The Unforeseen Revelation
Max questioned, appearing perplexed by her allegation, "Sorry, what are you implying? Yesterday was our first encounter. What is this talk about high school?"
"Lola Reynolds. Madison high school. The girl you played with her emotions. That's me, Max. You may have forgotten me, but I never forgot you. There was no way I could erase the memory of the man who took my innocence, my virginity as part of a bet with his friends, and then publicly humiliated me in front of the entire school. I could never erase the image of my tormentor."
Lola spat out, the haunting nightmare she had buried for so long resurfaced when she saw Max enter the bar yesterday. Despite this, she maintained a composed exterior, holding her emotions in check, trying to suppress the pain of encountering him after all these years. However, there was only so much her heart could endure. There was only so much she could bear.
Max's utterances, such as "treating her well," acted as a catalyst, causing the pain to emerge from her chest and engulf her entire essence. Max represented a negative memory, a distressing encounter, a bad person. He was someone she vehemently wished to sever all ties with, never anticipating their paths to cross once more.
And even at this moment when they finally did, he remained unchanged. That identical boy who cherished nothing but money. It served as the driving force behind the bet with his friends, as well as the title of being the baddest boy in school.
Max was taken aback as he exclaimed, "Lola Reynolds? You're Lola Reynolds?" He gazed at her in disbelief, realizing she bore no resemblance to the girl he knew from high school.
"You remain the same jerk. Your sole concern is amassing wealth. You show no regard for those you crush on your way up there. You are ever cold and self-centered. You lack compassion. So go elsewhere to find a girl that will fulfill your billionaire aspirations." Lola uttered before storming out of the car and slamming the door in anger.
She wasn't anticipating an apology or any such thing. She had no desire to delve into the past with him. However, his unwavering determination and boastful words left her bewildered. So Lola couldn't resist pointing out his actions.
Max hurried out of the car and chased after Lola, determined not to ruin his chance. If Lola rejected him, he faced certain death, with less than twenty days remaining to bond with his soulmate. He was willing to humble himself, set aside his pride and status, and offer a sincere apology, Max was prepared to do whatever it took to convince Lola to marry him. Even if it required him begging on his knees.
"Please, don't leave." He grasped her right wrist.
Lola angrily pulls her hand away from him. "Leave me alone. I don't want to create a scene."
With desperation coating his voice, Max begged, "I'm sorry for all that happened back then. I was just a young boy, I didn't understand the gravity of my actions. Please, forgive me." Max was desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures. Damn his pride. His life was much more important now.
She growls at his face and stomps away. "Can you even listen to yourself? This is absolute crap. You are only apologising now because you need me. You did not even remember me. Back then, you didn't realise your wrongdoings and come back to apologise. You did nothing except basking in my shame and humiliation. What can your apology do now? Can it go back in time and fix my broken image or restore my pride? Can it?"
Max, who was utterly shocked and dumbfounded, still ran after her.
He pleaded, "I acknowledge its crappy. I realize the lateness of my apology. I am aware of that, but I offer my sincere apologies, Lola. Time has passed, over fifteen years have gone by, I've encountered numerous people and forgotten countless faces. So, I regret not immediately recalling you. I beg for your forgiveness."
Lola rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah sure."
"Do yourself a favor, go find another woman who will eagerly accept your proposal. I'm certain there are plenty out there. However, with me, Max, I simply cannot be with a man who was aware of my love for him and still chose to humiliate and disgrace me. You know nothing about me, Max. You are unaware of even a fraction of what I have endured, and I prefer it to remain that way. Let us remain as strangers." She expressed to him with a voice filled with pain, a wound from seventeen years ago that still felt raw.
"May you have the day that you deserve." And with those words, Lola departed, leaving Max standing alone in the serene parking lot of the bar. Walking away from the man who had made her final two years of high school an absolute nightmare.
He was unaware of the intense loathing she harbored towards him. The despair and myriad suicidal thoughts she grappled with each day for those two entire years. The rumors circulating about her and how she was branded a harlot like her mother by both the elderly and the youth in the little town she grew up in.
The sole reason she persevered and remained resilient was her younger brother. James. He was the singular motivation that kept her going.
And she has pledged never to return to that depressing state again. For her own benefit and for her brother's benefit.
Max observed Lola's retreating silhouette, his heart pounding and thundering loudly against his ribcage, causing him to slightly part his lips to breathe properly.
Max lamented softly, "I am utterly destroyed. She has rejected me once again, and this rejection feels much weightier. What am I to do now?" Max pondered, leaning his head against his car.
Completely astounded by the unforeseen twist of this situation. It was truly surprising to discover that the Lola who is his soulmate is the same Lola Reynolds he had a fling with in high school for the thrills of it and for the money he'd get from the bet.
Now, he was facing the repercussions of his seventeen years old action.
"I can't die." A solitary teardrop slipped from his eyes as the epiphany of his looming fate settled upon him. He struggled to comprehend the thought of losing all that he had labored tirelessly and valiantly for. The notion of perishing at the age of thirty-five without fulfilling his aspirations and objectives was inconceivable to him. He grappled with the enigma of why the universe seemed to be so unkind to him.
Granted he wasn't the nicest of all, but he wasn't so bad to have deserved such fate. Such brutal and unforgiving destiny.
Max perceived the universe as ruthless and unrelenting. He felt he was unworthy of the trials that befell him.
So as he got into his car and drove off, carrying a heavy heart and a spirit weighed down by despair, Max whispered to himself once more…
"I just can't die."