Surprise, surprise!

And the graphic couldn't fit the chapter any better! And be sure you read Chapter 31 before this one. It's a double update!
❤️

I was almost ready for this race. The cars were lined up and all the safety gears were to the mark.

I knew that Lia would like it but the reaction she gave was much more amazing. She loved this place. I surely owe Allison this one. With only a few minutes left, I called Lia.

"Stellan, your devil looks so awesome on the line!" I chuckled.

"I guess you like my car more than me."

"Well, duh! Obviously but you better use it well because I am betting my 200$ on you!"

"You bet?! Samuel allowed you to-"

"You seriously think I would listen to someone when I have made up my mind?" That's a true statement as well.

There was no use of arguing when I knew she wasn't born to be ordered by anyone. Classic Ophelia Hale.

"Isn't that true now! Cheer for me!" I said looking at the VIP area. I couldn't really see anything in there but I hoped she could see me.

"Oh yeah, I am! Break a leg, Stellan. I know you would. Babe, you better do. Or you would have a much better surprise."

Her evading words had me knowing that she was onto something. But then again, when isn't she?

And I knew Samuel was smart enough to not let her go and jump off a cliff for her 'fun' because knowing her, that would be fun to her. A lot of fun. But it's luck enough. From the girl I love.

Now, isn't that how to boost your ego?

"Thanks lyubov'."

"Now, be careful!" She cared and that meant everything. Because she cared for just everyone, but being a part of that 'everyone' was and will always be an honour.

"I will. Now I gotta go. I love you..." And while I knew she would not reply back, I could hear her breath hitching for a second. And did that do things to my ego that I had that effect on her.

"I know....always will!" And the line went dead. So now it was time for some racing.

I had always loved this part of my life. Racing with my friends would be the highlight and while I wasn't much known in the world for this hobby, I liked it that way. That's how Derek and I became friends and this ring was the result of our passion.

With few seconds left, we wore our helmets as the names were called off.

The fans went crazy as names were called out and I knew I was one of the favorites. Then they called for Percy, a new racer.

I had never heard of the name and now curious as to know who the new racer was, I looked at the end to find a black Dodge Challenger SRT. New comers usually had less fans so there wasn't much commotion but you can never take any racer to be less!

With final countdown, we were on are marks as the engines roared to life.

We all waited for a single 'GO' to flash on the screen. And soon the crowd shouted.

"GOOOO!!!!"

And we all were off, zooming into the night.

We have done 5 laps and I was leading with some a few meters away. But I knew they couldn't overtake me.

The only competitor I had tonight was Percy. He sure knew how to play the game. Or she could be a woman.

It was either me or Percy and with the last lapse around the corner, I was leading. Heck, it was my date and I wouldn't lose! I knew Lia was there cheering and she placed bet on me!

"So, we have Bennett and Percy at par with each other......looks like we might have a new winner today!" And the crowd roared in anticipation. Like hell you would!

Percy sure had guts, not afraid of the man I am! The black car sped up to my front and I sped up too to meet the car. Now, we were on the same page.

As we entered the last lap, Percy slowly took down the engine. I was so near, almost close to the line now that I knew I couldn't be taken down. I let my eyes glance to my left but there was no blacker there. I looked at my rear view mirror and sure, the car was behind me. I smirked. I could see the finish line now.

50 metres....

35.....

25......

10....

And with just 5 metres left, I would have won but the black car sped by me at a devil speed. I never noticed that Percy over took me. It was as quick as a breeze and before I know, he reached the finish line.

What just happened?

I lost!

The crowd jumped up in a shout and I was sure Lia would be upset. But she wouldn't hate me now, would she?

I finally took out my helmet and sighed defeat. I lost but it was a fair race and the new racer sure had a bright future there. He might as well challenge Derek. I would really like to see his expression. Moving out, I could feel the crowd cheering me up.

That's what I liked now....even though I lost, they supported me! Happy with whatever had happened, I went to congratulate the new 'Winner of the Night' but there was no one. I asked the department about the person, to actually know about him and find a good time to bring Derek's ego down.

