Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 17662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
If I say sorry, I might as well confirm what's obviously on everyone's mind.
To help her is to do nothing, and it kills me to realize how powerless I am.
I'm sorry, Riri.
All I can do is act like I didn't hear a fucking word, and when everyone else follows suit, I know they're doing it for Riri as well.
Why the hell did it have to be this way?
I hope she knows the last thing I want to do is hurt her. But since I'm also responsible for bringing Eva here, can I blame Riri for thinking otherwise?
The cast stays behind for a performance review when rehearsals end, and I turn to Eva as soon as we're out of the auditorium.
"Why the hell did you have to say that?"
"I can't help what I notice."
The sheer absence of remorse in her tone disgusts me.
"Everyone can see she was being unprofessional---"
"She's just a kid---"
Eva's lip curls. "We both know you don't see her as a kid, Jacques. But what you also don't see is the fact that she's a gold-digging harlot---"
"Eva!" I've never heard my friend speak with such spite, and I stare at her in disbelief. "What the hell's gotten into you?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Eva snaps back."From the very start, you should have put her in her place---"
"Enough."
I've finally lost patience, and Eva flinches at the way my tone has turned ominously soft.
"This is the last time you'll say or do anything that will cause Riri embarrassment."
Eva's lips tighten in annoyance, but I don't give a damn.
"Do we have an understanding, Eva?"
"If it matters that much to you---"
"It does."
"Then go ahead," Eva flings angrily at me, "and baby her all you want. But I'm warning you, Jacques. This isn't how we should deal with people like her. But I guess you'll just have to learn that the hard way."
Riri
I'm one of the last persons to arrive at the faculty hall, and all eyes are on me as soon as I enter.
Has something happened again?
I head over to the refreshments table, and that's when my gaze accidentally falls on a strikingly familiar figure. It's Jacques, of course, but without Eva by his side.
"She's gone."
It's Sierah who murmurs this sotto voce as she comes up next to me and takes one of the pastel-colored macarons from the tray.
I don't even bother pretending ignorance. "Did she say why?"
"Work emergency, according to Mr. Carpentier."
Dean Garrison claps his hands at that moment, and I'm saved from replying.
"Dinner's ready, kind folks."
Seats are always randomly arranged in a bid to foster camaraderie, but my steps crash to a halt when I realize I've been placed next to Jacques.
No.
Oh no.
I don't think I can.
All eyes are on me again when I turn away, but I don't care.
I'm still hurting, and I don't think I can fake being okay. Memories start replaying in my mind, and I find myself running in a foolish bid to escape my own thoughts.
I think she has a crush on you.
Tears sting my eyes as I'm reminded of the condescension and amusement that laced the other woman's voice when uttering those words.
I think she has a crush on you.
Eva had said it as if my feelings were no threat to her. And I have no trouble seeing why that is.
Eva is everything that I'm not. She's beautiful and sophisticated. She's already made a name for herself as VP in her parents' business firm. She has everything going for her, and whenever people talk about Eva and Jacques, everyone seems to think it's only a matter of time before wedding bells start ringing.
Is it truly over between us?
Was I wrong to think that he was mine, and that I was his?
I suddenly hear footsteps behind me, and I already know who it is even before someone suddenly spins me around.
"I'm sorry, Riri."
It's the bleakness in his silvery eyes more than this apology that has my nails digging painfully into my palms.
Don't break down, don't break down, don't break down.
And I somehow manage to smile.
"You have nothing to apologize for."
"Nothing like that will ever happen again," he says tautly. "I give you my word."
All I can do is nod, and his lips tighten as if he's frustrated by my silence.
"Talk to me, Riri."
"I don't know what to say."
"I don't want to hurt you."
"I know."
"Then tell me how to fix things."
The urgency in his tone is bittersweet.
Oh, Jacques.
"You can't fix what's not broken," I say helplessly. "And I'm not broken. I never was. All I am is just someone who's hopelessly in love with you."
His handsome face whitens at the words, but I can't take it back.
"You're a fool," he grits out.
A smile wobbles over my lips. "That's true. From the very start, I was a fool over you---"
"Stop saying such things, dammit."
Anger flashes in his gaze, and frustration seethes in his tone.