He Likes Her

"Um, Taylor, can you stay here?" Anna gently requested, her voice tinged with a quiet plea.

Taylor, sensing the weight of the moment, offered a reassuring smile and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, sure," he responded, his understanding demeanor a silent acknowledgment of the delicate nature of their meeting.

With Taylor staying back, Anna cautiously approached Porsche, her steps guided by a mixture of love, care, and unwavering selflessness.

"Porsche," she called out, her voice carrying a tender warmth that reflected the depth of their shared bond.

However, despite Anna's earnest attempt to bridge the growing distance between them, Porsche remained rooted in place, his gaze fixed on the tranquil expanse of the lake.

Wrestling with a tumultuous mix of emotions, he grappled with an overwhelming sense of guilt and an inexplicable wave of jealousy that had taken hold of his heart.

In the grip of conflicting emotions, Porsche was torn between the desire to confront Anna and the overwhelming urge to retreat into the solitude of his own thoughts.

As Anna called out to him once more, her voice laced with affection and concern, Porsche hesitated, unable to meet her gaze as he whispered with a palpable sense of anguish, "I think you should go back. I'm sorry I called you here for nothing."

Despite his words, the turmoil etched into Porsche's features betrayed the depth of his pain, a silent testament to the emotional storm that raged within him, unseen and unspoken.

Upon hearing Porsche's words, Anna stood frozen in place, her heart heavy with a sense of abandonment that threatened to engulf her.

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision as she struggled to come to terms with the rejection that echoed in Porsche's words.

Despite the pain that coursed through her, she remained rooted in place, her gaze fixated on Porsche's figure before her, searching for any semblance of reassurance or connection.

With a voice wrought with desperation and a plea for acknowledgment, she whispered, "Okay, I will leave, but only if you look into my eyes and say that again," her words a silent plea for a flicker of understanding in the face of her mounting despair.

Porsche, his frustration palpable, clenched his fist in a silent display of inner turmoil. 

Slowly, he turned toward Anna, his gaze cast downward, a veil of guarded emotions shrouding his expression.

Anna, her heart aching with the weight of his rejection, felt a surge of warmth wash over her as their eyes met, the unspoken pain that lay between them bridging the chasm of their shared history.

Before she could utter a word, Porsche interjected, his voice laden with a plea that masked a world of inner turmoil.

"Can you please leave," he implored, his gaze unwavering as it met Anna's tear-filled eyes, his own pain concealed behind a stoic facade.

Unable to bear the weight of his dismissal, Anna turned away, her tears flowing freely as she sought solace in the comfort of her own solitude.

Slowly, she made her way toward Taylor, his eyes filled with surprise and concern as he observed Anna's emotional turmoil.

Porsche, too, turned away, the depth of his own pain hidden from view as he grappled with the raw intensity of his conflicting emotions.

As Anna reached Taylor, she whispered to him with a shaky voice, "I need to go back to the hotel," her words carrying the weight of her emotional disturbance .

Taylor, concerned for Anna's well-being, politely inquired, "Are you alright, Anna?" However, the emotional storm raging within Anna left her unable to offer a response, and she continued walking in silence.

As Anna's tear-filled eyes swept over her surroundings, she found everything to be unattractive and somber, her perception colored by the weight of her recent encounter with Porsche.

Throughout their journey back to the hotel, Anna and Taylor remained in a state of quietude.

Taylor, his worry for Anna evident in the stolen glances he cast her way, couldn't help but be concerned for her well-being.

A few meters from the hotel, the heavens opened up, and rain began to pour.

Despite the sudden deluge, Anna made no effort to shield herself from the downpour, allowing the rain to soak her to the bone.

Taylor, concerned for her health, quickly took her hand and guided her toward shelter, whispering, "Well, I was expecting the rain."

Anna, lost in her thoughts and still deeply affected by her encounter with Porsche, sat on a bench under the shelter.

 Meanwhile, Porsche remained standing in the rain, his body drenched and his heart heavy with a potent mix of rage and frustration at the sight of Anna and Taylor together. 

The weight of his guilt gnawed at him, leaving him feeling helpless as he grappled with his own emotions.

Tears mingled with the rain on his face as he was transported back in time, to the cherished memories of his childhood with Anna, their shared experiences a stark contrast to the pain and confusion that now defined their relationship.

As the rain poured down in sheets, Taylor's exasperation was palpable.

