from me to u... (book three - dalton)

chapter forty-two: i love you

dalton's face fell as soon as those words left her lips. it was as if his whole body became frozen in that one spot. there was no way he had been actually listening to those words. it had to have been a dream. this wouldn't have happened in person.

"the night you called your ex-girlfriend to settle your fight..." ariana was heaving less, but just staring into dalton's glistening eyes took her breath away. "i was looking for you, and i ended up eavesdropping on your conversation with her." ariana broke eye contact, and stared out at the open window displaying the london night sky. "i didn't know why at the time... but i felt incredibly hurt hearing you tell her how much you loved her and wanted to be with her... and it didn't make sense to me because... she was your girlfriend. you're supposed to say things like that to your significant other, so why was i bothered?"

a brief moment passed before ariana continued, but she turned her eyes towards him once again. "and when you left to see her for a week before the european leg, seeing photos of you and her together... i just felt like a part of me was being ripped from the inside. and i still had no idea what was wrong with me, because that pain was so unnatural and unwarranted. i didn't understand."

ariana made her way towards dalton now, slowly, lost in her own emotions. "i don't know when i understood, and it doesn't matter either. what i know now, and what i need to admit now more than ever... is that the pain came from the fact that i had fallen helplessly in love with you."

ariana offered a smile, albeit barely noticeable. she couldn't believe she finally admitted it out loud to the one person she now knew those words were for. they were always for him. only him. "that's why the heartbreak after tom didn't last very long, because he never completely had my heart to begin with. you did."

looking down at her fiddling hands, ariana chuckled nervously. she wasn't used to being in such a emotionally vulnerable state - one that wasn't plagued in sadness and grim. she was now speaking from the heart - something she hadn't been used to doing. "i don't know when it happened, and i don't even get it since... not long ago, we hated each other's guts. but i know what i feel, and i'm not going to run away from it anymore, or deny it's existence."

dalton hadn't said a word, or even made a slight movement while hearing everything ariana had to say, and ariana took notice of that as well. when she brought her eyes back onto dalton's, his expression reflected shock. it seemed as if he had just seen a ghost before his very eyes. the silence made ariana panic slightly, and she knew she had to say something to alleviate the pressure she believed she placed onto dalton. he didn't owe her those words back, and he certainly didn't owe her his feelings. just because she was in love with him... didn't mean he was obligated to love her. "i... umm... i didn't really expect you to say it back. i'm pretty sure you don't even feel that way about me. but it's alright - i just wanted to tell you how i felt, and how incredible you are." blinking away tears that were threatening to reveal themselves, ariana offered dalton a smile, albeit slightly sad. "you're going to make somebody very happy one day."

ariana eyed the door, and took several steps towards it, preparing to leave with her heart throbbing. she should've been prepared for rejection, but she hadn't really thought of that. she just wanted to confess. face the truth. own up to those daunting feelings of uncertainty. everything had been crystal clear, and he was the one she wanted to tell. and she did. she was now going to leave, and the two of them would try their best to not be awkward around each other. tomorrow, they would go back to just being co-workers, with nothing in between.

but that didn't happen.

before ariana could take any more steps forward, dalton regained his composure and sense of movement. he swiftly turned around and stopped ariana by grabbing her wrist gently. ariana turned around, stunned. "what are you -