSED|Romance)

Started August 05, 2019 by @Toxic_Persephone group

tune

(oH- Thank you!!!)

After a while, Mal walked back inside, visibly distressed. He patiently waited for Arabella to come out of the bathroom while he nibbled the skin on his knuckles, making them bleed.

(I love it! :3)

Arabella sighed, exiting the bathroom and stretching out her arms. She felt much better now, still distressed and depressed over their wedding but much more alive.

She caught sight of him and pulled his hands away from his face. “What’s wrong?”

"I'm sorry Arabella, I-" he looked down at her and what she was wearing. "Wow. You look really lovely in that." He said, not realizing he was speaking his mind.

She tilted her head when he paused, only to flush a bright red when he spoke again. “Oh… thanks… it’s really nothing. I was never allowed to wear nightgowns so now I’m being a rebel.” She giggled softly.

Mal blinked a few times. "Well, you're a very pretty rebel." he commented.

He stood up and sighed. "Well, I'm very sorry, little rebel, but there's something urgent I need to do. It'll only take a few minutes, ok?" He ruffled her hair again and made his way to the front door. "Try not to go too crazy, miss rebel." He winked at her and left.

She blushed a deeper red and bit her lip, smiling as she looked away. “Thank you Mal…”

She looked to him and nodded very gently, giggling softly at his words and the ruffle of her hair. She couldn’t help but to like him. This won’t be bad at all. He’s such a charmer. “I won’t. I’ll be perfectly fine doing rebel things like jumping on the bed and raising my voice and wearing my nightgowns and being messy and making my own little nest with all the blankets!” She beamed and waved him goodbye, humming happily.

She had thought she would hate his guts for the rest of their lives together but he was so fun. She was just starting to like him. Sure she didn’t like she was forced to marry him but the bitterness was melting away as she became friends with him.

Mal didn't return for a half hour.

Ding! There was a report, no, a scandal about Maaleshiira and some lady! A picture of the two were shown in the report. In the picture, Mal was just outside the hotel, wearing the same exact clothes as he was earlier today. The photo was taken only a few seconds ago (dont ask me how the report was written so fast-). A rather pretty lady was crying and hugging Mal, and he seemed to be comforting her. The report suggested an affair between the two.

About another 10 minutes later, Mal returned. He looked 10 times worse than before, but he tried to hide that with a smile. "Sorry that took so long."

Arabella had busied herself by making a small little blanket next for herself. She was curled up in it when the report pinged on her phone. It was the name that caught her attention first. Maaleshiira…? My husband…? Scandal? her mind twirled in confusion and some emotion she couldn’t describe. Her eyes scanned the report, but it was the photo that proved her suspicions.

Her heart shattered.

He had promised her he wouldn’t go out with another woman… but had he been lying the whole time? They were barely on their honeymoon! He had another lover already?!

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she read the article again and again, each reread only shattered herself more. She stood quickly when Mal entered, her vision distorted by tears that hadn’t yet fallen. They felt hot, like they were burning her eyes. She wanted to let them go but she couldn’t break down yet.

“I can’t believe I let myself trust you…” she whispered, clenching her fists and teeth. “Of course an arrogant brat like you wouldn’t keep your word… I should have known better.” Her voice raised an octave but she cleared her throat and brought it back down.

“Everything you’ve said has been a lie, hasn’t it?! Just some stupid lie to keep me happy and oblivious to the fact you’ve found someone else already. Fine… go with her. I don’t want anything to do with you Maaleshiira… I never wanted his marriage, I never wanted you.” She spat, hurrying out of the room, hot tears streaming down her face. Why she felt so betrayed she didn’t know. She shouldn’t be so upset over this… he didn’t love her and that was obvious, of course he would have some other woman to run off to when she wouldn’t give him what he wanted. All rich snobs were like that…

She ran until she came to the gardens, collapsing onto a bench hidden by trees and sobbing into her hands. The cold air stung her cheeks and bare skin; the light rain that had started to fall chilled her bone. She had left both her jacket, and her phone back in the room…

Her phone just happened to still be on the article, the photo center-screen.

(JESUS, READING THAT BROKE MY HEART _{seriously, im actually tearing up. I applaud you})

Mal was utterly shocked while she was busy snapping at him. Arrogant brat? Jeez, I wasn't even gone for an hour. He let her continue her rant though, hoping she would feel better afterwards.

His eyes twitched when she mentioned another woman. Who's her supposed to be? He bit his tongue though, despite how badly he wanted to jump in.

However, when Arabella left the room, he did wish that he jumped in. "Arabella?" He whispered, speechless. His mind was in a state of panic. What did I do?! He looked over at her phone, and saw that it was still on.

He read the article, fuming. "Really? People can't leave me alone for one second?!" He screamed, starting to get angry. He was more angry at himself than anyone else though. He took her phone and rushed outside, trying to find her.

Eventually, he found her. His heart broke in two when he heard her crying. I did that. That there is my fault. He hated to see anyone, let alone the woman he adored, be in pain. He slowly approached her, trying not to make noise.

(Ooof Thanks fam xD)

She sobbed into her hands for what seemed like forever. When she finally started to calm down she was a wreck, her hair falling out and frizzy from stress; her eyes swollen and face puffy and red; she looked quite awful.

Small sobs still wracked her body. Her eyes moved to look up at the sky, closing when she felt the rain begin to fall harder. Arabella would stay out here even if it made her sick. She didn’t want to go back into the room with him… she didn’t want to sleep in the same bed. She’d sleep on the floor if she had to.

God she was so stupid. How could she have even thought that he was starting to like her? Let alone loved her. She was a fool for thinking otherwise. All she was was a trophy wife he could show off and ignore.

