The Brunette

Chapter 48

(Niall's pov): Bella doesn't love me?

But I was so sure of it.

She said so when she was asleep.

"Like my boyfriend of course."

Those were her exact words.

She said she loved me.

Why did I believe her?

Maybe its only in her dreams were she likes me.

I wish I lived in her dreams.

I sit on a window sill, pushing back the curtains in the process. Why can't Bella love me as much I love her.

We're meant to be together.

I look outside at the statue and my breath hitches. Bella's outside on a balcony, being held back by me. Its so realistic, I could almost believe Im really pulling Bella away from the edge of a French style balcony.

Her hair is in beautiful black and brown curls, cascading to her waist. She's wearing a long dark purple ball gown, looking heart-broken as she's being dragged away from the edge. Im wearing a dark colored tuxedo, obviously struggling to keep her away from the rose entwined railing.

My expression is a mix of anger, stress, jealousy, sadness and something else... I don't know what it is but I know I'll be able to pull her away eventually.

But I don't know what Im pulling her away from.

I look to the rest of the image, a beautiful French garden lit only by the full moon. I see Zayn standing in the corner, wearing only black skinny jeans and a simple dark red shirt, showing all of his tattoos. He looks as devastated as Bella, reaching out towards her with an outstretched hand. His mouth is agape, hair styled to be messy yet fashionable. His jeans are ripped at the ankles and the hem of his shirt is fraying slightly.

He's showing himself as the poor victim.

Im the wealthy villain.

But that's not how it really is.

Im the one who loves Bella.

Not the helpless china doll in the picture. I love the real Bella. The one with messy wavy hair and no makeup. Wearing sweatpants and not afraid to eat everything in sight. The one who thinks she's ugly when really she's the light of my whole world. The one who confuses me yet makes me fall in love again and again with every second I spend with her.

He can't possibly love Bella as much as I love her.

Nobody can love Bella as much as I do.

I stand up and close the windows, making sure she couldn't see out of it. "Hey, found my phone. Took forever." Bella says, entering the room. "Where was it?" I ask nonchalantly.

She can't see the picture outside.

Not yet.

Not until she realizes we have to be together.

I don't hear her answer, leading her down to the parking lot. As long as she didn't turn around, everything would be fine. I climb on my bike and wait for her to do the same. We're now facing the painting straight on. If she decides to look up, it would be the first thing she sees. "Im sorry about the scratches. Harry was mad at you and knocked it over." She explains sadly, touching the side of the bike.

"Its alright. We can vet it fixed after breakfast. If you ever get on the bike of course." I tease, smiling nervously. She giggles, climbing on the seat and holding me tightly. Im just about to start the engine when a couple comes up to us. "Hey, quick question." The guy says, stopping us. I sigh, "Could you hurry up? We're kind of in a hurry." I ask, trying to be as polite as possible. "Ok, we just want to know if you're the two people in the picture, on the wall over there." The girl questions, gesturing to the painting. "No, we just look..."