Hey guys thank you for reading! Don't panic this isn't the end! Though if you really really hate Eason you can probably stop here...? LOL just kidding, I hope you can stick around for the next part. The next chapter will fast-forward to another three-years later when they are both in college. We'll get to find out who staged the drama, and Eason's mysterious fiancee will finally show her face. More exciting things are about to happen. So see you guys in the next chapter. Lots of love.
THREE YEARS LATER. I rush down the street, knocking a few shoulders along the way and stepping into one icy mud pond. The cold winter air is like a blade cutting through my lungs. After making a sharp turn at the corner, I finally see the bus station. A bus has just arrived. “Wait…Please wait a second!!” I yell to the driver. But he only gives me a cold and indifferent look before closing the door and driving away from the station. “…Fuck!” I bend down taking a time to catch my breath and then check the time. It’s already 16:37. Now I have exactly 23 minutes to make it across the town and arrive at the restaurant I work in, which is impossible, which means I’m so screwed. Today is not the day to be late, because I’ve made a plan to talk to my manager about making an early withdraw of my salary. My rent is due in a few days and the incredibly high living expense in New York is sucking me dry. I have a student loan to cover my tuition, but I still have to work my ass off to pay
I’ve imagined a million times what it would be like when we meet again. Maybe at our family gathering, maybe at a friend’s party, or maybe even at my wedding in the future.But I’ve never thought about this, with him sitting there with his beautiful new girlfriend, and me standing there all embarrassed like a clown.This can’t be any worse.But unlike me, he doesn’t seem surprised at all. He simply looks at me calmly, as if we just saw each other this morning.“Babe,” his girlfriend pouts. “This is the stupid waitress I was talking about. She ruined the outfit you got me and—”He cuts her off, “Natalia.”He isn’t pretending that he doesn’t know me, as I thought he would be.But he used to call me “Nat” and not “Natalia.”Then he stands up from his seat and leans forward, giving me a gentle hug. I can smell his scent, the familiar scent of mint and woods, but this hug feels very strange. His hug used to be full of passion and energy, but now it’s polite and aloof.“It’s been a long tim
I crouch down there frozen, staring at him. “I said midnight. And you just waited me till midnight?” my voice is filled with shock. “Yes,” he nods. “But why?” I ask, perplexed. I can’t think of one reason that would make him wait in the weather like this for 2-3 hours. Is he just trying to be nice? Or does he still have feelings for—no, impossible. I immediately laugh at that fleeting thought. And then I hear his answer, “I said I want to have dinner with you. You clearly haven’t eaten anything. Come, let’s go.” He rises and gestures me to follow. Before I realize, I’m already walking with him side by side under his umbrella. The chilly wind hits me, and I shiver. The next second, a scarf that still carries his warmth lands on my neck. “It’s cold during the night, isn’t it?” he says casually and looks straight ahead, paying no attention to the astonished look on my face. “Don’t forget to check the weather next time.” I touch the scarf, which smells so much like him. It’s irres
I almost stutter, “M—Mr. Johnson, what are you doing here?”He picks up his baseball bats and points it at me, “What does it seem like? I’m here to move you out of my house! Hurry up! Don’t make me force you.”I take a step back, staring at his baseball bat warily. Mr. Johnson is a little hot-tempered, yes, but I didn’t think of him as someone who would beat the shit out of his tenants just because they missed one payment.“What are you doing with that bat?” I ask carefully keeping my safe distance with him. “There’s no need for that. I—I can call the police!”He rolls his eyes at me, “Cut the crap little girl. I don’t hit woman, but if you keep mooching off me, I might lose my temper. So get moving, now!”“Please, Mr. Johnson. Just one more chance. I promise you I’ll get the rent ready by the end of this month. Something happened at work, and I didn’t—”“NO!!” he roars, covering his eyes with his hands. “No excuses! You said the same thing last month and you still came back empty-han
I let him take me home eventually. I know this is a terrible idea and the wise thing to do is go find a place on my own and stay as far from him as possible. But so many ups and downs in one night, my head has already stopped functioning. So I go for the easy option. Not surprisingly, he lives in the fanciest place in the Upper East side. His apartment is huge and well-decorated, just like the one he had in Boston. I carefully step into the foyer, feeling both awkward and nervous. I glance around the spacious living room and notice no sign of trances of a woman. So he and his girlfriend don’t live together. “Why are you still standing there?” he turns around and smiles at me. “Come on in.” I slowly make my way into the open kitchen, staring at him as he opens the fridge and gets me a bottle of water, and asks, “Are you sure your girlfriend won’t mind?” He shrugs, “Why should she mind?” “Because if my boyfriend brought a someone home without asking me first, I would be pretty an
“I was worried about you,” he frowns and says. “You gave me a new address without telling me why you moved, and you rarely answered my calls for the past few days, so I came down here to check on you. Are you OK? Whose house is this?” I wasn’t intentionally ignoring his calls. I was so busy for the past whole week that I didn’t even have the time to check my phone. As I try to stammer an excuse, a flicker of doubt appears in his eyes. I know what he is thinking: this is a fancy apartment located in upper east side, somewhere I apparently can’t afford. “Are you…” he slowly begins, “…dating someone?” “No!” I quickly begin. I can’t have him know that I’m living with Eason right now. He won’t understand. Plus, this is only a temporary arrangement anyway, so there’s no need for him to know and I can spare his worries. “My lease expired so I’m staying with a friend before I get a new apartment,” I say, and it is partly the truth. “Oh,” he nods, slightly relieved. “Aren’t you going to
Liam eventually left, even though he still found Eason hard to trust. Before he left, he repeated several times that I should let him know the moment I notice something is wrong with Eason and he’ll fly to New York personally to help me move out of this apartment. I didn’t really pay attention to every word Liam said, because my full heart is hang up by the news Eason just told us. …He is engaged, and about to get married? To whom? And when? A million questions are whizzing inside of me while I follow Eason upstairs. Stepping inside of the apartment, I notice that the dinner I left for him is still on the table, untouched. Eason takes off his coat and throws it on the coach. He turns back to me, green eyes glaring with a hint of anger, and snaps: “Why did you lie to me?” I was about to ask him about the engagement thing, but he beats me on this and asks first, catching me off guard. “W—what lie?” “You said you couldn’t have dinner with me because came up at school, which clearl
Mom is thrilled that I’m finally back. Upon seeing me, she pulled me into her arms for a big hug and didn’t let go for one minute. She asked me a lot of questions about my life in Miami and New York, and of course she didn’t miss out the chance to interrogate me about the reason I left Boston three years ago.“I had always been thinking that after you graduate high school, you could continue studying here. There are lots of great college in Boston and you could pick the one you like…”I sigh, “Mom, I’ve told you before. I can’t afford a fancy elite college.”Seeing she opens her mouth in disapproval, I quickly add to that, “—And don’t say that Mr. Ramirez is willing to help me! I’m not taking any more of his money.”She pouts.“Fine…but I still don’t understand why you needed to leave in such a hurry! You didn’t even tell me and just got on a flight and left. Do you know what kind of damage it did to me? I kept thinking that I didn’t something wrong—”“Just let it go mom. It was three