Sonel

Chapter 10

ALIA'S POV

I was about reach Sonel's table when I belatedly recognised the man standing next to their table. Sonel saw me first and Eric must have noticed Sonel's eyes when he turned around. "Sarah. Can I... Can I have 5 minutes of your time? I really need to discuss something with you. Please?"

Putting down the tray of food and distributing the men's orders with ease, I stood straight and let out a heavy sigh. Without looking at Eric's face, I said calmly, "OK. Follow me." I sort of felt Sonel's pain when I saw his eyes. How is that possible?

Walking fast to the back door without bothering to check if Eric is behind me or not, I pushed open the door and stood a little distance away. Turning around, "Speak." He looked a little surprised at the tone of my voice and closed his eyes for a bit.

"Sarah. First... Please forgive me for not trusting you and for believing all those lies about you. She had truly planned out everything to pave way for herself. I never even given her the slightest hint that I find her attractive. You can ask anyone back home. Two and the most important one of all... I still love you very much and I have searched for you everywhere that I can think of. All this while, my thoughts was to find you. You can't imagine how much I missed you. Three... I want us to be back together again. Please stay with me. I promise you that I will never let anyone get in between us or let you down again. Sarah... Please give me a another chance. Please."

Eric looked and sounded sincere but then again, he no longer exist in my heart so I didn't feel anything for him. Time do heal. "You... can't possibly imagine how... painful it was for me but thankfully, I have already closed that part from my heart. I had already moved on Eric. In my mind, there's no chance for us to be back together again." Wow. I'm proud of my calm and steady voice. I wouldn't be able to behave or speak this way when I was hurting back then.

"You can't mean that. Sarah I..." I held up my hand to stop him. "Stop. I'm not Sarah anymore. Now you'll have to excuse me. The café needs me." With that I walked back to the back door but he grabbed my right arm. "Let me go this instant." I felt Sonel's presence beside me even before I saw his hand grabbing Eric's wrist. "You heard her. Now be a gentleman and let go of my girlfriend's arm." Eric let go with a hiss and I saw white finger marks on his wrist that looks very painful. Wai.. Wait a minute. Did Sonel say I'm his girlfriend? I looked up at him but his eyes were still fixed on Eric. "Sarah... He is just fooling around with you. You stay away from him and don't believe anything he says to you. Please listen to me."

"I had never had thoughts of fooling around with Alia. I love her very much and I intend to be with her for the rest of my life." Wait. What?! He looks too intense when he said those words and I'm having mixed feelings inside of me. Happiness, relief and anxiety. "Ha ha ha... Oh come one. Don't give me that crap about being in love with her. Guys like you don't stick around with just one girl." "Guys like me? No. I'm not your simple guy and I'm not going to waste my time explaining myself to you. Alia had said she already moved on so you have your answer. Alia?" Sonel offered his hand to me which I took and gladly followed him back inside the kitchen. He led me upstairs and went to stand by the window. After a few deep shaky breaths, he turned around and walked back towards me. Was he angry?

"My guess is that you're thinking about what I've said to that ex of yours. Am I right? I do love you Alia and I hope I'm not scaring you away because I truly want to spend the rest of my life with you. Richard knows how I feel about you and I wasn't planning to tell you in such a uh.... awkward situation. I did planned to tell you tonight in a more beautiful environment but... Your ex made me say it earlier." He held both of my hands and I felt that familiar sparks again.

"Say something Alia. You can ask me anything." "I'm your girlfriend huh? Though I don't remember saying yes." He scrunched his brows before asking, "Do I... Do I have to buy you something then? A ring? Excuse me but I have no experience of how it's done with... people around here." "You've got to be kidding me. What do you mean with people around here?" "Well... From where I come from, when two are meant to be together, it's a more faster pace. Do I sound weird to you?" Aw... He looks cute.

"Why me? I'm just a plain woman staying above a cafe apartment in a small town. I know I'm older than you and you look like you own the world." Sonel looked outside before answering, "The world? It never occurred to me to own it. Come here." Sonel put his arms around me and hugged me gently. I love it that we seem to fit in all the right places. He gave a soft kiss on my neck before saying, "Alia... You are beautiful and you don't know how special you are to me. You are my mate and I will do anything to convince you how I love you." Mate? I think it should be soul mate.

When we arrived at the bottom stairs, I saw Richard and another friend of his wearing new aprons. Richard seems to be doing well serving the customers but his friend seems to be having a difficult time balancing the tray. "Richard. I see that you are missing one of your past jobs. Alex... You better put down that tray before you pour the food over someone." Alex quickly put down the tray on an empty table and said, "My apologies Sir. I never held..." "It's alright Alex. You both didn't have to help and I can't thank you enough for it. Now please have a seat and I will take over from here." I tried to help Alex remove his apron when he suddenly moved back from me. What... He had this scared look on his face and kept his head bent down. Is he afraid of me? Why? I looked at Sonel but he is walking back to his table. That's weird.