"I would like to meet Percy....you know, congratulate the guy!" They couldn't say no to me and so they took me up to the VIP lounging area. It was next to where I had left Lia. I could talk to Percy and then go meet Lia and treat her more, even though I lost.

Soon we reached there and I saw a person with a helmet still on, who was standing right next to Samuel. He winked at me when he saw me.

What is happening and where is Lia?

To answer my question, soon Percy took off the helmet and came down waving brunette here. With the hair and just her back, I knew who it was. I could recognize her body anywhere.

"So....Walker! Now, it looks like I got to treat you at my win." Ophelia said turing around, sporting a winning grin.

"You are.... Percy?" I asked dumb folded.

And here people call me a genius. Looks like the only person capable enough to leave me baffled, lost and grey was Ophelia. And she did that often. But she was sure to pull me back to the shore. To get me back home soon.

"Well.....you can say that! You know my full name!" And that gave it away.

"Ophelia Persephone Hale sure knows how to race. She beat you son....plus I won my bet!" Samuel said looking proudly at Lia. He missed his daughter Karina and Lia, as she knew how to race, sure was like her.

"Well I do." She said as she stalked towards me and pecked my cheeks.

"I never knew my boyfriend was such an amazing racer!" She said giving me a proud grin. But prouder was I!

"Yeah.....and I had no idea that my girlfriend could be so more amazing that she could defeat me. Congratulations, Percy. You earned many more fans. Including Bennett too." And she chuckled.

"Well....I once told you that you would find my secrets and so you did."

I had no idea how many more she had under her sleeves but if it meant that I could reveal more of her by being at her side, I wanted nothing more.

Samuel had already left, giving us our McDonalds package because I still had other plans in mind.

"So we are not going to McDonalds?" Lia said while we went to my car that did a great job today. I had taken the Aston for just racing. Now when I was going somewhere else, I asked for the Mercedes that was already up and ready. Samuel could leave the Aston at my mansion. I trusted that guy.

"Mercedes now......Are you trying to impress me with cars? You really have this planned out!" She said looking amused.

"Well.....I want to show you a place and I know you like this too.....so try different things!" I said reversing my car out.

"So....now where? A gaming centre?" She said looking outside.

"No more crowds.....I know this place and let's say....only I know and few others but they won't be gracing us with their presence. So it would be just the two of us...." She looked at me shyly. And let's highlight shyly because she is anything but shy! I had planned it well and I knew how much she would like it.

Even though I lost tonight, I lost to Lia and I couldn't help but be happy. I found everything in her. Someone to confide in and someone to compete with.

I had no idea how much more I could love her.

Because every passing second, I was falling for her even more.

I was dying to know where we were going now.

He had taken me to a ring which was beyond awesome. God knows how much I missed racing. And now when he had many more plans, I was even more enthusiastic. I could feel even he was. So this be much better.

Now I see why Allison said that he was going to make it my best night ever. Because so far, it was turning out to be. And he had so much more.

"So you tell me, you like racing?" He asked looking my way as the car went smoothly on the road.

"Oh....I love racing! One of the many things I do when I am......overwhelmed! Now that could be angry, happy or anything!" Racing did help me tire myself out.

"Well.....you might love racing, but not as much as your stars." And there I could see a clearing. It was a cliff, I could tell watching the dead end. I gawked at the sight.

The grass shimmered green under the moonlight as the car came to a halt. I quickly exit the car and walked to the edge to look down at a small stream flowing and a million glowing stars above me.

This was so much more.

This was everything.

As I gazed up in the sky, looking at one of the best gift to mankind, I felt Stellan wrap his hands around my waist and I let myself lean to his chest.

"I know how much you like stars......and I have known this place for years. Helps me to clear my mind out and since I wanted it to be a perfect date, I thought this could be the last stop...." His breathe tickled my ears.

"Oh Stellan....this is more than perfect. I do love racing but nothing can defeat the love I have for stars....."I said, still memorized by how pretty the stars looked. This was the best thing about Brooke Falls. You could look up at stars. The city had a population but a civilized one and it had almost no factories and the people were pretty environment conscious. That what the reason I could look at stars even from his balcony.....and today when we are away from human lights, they look even more sincere.

