Chapter 2: Betrayal

I frowned when I heard an unrecognizable voice. “I’m Helena, Kenneth’s girlfriend. Who are you? Why are you answering Kenneth’s call?”

“Kenneth’s girlfriend?” The woman gave a long sigh. “Are you sure? Since Kenneth and I have just shared our intimate moment.”

“What?!”

“Are you deaf? Oh, right! No wonder Kenneth told me that you were so naive. A virgin!” The woman laughed. “Well, Helena, for your information, Kenneth and I have just had a mind-blowing sex moment.” Then she laughed again. “Do you know what a mind-blowing sex is?”

I gasped. “Y-you!” She had the nerve to taunt me like that. 

“Kenneth is in the bathroom now. He’ll go to meet you soon. I guess he’ll break the relationship with you.” She sighed. “Poor Helena. But hey, if you don’t want to satisfy his appetite, don’t blame him for finding someone else who can.”

“Kenneth told you that?” My tears started trickling down my cheeks. It was hard to believe that Kenneth was so mean. 

“Uh-huh. Kenneth also said that your body was too skinny. He wants a woman with big boobies, you know.” The woman sighed again. “A quick farewell is better than prolonging a hopeless relationship.”

“But … but ….”

“Helena, please, don’t embarrass yourself further. Please take my advice and dump him. It will help you more than to cry over him.” Then the woman stopped for a while. “Ah, Kenneth has finished showering. Bye for now.” She ended the call. 

I stared at my phone, and my sight was blank. Then I shook my head and wiped my tears. I didn’t even realize I whimpered. “No, the woman must lie to me. Why does Kenneth betray me? He’s always so sweet with me.” 

But then, immediately, my mind recalled a few events where I refused to have sex with him. We almost broke up at that time. Then I remembered when we made out heavily, and he almost touched my private parts, but I said no immediately. Kenneth didn’t force me, but he was cold suddenly toward me. 

I later sat on a bench nearby and closed my face with my hands. Did Kenneth honestly want me only to satisfy the lust? If he did, then what the woman said on the phone made sense. If sex was the only thing he was looking for with me, no wonder he was so disappointed when I said no. I bit my lower lip since tears threatened to flow down my face again. I raised my head and looked to the sky to help me not cry. After taking a deep breath, I shook my head. I must be strong.

Five minutes passed, and then my phone rang. Next, I took my phone from my purse and stared at the screen. It was Kenneth. I thought about whether I should pick up the phone because I was too upset with him. Finally, I picked up the phone. “Yes?”

“Helena, where are you?”

I gulped and took a deep breath before saying, “Moon Bridge.”

“Where exactly are you now? I’m at the bridge too.”

Then I looked around to see whatever I could say as the direction for Kenneth. “I see a mark of the Moon Bridge here. Also, there are a lot of street food sellers around me.”

“Okay, I’ll go there. Wait for me.”

I returned the phone to my bag and took a deep breath. Maybe the woman was wrong. Perhaps she liked Kenneth and wanted him for herself. That was why she made up an evil story to separate Kenneth and me. I smiled again after thinking about it. Yes, she lied to me. I should trust Kenneth more.

When I saw Kenneth approaching, I waved fast. “Over here!”

Kenneth walked toward me and then kissed my cheek. “Have you been here for long?”

I shook my head. “No, not long. So, where are we going?” 

“How about we walk to the middle of the bridge? Who knows we can see the rainbow.” 

Kenneth took my hand, and we walked hand in hand to the center of the bridge. Unfortunately, the sun hadn’t shown up yet, so it was a little dark though it was still afternoon. 

I held the side bridge and took a deep breath. My heart was pounding hard. Should I ask Kenneth about what the woman said? I bit my lower lip and knew instantly I should ask him. Otherwise, I would keep questioning about this for days. “Uh, Ken?”

“Yes, babe?” Kenneth smiled and stroked my hair. 

“When I called you, a woman picked up your phone. She said … she said ….” I couldn’t tell what the woman said about Kenneth and her. 

“Well? What did she say?”

Since he was so calm, I exhaled and giggled. “Nothing, she must be wrong. After I think about it again, she must be wrong.”

“Oh? Why?”

“Because I trust you.” I smiled again while placing my hand on his cheek. 

Kenneth sighed and looked away to see the Moon River below us. The water is sparkling blue, and it rushed downstream. “You’re too trusting. That’s why you’ll easily get hurt,” he muttered.

“What do you say?”

Kenneth stared into my eyes. He sighed again. “I’m sorry, Helena.”

“For what?”

“I think we should end our relationship.”

I gaped. I thought I had misheard it. “Come again? Can you repeat it? I thought you said something, but—”

“I want to end our relationship.” Kenneth repeated it slowly a few seconds later, “I want to end our relationship.”

“B-but why? I thought we were happy together.” My tears were flowing now. I had never thought that Kenneth would end our relationship. It couldn’t happen. I shook my head.

“Oh, Helena.” Kenneth closed his eyes, maybe because he didn’t want to see my tears. 

“Ken, why?” My voice was trembling. “Is there something I did you didn’t like?”

Kenneth stared at me for a while and then looked elsewhere. “Helena, the thing is .… Well, at first, I asked you to be my girlfriend because you were so cute. I like you. You are pretty and nice. Yet, I have never wanted it to be a serious one. I want someone I can have fun with.”

“I can have fun too.”

“Helena, what I mean by fun is someone who can fulfill my desire.” Kenneth scratched his head. “Physical desire.” He sighed. “The woman who picked up the phone, Debbie, is a woman like that.”

“D-did you have sex with her?” 

“Yes.”