Wills’s Embrace
I Will Love Only You
I get butterflies when I see yah coming
Oh boy you got me running
This feeling in my stomach
Tells me I should be your woman
Cause you’re the only one who makes my fairytale come true
How can someone make me so sad
But still I only want you to stay
I wanna say “I love you” so bad
But I don’t wanna scare you away
Please I wish that you’ll understand
That I wanna be more than just your friend
I wish you loved me
Song I Wish You Loved Me – Tynisha Keli
Wills’s Embrace
~01~
My story began anew one day
—all because of my own impulsive, brainless decision-making.
It had been almost two years, I think, since I last saw him…
Again…
“What is that supposed to mean…”
The tall man in front of me demanded, staring at me in sheer disbelief.
He had been on the phone when he walked up, staring at my face confrontationally.
Yes… he was far from welcoming.
And here I was, clutching a cardboard box full of knick-knacks, moving into my new flat.
Honestly, never in my wildest dreams had I expected to run into him here.
‘Wills.’
The man I could never quite forget.
We had known each other in the past—or maybe it was just as accurate to say we did not know each other at all.
You see, it was all very complicated.
Never mind…
I should try not to look at him too long, especially since he seemed more than ready to incinerate me with those piercing eyes of his.
“Why of all places here?”
Even I did not have a good answer for that.
The night breeze felt especially cold at this hour.
Could he not let me come inside first?
These boxes were heavy, after all.
When I finally lifted my gaze to meet his, Wills snapped in my direction.
“Wanjan!”
Uh, let me clarify—that ‘Wanjan’ he said was not the day of the week.
It was my name…
Startled, I jumped at hearing it so clearly, and my heart began racing wildly.
I hated myself for the tangle of emotions swelling up inside.
“What the hell are you doing here!” he asked, his voice tense, blocking my way and fixing me with intense gaze.
From his expression, he was dead set on barring me from getting in if I kept standing in front of his door like some lifeless scarecrow.
Yes…
as it turned out, I was standing directly outside his room.
“I…” I managed to say, but just then, the light scarf I wore blew up and tangled around my mouth, cutting me off mid-sentence.
Stupid wind.
It could not have chosen a worse time, not with Wills already frustrated by my presence.
It was 9 PM, and I had just finished a study session for midterms.
Tonight would be my first night living alone.
The landlord had mentioned there was one room available.
Well, technically, it was not completely free—whoever lived there needed a roommate.
I had agreed on the spot, not giving it much thought.
Little did I know that the room I had signed up to share belonged to…
Wills…
The man who despised me with a passion.
Once upon a time, the two of us had…
“Do you have a death wish, Wanjan!”
Wills yanked the scarf off my face, pulling me from my reverie.
Free from the scarf, I yelped out in surprise.
“Oh!”
“I’m not letting you in.
Go away!”
And with that, Wills slammed the door shut with enough force to make me stand there, stunned, just blinking at the cardboard box in my hands, unsure of what to do.
In the end, I took the box and plopped down on the staircase landing of the second floor, utterly pathetic.
The flat I was supposed to share with Wills was in a luxurious, three-story building, complete with all the amenities and a top-notch security system.
The rent here was predictably high, which explained why Wills needed someone to split the cost.
He was not one to mingle with others unless absolutely necessary.
Or perhaps, he was dealing with something significant, so he needed a roommate.
That was probably it…
“Hey!
Nowhere else to go?”
His voice snapped me back to reality as he stormed back over, his expression as bitter as if he had just bitten into something vile.
I looked up, hugging my cardboard box even tighter.
“Tch… fine, get in then.”
“Take off your scarf and coat.
They’re filthy,”
Wills ordered, his voice edged with annoyance.
Hastily, I set the cardboard box down and pulled the scarf off my neck.
“Wearing a scarf when it’s this hot,” he muttered, walking toward the kitchen to open the fridge.
Watching him, I took off my coat and stuffed it into the box along with the scarf he had just deemed unclean.
“Water!
You’re sweating like you just came back from a bog.
Seriously, look at you.”
Wills kept on with his biting remarks, as if we ran into each other every day, when, in fact, this was our first time meeting in two years.
“I’m not letting you stay here.
Out of basic human decency.
Pick a spot—the kitchen or the bathroom.”
“Huh!?” I groaned in response.
The bathroom, the kitchen…
What was he talking about?
“I can’t tolerate sharing a roof with you.
Even just one night is already pushing it,” he stated, completely oblivious to how those words might sting.
But I was not angry; this was classic Wills.
It had always been his way to say exactly what was on his mind without filtering it.
If nothing else, it was convenient—I did not have to guess at any hidden meanings.
“Do you even have a voice?
Good grief, you’re seriously starting to irritate me!”
“Oh… the landlord contacted me.
I didn’t know my roommate would be a guy.” As I spoke, I pressed my lips together, noticing the dark, annoyed look that flashed in his eyes.
Wills was intimidating enough without needing to glare like that.
Just standing here, I felt like I was shrinking.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re incredibly stupid?” he scoffed, slamming a glass of water down on the table in front of me.
’You have…’
I thought, but left it unsaid.
“Thanks…” I whispered, barely audible, expressing my gratitude for the water.
He was still the same.
Despite his irritable, short-tempered exterior, there was a kindness buried beneath it all.
That was Wills…
“I’m only letting you stay tonight.
