𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙈𝙧. 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙝𝙞𝙙

35. Caught in the act

I switched the light on while holding Bella in my other arm, pulling her against me as I kissed her hungrily.

I was about to pull her dress up when suddenly, there was a loud bang in the dining area.

Bella and I both froze, our eyes wide as we saw five familiar figures standing there.

"What the hell are you doing to my daughter, Zayne?" Tito Edward's loud voice and angry face greeted us.

Bella quickly scrambled to fix herself as I stood in front of her, blocking her from the view of our parents and my little brother, who was staring at us with his mouth wide open.

"Holy shit, Kuya Zayne!" Jared exclaimed, clearly surprised.

Mom hit him on the arm. "Bunganga mo, Jared."

I braced myself for Tito's punch, but he didn’t say anything when Tita Valerie stepped in front of him.

I glanced at my dad, whose expression was also far from happy.

However, my mom and Tita Val didn’t appear angry at all.

"Kayong dalawa, lapit dito," Tita Valerie commanded.

I looked at Bella and held her hand. Together, we stepped forward to stand in front of our families.

Bella seemed nervous, but I gave her hand a gentle squeeze to let her know everything was fine. It wasn’t like we were kids getting scolded for sneaking kisses. But then again, we almost had sex right in front of them—I had to stifle a laugh at the thought.

"So tell us, what's going on between you two?" my mom asked, her tone serious but with a hint of a smile barely contained.

"We are in a relationship. Bella is my girlfriend," I declared, cutting straight to the point.

"Bella?" her mom asked, looking at her expectantly.

"Zayne is my boyfriend," Bella replied, her voice steady.

Then there was a loud high five exchanged between my mom and Bella’s mom, leaving both Bella and me confused.

"What’s going on?" I wondered aloud.

"I told you it would work," my mom beamed.

"Ed, call Father Sebastian. We need to set the wedding date soon," she continued, clearly not picking up on our bewilderment.

"Zack, call your sister for the wedding venue," my dad added, and I exchanged glances with Bella, still perplexed.

Jared was laughing at the whole situation, clearly enjoying our discomfort.

"Who's getting married?" I asked, my voice tinged with disbelief.

They all turned to look at us.

"Boy, you are sleeping with my daughter, and you don't want to marry her?" Tito Edward asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Zayne, huwag mo akong ipahiya," my dad chimed in, and it hit me—we’d been set up by our own parents.

"How did you know we were sleeping to—"

"Zayne, malalaman talaga namin. Nasa loob ba naman ng kwarto mo ang mga gamit ni Belle," my mom replied, cutting me off.

Dad stepped closer to Bella and embraced her. "Welcome to the family, my daughter. Finally, magkaka-apo na ako."

Belle looked at me, her expression a mix of shock and uncertainty.

We were caught in the act, yet we were the ones left speechless.

Mom explained that they had intentionally invited Bella over to help us reconnect.

Bella blushed when Tita Val revealed Bella’s secret crush on me from our teenage years, and how she had even read Bella’s diary.

Since they were close, they simply wanted us to be a real family.

"Pakitanggal yung mga posters ni Ate Bella mo sa kwarto mo," I said to my brother.

"Why? Sister-in-law ko naman si Ate Belle. Kuya, kung naiinggit ka, lagyan mo rin ng posters ang kwarto mo. Ay, hindi pala, kasi nasa buhay mo na si Ate Belle," he teased, clearly enjoying my embarrassment.

I could only shake my head at his playful jabs.

Before long, our parents announced that they needed to head back to their hotel since the air conditioning in the guest room was still broken.

Once we were finally alone, I hugged Bella tightly.

"We got the best parents in the whole world," I said, feeling grateful.

She hugged me back, her warmth comforting. "I know. I can't believe they set us up."

I pulled away slightly and leaned down to kiss her lips softly.

"Because they are simply the best. I love you, Belle, now and always."

"I love you too, Z. I love you with all of my heart," she replied, her eyes shining.

I lovingly stroked her face. "Paano ba 'yan, they're preparing for our wedding na. Payag ka bang maging Mrs. Zayne Costales?"

She wrapped her arms around my waist, gazing up at me with affection. "I can't say no to that. That's a dream come true for me."

With that, I picked her up, wrapping her legs around me as I carried her to my bedroom. She held on to my shoulders, giggling when I playfully touched and squeezed her butt cheek.

"Let's make love, baby. To celebrate our engagement," I suggested, feeling a rush of excitement.

She nodded eagerly, and we kissed with an undeniable passion, ready to embrace this new chapter together.