Till the end of time

Chapter 4

Ronan lay wide awake in the darkness of the night, thinking. It had been more than five hours since he'd last seen her and yet, he couldn't stop thinking about her, about what she made him feel. How could he be in love with her? He'd never been in love before. Hell, he wasn't even sure he knew what love was. The only time he had experienced love was when his mother had still been alive. His mother had told him that when you truly loved someone, you were not just ready to die for them, but you were ready to live for them as well. The fact that his father remained alive and took care of him and his brother, albeit harshly in his case, was the only display of love his father ever showed after his mother had passed away. But, Ronan did not know whether this idea of love applied to him as well.

Not to mention, Lia seemed completely closed off from any emotion that involved intimacy and emotional vulnerability. He was in love with a rock. Sure, she was a diamond, but a rock nonetheless. Any sign of exposing any type of silence seemed to be met with stone cold silence. Obviously she had some huge, walls that she did not plan on bringing down any time soon. Was she worth the time? Even in his head, the question sounded completely preposterous. Ronan's mind flashed to the few but precious laughs and smiles they had shared over the past few days. Every time her eyes lit up, Ronan found that will to keep her laughing get stronger. But still, he had so many doubts about her. So many questions. And it was about time that he got some answers.

Rising from his bed, Ronan slipped on his shirt and slowly opened the door to his room. He padded down the corridor silently, until he reached the only room with two guards standing outside it. Rolling his eyes, Ronan put his hands up as one of them approached him with a security probe. After checking him for possible weapons, they let him pass. Ronan rapped his knuckles twice on the gold door before turning the knob and stepping into the room. The room, much like the restaurant, had the colours of black and maroon, with an undertone of gold. Beneath the large crystal chandelier sat Albert.

"To what do I owe the displeasure of seeing you right before I sleep?", Albert asked.

"Yeah it's nice to see you too. Listen I'm gonna get straight to the point here. Tell me about Lia."

"Why? You interested? You know I'm surprised. It's not like you, hanging on to a girl for so long. But then again, what do I know, seeing as this is the first time you're in", Albert paused, eyes shifting to Ronan, seeing through him. He smirked and flicked his eyebrows as he said, "Love."

Love.

Was it really that obvious? No. Ronan refused to believe he was in love. He barely knew her for gods' sake.

"Love?", Ronan snorted. "How can I be in love with her, I've know her for less than a week!"

"Seriously? You're going to be an idiot?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know you. God forbid you let yourself love isn't that right? Imagine letting yourself open up. That would be awful. What if she rejected you? What if she laughed in your face? What if she died? Could bear that kind of pain? Could you face the consequences of opening up your heart to another person, only to have it ripped out in some cruel way by the very same person you let yourself be vulnerable with?"

Ronan was seething. He tried to play it off as though none of this was getting to him but in reality, he was seething.

"Or worse", Albert let out a fake gasp. "What if she actually loves you back? What if there was actually someone who possessed the ability to look under the infinite layers of cockiness masking the darkness and pain that defines who you really are, and still thought you were worth loving? She could become your one weakness, the only thing that could bring you to your knees and make you a pathetic sucker for love. Oh what horror!"