With a muttered curse, he moved closer to Anna, a sense of urgency tingeing his voice as he sought to convey something important to her. "Anna, I need to tell you this," he began, his voice barely audible over the sound of the heavy rainfall.

Anna, lost in the whirlwind of her own thoughts, was initially unaware of Taylor's attempts to get her attention.

It was only when he called her name once more, his tone a mixture of concern and urgency, that she finally emerged from the depths of her reverie, her gaze meeting his with a sense of mild confusion. 

"What—um, I'm sorry, actually—" she began, her words trailing off as she struggled to collect her thoughts.

Interrupting her, Taylor pressed on, his tone resolute and filled with a deep-seated conviction.

"I know. I know there's something going on between you and Porsche," he said, his words punctuated by a weighty pause that hung heavily in the air between them. "And I know Porsche is to blame for your declining well-being. But, Anna, I need you to forget him."

Anna's expression shifted, a mixture of shock and disbelief registering on her face as she processed Taylor's words.

His next words held a resolute determination, his unwavering gaze fixed upon her. "A person who only gives you pain is not worthy of your love," he concluded, his words hanging in the air, heavy with unspoken truth and a quiet plea for Anna to recognize her own worth.

Anna stood up abruptly, her emotions running high as she processed Taylor's words.

Taylor, gripping her hand with a sense of urgency, continued to express his thoughts, his tone laced with an air of determination and concern. "I might sound a bit harsh, but Anna, you need to let go of him," he implored, his words carrying the weight of his genuine worry for her well-being.

In the face of his admonishment, Anna's frustration bubbled to the surface, her voice tinged with a barely contained anger.

"Taylor, who told you that Porsche is the one to be blamed?" she questioned, her words ringing with a fierce sense of loyalty and defiance.

"You don't know anything about us. You don't know what we have gone through. Neither of us is to be blamed. It's just the destiny that has brought us to face these demanding and punishing circumstances," she asserted, her unwavering gaze fixed on Taylor as she sought to defend Porsche's honor.

Taylor, feeling the weight of his own frustration, looked away, the tension between them palpable.

"Then why are you the only one getting hurt again and again, huh?" he questioned, his voice tinged with a mix of concern and exasperation.

"At first, I thought he was mistaken or something, and I liked him, but he gets on my nerves, Anna," he confessed, his frustration evident in his tone.

However, before he could finish, Anna's anger flared, her voice cutting through the tension that hung between them.

"Taylor, I think you are the one who is mistaken," she countered, her voice filled with a fierce loyalty that brooked no dissent.

"I don't want you to badmouth him. Actually, he is the one who has suffered the most because of me. I can't let go of him, even if the whole world was against me," she declared, her unwavering resolve a testament to the depth of her feelings for Porsche and her unwavering determination to stand by him, regardless of the challenges they faced.

Taylor, undeterred by Anna's initial reaction, closed the distance between them, his hands reaching out to grasp hers once more as he poured out his feelings with an earnest intensity. "Anna, I think I like you," he confessed, his words laden with a vulnerable sincerity that made Anna feel unsettled.

Anna, taken aback by Taylor's unexpected admission, pulled her hands away, her expression a mixture of shock and uncertainty.

Taylor, undeterred, pressed on, his voice filled with a fervent determination to convey the depth of his feelings.

"I know what you're going through, and I want to take you away from all of this," he declared, his words resonating with a genuine desire to provide her with solace and support.

Moving even closer, he sought to bridge the emotional distance between them, his voice filled with an unwavering determination.

"Anna, I want to make you the happiest person in this world," he stated, his earnest gaze fixed on her with an intensity that made her heart flutter.

Reaching for her hands once more, he spoke with a gentle conviction, "I like you, Anna."

Meanwhile, Porsche, making his way back to the hotel in the heavy rain, drenched from the rain and his emotions in turmoil, spotted the blurry image of Taylor and Anna holding hands, his heart raced at an alarming pace.

The sight filled him with a turbulent mix of jealousy, anger, and despair. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and it ignited an intense desire to confront the situation unfolding before him.

With clenched fists and a fierce determination, he quickened his pace, the rain pouring down around him.

His mind swirled with a maelstrom of emotions, and he felt a burning need to protect Anna and assert his claim on her heart.

Ready to take matters into his own hands, he charged toward Taylor and Anna, poised to intervene in the unexpected scene that had shaken him to his core.