The Billionaire's Bridal Chase

EP 05: If You're Really Sorry

"Alright, let's call it a day. Good work everyone!"

I looked up from my laptop and saw the actors and staff packing up while the acting coach was talking to the pig. I lifted a brow when I saw her face darken. I shrugged it off and decided to pack up as well.

Later in the car ride, Caly kept heaving thick sighs. As was foreseeable, she kept it up until dinner. I could only roll my eyes.

"I'll do the dishes," I volunteered, since her continuous deep sighs are getting into my nerves now. "Go wash up and rest."

She didn't answer but proceeded to her room with her head in the clouds.

Tsk. I feel like I've become a parent.

It's her fourth day as the lead of their play, and in the past three days, she's been going home like this, face long, and sighs all over the place.

I'm pissed, to say the least.

Whatever it is that the coach has been telling her, I hope she doesn't make the trouble I'm going through to make her the star all for naught.

After doing the dishes, I went into the shower to freshen up, slipped on a thin shirt and boxers, switched off the light, then laid comfortably on the sofa.

From my peripheral view, I see my laptop screen light up. It's probably the soundless alarm I set with the label "Start writing now."

Feeling tense, I turned to the backrest, deliberately ignoring the responsibility I had set for myself.

It's Friday tomorrow, meaning their last practice for the week. I'll just resume writing on the weekend. I'll sleep for twelve hours tonight.

I was about to drift to dreamland when I heard the haunting sigh of the pig once again.

Not budging from my position, I demanded, "Go sigh all you want in your room, will you?"

For the nth time, I received no response but another sigh.

Then another.

Another one.

One more. I pray to heavens this is the last.

"Haah!"

Damn, now it's louder!

Bent out of shape, I rose from the warmth to scold the pig witch whom I found now sitting prettily on the coffee table where I last saw my laptop perched.

I shot her a death glare which should have been clear enough with the faint light coming from the kitchen. She showed no reaction at all. After my eyes adjusted to the dull environment, it turns out she's not looking at me at all. Just staring into space while releasing deep breaths.

An exasperated sigh escapes my lips. "Pigs sleep most of the day. You should live up to it-"

Ah, what the. Am I actually the pig here?

I was expecting a rebut, but there goes another long, deep, and audible breath.

Seeing that she'd never stop, I got on my feet and went to the balcony, snatching a cigarette and lighter from my pants’ pocket before I did.

"Such a nuisance," I mumbled after taking a drag.

Leaning forward on the railing, I looked below from the fourth floor and saw kids running recklessly along the alley.

How dangerous. These kids just run around without realizing the dangers of the dark.

"Seriously," the pig suddenly spoke from behind me, startling me. "Why aren't you asking if I'm okay?"

I pivoted my heel to face her, and with a blank look on my visage, I asked, "You okay?"

"No, obviously!"

Yeah, obviously.

"...Right." I went back to leaning on the railings, my forearm supporting my weight while I used my other arm to smoke. "Then go get some sleep."

There was silence for a moment, but the pig breaks it again as she mirrored my posture on the other end of the railing.

"You're really annoying."

"Not as much as you are."

Another. Freaking. Sigh. I felt like snapping already when she started talking again.

"The acting coach keeps telling me to ask Erin for suggestions."

Now she's sharing such personal matters. No, please, I don't want to talk. I don't want to comfort.

"I can't satisfy them with what I do. It's really... off-putting."

Disheartening, you mean.

Flicking the cigar butt on the built-in ashtray by the railings, I opened my mouth to let her know, "If you don't do well, I'll quit writing the playscript."

She jeered in sarcasm. "You certainly won't."

"I certainly will, so," I puffed smoke before twisting my neck to look at her eyes intently. She looks tired. "Listen to the coach and do well."

She stays in the contact for a few seconds then breaks it to look below. She chuckled, shaking her head. "Fine."

I kept looking at her, on the other hand.

She left her long, black hair uncombed. As usual. Even with the distance and the little light hitting her face, it seems I can point out how long and thick her eyelashes are, and how dark her irises are. With another light under the weather from behind her, her button nose that fits her features just right appears to exhibit "silver lining," highlighting her side profile that is no less than pleasant to look at.

She has wet her lips for the fifth time now. I came to recognize this as an indication that she's in doubt. At least that's what I've observed from when I began staying here.

And it might be untimely to say, but she's really pretty. Gorgeous, even.

My eyes left her the moment she tried to meet it.

"Huh? You good?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you short of breath right now?"

I gulped. "No."

"Then are you trying to get back at me with these consecutive sighs?"

"Yeah, it's payback time."

She laughed in a teasing manner then put on a determined expression. "Let's see who gets K.O.ed first."

I inwardly cursed. Let me catch my breath for a while.

The next day, the pig approached Erin, the girl who always got the lead until now, and asked for her suggestion. Erin was happy to help and shared what was in her mind. After hearing that, she seemed to be enlightened and began asking her other co-actors as well. They seemed surprised to hear her asking for their feedback and suggestions.

"Eh, whatever happened to that kid, you probably had something to do with it," Zea mutters as she peeks at my laptop screen while I type. "Correct?"

"Probably?" I replied flatly, not stopping to spare her a glance.

