Rollercoaster

"You should be afraid of me because if not, it would be very easy for you to fall in love with me." - William Alexander.

***

"It seems very scary if I fall in love with you, considering you often said not to fall in love with you," Rose said as she let go of William's embrace and turned to look at him.

"But why did you marry me if your goal was not to win my heart?" Rose asked defiantly.

"My goal is to take advantage of you," William answered without the slightest hesitation.

Rose stepped back at William's answer, did she just feel disappointed? No way... You just feel unhappy about being taken advantage of, Rose!

"But, I will remain responsible and protect you like a husband," William said, his hand reaching out to straighten Rose's slightly messy strands of hair.

"You don't love me?"

"I don't..."

Rose sighed softly, she had expected it but why did it feel painful, as if she didn't want the answer William gave?

"I lost my boyfriend to a man who just wanted to use me. Unbelievable!" Rose said holding back her tears.

It wasn't because of Rayhan, Rose admitted that her disappointment was not because of Rayhan but because she couldn't accept that William didn't love her.

"That's why from the start I told you not to fall in love with me because I can leave you at any time."

Rose could no longer shed tears, she could no longer look at William's face.

"Then what is all your kindness and talk about protecting me for? It's all just empty talk?" Rose asked squealing.

"No, I did it sincerely. I want to be the man who stands in front of you and protects you."

"I don't need any of that, I don't need you at all! I can take care of myself." Rose said firmly.

Rose couldn't take it anymore, she stepped away and left William before she shed all her tears in front of William.

"Why are you angry and always asking me how I feel if I am nice to you? Am I not allowed to be nice to my wife? Or have you fallen in love with me?" William asked.

Rose was fed up, she stepped closer to William and stood looking at him without hesitation.

"Because your attitude unconsciously makes me depend on you and my heart beats ready every time you smile at me, I'm afraid of falling in love with you. You touch my heart so easily. I hate that... If you don't want me to fall in love with you then don't ever be nice to me! Why do you make it so confusing and complicated?"

"Acting as if you've fallen in love with me when you haven't, that's so scary, You're the same as my parents!" Rose continued before running away, leaving William alone.

William sighed heavily, he deliberately made Rose angry with him, that was the only thing he could do before they were truly trapped by love that came at the wrong time.

There is still Gwen, he can't just throw her out of his life and he also has to focus so he can become governor, and the most important thing is finding his brother.

Love is already there, maybe only the size of a corn kernel but if those feelings are not killed from the start then they will only hurt each other.

William is sure that in Rose's heart, there is still Rayhan and hopefully Rose never falls in love with him.

****

Rose sat crying in the quiet and dark back garden of the mansion. She was disappointed, William was just using her, If he didn't love her then why would he force her to marry him?

If his goal was just to use her why would he pay attention to her? Why did William kiss her? Why doesn't he like Rayhan's arrival?

"Why? Why do I care so much about everything about him?" Rose said crying softly.

"You are precious, you mean a lot to me. I will stand before you and protect you, I will not let anyone break your happiness, that is my promise."

Rose could still hear it, that promise was still ringing in her head to this day and affected her, thinking that William cared about her.

"Liar..."

"Forgive me..."

Rose shifted her body so that William couldn't see her face, which was still wet with tears remaining on her cheeks.

"Don't try to be warm to me anymore, I won't be touched again," Rose said curtly, seeing William suddenly made her annoyed.

Like a rollercoaster, William brought Rose's feelings up and down erratically, sometimes making her feel warm and comfortable but the cruelty of his eyes made her annoyed to death and fortunately, she stopped crying, She didn't want William to get a bigger head because he saw her sobbing just because William said he didn't love her.

"Who else has fallen in love with you..." Rose squeaked in annoyance.

William could hear it and thankfully Rose was no longer crying. He felt guilty because he had made Rose cry and was angry even though that was his intention to say that he didn't love Rose.

"You don't want to sleep?" William asked after sitting right next to Rose.

"No."

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

"The stars look beautiful from here," William said, diverting his question, which Rose always answered curtly.

"Just normal, you tacky!"

William looked down to suppress his amusement because Rose did not hesitate to sneer at him.

"Yes... If you look around, you are more beautiful than the millions of stars there." William's praise was sincere.

Rose immediately turned her head and looked at William with a sharp gaze that looked completely different from Rose who previously whined because William was too busy with his book.

"Say it again." Challenge Rose.

"There's no replay, babe..." William answered teasingly.

"You jerk!" Rose said, chuckling in annoyance.

"So you like my praise?"

"That's right! I like being praised, especially by my handsome husband." Rose answered, without hesitation, She put her arms around William's neck and of course with a fake smile.

William immediately stiffened, his ears even turned red and his breath hitched as Rose moved closer aggressively.

"If this marriage is just a tool for you to use me, then I will make you fall in love with me and then I will leave you without looking back. I will leave a new wound in your heart, so wait," Rose said in a whisper, then she pulled her face and smiled again at William.

William, who was originally tense, finally smiled and looked back at Rose.

"Babe, you seem to have learned a lot from me," William said while gently stroking Rose's face.

"But Babe, you shouldn't tell your plan to your target," William whispered which made Rose even more annoyed.

But it's not that Rose won't survive in the world of entertainment to become a superstar if she is easily defeated, Rose won't feel insecure just because William just bluffed.

"I just want to make this game fairer, like you... Slowly you won't realize that I have controlled your heart until I leave you."

.....