Mal had approached her, and he was closer now. "Arabella…" He spoke quietly and hesitantly, hoping he wouldn't upset her. "This is all a misunderstanding."

She jumped when he spoke her name. She stood quickly and whirled around to look at him. “What do you want?! I clearly stated I didn’t want you.” She growled, her eyes angry and her stance defensive.

Mal put up his hands defensively. "I want to explain myself. What you saw was not what it seemed." Seeing her face, and seeing how sad she was put a knife through his heart. He wish he could go back in time and make sure he met his sister in a different place. He wanted Arabella to be happy.

She bared her teeth at him, scowling slightly. “What do you have to explain? I understand everything. Of course you’d have some other lover. I know you don’t love me and I know you can’t… you could have just told me instead of lying straight to my face.” She seemed to falter, her eyes filling with tears once again. “I would have understood, Maaleshiira. I would have understood completely.”

"She's not my lover!" He defended himself, trying to remain as calm as possible. "I would never cheat on you! Ever!" He seemed almost desperate as he ran his hands through his hair.

She glared and her scowl deepened. “Who else would she be?! She’s obviously not some adoring fan else you wouldn’t have held her like that.” Arabella turned her back on him to hide the tears that slipped from her eyes. “I can’t… we don’t even like each other…” she said softly, denying her feelings for him.

"She's my-" he sighed. If I tell her, she might tell my father. Mal took a deep breath before continuing. "She's someone that you don't have to worry about. I know it may seem like I'm making it up, but I'm not." He went around her and lowered his head so he could see her face. "Please, Arabella, let me explain."

“How can I not worry?” She shot back, lifting her head to look at him. “You're all over the news with her… it’s obviously something.” She retorted. The light that had once been in her eyes had disappeared completely. She stared coldly at him. He was lying… he had to be. There was no other explanation.

“Explain what?” She growled, hugging herself. She was freezing. “I already understand.”

"Just come inside, I'll tell you everything. I promise." He begged her. Mal put a warm hand on her shoulder. "It's cold, and it'll be easier to explain if you're sitting down!"

(Sorry for small and low quality posts recently. I’m moving in a day ^^’ I’ve been a bit busy and stressed.)

She hated to admit that his warm hand was comforting. Her shoulder was cold to the touch through the sleeve of her nightgown. She bit her lip and nodded gently. “Fine… but only because it’s cold.” She huffed.

Arabella started towards the hotel, hugging herself tightly and shivering in the cold of the rain.

(Oh it's fine! Try to take care of yourself, don't overdo it :) )

Mal sighed with relief and caught up to Arabella, still making sure to hold open all of the doors for her.

When they finally got back into their room, Mal discretely set down her phone right where she left it. I won't be going down that road… He smiled at her and asked her to sit, handing her a blanket.

(Thanks, I’m going to try and be on as much as I can.)

She curled up in on herself the second she was sat down, taking the blanket and wrapping herself up in it. Her eyes slipped closed and she sighed. Arabella was absolutely devastated. She didn’t think she could ever trust him again so she wasn’t prepared to believed whatever explanation he brought up.

“Explain, now.” She said coldly, leaning back and staring st him with dull eyes.

He sighed. I can't believe I'm doing this.

"That was my sister, Kaniha" Mal pulled out his phone and showed a picture of her with some other woman. "She's happily married with her wife."

Rumors of Mal's father having a daughter as a first born would always fly around, especially since the man was the head of a huge company. Whoever the eldest was, always got to run the company. People have claimed to see evidence of Mal having a sister, and tried to take him down from the CEO of one of his companies.

(also sorry if i don't make much sense. I'm running on no sleep and no caffeine.)

Arabella stared at the photo, blinking at it as she tried to make sense of his words. Sister? So that was his sister…

A feeling of dread filled her soul. She had made a scene over his sister… she shouldn’t have even cared in the first place. So what if he was cheating on her? She didn’t matter to him. All she was was a burden on his family. They had kept it hidden but of the news and the world knew, she’d be thrown into a whirlwind of hate and skepticism. She could see the headlines already: ’Woman marries rich CEO’s son for money’; ‘The Griggs family SOLD their daughter off for money’; ‘CEO’s son married to commoner sold off for money’ The news would eat that up. She would rather let him cheat than ruin his families reputation with her horrid family’s mistakes.

Arabella sank into the blankets and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m so sorry Mal… I said some awful things.” She mourned. “I’m so so so so sorry! I shouldn’t have ever doubted you… I should have known. She looks just like you.” The young women rubbed at her still-cold face. Guilt courses through her blood. “I shouldn’t have been so angry.” Her eyes opened to slits to stare at him. He didn’t deserve her… the rich son deserved some wonderful woman who wasn’t hand-picked and trained just for his every beck and whim. Maybe he liked that though, she could never really know.

Right then and there she vowed to never grow closer to him. If she did so it would only bring ruin and trouble upon him. He had a company to take over, she couldn’t be even more of a burden on him. So, Arabella leaned back against the wall and drew the blanket over and around her head, peeking her face out of it. “I’ll sleep right here for tonight… I’m sorry…”

(No it’s alright, you need sleep fam. Try and get some ok? I know what it’s like on no sleep)

Mal shook his head. "Arabella, you're fine. You had no idea. It was only reasonable that you snapped like that." He sighed. I still feel awful, though.

(Quick question before he responds to that second part; is she on the bed? On the couch? We never really specified. Because depending on where she was when she said that, he might either be like "k" or he'll fret over her-)

(And nah, but thank you. I can't really fall asleep yet-)