"Come on. Eat your burger......I don't want to strip you off of eating." And so we had the takeout with silence. It was a comfortable one though.

I realized you don't always have to talk to show how much you loved something or how much you cared. Quickly finishing my meal as Stel laughed at my speed, I shrugged and then went and sat near the edge. Not too close but close yet and soon he joined me.

"You know, I have always loved watching stars. Even if I find only a few, I still loved it." I said looking back at him as we both sat cross legged.

"I think Allison knows you well! But she missed the part of you racing."

"Oh she didn't! This is one of the things I hide pretty well. I mean even in Crystal Lake, only a few know. When I went to college, I found some friends and they taught me and.....Voila! I do rock at it. So when I returned for my vacation, Alex literally begged me to help him out but he isn't as natural as me. But I never let anyone know. Only my parents, Alex and Allison know. And now, you and Samuel. That's why I go with the name of Percy. I race rarely but I still have fans back there." I said, recollecting the past memories.

"Well, you don't really love attention so its given and I as well, don't really want that much commotion. Although people know I race, thank god they haven't made a fuss about it!" I hummed along.

"You know, sometime, I would let you race with Derek." He said looking off in the night.

"Derek? Well, Sam did tell me he is good! You tell me, can he defeat me? And be honest here."

I asked him back as I saw his eyebrows raise up.

"Since you asked, I think you won't be able to defeat him but you will still be an awesome competition so why not?" He was much more enthusiastic.

"Nah. If I might lose, then I won't race!"

"Why....you scared of losing? You did race today without paying much heed." He gave me a challenging look.

Touché!

"True....but I was losing to you and that's different!"

"So, you are not taking any risks here?" He said eyeing me. I looked deep in those blue orbs.

"I don't risk Stellan. I can risk with my life as much as I can. That's just my way of living. But I don't risk things when others are involved. I hardly do because risking would mean losing what I have and there is not much with me. I care for whatever I have already. I don't fight battles I know I won't win. Because some battles better be won because if you lose, you might lose something much more than that fight. Much more....." I said giving him a sad smile.

Something flickered in his eyes as he smiled. Then his arms snaked around my waist and he pulled me closer.

"Well, I do take risks. I am a businessman. Hell, I am taking one now?"

"Really....what is this risk of yours?" I sad cupping his perfectly chiseled jaw, bringing him and myself comfort.

"Loving you...."

And you can't answer. There it was. The vulnerability, the fear, the sadness of loss and it was all there for me. How do you answer that?

What do you answer that with?

"Aren't you afraid then....of losing? Of risking something much dearer for something that might never be yours?" I said as he cocked his head to one side, a somewhat smile playing on his lips.

"Afraid? Ophelia, I am terrified. I am terrified that you might never love me and I might never be that lucky. But if loving you here, in this moment, makes you fall in love with me, not today but maybe later......that's all I would ask for. And if that doesn't happen, that's what was supposed to happen then and I would still be thankful to spend time with a wonderful woman like you....." As I leaned more to his touch, he closed his eyes and so did I.

"Its hard not loving you, Lia and it's a risk I am happily taking! You might not be mine in the end....but here, for a few seconds of my life, you are all mine and I can live with that. Live with the fact that maybe for a few seconds you did love me back. Even if you and me won't be a we in this lifetime, I'll still be glad. I'll be glad for I got to know a soul like you. " And just as he ended, his lips came crashing to mine with the anticipation and vengeance of the night. I did defeat him tonight after all.

Breathless, we tore apart under the sky fool of stars.

"How am I supposed to not love you Stellan?"

"Isn't that the plan, love?" I gave him a small smile as I turned around and placed my head on his chest while he held me close.

And it was all I needed. I loved the stars. And I loved the small little world we created right then. Right there. Just for each other. It was our little world. Our little secret.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?" I asked as we both sat in silence of the night.

"Hmm.....people have told me but I do like being reminded once in a while!"

He might not show it much but he can be a complete show off when he wishes to be. Being a gentleman that he is, that isn't something he will say to someone that easily. This was a more playful side of him. And suffice to say, I wasn't the only one who cherished it.

