Chapter 17 No More Pretending #2
They simply enjoyed having each other again.
They went to dinner.
They walked through a night market.
They argued over which dessert to buy.
Orm stole Ling's phone and changed her lock screen.
Ling threatened revenge.
Orm laughed and told her she was too predictable.
They spent an afternoon at Veyra.
Orm stopped by to see P'Cherry and Khun Dew, who greeted her with such enthusiasm that Ling immediately realised she had been missed more than she had expected.
P'Cherry hugged Orm.
"You look different!"
Orm laughed.
"Is that good?"
"Very good."
Khun Dew smiled.
"You look happier."
Orm glanced toward Ling.
Ling pretended not to notice.
P'Cherry noticed.
Of course she did.
She looked between them.
Then smiled knowingly.
Ling immediately became suspicious.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're smiling."
"I'm allowed to smile."
"Not like that."
P'Cherry laughed.
Khun Dew shook her head.
"You two really haven't changed."
Orm smiled.
"We have."
P'Cherry raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
Orm looked at Ling.
Ling looked back.
Neither answered.
P'Cherry's smile widened.
"Oh."
Ling sighed.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
"I was thinking."
"That's worse."
Orm laughed.
For a moment, everything felt exactly as it had before.
Except it wasn't.
Because now everyone knew.
There was nothing fake about them anymore.
?
That night, after Orm left Veyra with Ling, they sat in the car outside her apartment.
Neither moved to get out.
The city was quiet.
The lights from the buildings reflected across the windshield.
Orm looked at Ling.
"You've been thinking about something."
Ling nodded.
"I have."
"What?"
Ling didn't answer immediately.
She looked at her hands.
"I've been trying to figure out how to say something."
Orm smiled.
"That's new."
Ling looked at her.
"Very funny."
"I know."
Ling took a breath.
"Orm."
"Hm?"
"I need to tell you something."
Orm's expression changed.
"Okay."
Ling turned toward her.
"I've spent a lot of time thinking about how we started."
Orm waited.
"The campaign."
"The contract."
"The rules."
"All of it."
Ling's voice was quieter now.
"I keep thinking about that first conversation when we were told we had to pretend to be together."
Orm smiled faintly.
"You looked like you wanted to resign."
"I wanted to resign."
"You didn't."
"No."
"Why?"
Ling smiled.
"Because I thought it would be temporary."
Orm nodded.
"So did I."
Ling looked down.
"And then everything became complicated."
"Very."
"I thought I could control it."
Orm laughed softly.
"You really did."
"I was wrong."
Orm's smile faded.
Ling continued.
"I thought if I followed the rules, everything would stay simple."
"Which rules?"
Ling smiled.
"No kissing."
Orm laughed.
"No unnecessary touching."
"Yes."
"No jealousy."
"That one didn't last long."
Ling laughed.
"And the worst one."
Orm's expression softened.
"No falling in love."
Silence.
Ling looked at her.
"I thought I was pretending to love you."
Orm's eyes widened.
Ling swallowed.
"At first, I thought every time I looked at you, every time I held your hand, every time I stood close to you, I was only doing what the campaign required."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"But then I started looking for you when you weren't there."
Orm didn't move.
"I started memorising little things."
Ling smiled faintly.
"How you take your coffee."
"How you get quiet when you're upset."
"How you pretend not to be scared when you actually are."
"How you laugh when you're embarrassed."
"How you talk faster when you're excited."
Orm's eyes were already filling.
Ling continued.
"And somewhere along the way, I stopped acting."
She reached for Orm's hand.
Orm let her take it.
"I just didn't know how to admit it."
Her fingers tightened around Orm's.
"Because admitting that I loved you meant admitting that I could lose you."
Orm's tears spilled.
Ling looked at her.
"I thought I was pretending to love you."
She paused.
Then smiled through the emotion.
"Then I realised I was pretending not to."
Orm covered her mouth.
A broken laugh escaped her.
Ling squeezed her hand.
"I love you."
Orm shook her head, tears running down her cheeks.
"Ling..."
"I love you."
"I know."
"No."
Ling's voice became firmer.
"I need to say it properly."
She moved closer.
"I love you when you're annoying."
Orm laughed through her tears.
"I love you when you steal my coffee."
Another laugh.
"I love you when you argue with me."
Orm wiped her cheek.
"I love you when you're stubborn."
"That's most of the time."
"I know."
Orm laughed again.
Ling smiled.
"I love you when you're far away."
She took a breath.
"I love you when you're afraid."
"I love you when you're chasing your dreams."
"I love you when you make things difficult."
"I love you when you make me laugh."
Her voice cracked.
"And I love you when there's absolutely nothing happening."
Orm stared at her.
"Because that's when I realised you weren't just someone I loved during the exciting parts of my life."
Ling lifted their joined hands.
"You became part of my life."
Orm cried harder.
Ling smiled.
"You became home."
Orm let out a small, helpless laugh.
"You can't say things like that."
"Why?"
"Because I'm trying not to cry."
"You already are."
"That's your fault."
"I know."
Orm looked at her for several seconds.
Then she laughed.
Not the polite laugh she used around strangers.
Not the teasing laugh she used when she wanted to embarrass Ling.
It was the same laugh Ling had first discovered during that afternoon when Orm had seen her with children and animals.
Open.
Warm.
Unrestrained.
Ling watched her.
And suddenly she understood that this was the sound she had been trying to protect all along.
Orm wiped her tears.
"I love you too."
Ling's breath caught.
"I know."
Orm shook her head.
"No."
She leaned closer.
"You don't get to say that."
Ling smiled.
"Why?"
"Because I need you to hear it."
She touched Ling's cheek.
"I love you."
Ling closed her eyes.
"I love you."
"I love you."
Ling laughed softly.
"Okay."
Orm smiled.
"Okay."
They stayed there for a moment, hands still intertwined.
Then Orm whispered,
"Do you know what the funniest part is?"
"What?"
"We spent all that time pretending to be lovers."
Ling smiled.
"Yes."
"And we were terrible at pretending."
Ling laughed.
"Apparently."
"You were jealous."
"I wasn't."
"You absolutely were."
"I was protecting the campaign."
Orm burst out laughing.
"There it is."
Ling shook her head.
"I'll never live that down."
"No."
Orm leaned closer.
"Never."
?
Then Orm kissed her.
There was no hesitation.
No uncertainty.
No cameras.
No contract.
No campaign.
No excuse.
Just love.