Chapter 34: The Play II

I ordered the brewed coffee around fifteen minutes ago, and although it wasn't as hot as it was when it was served earlier, the impact of the warm coffee against my skin left a slight stinging sensation.

"I'll kill you, you bitch!" Christina screamed, her voice threatening yet hysterical. "I'll make you regret ever returning!"

The scene caused the customers inside the coffee shop to turn their heads towards us, curious about the sudden commotion. The shop is almost full, as I'd hope it would be, and murmurs ensued right after Christina's outburst.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Rachel and Leah standing near the entrance, looking at us with a worried expression, perhaps debating if they should interfere with the confrontation. The two arrived at the perfect time, right after office hours.

"I told you multiple times, I just came here to work," I said, my voice louder than normal, but not completely shouting – just enough for everyone inside the shop to hear. My eyes started to blur with tears, and I almost choke up when I said, "You were the one who assumed on your own."

I probably do not make sense for Christina as I was not exactly responding according to the flow of our conversation and was merely repeating what I said to her earlier. My demeanor also completely changed, from my earlier confident and sarcastic character to my current distraught expression.

I was merely making a show – exactly as how she wanted this game between us to be.

It was not hard to muster the tears. The pain from the impact of the warm coffee is still there, adding to the years of frustration towards Christina that I am now revealing for the sake of this play that she started.

Living her entire life under the limelight, Christina believes that everyone favors her. The mere attention she gets from being the heiress of the Howard Family to the endless flatteries and sucking up she receives from the people around her, it was enough for her to think that way, and I'm sure that that was what she was hanging on to when she started those rumors about me.

Christina is the type to always want to publicize everything, never wanting to lose the spotlight directed at her.

But that desire of hers to always be at the center of everything can be her downfall – it was her weakness.

And I'll make sure to give her the satisfaction of being at the center of everything until the end.

When she accepted my invitation so eagerly, I am quite sure that she would use this opportunity to her advantage. I had the inclination that since her first plan failed, she would make another story to ruin my name, but since I have already grasped her character, the moment she entered through glass doors of the coffee shop, she already fell into the trap.

From the first time I met her during college, I knew right away that Christina is the type of person who cannot control her emotions. As the heiress of a powerful company, she is used to getting what she wanted, and whenever she couldn't, she tends to have outbursts – just like a child. She wanted to make everything about her, and when Ansel, the person she liked, ignored her and even got married to someone below her status, she could not take the shame.

With the help of Ansel's family, she did everything to ruin my relationship with him. And once the frustration from the unsuccessful attempts piled up, she took the matters in her own hands - literally.

When I saw her again after five years, I was quite surprised to see her look more mature and collected compared to her character before. Perhaps, she outgrew her immature ways, after all, five years had already passed.

But, though changing oneself is entirely possible, it is never easy.

When I invited her today for a supposed chat, I was hanging onto the fact that Christina wasn't able to completely strip herself off of her childish ways, that she was merely showing the façade of being a mature and collected woman, and that I could push her again and again until she shows her real self.

I wanted to make sure her plan backfires.

And it was a success for me.

"You bitch—" Christina shrieked and took a menacing step towards me, but before she could take another one, Rachel and Leah were already standing beside me.

I did not know when the two started walking towards us, but they were timely enough to stop the confrontation from worsening. Christina, after seeing the two stand in front of her, suddenly froze and became aware of her surroundings. She hesitantly glanced around the coffee shop, and seeing all the eyes on us, she instantly rushed out of the shop, but not before giving me one last hostile glare.

"Oh my god," Leah all but screamed once Christina was out of the picture. "Are you all right? Your skin is all red."

"We should take care of that immediately before it gets worse," Rachel said before walking towards the cashier and asking for a first aid kit.

Leah began lightly tapping off the remaining coffee on my neck and the area around my collarbone with a clean tissue, all the while cursing under her breath.

"Don't fuss about it too much," I said, smiling sheepishly at the two. "The coffee is not that hot anyway."

Leah ignored my remark and continued with what she was doing until the supervisor of the coffee shop ushered us to the staff room and away from curious eyes.

Once inside the small yet clean staff room, all I wanted is to sigh in relief. The stares from the people inside the coffee shop were just too uncomfortable for me, and it wasn't until I was inside the solace of the staff room that I could finally breathe normally.

I was led to the small chair at the corner of the room, and the supervisor quickly left after placing the first aid kit on the table beside me. Fortunately, the coffee did not reach my face, but as Leah had said earlier, the skin around my collarbone began turning red.

While Rachel and Leah fussed over my mild burn, I could sense the heaviness in the atmosphere inside the room. I know that the two have so many questions inside their head and that they are merely staying quiet in order not to seem uncouth, but I know that I should start giving them some answers.

Or rather, my conscience believes I owe it to them.

After all, it was not a coincidence that they went to the coffee shop today and at this certain time. Last night, I asked them if they were up for having dinner together, and when they agreed, I told them that I would wait for them after their office hours at the coffee shop in front of the Chadwick Group's building so that we could go together to the restaurant.

I made sure that they would witness the confrontation between me and Christina.

I do consider Rachel and Leah as my friends. I like them since they are both honest and straightforward. I was hoping that I would not have to use other people for this revenge of mine, especially those people that I care for, but with the type of game that Christina started between the two of us, it would be impossible for me to win without the help of others.

I feel guilty. I know I shouldn't have used their kind-heartedness for my personal agenda, but I needed someone from my side to witness the confrontation. Though my heart is heavy with guilt, I can't let Christina take control of the narrative once again.

I know I should have prepared myself for this once I decided that I would exact revenge upon them.

'I didn't want to pull anyone else in this mess, but it's too late.'

"You can ask questions, you know," I said after a few seconds in silence. "But please, ask one question at a time." I laughed softly, making the two stop whatever they were doing.

"You are so frustrating!" Leah grumbled and sighed exasperatedly afterward. "I told myself that I would keep my mouth shut so that I won't make you uncomfortable, but here you are, giving me a go signal to ramble on and on."

I can't help myself but laugh after Leah's protest, and Rachel, on the other hand, gave her a weird look. Leah is truly a very straightforward person, and now that I'm able to laugh naturally, I feel like the stress from the earlier encounter suddenly stopped weighing down on my shoulder.

"I'm actually quite surprised that you went on for a whole minute without asking questions," I replied to Leah, amusement evident in my voice.

Leah rolled her eyes, and, while waving the ointment in front of me, said, "It was hard. I thought I'd die of suffocation from staying quiet, so I will start asking questions now." She placed the cap back on to the ointment and slammed it down on the table before saying, "What the heck was that?"

"I felt like I was watching a television drama," Rachel said, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Never thought I'd witness that in real life."

"I'm going to ask for a talent fee next time," I quipped.

"Please, no more next time," Rachel groaned. "I thought I'd die from that woman's glare."

"That was Miss Christina Howard, right? Sir Caesar's fiancée?" Leah asked, and when she realized what she had just said, she immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

I chuckled lightly at her expression and said, "Don't worry about it and just ask away. And yes, that was Christina, Ansel's fiancée."

The two nodded simultaneously, and it was Rachel who probed next. "Was it a problem involving a love triangle?"

I paused for a moment before answering her question. Surely, Christina and I did not get along well in the past because of Ansel. It was merely supposed to be a love triangle scenario between us, but in the end, it all went awry because of greed and impatience. The whole thing was never just between Christina and me fighting for Ansel's love – it was me against them.

"It was," I replied, my voice so soft that I'm not sure if the two heard me. "But now, how can it be a love triangle when there's no more love?"