"It's remarkable, but her face is even longer now," she continued. I hear her release a sharp air from her nose, stifling her laughter.

I bit my lip to hold my smile after imagining an even more elongated face of the pig.

"You're doing well, Caly," I heard the coach say after calling for a wrap up.

Hmm. Good for her.

Without looking up, I started saving and exiting windows on my laptop, preparing to shut it down.

"By the way, who's up for team dinner? Drinks on me!"

"Me!"

Almost no one wanted to go, but there was a girl who raised her hand like the speed of light.

You guessed it right. It's the pig witch.

In the end, Zea, Leo (the director), Erin, Caly, and I went to a small pub, just in front of the theater building. I didn't want to go, but Caly wouldn't give me the keys unless I stayed. What's the point, really? And I got tricked by that? Am I becoming stupider the more I hang around her?

Wait. Does the word "stupider" even exist?

"Booze is here~" Leo singsongs, handing a pint of beer to each of us.

"Wow, we're five now," Caly chirps, clapping her hands like a seal. "Last year and last, last year it was just Zea, Leo, and I."

"And when Cal was still not at the legal age, it was just Leo and I," Zea laughs as if she's bandaging the pain.

"So much for team dinner," I muttered as I popped corn chips into my mouth.

"Right?!"

After eating to my satiety, I lifted the pint and downed a big gulp of the beer. As the full flavor of the booze envelops my mouth, I watch them talk and giggle about a lot of things, mostly throwbacks in their career. I chuckled here and there, not getting seconds.

A few more topics later, they decided to star me and asked about my career as a writer. It didn't take long before they went personal with "You have a girlfriend, right? With that face and body, you sure have one!"

"I told you guys, it's me!" Caly hollered, pointing to herself.

"Dream on!"

Erin, like me, still hasn't finished the glass given to her. She's also not talking much, unlike the three who keep going on and on about themselves. Maybe I should talk to her?

Nah. Not really interested.

"Hey-"

"Erin~," Erin, who appeared to be sparking a conversation with me, was cut off by a witch. A pig one." Don't flirt with him, alright?"

I froze when I felt a hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair. I pulled my head back and her hand fell on her lap. Caly's. She giggles at this, shaking her head.

"You'll regret it."

Brushing my hair back with my hand, I looked at the playwright and the director to inquire, "Is she drunk?"

"Sixty percent," Zea giddily laughs, struggling to show six digits with her hands. "She's a dangerous being right now!"

"Dangerous woman~" Leo chimes in, his eyes almost gone because he's grinning like a Cheshire cat.

My brows are pulled downwards by these suspicious conversations and actions.

"They're definitely drunk. They've had a total of thirty pints after all." Erin laughed softly all the while brushing her bangs to the side, and I couldn't help but frown some more.

What the hell is laughable in this situation? We're going to be chauffeurs!

Piqued, I finished my pint and stood. Erin flinches and looks up at me with curious eyes, her smile disappearing.

"Do you know where Leo and Zea live?"

"Uhm, yeah."

Erin and I cut the bills then left with the car. We'll just have Leo pay us later. After dropping Leo and Zea at Erin's place to stay the night, since the two were too drunk to specify their own units, I drove straight home.

Once I'd parked the car, I turned the engine off and let my strained body loose on the upholstered seat. I lifted an arm and covered my eyes with the back of my wrist, then exhaled my irritation.

Geez, I really hate night outs that involve drinking. You'll always have guys in the group who end up wasted. I'd rather sleep. If only I knew the majority of them were such alcoholics, I should've gone home and slept outside Caly's apartment.

Well, can't cry over spilt milk now, can we?

Looking at the dead weight beside me, I feel like my soul is about to leave my mortal body. The director and the playwright were really heavy, but to my astonishment, Caly is heavier. I discovered that fact when I tried to lift her bridal style to the car. I almost dropped her, had it not been for Erin.

She owes her her life, you could say.

I don't think it's safe to try again. With the building only offering stairs, and her apartment is on the fourth floor? She might just meet the devil.

"Let's just give her up," I comforted myself with a grin of ease. "I won't let her meet the devil just yet. That's how it is. Human kindness."

I'll just go and quickly get her a blanket, then go back to her apartment, then sleep.

That was my plan, but I ended up not going back down and dozed off on her futon mattress.

I woke up in the dead of the night, feeling a weight beside me, pulling my body to it. When I opened my eyes, I met Caly's drowsy ones, close to my face.

"You bastard. You just left me in the car," she ranted in a hushed tone. “Good thing I have a spare key...”

I parted my lips slowly, and in a gruff voice, I returned, "I'm sorry. I intended to go back but..."

"Whatever," She closes her eyes. "Kiss me if you're really sorry."

What the heck is this pig talking about?

"Ew."

Offended, her face scrunched, still with her eyes closed. "What did you just say?"

"Ew. I'm not doing it, pig."

Is she trying to get a chance to puke in my mouth? Ugh. Now I feel like puking.

Her eyes finally flutter open. "Really?"

I gave her a firm look and answered, "Yeah, really."

"Then, I will."

The next thing I knew, she was on top of me.

Hah. Dangers of the dark.

Beware of drunkards, especially.