Chapter 35

"Daryl, please..."

As soon as I got to the condo, the first thing I saw was Andre sitting next to the door. When he saw me coming, he suddenly knelt on the floor and started begging for forgiveness.

Haaa...

"Please forgive me... I promise I'll be better. I have no excuses. I did it on my own accord and I'm perfectly aware that it was my mistake. So please... please forgive me."

Tears started falling from his eyes. He grabbed my hand and held onto it tightly. His bloodshot eyes trembled as he looked up to me. "I love you so much, babe. I can't live without you," he said as he sniffled.

My chest tightened. That angel-like expression of his only shows up whenever he's trying to manipulate me into forgiving him or doing something he wants me to do.

But seeing him like this makes my heart feel like it's being torn to shreds.

My lips trembled as I opened my mouth. "Leave. Please leave," I said as I removed his hands that were holding mine.

"Ah, right." He took something from his pocket. It was a ring box. He opened it and a beautiful silver ring with a diamond in the middle glistened as it appeared before me. "P-Please marry me..." He said as he raised the box, giving me a better view of the ring.

I sighed and bit my lower lip.

I've imagined this scene countless times back then. I'm finally being proposed to by the man I love, but this is not the kind of proposal that I dreamed of.

"Proposing to me the day after you cheated on me—ah no, I'm not even sure how long you've been cheating on me. Regardless of that, it is very shameless of you to propose to me right now. Have you no shame at all?" I said as I looked down on him. He lifted his head, and his facial expression looked like I had broken him.

I'm tempted to give him a second chance but I don't think that would be right. I'm not the kind of person who gives second chances. If I do that, chances are he's gonna do it all over again and the same scenario would repeat throughout our relationship and I don't want that.

He closed the ring box and tightened his grip on it as he lowered his arm before putting it inside his pocket. "I... I'll be back. I'm gonna have you back again soon," he said as he gave me a determined look.

I flinched as I felt my heart skip a beat.

That's... That's the face of the man that I fell in love with. The familiar look on his face made me doubt myself if not giving him another chance was actually the right answer.

"Save your time, Andre. I'm never coming back into your arms ever again," I said firmly and went inside the unit, leaving him outside.

"I did the right thing... Yeah, that's right. I... I..." My lips trembled as tears started to form in my eyes. I put my hand on my chest as my tears started rolling down my cheeks.

"I still love him... Of course I still do..."

THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW:

"Ugh, this day is so tiring," Justin muttered to himself as he entered the pass code to the unit. He went inside and removed his shoes. He then turned the lights on and his eyes quickly searched for Daryl.

"Yeah, right. As if he's gonna sit in the living room alone with the lights off," he muttered to myself and rolled his eyes.

He thought that it was stupid of him to think that Daryl would be at the living room at this hour and with the lights turned off too. He laughed at his own stupidity and shook his head in disbelief.

Justin walked to the door of Daryl's room and knocked but there was no answer from him. He grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it and found that it was unlocked.

He took a peek inside the room and saw Daryl sleeping with swollen eyes.

'He must have cried to sleep again,' he thought.

Justin sighed and closed the door. He leaned his back against the door and mumbled to himself, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you earlier, Dar," feeling sorry because he wasn't around when his best friend needed him.

*****

The next morning, Justin couldn't find Daryl when he woke up. Instead, he found a note on the fridge saying that Daryl left early because he has to go somewhere.

Justin doubted that that was actually the reason why Daryl left early. He knew that he was trying to avoid him so he wouldn't see how vulnerable he is right now. Daryl doesn't want him to see how broken he is because he knew that it would affect Justin, too.

Justin did his morning routine and left to meet Tristan. He still has time before the first period, and since Tristan asked to meet with him, he thought that he should go. Tristan was already waiting outside the condo too, so there was no reason for him not to go and see his boyfriend.

When Justin went out of the condo, he saw Tristan wearing a trench coat and a scarf, standing next to his car.

"Good morning," Tristan said as he smiled sweetly at his boyfriend. Justin walked to him with a smile and gave him a hug. "Good morning," Justin said and broke away from the hug. "Why did you want to meet?" He asked. "Is it wrong for me to want to see the love of my life?" Tristan said as he pouted while giving Justin his puppy eyes. Justin rolled his eyes as he felt his face get hotter because he felt giddy and embarrassed at the same time.

"Come on, seriously, why?" Justin said as he chuckled while looking at Tristan. Tristan hesitated bit since he didn't really plan on telling him why he asked Justin to see him. "It's just that you seem so down lately. I wanted to have breakfast with you today. I thought that maybe it would cheer you up even a little," Tristan said, feeling a bit shy.

Justin smiled and placed a soft kiss on his Tristan's lips. "Thank you, but it's not actually about me," he said as his eyes strayed all over the place, having second thoughts whether he should tell Tristan about Daryl's breakup with his ex boyfriend, Andre. Tristan gave him a confused and questioning look because he did not quite understand what Justin was trying to say. "So, who's this about then? Is it Daryl?" Tristan said. He couldn't think of anyone else that could possibly affect Justin like this. Well, there's also Justin's parents and his other friends, but since yesterday, he kept mentioning Daryl subtly whenever they talk.

Justin slowly nodded. "What is it? What happened?" Tristan asked, genuinely worried about his cousin. "His..." Justin paused, hesitating for a bit. "His ex boyfriend cheated on him and they broke up the other day. He's been crying himself to sleep since that day and I... I don't know what to do," Justin said as he felt his chest tighten. He felt like he was about to break into tears if he were to explain more about it so Tristan did not ask for a more elaborate explanation.

"It's alright. He will be alright," Tristan said and gave Justin a reassuring smile. "In the 22 years that I've known him, he's always had a hard time getting over things. But when he finally gets over them, he wouldn't care about them at all," Tristan continued.

"I hope that's the case this time too," Justin said and smiled. Tristan gave him a hug and kissed the top of his head.

"By the way, why are you already wearing a trench coat and a scarf? It's not even that cold yet," Justin said as he broke free from the hug. "Uh... Actually, I get cold easily so..." Tristan said as he scratched the back of his head. Justin chuckled and said, "Okay, okay, I get it."

He suddenly remembered their first date. Tristan put his blazer on him when he saw him shiver a bit from the cold. It made him realize how much Tristan liked him even back then. He removed his blazer just to keep him warm even knowing that he, himself, gets cold very easily.

'That was really cute,' Justin thought to himself as he tried to stop himself from smiling.

"In my case though, I feel hot quite easily. I can't even stand going to tropical countries without sweating buckets," Justin said and chuckled. "Really? We're total opposites then," Tristan said and smiled as he looked at Justin with amusement.

"It's already December, huh?" Justin said as the cold wind touched his skin. "Yeah," Tristan said and put his hands in the pockets of his coat.

'December means... Christmas. Should I go back home and spend Christmas with my family? Or should I spend it with Tristan?' Justin thought as he stared at his boyfriend who had a confused look on his face, wondering why Justin was staring at him.

"Ah-hah!" Justin exclaimed as a brilliant idea popped in his mind. "Hmm?" Tristan tilted his head a bit as he looked at Justin. "By any chance, are you free this Christmas Eve?" Justin asked as he looked at Tristan.

A million thoughts went through Tristan's mind and all of them made his whole face all flushed. 'Are we going on a date?' He thought as he felt more excited the longer he thought about it.

"Yes, I am," Tristan said, hiding his excitement and happiness inside. Justin's face brightened because of Tristan's response and smiled from ear to ear.

"Alright, then. I'm going to bring you to my parents' house and we'll spend Christmas together!"