Amber POVs
If I have to choose between love and friendship, I've got to say it's complicated because my love for them is completely different.
We often say that we "love" our best friends but it's meant in an entirely different way than we would love a romantic partner. Friend love is platonic love. It's a love that means you care for someone, they are important to you, and you are connected to them emotionally but you do not have romantic feelings for them.
Y'all must be wondering why I'm bringing this topic up. you must be shocked lemme tell you why.
"Noah, where are you taking me?"
"I'm taking you to the beach, it's going to be the perfect place for us to talk and some more I have a beach house over there right in front of the beachside"
"What are we gonna do there, I don't wanna go to your house if there is no Emma, we can just talk on the beach so we don't have to go to your place"
"Alright anything you like"
"Good"
"There we go, this was the place where we grew up together, my family and Hannah's family, our parents are best friends so are we, the kids"
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Can you wait, let me finish, aren't we here to talk about this?"
"I'm here because I wanted to know about Ethan"
"That's what I'm talking about"
"Alright continues then"
"So, you need to know the truth about our family relationship, me and Hannah are a couple not because we love each other but because our parents want us to be together"
"Oh, are they gonna arrange your marriage too?"
"Absolutely"
"So, congratulations then"
"Why are you congratulating me, this isn't something that I should be celebrating"
"Why?"
"Because I don't love her"
"How come you don't, she's perfect physically and her status as well, except for her bad behavior towards me but who doesn't want to be with her?"
"Me"
"Hmmm let me ask you something, so what does it have to do with Ethan?"
"Are you stupid, of course, it has"
"I'm not stupid, I just don't understand where are you gonna take this convention to, enlighten me then"
"Gosh, that means it goes the same to our both siblings you know what I mean?"
"No, to the point please!"
"Ugh, it's hard to talk with low-IQ people like you"
"Okay Mr.professor, can you go straight to the point now?"
"Okay listen, that means my sister Emma a.k.a your best friend, and Ethan your crush are gonna be married to each other too because our parents did the same arrangement for Emma and Ethan, do you get it now?"
Holy crap, I didn't expect it to happen at all. The ugly truth is my best friend is going to marry someone that I love one day, It is shocking and heartbreaking. It feels like a thunderstorm hit my heart boom and it breaks just like that. I'm hurt I don't know why, I don't even know this guy for so long but why do I feel hurt so bad, It is not that we have been dating for so long that I feel hurt so deeply, he's not even mine, never be mine. And some more, I don't even know how he feels about me I don't even think that he likes me too, he's just too generous and his kindness is unlimited and he's super hot. I'm speechless right now. What am I supposed to do then? But wait, if Noah and Hannah don't even love each other, it means there's still a possibility that Ethan and Emma don't like each other too. It's just arranged marriage, maybe I still have a chance but first, I have to find out about Emma's feelings towards Ethan, and Ethan's towards Emma.
"Hold on, do you know about their feelings towards each other?"
"Of Course not, I'm not psychic and some more you should know better about them, especially my sister, aren't you her best friend, you should know better than me, and about Ethan, he's older than us so he's out of the group since he went to Oxford, so I've never heard from him for so long"
"I don't know Noah, I don't know I just need to have a moment with myself and I guess this is the best place for me to think and relax, thanks for bringing me here. at least I am in the right place in this kind of situation where I feel completely broken and confused. Because I can't choose between love or friendship I just don't know"
I feel like crying but my heart says no I'm strong, I cannot cry in front of this guy I won't show him my weakness.
"You can cry if you want"
"No, I'm not gonna cry"
"I can see your tears drop"
"No, I'm not, it's just the sands that go into my eyes"
"Come" he pulled my head and put it on his chest and gave me a warm hug
"What are you doing?"
"Relax, just cry and let it all out I won't see I promise"
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"I'm not that evil like you always think who will celebrate your misery, I have a good side in me too and I can be vulnerable sometimes when I'm not feeling best, 'cause I'm human too right? But at school I'm a different person, I do maintain my reputation in my family, school, and society. it's not easy to be an heir the son of the number one richest person in the country, I carried a lot of burdens too it's not easy"
"Isn't it great living a good life in a mansion with dozens of people working for you, doing anything for you, owning many supercars, companies, loads of money, and you can do everything you want, traveling where ever you want, You can do everything, what kind of burden do you have?"
"All this thing is just entertainment for me, but I have the biggest responsibility ahead of me waiting to steal my freedom away. I have too much pressure from my dad because I am his first son and I will be the heir one day and carrying all the burden in me, I have a dream to be a musician but it will be just a dream, I can never choose what I want to be, marry whoever I want, be friends with anybody"
"Even for friends?"
"Yes, our parents decide who I can hang out with, that's why I never have any friends except for Hannah, Emma is my sister but not even once have we hung out since we grow up and we often fight"
"Oh my God, I can never imagine having a life like that"
"Now you think, I have to carry all the responsibility of the companies, millions of people's lives are depending on us to provide for their families, I can't let the companies down, how are they gonna feed their family without us"
"You're right, I'm sorry Noah for judging you, I never thought about all of this, all I think about is you're a heartless spoiled brat, sorry for saying but I take it all back, I think you are not that bad thank you"
"Thank you for what?"
"Thank you for everything, thank you for showing me your vulnerability, thank you for opening up everything and opening my eyes to see that we can't judge someone by their appearance, appearance is often deceptive, Meeting people for the first time we always make a judgment based on their appearances though the proverb tells us not to make such a mistake. And it is one of the most obvious reasons why we should not judge other people now I get it. Thank you"
"True, no problem please stop thank me, now get up and wipe your tears away, we gonna have some fun together how about that?"
"Like what?"
"But promise me you will be my girlfriend"
"Alright, alright, but why are you keep forcing me, do you love me that much?"
"Oh please, don't get me wrong over a hug, I'm not falling in love with you yet, I just wanted to keep Hannah away from my life I'm fed up with her being around me 24/7, begging for attention otherwise she will threat me that she will tell my parents but now I don't care anymore"
"But why me?"
"Because she hates you so I wanted to make her piss off and some more I won't fall in love with you anyway so chill haha"
"Gosh, you want her to kill me aren't you?"
"I'm your boyfriend who dares to touch you, as long as they know that you're my girl no one will ever dare touch you so don't worry"
"Hannah Of course, she will kill me for sure"
"Why are you scared of her?"
"No, I'm not"
"You did, coward"
"Shut up"
"Don't worry you are under my protection"
"Promise?"
"Yeah, so we have a deal?"
"Alright deal"
"Great, so let's go"
"Where?"
"To have the fun of course"
"Like what?"
"Party, you think I'm here just to see you crying, I hate drama. Please don't kill my vibe"
"Okay"
"But first tell me what you choose, love or friendship?"
"In this case, I choose friendship over love"
"You sure?"
"Yea"
"Cool, let's get out of here"
"Let's go"
I couldn't believe it was Noah who comforted me in this kind of situation where I need support from someone and give me a warm hug in such a perfect place. Cheer me up and wipe my tears away even before it's dropping, we spent time together and have fun on the beach playing water sports, watching the sunsets, etc. It's so fun being around him and just being myself, being vulnerable around him makes me feel happy and free. It's like being around Emma, they're siblings after all so no wonder why.
To be continued.