She awoke with that giddy, queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. His reproachful eyes followed her; she could not rid herself of the conviction that something momentous—well, if it was fleeting, after all, paradoxically it had been very complex, viewed from either end of things.
She only sighed, rolled over, and inwardly lamented the empty bedroom beside her and the place within it that he should have, but didn't, contain. He had made it in really late last night, and by all appearances, he must have decided to burrow his nose in his phone and crash. Up until the burying of his nose in his phone, their relations with each other had been spiraling out of control, and Lila didn't know how to fix the feelings—nor did she even want to.
She decided to do just that—probably to get her head clear—and resigned the morning to investigating the spa at the resort. Perhaps a massage would straighten everything out and bang some rest into her head. She scribbled a note to Alex, still lightly snoring, and dashed out.
Though for him, as well, it had proved to be a morning altogether without sleep. Bianca was much too full of beans concerning the public engagement, and she seemed to have spent the night with her head close to the fumist, plotting his future. He felt as though he was piling lead on her expectations. He had to see Lila again, to tell, and how what's this business about him not being able to get thoughts of her out of his head.
"Rafael, darling, we really need to finalize the guest list for the engagement party," Bianca chirped and bustled around their suite with her notepad.
"Bianca, I—I need some air. I'll be back in a bit," Rafael said and snatched his jacket before she could raise an objection.
Bianca screwed up her face in a mixture of puzzlement and irritation as she watched him go. It seemed like Rafael was taking things too far, especially since that night of the proposal; she was already much worried.
Rafael drifted towards the spa as if something pulling him. He pushed open the door to peer inside. There she was, Lila sitting in the waiting area, as if brazing through. Now, his heart stuttered over a single beat.
"Lila?" he called softly.
She jerked her head up, surprise wide-eyed. "Rafael? What you doing here?"
He took a seat beside her. "I had to run. I couldn't shut my thoughts off from last night. I'm so sorry, Lila, for how everything went down."
Lila's face softened. "It's not your fault. It's just. I thought I felt something between us, and seeing you with Bianca—".
"I felt it too," Rafael said seriously, "my life all in confusion because of an engagement; I remained stuck with a woman whom I do not love for the happiness of my family. I don't know how to get out of it."
Lila extended her hand, and he took it. Her touch was electric for him. "So many times, we have to fight for everything, even though how it might look is wrong to others."
Their eyes locked, and for an eternal second, with the rest of the world around them seeming to simply melt away until there was only him and her, the spell was broken and burst by the calling of Rafael's name through Bianca's voice.
"Rafael! There you are," Bianca calling across the room, gliding toward them with a smile that didn't quite seem to reach her eyes. "I was wondering where you'd gone."
Rafael jerked his hand from Lila's in an instant. "I was just getting some fresh air," he said, forcing a smile.
Bianca's eyes darted toward Lila; her smile faltered. "Oh, hello. I don't think we've met."
"Lila," she finally stood up. "Nice to meet you."
"Bianca," she returned, her voice icy. "Rafael, we better get back to planning. There's a ton of stuff that needs to be done."
His eyes locked with Lila's, laced with a remorse expression. "I'll se' you 'round, Lila."
A single nod of concession was all he gave, turning to walk with Bianca at his side, and she felt her gut take that pained twist of sorrow. What's real, she only knew it was so real between them, but circumstances made things impossible.
That was until a little later when Alex woke up, feeling bad about being unreasonable to begin with; he wanted to make up for it in some form with Lila. On a tray, he combined any favorite breakfast item: he had and went to knock on the door of the spa.
Walking to the lounge, he exhaled slowly. Thank God, it was just Lila. "Hey, brought you breakfast," he held the tray, relatively sheepish smile on his face.
She grinned, much smaller this time. "Thanks, Alex. That means the world coming from you."
She sighed and picked at her food. "I feel like we are drifting apart, Alex. We used to be so close, and now… well, I don't know what we are anymore."
Sitting down, Alex tried to make up for lost time. "Listen, I'm really sorry I've been so distant lately; work's been crazy, and I know that hasn't helped me be a very good boyfriend."
Alex grabbed her hand in his. "I don't want to lose you, Lila. Let's make this work, okay? We can start over."
Lila nodded, though 'into it' was a strong term. "Okay. Let's try."
All the same, though, Rafael had his own demons to wrestle with, who definitely wanted to sit down and address his suspicions with Bianca just as much as he wished to unburden Lila's feelings, but timing never seemed right.
Finally, a fire was gotten going on the beach as the evening was closing. Guests ringed the flame, roasting marshmallows and swapping stories on benches. Lila and Alex wandered over to see if they could finally get the spark back.
Rafael and Bianca walked into the flat. He failed to look at her, touring his eyes through the hallways in his search for Lila. He had been feeling this tremor, this urge, making him feel like he just had to talk to her, explain. But he was caught with Bianca on his arm.
Yet the deeper into the night it was, the four of them only seemed to get closer about one another. Lila would find herself looking at Rafael for long periods, their eyes meeting across the fire, each one attached to the other one by some magnetic force no one could resist.
Just as the group activities were being winded down, Lila excused herself for some air. She had walked by the beach as the cool night breeze was soothing her nerves. She hadn't heard Rafael's steps approaching until he came beside her.
"Lila, we need to talk," he pressed on.
She turned to him with a race in her heartbeat. "Rafael, it is too complicated. We cannot keep doing this.".
"I know," he said, his hands closing over hers. "But I can't help the way I feel for you. And I had to let you know that."
Lila's breath caught. "Rafael. I feel the same way. But Bianca? Alex?"
But before Rafael could answer, they heard a voice behind them. "Rafael? What are you doing?"
They looked around to see Bianca, who had the look of being somewhere between confusion and anger. Then, almost as if on cue, Alex emerged from the dimness; his face was tight, too.