[COMPLETED]
❝Death is inevitable. It's a promise made to us at birth.❞
Arielle is a studious young woman striving to be a chef. Her life is full of going to class, reading textbooks, and hanging out with her friends, until she meets Zayn. Zayn's an...
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➳ ARIELLE'S POV
"I'm in love with you, Zayn."
The words slip out of my mouth without warning, echoing in the room that is near silent, aside from the low noise emanating from the television. Why did I just say it? I uttered those words—the words that can change every dynamic of our relationship.
I know it's true, I do love him, but for some reason everything feels so fast. However, we've known each other for months now, and that's adequate time to get to know, and to fall in love with someone. So why can I hear my heartbeat thumping in my ears?
I'm tempted to roll over and gauge his reaction, but because of the lack of noise, it makes me think he's already fallen asleep. When I feel the mattress shifting, I swear he's staring at the back of my head and I remind myself that if I stay still maybe he'll think I'm asleep.
Why isn't he saying anything? Does he not feel the same way? I wouldn't fault him for not feeling that serious about me already.
When I hear about other people's relationships, I'm always shocked when one person says the three words before the other, and the person who uttered said words gets mad because the words weren't returned. How can you get mad at someone for not lying to you? I'd rather wait and hear the words come from Zayn's lips when he actually feels that way towards me, not just because he's saying the words out of courtesy.
I try to calm my breathing and my racing heart, but the silence is making me ten times more anxious than I should feel. Please say something, Zayn.
He's so silent, that I can't even hear his breathing anymore, but I know that he's staring intently at the back of my head. I don't know what he's doing, but this silence is deafening.
"Wh—" he clears his throat, "What was that?" His voice comes out in a quiet, raspy tone that makes my heart thrash against my ribcage.
Do I repeat the words? Or do I pretend as if I'm asleep? I let out a heavy breath, which I think leads Zayn to believe I'm fast asleep because he shifts lightly on the bed, moving to spoon me. His arm wraps around my waist and I close my eyes, feeling his breath fan across the skin on my shoulder. I try to slow my breathing to help feign sleep, but his scent overwhelms my senses. He's quickly become my favourite smell and inhaling him undeniably makes my heart flutter.
"I'm getting there, my love. I'm getting there," he whispers, placing a featherlight kiss to my temple.
My love?
His arm wraps tighter around me until he grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers with ease. Tucking his chin into the crook of my neck, his stubble tickles my skin, which causes me to jerk a little. His chest—which is pushed right up against my back—vibrates with laughter.
