"I love you, too"

Those were probably the last words I said to her. Words that were too soft and quiet for her to hear. But despite those whispered words, I hope the winds carried the message to her loud and clear.

The words that I want to tell her months ago had just came out of her beautiful lips moments ago. She said it in a voice that was too soft for anyone else to hear other than me. Those words just easily rolled off her tongue as if she had been saying those words to me all the time. But in reality, the moment she accepted my hand to dance was probably the moment she just started to accept her real feelings for me. I know this because the tension on her shoulders seemed to dissolve the moment she leaned in to me.

She's really brave.

I know she said the words, I love you, the moment she realized it. Unlike me, she took the risk to tell me how she feels without knowing the consequences of her words. She told me she loves me without knowing or even waiting for my response.

Compared to her, I'm just a coward.

I am a coward who can't even tell the woman I love how much I love her. I let her go and get hurt without even knowing that she opened my heart and ruined me for any other women. I know nothing sexually happened between us, but that is just the point. She ruined me with just one look. She captured me with just one smile. And she held my heart with just one sentence.

It took my stupid brain a long time before admitting that my heart is right. That I really am in love with her. I know I am the first one to admit to myself that I love her. But of course, she was the first one who actually said the words. And I just stood there, too stunned to even walk towards her and stop her from walking away from me again. Frozen on the spot, I was too speechless that it took me a few minutes before I finally whispered the words that should have been the perfect response for her confession.

Whispered... as if you could even call it a whisper.

I'm a fucking idiot! I should have just said nothing at all. She was already a few feet away when those words came tumbling out of my mouth.

Stupid.

Coward!

If her slight pause indicated that she actually heard my response, I am not sure. Honestly, I am not even sure if she did pause in her steps. I could have just imagined it to console myself.

I was too stupid to just watch her walk away. Too stupid to stop her from walking out of my life. Too stupid to let this chance slip by. And too stupid to not follow her.

Chance.

Follow her.

As if her two bodyguards and badass of a best friend would even let me near her now. She's obviously on her way back home. And my last chance with her...

Hang on a sec.

A sudden thought went to my mind. If I am not mistaken, it would take them hours to go back to Switzerland. I took my phone and Googled the time duration of a plane from the Philippines going to Switzerland.

Almost 14 hours!

That means, she is still on the plane, and I can follow her by boarding the next one.

Realization dawned on me. I suddenly could not care less about my things and just took my wallet, passport, and cellphone before rushing out.

Hailing a cab at this time of the night is far more difficult than during daytime. Looking at my watch, it says that it was already 2 am.

Great! Just great!

Pulling out my cell, I called Margaret (yes, Margaret. My cousin who is still back in New York) to find out the flight schedule of every plane from he Philippines bound to Switzerland. And probably, out of luck, a taxicab stopped in front of me.

"To the nearest airport, please!" I said while waiting for Margaret to finish her *ahem* small research.

"You have exactly thirty minutes to catch her!" I heard Margaret yell from the other side.

"How did you know that I'm trying to catch her?" I asked, a little bit mortified.

"Nathan, please. I have watched so many romantic movie, already, and it seemed like you two have become a real-life couple out from the movie. Besides, it's probably midnight in there, so that was already a dead give-away that you will have one of those 'airport dash' cliché scene on movies."

I groaned. "You have to stop watching romantic movies."

"You can't stop me," she said. "Now, just focus on chasing her. Bye!"

With that, she hung up.

20 minutes, huh? It's fine. I can reach it in time. Thankfully, there isn't much vehicles on the road at this hour. We passed street after street until I can finally see the airport up ahead. Looking at my watch, I only have seven minutes to look for her in that not so small place.

I pulled out my wallet to pay my fare when all of a sudden, the cab's engine stopped.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?!

"What happened?" I asked, half-yelling at the driver. This is not the time for such a cliché event like this!

The driver went out and opened the hood. After a few seconds, almost a minute, he returned, but instead of going back inside, he looked in my window, and said, "boss, I am sorry. The machine broken."

When he said broken, I know I have to run like hell if I want to reach Carter. I don't need to hear every word this man has to say about the car to know that something is just going to delay me. Pulling out a couple of bills from wallet, I paid the man and ran towards the direction of the airport, barely hearing the man saying "too much, too much" behind me.

