A Rejection Even Before the Confession

Anastasia is more than certain that she admires Lucien a whole lot.

She really wasn't able to point that out when she's just beginning to obsess herself over him back then. Whenever she'd look at those magazines and other visuals that had his face on, she used to think that she's only interested in his mysterious background.

After all, like what Anastasia kept repeating to herself before, it's all mere curiosity.

But now that she gets to reunite and even be friends with him as if everything is the work of destiny, she finally realizes her true feelings for him. They grow stronger and stronger in each passing day - every single time she gets to learn a new thing about him.

It's just that Lucien is unlike any other boy out there.

Despite being famous and wealthy, he is still humble and good-natured. He gets along with everyone, and she knows that this amicable attitude of his is no mere act. In all actuality, he's always trying his best to understand other people and be on the same page with them.

Since he used to be locked up inside his home ever since he's still a child, he lacked social skills and common sense when it came to interacting with others, which explained why he kept stuttering when they first met. His earnestness to make friends as well as his genuine desire to enjoy the ordinary things - these are some of the main reasons why she fell for him.

With all that said, Anastasia knows to herself that she likes him - perhaps, even more than she can ever think.

"T-Then... Should I say it, then?" she quietly asked herself, intertwining her fingers together and clenching them from under the table.

As both of them only continue exchanging looks for the next seconds to come, a moment of silence spreads in between them.

She isn't sure what will be the consequence of confirming what he said. Make it or break it - their relationship will have to take on that saying. That's why she's torn between denying and spilling the beans.

After all, even if Anastasia adores Lucien, she's still aware of her limits.

"He's a freaking supermodel and wealthy heir for crying out loud! How can a simple baker's daughter like me match up to his level...?" she mentally grimaced, her insecurities slowly seeping through as she began fidgeting a little in her seat.

"B-But... there's no harm in telling the truth, right? I mean, he does seem to be really interested in me too. He doesn't treat me the same way as with the others, and he always confides his personal feelings and inner thoughts to me. Then again, the only girls he often hangs out with are me and Cathleen... Perhaps, I have a bigger shot than I initially thought."

With those in mind, Anastasia finally feels a strong surge of conviction swelling up within her. It's as if the goddess of confidence herself has taken over her at that very moment.

Right then, as soon as she finishes steeling her resolve to come clean, she can feel her cheeks heat up - blooming as red as a rose.

Clenching her hands once again, she silently starts bracing herself and taking deep breaths. She then gathers all her courage to open her mouth and pour out all her innermost feelings at last.

"You see, Lucien, for a long time now, I've been-"

"I like you, Anastasia."

Then, she froze.

It just happened that Lucien had dropped it in a heartbeat - much like how her own heartbeat seemed to drop for a second.

Anastasia goes still and quiet for what appears like a fraction of eternity. At that very minute as well, she can feel fireworks shooting up and butterflies flying around in her stomach - a pleasantly exhilarating emotion that she never experienced before.

Indeed, this is something she never experienced before.

All her life, Anastasia only settles for what she thinks an ordinary girl like her can get. She never fantasized about anything that she knew she could never get her hands on - or at least, she never dreamed about them so much that she badly wanted them to become reality.

That said, she never had any romantic feelings for anyone too - neither did others towards her. Nobody ever caught her attention before, and she knew that she's too plain and simple to be catching anyone's attention as well.

Right now, though, Anastasia might as well be feeling as if she's the luckiest girl in the world.

"Y-You... like me?" she eventually blurted out after a short pause, her face turning redder than ever.

"Yes, I do...!" Lucien beamed with a blithesome grin.

"That's because you don't seem to be interested in me at all."

Then, once again, she froze.

Anastasia finds herself coming to a halt at that, her throat constricting as all words fall. She may just be hearing and seeing things, but he really appears to be bubbly and ebullient as he unknowingly rejects her feelings in quite a roundabout way.

"I like you because I know you're not after anything from me. I treasure our genuine friendship a lot. After all, you're the first ever genuine friend that I made," Lucien continued with a sunny smile, looking so innocent and bright that it somehow mystified her.

Before she can even confess, he already beats her to it and even tries to imply how he wants to stay friends with her.

Anastasia feels her heart churn in pain at this uncalled-for revelation. But then, as his words sink deeper in her head, she's surprised to feel it slowly breaking into a hundred pieces.

Heartbreaks actually hurt more than she thought.

It turns out that she's just naively keeping her hopes up all along. For a minute there, she really thought that they shared the same emotions. She totally believed that she finally had her most fulfilling moment in life.

"He likes me... 'cause I don't like him?" she repeated in her head in disbelief.

"I-I see..."

But even when Anastasia feels like ripping her hairs off for assuming things, she just holds everything back. She tries to swallow down all the hurt and heartache that rise up to her throat and keep her from responding for quite some time.

Then, she beamed.

"I-I see! So, that's what it is...!"

She felt hurt more than she expected.

"You really surprised me back there, Lucien! I even thought you're just kidding around...!"

She felt stupid for believing even just for a second.

"You got it right, actually. I wasn't really thinking of dating anyone right now..."

She felt like crying at that very moment.

"I'm also happy to hear that. I'm glad I get to be your friend too."

Now, Anastasia doesn't know what's more painful - if it's confessing then getting turned down or the same scenario but done in another way around.