"Are you feeling warm now?"
"Un…"
The black haired beauty wore a robe over her dress, as she sat on the red-headed teenager's lap.
After sharing several passionate kisses with each other, both of them realized that they weren't dreaming.
William had to use all of his willpower to prevent himself from eating the little sheep that was right in front of him.
He knew that this was not the right place and time for such a thing, so he reluctantly stepped down and simply held Belle, until his strong yearning subsided.
"How?" Belle asked.
It was a simple question with a single word, but this question poked at the heart of the matter, which made the Half-Elf frown.
"Actually, I don't remember how I got here," William replied. "When I opened my eyes, you were already in front of me… and I thought that I might have accidentally stepped into Heaven all of a sudden."
A sweet smile appeared on Belle's face. Williams was unable to see it because the black-haired beauty was resting her head on William's shoulder and looking down.
"You've become a sweet talker, is that what you learned while spending time with your girlfriend, Wendy?" Belle asked. Although this was an innocent question, a trace of jealousy could be felt in her words.
"She's no longer my girlfriend, but my wife," William said.
"... It has only been a year since we saw each other. And yet, several years have already passed in your world. Are you really married now?"
"Um, things happened."
"Start talking, Mister."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWilliam chuckled nervously because Belle's hand was inching its way to his waist.
However, before he could even start talking, he sensed someone approaching their location.
Belle also heard some footsteps headed in their direction, but she didn't mind it. Now that the one she loved was here, she didn't care if she was seen by other men.
"Belle, stick this inside your mouth for a bit and don't move," William said as he gently placed a lollipop inside Belle's mouth. "No matter what happens, don't say a word."
After making sure that the lollipop was firmly in place, he also took one in his mouth. This was the black lollipop that allowed anyone who ate it to merge with the shadows.
Soon, a middle-aged man wearing a suit appeared in the clearing. He looked rather worried and seemed to be searching for something.
After seeing the man, Belle hurriedly took out the lollipop from her lips and called out.
"Papa, I'm here," Belle said as the shadows that shielded her from the outside world disappeared.
"Belle! I finally found you, I was getting worried!" Belle's father, Raymond, hugged his daughter.
He had assigned two of his bodyguards to follow her when she left the hotel. When they saw that she was headed to the maze, one of them returned to inform Raymond of what was happening, while the other followed her inside the maze.
Due to Belle's effort of making sure that she went the wrong way, the guard following her was unable to find her.
Raymond, on the other hand, immediately left the hotel after hearing what his daughter had done. More than anything else, he was her father. Although he wanted Belle to socialize with the young men of their circle, he would not allow any of them to force her to do something she didn't want to do.
Even if Raymond was an easy going man, if someone were to harm his daughter, he would snap their necks like twigs and make it look like an accident.
William watched this scene from the shadows unsure of what to do. In the end, he remained completely still and just watched the father and daughter pair reconcile.
"Father, there is someone I'd like you to meet," Belle said with a smile. "William, please come out. I want you to meet my father."
Raymond frowned because the name William held a special meaning to him. How could he possibly forget the name of the dying young man with a terminal illness that had donated his heart in order for his precious daughter to live?
However, the thing that concerned him was that his daughter was looking at an empty bench, which made Raymond shudder.
'W-Wait don't tell me that the boy has turned into a ghost and is currently haunting Belle?' Beads of sweat formed on Raymond's forehead at the thought of William's ghost having an attachment to his daughter.
After a brief internal struggle, William took out the lollipop in his mouth and appeared in front of Belle and her father.
Raymond almost jumped back in fright when a red-headed teenager suddenly materialized out of thin air.
Belle smiled as he hurriedly pulled William towards her father.
"Papa, this is William," Belle said with a smile. "He is my fiance."
Raymond reached out his hand for a handshake as he appraised the handsome young man that he was seeing for the first time. "Hello, so you are my daughter's fian– what?!"
The middle-aged man glanced at his daughter in shock before shifting his gaze to the red-headed teenager whom Belle had introduced as her fiance.
"Hello, Father," William said with a smug expression on his face. "My name is William, and I am Belle's fiance."
"I'm not your father!" Raymond snapped at the handsome red-head who was trying to get chummy with him.
"Belle, what is the meaning of this? This is the first time I'm hearing of such a thing!"
"That's because I was keeping this a secret from you and Mama. William was studying abroad, and it was very hard for us to meet. Fortunately, he was able to free up some of his time for a visit. I asked him to come here, so that I can formally introduce him to you and Mama."
William smiled as he gave Belle two thumbs up in his heart.
'As expected of my Belle, she's quick witted!' William felt very smug at the moment and it showed on his face.
Raymond glared at Wiliam. Although he wanted his daughter to form a relationship with someone, when it actually happened, he was having second thoughts. Such was the dilemma of overprotective fathers when it came to the welfare of their daughters.
The Director of the Hospital was feeling conflicted, but after seeing Belle hugging the young man in front of him, he decided to interrogate the boy at a later time, and ask how far they had advanced in their relationship.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Papa, I want to go home now," Belle said. "The party is almost over, and I'm not feeling well. Can we leave now?"
"Of course," Raymond replied. As a doting father, how could he possibly let his daughter suffer? Since Belle wanted to go home then they would go home pronto!
—--
"I'm very impressed," William said as he walked hand in hand with Belle towards the parking area. "I never thought that you'd be this eloquent when it came to words."
"Not as much as you." Belle rolled her eyes. "When we get back home, you better tell me everything. Don't leave anything out, got it?"
"Home?"
"Yes. I'm taking you back to our house. I'm sure Mama will have no complaints. Knowing her, she will definitely start the preparations for our wedding."
Belle held onto William tightly.
During the festival, she felt helpless and lost after William had left. It was a very heartbreaking feeling. It was then when she realized how much she loved him, and if possible, she didn't want to part with him ever again.
But, she knew that this was just wishful thinking on her part.
William didn't belong in her world, she understood this very well.
However, that wouldn't be enough to stop her from making sure that these precious moments together would not be wasted.
During the festival, she had regretted her decision of running away from him. If she didn't leave him back then, the time when they had shared their feelings to each other would have been longer.
She had wanted to tell him many things.
Belle had wanted to pour out her heart to him, but she wasted that opportunity. She had tried to make William stay, even using herself as a way to bind him to be with her forever, but it didn't work.
The boy she loved had responsibilities in the other world. There he had a family, and a home.
There he had lovers, which made her jealous because she couldn't be with him due to their circumstances being different.
Every night, Belle would stare at the moon, hoping that her star crossed lover would once again appear in front of her.
Now that he was here right before her eyes, she would no longer hesitate.
No matter what happened, she would make sure that before the two of them parted again, the feelings that she had kept for the past year, would finally find their way into her beloved's heart.