All that's been going on in my head right now is that I have to make it right. I can feel the adrenalin kicked in the moment I took off. I was stopped by the security personnel for security checkup. And I couldn't care less until they started look for my plane ticket.

Shit!

Instead of showing them any ticket, which I don't have, I shoved them my passport. And then, it happened. One security guy tried to grab and I just suddenly took off. Running like a mad man in an international airport is not a good idea. Especially when the security people are trying to catch you.

Looking frantically around, I noticed that the security people finally caught up with me.

"Sir, you have to come with us, now."

I looked at my watch and sighed in defeat.

Too late. I am already too late.

As the adrenalin started to subside from my system, I followed the security personnel at loss while telling him that I was trying to catch someone really important to me. I didn't mean to be sentimental about it but it just poured out of me.

Some of the guys pat me on the back before escorting me out.

I was about to retrace my steps when one of them said something that made me stop.

"Go to terminal 3, maybe you just need to eat."

I stared at him as he gave me a wave.

I don't need to eat. I need to see someone and tell that someone that I love them.

Not minding where I am going, I was surprised when my feet seemed to bring me to terminal 3.

I guess I might as well eat.

Looking around, I tried to find something that will at least fill my stomach until my eyes landed on something.

Blonde hair.

And not just any blonde hair.

That's her!

Following my instinct, I slowly made my way to the owner of that hair.

"Carter," I said softly.

She stopped eating and slowly looked up at me with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

Trying to do something right for once, I wanted to say but instead, I knelt down in front of her. And not caring what the other people may think, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me. In her seated position, it probably looked weird, but I don't care. She's here. That's what matters.

"Nate―"

"I love you!" I said, looking into those green eyes that widened even more at my admission. "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

Her eyes began to moist and suddenly, she returned my hug and cried. Embracing her tighter, I felt the tears, which have gathered in my eyes, started to roll over my cheeks.

Finally!

I kissed her temple and slightly pull away before cupping her face. "I was stupid to wait for hours before following you. I was stupid not to tell you how much I love to when you said those words to me. I was stupid to just whisper my response to you. I have realized that I love you before you realized your love for me." I chuckled as I recall something. "It was a long discussion with me and myself. But now, I can't deny it any longer. I love you more than anything else in this world."

"And I love you. I can't say how much because I have no idea how much. Despite your flaws, despite our past, and despite what I initially thought of you, I love you. The moment you walked in that restaurant with all your oozing arrogant aura, I know that you are the only one for me," she said and my heart swelled at that. We stayed like that for a little longer, just cuddling with each other before she broke the silence.

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"Did you just make a dash to the airport like one of those romantic movies?"

I groaned but gave a positive answer. I know I will never live this down.

"It's like it's straight from them movies, how romantic!" she swooned as she started to snuggle.

I looked down at the woman who burrowed her head on my chest. Something still does not add up. I cleared my throat.

"Hey, it's not that I am complaining but I just have to ask. The flight to Switzerland was a few minutes ago, why are you still here?"

She looked up with the same confusion in her eyes.

"Honestly, I don't understand what happened. When we were on the other terminal, was suddenly told that I do not belong there. It was Jessica who held the tickets. When she showed the tickets to them, they looked at me before letting her pass before the two Max's."

"Yeah. I don't see any of them anywhere."

"It's because they have boarded the plane and I did not. I think there is something wrong with the ticket," she said as she started to rummage through her bags. When she came upon a couple of tickets, I raised an eyebrow before she handed them to me. "Here."

Examining the tickets, I was beyond shock at what I found out. I immediately looked at her sudden panicked eyes.

"What? What's wrong? What is it?" she asked.

"Did Jessica said something to you before she left?"

"Yeah. She told me to enjoy myself."

I frowned and looked around.

"What happened after that?"

She narrowed her eyes at me before answering, "She just laughed and skipped away from me. The two Max's who had been my bodyguards for four years followed uncharacteristically behind her."

"Does your father know that you're here?"

"Yes, he even told me to enjoy. As if one day here can really satisfy me," she snorted at the thought. "Why are you asking, anyway."

I grinned and handed her the tickets and watched as her eyes widened at the name of the written on the other ticket. I wiggled my eyebrows before she went back to examining the two tickets in her hands.

She looked at me, and this time with a huge smile on her face before saying something that made me laugh.

"Pack your things. We're flying out of here."