Burn it into that thick head of yours.
By morning, I want you gone.
Got it!?” Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and walked away.
I wanted to say something, but my words caught in my throat, leaving me to sigh and drink my water in silence.
I nearly jumped when he swung open his door again and threw a pillow at my head, knocking me a step to the side.
Before I could recover, he flung a blanket at me, knocking me over, punctuating it with his signature door slam.
“Didn’t I tell you I didn’t want to see you here in the morning?”
Wills greeted me in the most charming way on a new morning, making me swallow my own ’Good morning’ right away.
“I’m heading out—lock up after me,” he said brusquely, slamming the door behind him in less than three seconds.
I was exhausted, truly at a loss for what to do.
We had not seen each other in over two years since we went to different universities.
And now, we met again under this circumstances.
It was almost laughable…
I had wanted to avoid him and thought I had succeeded, but life had other plans.
After he left, I also leave the room.
I was worried, knowing that a few of my things were still in his room.
I had a class early that morning, so bringing them all at once was not an option.
I hoped to return to his room as soon as class let out to collect everything and disappear from his sight just as he had requested.
But things did not go that smoothly.
The landlord assumed I had agreed to stay with Wills and handed me a spare key, even helping me set a passcode on the door’s fingerprint scanner.
“Sir, I’m not sure this is… a good idea,” I told him, looking at the key in my hand with unease.
No one had to tell me how angry Wills would be if he found out.
Had I told you he hated me to the core?
“You’d be better off staying here than out there alone.
Your parents moved to America, didn’t they?” he asked, and I nodded, deflated.
He had known my dad well, so he probably knew more about my family situation than anyone else.
“Stay here.
It’s safe.
Besides, that kid barely stays here anyway.
He’s known he’d be sharing with a female tenant from the start.
He usually comes home late—you’ll hardly ever see each other.”
“But…” I began.
“No more buts.
I’ve got some errands to run,”
the landlord said, hurrying down the stairs before I could say anything more.
Sighing, I felt confused with his train of thought.
Did he remember that the first tenant in this room was a guy?
Worse, that guy could not stand the sight of me.
There were secure locks and plenty of space, but having to live separately together like we were stranger felt…
I wanted to disappear…
“Are you still here!”
His face was pure annoyance.
I managed a weak smile, scratching my neck awkwardly, unsure what to say.
In truth, I wanted to stay here; my parents had probably already heard from the landlord that I would be living here.
Besides, with Wills around, I felt a strange, quiet assurance that this would be a safe place for me.
But, as anyone could see, someone was not happy with that arrangement…
“I was just about to leave,” I said, quickly hiding the key behind my back.
“Then go pack up…
and get out.
I don’t need a woman here,” he replied coldly, holding the door open.
I followed him in, at lost at what else to do.
Wills gathered my things roughly, stuffing them into the cardboard box and shoving it back into my hands.
“I’m heading out now.
Walk out with me,” he commanded, his expression saying he wanted me out right away.
So this was how we would meet again after two years?
I wanted to ask him that, but I did not have the nerve.
“Did you miss me?” I whispered to myself as we reached the first floor.
Wills walked away, already on the phone, carrying himself with the same confidence and disregard as before.
And what had not changed the most, was the look in his eyes, telling me he still held that same old hatred for me.
I set my box down on a bench and walked over to the vending machine for a drink, only to freeze when I saw…
Wills.
Why did we keep running into each other like this?
It was far from amusing…
He was furious about something, speaking into his phone as before, but this time with an expression and volume that scared me.
I ended up heading to the bench and sitting down.
Wills glanced at me before looking away in disgust.
Feeling awkward, I clutched a cold can of coffee in my hands.
Cold droplets on the can slowly flowed along my fingers.
I was exhausted, too much to even wipe it away.
Sigh~ whatever.
“What?
No way, I’m not going.
Why do I have to be responsible for everything?
I already dealt with it last time.
Drag those month twins—March and August—instead!
Why is it always me!”
I kept flinching at every outburst, my legs stiff and frozen to the bench, unable to leave, what a joke I was.
“That’s why I keep saying I can’t go, are you deaf or what?
Call Pax here, what the hell is wrong with him!”
Wills was engaged in an intense conversation with me sitting there without even the courage to stand up and walk away.
The only thing I could do was sit there, waiting for him to finish his call and walk off on his own.
Maybe then I would have the chance to slip away.
“Oy!
For the last time, I can’t go.
Yeah, I don’t even want to go.
That’s it.”
Finally, he hung up.
My gaze flickered his way for a moment, only to quickly dart back to the front.
Even though we were so close, it felt like miles of distance separated us.
“Seriously, I need to find some way to cool off,”
he muttered, sounding like he was talking more to himself than to anyone else.
His fingers tapped his phone screen so furiously, I thought he might break it.
Wait… had he just said he needed to cool off?
And before I could catch myself, I said impulsively,
“Want to grab something to eat?”
Wills’s hand froze as he turned to look at me, his eyebrows knitted in frustration.
I also looked at him, and without a word, he stood and walked away.
Of course…
why would he ever stop to talk or even glance back at me?
I was just a fool—pathetic, clueless, and utterly useless woman.
Just that…
“Great.
Even the sky’s laughing at me…” I muttered, stretching out my hand to catch a few raindrops.
“I really am an idiot…”
.