Strange Feelings

Two days passed by since the day Georgina and Henrick allied. They decided to come back to her house to get her things. But luckily found Warren, who was about to leave with the other two men in black. Her mother isn't there, so Georgina takes that chance to talk to his brother and lets the men in black wait outside the house.

They go inside the garden and sit quietly on the bench. Neither the two says a single word as a deafening silence resounds in the area.

"Gina, I hate mom, but if going with her will help you, I'm more than willing to go. You don't need to worry about me." Warren broke the silence without looking at her.

"I'm sorry if I can't tell you anything now. It's just temporary. I'll take you back after this. You don't need to do something, do what you always do. In that way, I'll feel better."

"Promise me one thing,"

"What is it?"

"Don't carry all the burdens alone. If you can't share it with me, at least find someone to help you. Henrick told me you're getting married soon. I can't fully trust him, but you don't listen to anyone beside him and brother Van."

Georgina turns to him and tousles his hair as a gentle smile escapes her lips.

"I'm sorry for making you worry. Once everything's finished, let's visit dad together."

"Make sure to win, Gina. Now that dad isn't here with us anymore, the only family I had is you."

"Hmm... Take care there."

"You too. Anyway, I need to leave before mom notices something."

After their talk, Georgina sees him off before walking inside to talk to their long-time maid, Auntie Sita. She gives her advance payment and thanks her for taking care of them until this day. The two even shed tears as they bid farewell.

She's more like a mother to them. She raised her and Warren from a young age until now, even if they're old enough to take care of themselves. Their parting brings a lot of unexplainable emotions. Regret, sadness, and guilt mix that she felt sorry just watching her walk away full of worries.

"Are you okay? You watch the two people who are close to you walk away." Henrick asked, watching her stand at the entrance of the house.

"It's better this way."

"I heard your cousin left yesterday."

Georgina didn't say a word and glanced at him before going inside to fix her things.

"Do you want to give this house to your mother?"

"Even though there's a lot of good memories here, this place... It has a disgusting scent of that woman. Besides, throwing garbage to a trash can is better than keeping it rotten in a tiny expensive box."

"If you say so,"

They continue fixing everything inside. Put all necessary things and clothes inside the luggage and throw the useless pieces of stuff in a trash bin. It took almost four hours to clean and separate all stuff.

Amidst cleaning the trash in Georgina's room, Henrick noticed a picture under her bed, and as he took it out, he saw Georgina's photo together with Giovanni. Both of them have a genuine, carefree smiles. Giovanni wraps his hand on her shoulder while Georgina hugs him. As Henrick looked at the back of the picture, he saw a note with written words, 'to my one and only man. I love you forever. I hope your smile won't vanish even after ten years.' Henrick got startled when someone snatched the picture from his hand. He looked behind and saw the flustered face of Georgina.

"Before you accuse me, I'll tell you that I just saw the picture under your bed. It's not intentional." Henrick said, defending himself.

"You didn't see anything?"

"Why? Do you still have many pictures of your ex? Maybe, even his gifts when you're still together..." He didn't utter any more words when Georgina looked away with guilt in her eyes. "Are you madly in love with your ex?"

"Shut up. It's none of your business."

"It's my business. We're about to get married, so throw it away."

His words made Georgina frowns as she glared at him with disbelief. "What did you say? It's just a pretend marriage. Why would I throw my stuff just because you say it? Would you delete all your contacts with those women and stop seeing them if I say so?"

"H-huh? What did you say?"

The two glare at each other as if they killed each one through stares. But Henrick is the first to surrender and look away while tousling his hair in frustration. He turns his back to her, carrying all the boxes in the corner full of the useless things they need to throw.

Amidst an awkward silence that built up inside the room, Henrick took another empty box to put the books on small shelves. On the other side, Georgina was busy putting all trophies, certificates, and picture frames in another set of boxes. Both are in the opposite direction, not minding each other business. They're almost done and ready to go when a book slips on Henrick's hand. He thought it was a reference book, but as he picked it up, he noticed it was not. It's a photo album full of Georgina and Giovanni's pictures.

There are a lot of photos of them, most are sweet moments, and some are with their friends. He continues to scan it—almost crumpling each page while frowning. Not until he reached the last page, he saw a picture of them when Georgina kissed him on the cheek while Giovanni smiled wide.

He doesn't know what's wrong with him, but a part of his heart seems aching.

Jealousy?

Is it even possible even if he doesn't like her as a woman?

His mind is full of random thoughts that he didn't notice Georgina, who walked towards him and took away the photo album with rage in her eyes.

"What are you doing? We're just cleaning up, and I didn't permit you to look at my things. Do you have that kind of habit?" Georgina said, snapping at him.

"You treasure your ex," Henrick chuckled. "Can I even ask you if you're willing to let go of him of your own accord? No. Do I even need to ask that ridiculous question if everything inside your room says everything?"

"What's with you all of a sudden? Why are you talking about my ex?"

Henrick flinches because of her question. He didn't know what got him to snap out and say those words. He can't explain these feelings that seem new to him.

"You're going to marry me..." He said in a low tone voice while stating on the floor.

"It's a pretend marriage."

"Pretend or not... It's ridiculous to bring those stuff along with you." He raises his voice which startles Georgina.

"Are you f*cking jealous?" She asked out of nowhere.

Henrick didn't answer her but rather clenched his fists while looking away. It made Georgina gone speechless. She stared at him in disbelief, but something seems not right. As she looks at his troubled face, there's a slight pain poking her heart. It's as if something new awakens. A new feeling that she can't explain.

A deafening silence came in between the two. The awkward, cold atmosphere made the two freeze. Henrick and Georgina only heard the rapid breathing and loud thumping of each other's hearts. It's ridiculous just to think, and they treated it like they were going crazy at some point. As the awkwardness arises, without a word, they both turn their back on each other and continue what they're doing.

It took another hour before they came back to Jung's mansion.

On their way to the mansion, they didn't talk and kept silent. Even until they came, the two headed back in a different direction. Georgina walks towards his room while Henrick head straight inside the kitchen to drink some cold water. But neither of the two can make their heart stop rapidly beating.

Just like that, the two make sure not to cross each other way. Not until dinner came. Both of them join Henrick's parents in the dining room to eat.

The awkwardness surrounding the two didn't escape from Amanda, Henrick's mother. She looked back and forth between them, but neither of the two touched their food.

"Are you two fighting again?" She asked that making them jolted.

"F-fight? Why would we fight? Maybe, we're tired?" Henrick said and nervously drank some water.

"Son, you're a stubborn, straightforward, rude man, and the only flaw you had is... You're terrible at lying." Hector said.

"Dad, why would I lie?"

"We raised you and knew you more than anyone."

"Dad."

"You're going to marry each other soon. It's better to get along, right?" Hector looks at the two with expectation.

"I have a great idea. Both of you should go outside of the country for a vacation. I'll call my secretary later to book you a flight for tomorrow." Amanda said with a wide grin on her face.

"W-what?" Georgina and Henrick said in unison.