If Something Else Snaps

"It was a simple love story where we met each other during college and during our second year, he courted me. We became a couple a year later," she started.

Thinking back, it wasn't that magical love story that others would have.

When she said yes to him, he was obviously happy and their life went on until their fourth year where she had him meet her sister.

"It was still fine, nothing was amiss until I became busy with the stories I was creating for the online platform that our time for dates gets lesser and lesser. Sometimes he would come to our house in order to fill that up and I really felt bad about it."

She shook her head as she remembered this.

Slowly something changed because of that start, it was of him texting her less and less. Until she would have to message him multiple times before he would reply.

"I felt bad about it and asked him to go out multiple times but the position was reversed. He was the one who was busy," she smiled sadly.

The relationship fell but she knew she was at fault as well.

"As time passed by, things continued being like that. With the pressure from the stories and my relationship falling apart, I went out for a breather."

She laughed, "And just like in some romance novels. I saw the two of them having a date in a public area. Not scared that I would catch them together."

She sighed before continuing, "I approached them but I was already prepared since I even saw them kissing. I approached them to have a proper conversation and end but I guess my face still showed the pain."

Her smile turned bitter, "I knew I was at fault and had accepted the heartbreak but that was not the memory that terrified me just by seeing him. It was his face when I came close to them, he was looking at me in a mocking way. I was so focus on his look that I didn't even remember how my sister looked back then."

The mock was still very clear in her, he was looking at her as if she was trying to fight for him. As if she was trying to hold on to him when he had thrown her away already.

That wasn't her intention, she was willing to let him go because she didn't do her part as a lover properly.

But his eyes and his words that mocked her in public was too much for her already broken self to handle.

"I thought I could get serious with you but in the end, you actually ignored me. So why are you messing with us now? Go away, stay away from us. You are someone unworthy to be loved."

She couldn't help but to hug herself after remembering those words.

Slate stood and once again got a cup of water for her but he remained silent as she tells her story.

"That caused me to become even more closed off. But the worst was yet to come," she looked at him.

"After hearing my story of leaving everything after finding out that my works were stolen from me. What do you think of it?"

He thought for a bit before replying, "You just up and go."

She slowly shook her head, "I did up and go but I tried to get them back."

He waited for her to continue.

"I went to the company to ask for the reason why they have decided such when they didn't even talk to me. But the moment I got there, all I received were mockery."

She took a deep breath while chuckling bitterly.

"Then he came out. The man I haven't seen for almost two years came out. That is when I found out the reason why my sister took him away."

She knew the family was well off but she didn't know he was a son of a publishing company president.

"And it seems that they had told everyone of how much of a sorry person I am and how much I was running after him," she shook her head as she sighed once again at this thought.

"All the mockery have caused more rift in my already fragile world, causing me to really up and go. Leaving everything behind. Even my works," she finally said with a sigh.

"I guess you weren't as weak as I thought you would be. It's just you were alone all along that you have no one to support your battles," he commented.

"I don't know, I have times I know how to fight back but most of the time, I just didn't want to."

His eyes shifted when he heard her words.

It wasn't, 'I couldn't fight.'

Instead, it was, 'I didn't want to.'

It means that the times he had seen her fight back even for a bit and the times she showed such strong personality was of her hiding away from being active to simply being passive.

'Could it be because she was hurt so much that she deemed fighting as unnecessary because no one would believe her in the end?' he thought looking at her.

"Though admittedly, I tend to sometimes just step back in order not to get hurt even more because of their prejudice but just like a while ago, I guess I can just run my mouth if I know someone had my back," she chuckled.

'She has intelligence and strength, she just couldn't use it full well because no one has her back. Not even a single person would tell her I am here,' he once again thought.

"Are you planning to remain like that then? Needed someone to say they are there for you to really fight back? When you can actually do it even on your own?" he asked in a serious tone.

Her smile disappeared, "In a world where strong eats the weak and the rich terrorizes the poor. I'd rather be passive than fight endless battles that would only leave me with more scars."

As she said this, her eyes were looking straight in his.

He couldn't help but be stunned inside.

Despite her words being filled with a sad note in it. Her eyes showed that she really could do it if she were left with no other choice. Or if something else snaps inside of her.

"Call me a coward or what but this is how I had lived my life all along that it became a habit of mine already," she shrugged.

"Anyway. Why do you think did he suddenly appeared here?" he asked changing the topic.

"I have an idea of what Emerald might do when we met back then," she started.

She wasn't as weak as to leave everything behind, she too looks into things whenever she deemed them necessary.

"What do you think?" he asked again.

"She might have looked into the guest lists. I also think she hired a private investigator. Her career was on the line and so she will do anything just to get back up on her feet," she replied.

"After finding you, she told her boyfriend and he came to ask you to return," he added.

She nodded her head, "And I also looked into their publishing company, after they released the latest story, their sales had gone down continuously. It only means that their income are decreasing as well."

"Astral was one of their main source of income and now that they found you. They will do everything to get you back," he continued to which she nodded in agreement.

"Once a suspicion of having a ghost writer arises, despite the efforts, a fire could still start anywhere. With that and them endorsing Astral, which is Emerald, even their company that was doing good in the past would be affected," she followed.

"But if the writing style returns to what it was before, the sales would go up as well together with their company's sales," he finished.

She shrugged after they said all this.

"I must say, you really are something aren't you? The suicidal from the past seemed to be an illusion," he couldn't help but to compliment.

"Hey enough with that past thing, depression strikes hard sometimes," she frowned and a bit of a pout was visible as well.

Seeing her look, he couldn't help but to chuckle and smile.

The two of them had really gone far from when they first interacted with one another.