Clumsy at Love
Chapter 31: I love you and I mean it
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma
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"One more thing, can we please forget that separation thing? I never want to hear it ever again. If you agree, we can revise our contract... No, how about we entirely forget about the contract?"
"And why would I agree to that?" She swears it's her crazy stupid heart that made her ask that foolish question.
"Uh, I don't think I can afford my parents to see their only son go through divorce and separation."
"Right," she agreed and started retreating. What does she expect him to say?
"Wait!" He called out. "Actually, no... Who cares about that?" He muttered. " Please, wait." He asked, but she kept on walking.
"I know I had no right to tell you anything about my feelings, but I don't think I could hold out any longer…" It's his strained voice that made her stop.
Then a long silence.
"What?!" she asked irritably while turning.
"I'm in love with you," he said at the same time.
And that's it.
The morning came ... they got back to the penthouse ... they went back to the office and worked again ... it was as if nothing had happened. They are back to normal ... back to their usual "boss and secretary" relationship. There was no trace in his actions that he had confessed his feelings for her. In fact, he didn't mention another word about "it" even after a week. It's like that weekend never existed, and that moment had never happened. She groaned.
"Akane?" She heard and saw her boss waving his hand in front of her eyes. Ranma shook his head as he got her attention.
Right. Meeting. She stood, picked up her tablet, and quickly followed him down the hallway.
How is he able to act normal when he disrupted my whole world with that damned confession? She wondered as she walked up behind him.
"You seem distracted. What are you thinking?" He asked.
"Eh?" She stammered. She couldn't give him the real reason, could she?
To her frustration, he muttered "Never mind" before she could give him an answer.
"Did you already send the copy of the project proposal to the application managers?" He asked instead.
"Yes, I've sent it this morning," she replied calmly, although her insides are boiling.
"What about the missing details I've asked you? Did you work on it?"
"I've sent it around twelve before I ate lunch. You didn't check?" Right, they never ate lunch together the entire week, even dinner. He seemed really busy with his own life.
Ranma goes over his tablet. "Got it. Thanks."
She sighed dejectedly. Did she hear him right? Did her senses play tricks on her? Maybe that memorable weekend did not really happen. Perhaps she imagines these words keep on playing inside her head. It seems impossible... with the way he's been treating her lately.
Ding! The elevator door opened, Ranma came out rushing, and she tried to keep up. He stopped by the door and turned.
"What?" She asked defensively. He had caught her scowling at his back.
"This is an important meeting. I need you to focus." he reminded before walking into the meeting hall, leaving her as frustrated as ever.
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You have new mail. Akane stopped typing on her laptop to check her email on her tablet.
"Oh, no! Not again..." She cried after reading the subject line of the email she just received.
"What is it?" Asked Ranma.
She shook her head and sighed. Seriously, this is the fourth training she had within the month. Do the HR employees have something against her? Why do they keep on sending her training invites?
She didn't notice Ranma sneaked a peek at her letter. "You need that." He commented as he sat back down on his seat. "You better pass that training and get the certification. That will give you an edge as an IT graduate and an applicant if you want to try your luck with other departments or companies."
She looked at him dumbfounded. "Is this your doing, again? What are you plotting this time?"
"I'm not plotting anything. Believe me. It's for your own good."
Her eyes narrowed into thin slits. "You're back at it… the "trying to get rid of me" scheme." She accused.
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are!" She exclaimed.
"It's not like that, Akane. It's just that… I believe that you still have a bright future ahead of you if you'll only try. It's not too late for you to start over."
"You know what, whatever." she huffed. She had had enough of him. "I'm going to sleep… this is not a paid overtime, anyway." She grumbled, collecting her things from the dining table.
"Akane..." He called out when she started darting out of the room.
She concluded that that weekend actually did happen, and he told her those lies, those freaking lies! A tear fell from her eyes which she instantly wiped with the back of her hand. What could he actually get for pulling those horrible tricks on her? Self-satisfaction to feed his ego? How can he be so cruel?!
Abruptly, she stopped walking and turned. "You know what, advise your HR that they better have my replacement report this week because I'm really quitting."
"W ~ what?"
"Don't act surprised. This is exactly what you wanted, so you better quit the act."
"Wait, wait, wait... Why are you making it sound like that's what I want? You've asked for it, remember? You told me that you'd quit once I found you a replacement. That's why I've asked HR to help you build your resume and look for another promising position in case you wanted to stay instead of quitting entirely."
"Yeah, right... She agreed, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, and then muttered underneath her breath. "Like I'll fall for your lies again."
"What did you say? When did I ever lie ~ " He faltered as realization dawned on him. "Wait, what is this all about? Is this about how I feel for you? About the confession I gave out on my birthday?"
"Doesn't matter," She shrugged and headed out.
But before she could take another step, he grabbed her arm and then her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "No, it matters to me if this is about it. You have no idea how hard it is for me to finally make that confession. I mean every word I've said, Akane. I may be full of myself or lie about many things in this life, but I swear I'm not gonna lie about my feelings. I love you and I mean it."
He's getting the same reaction as before. Wide eyes, gaping mouth, and body like a statue. Simply, the look of a horrified person seeing an awful heinous creature confessing. God, it hurts just the same. She hates me that much.
"This is exactly why I refrained myself from bringing it up again." He muttered, releasing her shoulders. "I don't want to pressure you or make you feel less comfortable than you already are. Don't worry. We'll stick to the contract. I just want you to know, that's all." He added weakly, walked back to his seat, and returned to his paperwork as if nothing had happened.