The Day He Matured

Finally, the last night of the old year has come. Although Brian did not go to the US and just stayed at home with me, he gave a false notice that he was traveling far away to avoid anyone coming to visit.

All day yesterday until this afternoon, I was the one who went to the gate to receive gifts from his large and small partners and friends, while he hid in the room, playing the role of the absentee.

“Bella, come over here.” He called out when I just walked into the living room.

I obeyed him, rushed over and I realized he was talking to Mrs. Alina. I can see the New Year’s atmosphere is also filling the space there, there are yellow chrysanthemums, apricot blossoms, and watermelons.

“Hi, ma’am.” I raised my hand and waved.

“Yeah. I called to say happy new year because the whole family is going to see the fireworks soon. Happy New Year, Bella.” Mrs. Alina said eagerly.

Southern California has spectacular New Year’s Eve activities, with flower streets and fireworks too.

Two years ago, Mrs. Alina also called to wish me a happy new year before going with Brian and everyone to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

As for him, he just sent me a video of fireworks for about fifteen minutes with the words “Happy New Year”.

“Yes, thank you. Wishing you and everyone a very happy new year.”

I had just finished speaking when suddenly Hellen’s beautiful face appeared on the screen. Today, she looks very beautiful in a red dress, the same color as the dress that Mrs. Alina is wearing.

“Hello, Bella.” Hellen smiled brightly and waved to me.

“Hello, Miss Hellen.”

While I was about to leave to return the conversation to Brian, he inched closer to me. Both of our faces appeared on the screen at close range at the same time.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I could see that Hellen’s expression was a bit unnatural but within seconds she was back to normal, happily talking to him.

“Bella, strangers looking at the screen will think that you and Brian are a couple.”

The sudden sentence from the supermodel made me feel uneasy. While I was worried, Brian suddenly asked Hellen to turn the phone screen to his mother’s side because he had something to tell her.

I thought I needed to get out of Hellen’s sight so that she wouldn’t talk nonsense, so I quickly stood up while she turned her neck to call Mrs. Alina.

However, my beloved pulled me back and held my hand tightly.

My instincts told me something bad was going to happen, so I risked touching the screen to end the call.

“Bella, what are you doing?” Brian frowned and questioned me.

“I should ask you that question. What are you trying to do? What are you going to say to your mother and Hellen? You’re going to take my hand and make our relationship public, right?” I looked him straight in the eyes, tried to stay calm, said a long speech.

“Right.”

“Brian.”

The constant ringing of the phone made Brian look away from me, staring at the screen.

Even though I didn’t look, I knew that his mother called back, so I took the initiative to move away.

After a few more rings, he picked up the phone. Fortunately, he understood what I meant, so he did not mention this relationship, just asked Mrs. Alina to give lucky money to the person who took care of him when he was a baby.

After turning off the phone, Brian sighed and stood up.

After taking two steps, he turned his head and stared at me. Those eyes showed that he was very angry, even dissatisfied.

Honestly, what girl wouldn’t be happy and wouldn’t want her lover to reveal their relationship with his family?

However, my situation now is not possible. His mother’s statement that day was enough for me to understand her point of view, and I still haven’t had the courage to face her as his girlfriend.

Furthermore, the one she was aiming for was Hellen.

I’m so scared, I’m afraid his family will separate him and me.

I am trying, I am tinkering, self-taught and I will follow my dream. I will become a good designer, famous, and have a lot of money to deserve him, by then, it will not be too late to make this relationship public.

As long as he loves me like this and waits for me, at least for that time, he and I can still be together, not being divided by anyone.

“Bella, do you know how old I am? I’m old, I want to get married, have children, and build myself a true home.”

My eyes widened and my lips moved but I couldn’t speak.

Does he mean he’s old? Does he mean this lavish mansion isn’t his true home?

He means a ramshackle house, but with me in it, it’s his true home, right?

He said he wanted to get married and have children. He would throw me on the bed and… God, why did I suddenly think of that?

“Thirty-year-old men are still very young, you are still very handsome and stylish.” I’m talking nonsense because I can’t think of a better sentence than that.