"Well, I do love them. I am actually envious of them. They are the best blue. Not too dark, or too light. Just deep down they go, like the sea and it makes me drown in them if your smile isn't there to pull me up." He slightly laughed.

"Why do you love them so much?"

That was easy.

"Because they are not confused about me."

His eyes would never fail to make me fall for them.

I crane my neck up, finally looked at him and saw him smile sincerely at me.

"I could never be confused about you."

And that was the best thing about him. He knew me then. He knew me now. And that was enough for him. Enough for us. Enough for a forever.

"And I love your eyes first too, I looked deep into their depth and found the other half of my soul." I sighed in his chest.

God, did he smell amazing!

"So here we are talking about our eye. What else have you planned Stel?"

"Well, I thought you would tell me the stories of the celestial sky!"

"Hmm....playing my own game! So tell me, there are many stories....which one you like?"

There were indeed many. And over the years, I had grown to love them all.

"Tell me the story about how the Sun loved the moon so much. She died every night to let him breathe."

And wasn't that story the beauty of our universe!

"The sun feels miserable, sad of not being loved....but still the moon whispers as he falls for her everyday too. That's the love of the sky, Stellan. It's their love that the Earth was born. There love that our world was born." I peeked up to see the millions of luminous dots shining over us.

"You see there, that's Canopus. The second brightest star. Many people don't know about it and it gets rare recognition because everyone looks for the brightest one. One of the legend is of the Trojan War, where the constellation Carina was once part of constellation of Argo Navis. The brightest star in the constellation was given the name of a ship's pilot from another Greek legend: Canopus, pilot of Menelaus' ship on his quest to retrieve Helen of Troy. But yet it shines broken because people don't look for it. Why would they, when Sirius outshines it? Though Sirius is not at fault, neither is Canopus. But I love it because it deserves more."

I looked at him and whispered.

"Every broken thing is meant to be loved. After all, it was broken because it was loved so much once." Stellan looked up to the sky and sure there was the star that would always stay dotted for me to point.

"And then there is the moon. The ever present luminous dot. His world revolves around the earth yet it is said to be the lover of Sun. It's funny how people think that. It's funny how the universe works. It funny how the moon always make me feel accepted. It's a proof. A proof that you might have flaws but you can still be beautiful. It proves that no matter what, beautiful things have dents and scratches too."

I took in a deep breath and closer my eyes, my lips working on their own accord.

"And...if I ever felt alone, the moon made me feel wanted. If you ever feel alone, just look at the moon. Someone, somewhere is looking at it too. Maybe that would bring enough solace to your heart."

I could feel a smile graze his lips as he planted a kiss on my head.

"And then there is Vega....the blue white star. It forms the constellation Lyra with four other stars. Lyra is often said to be a harp played by the Greek musician Orpheus and when he did, neither god nor mortal could turn away." Excited as someone was truly listening to things that I treasured so much, I looked back at the man who loved me and there he was, accepting my world as his. So I pulled him closer to my heart, whispering my deepest and most precious secrets and stories.

"But the most beautiful story of Vega comes from Asia. Some believe her to be the celestial princess. A princess who fell in love with a mortal, the star Altair as we know him......and when her father found out, enraged as he was, he forbid her to ever meet any mortal again. Thus the two lovers are placed in the sky and separated by the celestial river, or the Milky Way. Yet, the sky gods are kind. Each year on 7th night of the 7th moon, a bridge of magpies is formed around the celestial river, reuniting the two lovers. But it is also believed that the princess cries that she never met her love and meteors of the Perseid Shower are believed to be her tears. Nights I would cry for her, knowing that she lost a loved one. But when I cried for myself though, she was the one to lull me to sleep. The star crossed lovers, the truth in their story."

And he did not stop me.

And so I didn't.

"And then there is Sirius. Sirius was identified with Isis, wife and consort of Osiris who appeared in the sky as Orion. Then there are constellations. Queen Cassiopeia, wife of King Cephus and mother of Andromeda, was very beautiful. She boasted that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Poseidon took great offense at this statement. Poseidon replied that if Cassiopeia would admit that his sea nymphs were indeed more beautiful than she, he would stop the monster that he created to ravage the sea. But Cassiopeia refused. Then Poseidon and his brother Zeus decreed that Cassiopeia be placed in the sky as a constellation, and as punishment for being so conceited about her looks, she would suffer the humiliating position of being upside down in the sky during the fall of the year when her constellation is best seen." And then I realized that I was rambling and I looked back at Stellan whose eyes were fixed on me rather than the sky. Yet, he did not look bored but wasn't even looking at the sky either.

"You got bored of the constellation. You should as well see her as Cassiopeia might actually be the most beautiful woman in the world." I said, a chuckle leaving my mouth as I brusbed my fingers across his jaw as he caught my hand and planted a feather kiss on my knuckles.

"They lay there in the grass,
waiting for the sky to smile bright.
And he knew when it will,
he would still look at her for she was his sky and every star in it.
The moon could still be jealous,
and he knew the stars would love her still.
The goddess of beauty could still light her own stars,
but his eyes would still find her.
The whole world could rumble down,
and he would still look at her.
Like she was his world,
and everything that made it alive.
He looked at her,
like she needed to be looked at.
Like the universe could crumble and he wouldn't blink,
because his everything was right with him."

I looked at him and I have never been looked with so much adoration before. With so much awe, and so much love.

Sure, mom and dad loved me.

But Stellan loved me in a way that only the stories could tell and only a reader would know because we were living it right now, I felt it the hardest, the strongest, and the softest. And I wasn't surprised that my emotions wanted to run down my eyes.

But that was my destiny. To not just listen of such love but to live in it. To see it consume my every ounce. To feel it break down my walls and take my heart away. To see a whole new universe in the eyes of the man before me.

This was so new. This was so... different. And it's will always be new. Because Stellan never just loved me in a way. He loved me in many ways. In every way. And there is a thing to be said about being loved despite your flaws. Despite you hating yourself.

I gave him a teary smile.

"For me?" I asked, not just for his words but the adoration in his eyes. It was too much for me to handle but I still wanted to have it. Every ounce of it, even if it's power was hell bent on destroying me.

He smiled.

"You."

Just like that, he wrote away the greatest poem of time in one word.

And I couldn't resist it then. I couldn't stop myself as I completely turned around and kissed him. I kissed him with everything in me. I kissed him in the night. I kissed him to show him I was there. I kissed him to let him know that I could never be thankful enough. I could never be grateful enough that he accepted me. All through my flaws, he accepted me. I could never be grateful enough that it was him. It is him. And it will be him.

We parted away dazed, our breathes still mingling.

"I think....I will never be able to thank you enough. Thank you enough for loving me. For loving me in a way I thought nobody ever could."

I opened my eyes. And the smile on his face broke my heart.

It was so beautiful. So, so pure. So, so gentle. I feared that even looking at it might hurt it. That even blinking will take it away.

"You will never have to worry about that, love. You deserve it. You deserve to be loved. I love you. It is, and will always be my greatest honour."

And he didn't have to spell it out again. He didn't have to say those 3 words again. Because I knew he did. Sometimes the words unsaid are the most beautiful. And with someone like Stellan, there is always going to be beautiful.

He was my serendipity. I wasn't looking for him. I wasn't expecting him. But I am so lucky that I met him.

God, I was so lucky.

And I will never be thankful enough.

And we lay there, under the sky in the shadow of the stars with a person I knew I was falling for. But I wasn't afraid because love could be so much more. I wasn't afraid anymore.

If only I let my stars be.

Tbh here, after writing this chapter, I wanna go on a date. Like damn boy, I wanna go on a date. I have been single these 16 yrs of my life and I never questioned it coz I am too difficult to be handled by a boy. But these stars! Shit man! Like srsly, I really enjoy stargazing. Would anyone wanna join me? Coz I ain't seeing no boy willing to take me there. So, anyone up?

😪

When you start falling for your own character. This is so not supposed to happen. Crap. Crap. Crap!

Poor me. *Sobs in a corner*

I hope you liked the chapter. Drop some love to that star!

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Au Revoir!