“Just one more month.”

“What do you mean?” I opened my eyes wide and asked him.

“After a month, I will talk about our relationship with my mother and marry you. I don’t want a long night with many nightmares.”

A month huh? Will that be enough time for me to get the approval of my future mother-in-law?

No, definitely not enough. What is this man thinking? Is he getting married or buying fish that he’s in such a hurry?

However, it seems that he is angry, he left me alone and went back to his room.

I thought I would welcome the new year with Brian in the most joyful mood, but it ended up like this.

After cleaning up, I went to my room and sat on the bed.

Should I tell him about my worries?

His father passed away early, and his mother both earned money and raised him, although she did not have financial difficulties, she also worked very hard. So, I don’t want him to make her sad because of me.

I trust him so much that I believe he would choose me if he were forced to choose between me and his mother.

Although I really wanted to knock on the door of Brian’s room, I did not dare.

Maybe he needs to be alone, he needs his own space to calm down. Perhaps he chose to leave to avoid saying the words that would make me angry.

I hope that by the time transition between the old year and the new year, he will be in a better mood, and don’t carry his anger into the new year because that will be very unlucky.

After a long time, guessing that Brian was asleep, I lay down and covered myself with a blanket. But before I had time to close my eyes, I heard a knock outside.

I knew it was him because there were only two people left in the house.

“You…” I glanced at the person in front of me and spoke softly when we both met face to face.

“Uh. I’ll take you to the riverside to watch the fireworks. It’s eleven o’clock late at night.” He said softly, smiling softly.

“Yes.”

I quickly closed the room door and hurriedly changed my clothes. I chose a simple white floral dress to match the color of the shirt that Brian was wearing.

I will wear a medical mask so I don’t mind letting everyone around know that he and I are a couple.

I chose sneakers instead of high heels because I knew I had to walk to enter the fireworks area.

At this time, the roads are quite empty because many people have gathered in the fireworks areas.

Brian drove very fast and as we approached the park by the river he slowed down.

I opened my mouth wide when I saw so many people waiting impatiently ahead. Maybe they came here early to choose a nice location.

We quickly joined the crowd. Brian grabbed my hand and walked through the crowd to find the ideal position.

The moment I passed a group of people, I suddenly saw Richard. However, when I turned my head to look, I only saw unfamiliar faces.

Honestly, I really want to send a happy new year message to Richard because I still respect him very much anyway.

However, I am afraid that if I do that, it will remind him of the past. I should let him completely forget about me, it would be better if I don’t hang around in front of him anymore.

“What are you looking at?”

Brian suddenly asked me, startling me.

“Well, I see a girl very similar to Caily. She said she would give me her phone number but she didn’t. Never seen her call.” I quickly replied.

“Do you remember the name of the company she works for?” He asked.

“I don’t remember. But I believe we will meet again.”

Time passed slowly, I kept looking at the screen of my phone and waiting. When four zeros appear, the first fireworks are lit up, adorning the sky above the river.

The excited cheers mixed with the explosion made the space more vibrant. So beautiful, so majestic.

I turned to look at Brian and saw that he was also looking at me. His eyes are now more beautiful than the stars in the sky, imprinting my whole face in glittering dark brown pupils.

His face slowly lowered and touched mine. A kiss through the mask is very quick but makes me more emotional than ever.

“Happy New Year, my dear.” He whispers in my ear before straightening his back and looking up at the dazzling fireworks.

“Happy New Year, my beloved.”

A feeling of happiness filled my heart, I smiled with satisfaction, clutched Brian’s arm, and continued to enjoy the high-altitude fireworks display despite the sound of a text message ringing from my phone.

If I knew dating him would be this sweet, I would have loved him sooner, would have nodded like a chicken eating rice when he first said he loved me, and asked me to be his girlfriend.

This year, the man standing next to me didn’t use his phone to film the fireworks in full bloom.

I’m greedy again, I want him to be with me every New Year’s Eve, I want to be taken by him to watch fireworks, want to be kissed by him and hear him say happy new year.

Fifteen minutes is too little, but it will be a wonderful memory that I will definitely engrave in my heart.