C16: Megan

I tapped the Wi-Fi icon of my phone as I unlock it to see some updates, hoping to see messages from Arthur offering to pick me up from work. As expected, there's nothing, and the only notification was from Evangeline, who posted something on the group almost a day ago.

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Hana Evangeline Perez:

Hi everyone. Just yesterday, Justin and I concluded our relationship. We're done, 100%. I'm an emotional wreck right now, but that aside, I want to invite you who are living nearby. I want to throw a party. I'll be leaving the country for I don't know how long by the end of the month, and I would be so grateful to meet some of you in person. I look forward to meeting you, my brokenhearted folks! Let's celebrate our independence from toxic relationships and other kinds of loss. We're going to help each other become stronger, even in our little ways.

When: February 22, Saturday – 6 pm

Where: My house (leave a comment if you're coming, I'll pm you my address)

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After reading that, I know I have to reach out to her and let her open up. It's 7 am in Evangeline's time zone, so she's probably awake. I should've known soon because the breakup happened probably a day ago or almost two. She'll be needing someone she can open up to asap.

"Megan, please stop texting and get back to work," Lancelot ordered, and I inserted my phone in my pocket. "Chop the onions and garlic, then give me the oyster sauce."

"I'm sorry, I just happened to see Evangeline's post. She announced that … I don't know if it's something personal, but –"

"Okay, okay," he cut me off. "I don't need to meddle with her personal life. Unless she'll tell me that later on, it's not for me to know. You said it yourself. It's personal. But, how is she?"

"I haven't talked to her about the details, but I'm hoping that she's fine."

Lance nodded. "I see. By the way, Sir Elliot would be coming here later, and he wants to talk to both of us."

"With me? Why? I'm just a newbie! Did I do anything wrong?"

"You didn't. But as far as you can remember, he's our boss, yet he never talked to you. It would be nice if he'll know you a bit. After all, he knows that you're Evangeline's best friend. Don't worry, Sir Elliot is a nice person. He's like a father to me." The corners of his lips rose to a warm smile.

Woah. This person looks a lot different when smiling. At first, I thought he was a robot of some kind. Now, with that human action that he did, I can tell that Sir Elliot is someone important to him. It's strange how the coldest people can turn to warm humans when they're with the person they value.

"What're you looking at?" his smile faded, returning to its default serious facial expression. "Is there something that I need to know?"

"You … you look like a different person when you're smiling, I was surprised. That's it." I commented, grabbing the garlic and onions to chop.

"I haven't seen myself smile." I slowly looked at him upon hearing those words.

"What did you say? Did I hear that right?"

"I didn't say anything," he grabbed a pan and placed some oil in it and turned on the stove. A strong, raging fire came out, which makes me wonder if that's necessary, or he's doing it to express something that he's been keeping inside him. I can't be wrong. I know what I heard.

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"Good evening, sir," I smiled awkwardly as Lance and I faced Sir Elliot. He gestured us to sit across him. Sir Elliot gave us a warm, welcoming smile, and reached out his hand to me, offering a handshake.

"You're Megan, right? Evangeline told me a lot about you. I'd like to thank you for being a good friend to her, and also, for helping us here," he said, his grin almost wide enough to reach his ears. I can tell that he's friendly and sincere. I now get the idea why Lance said that he's a nice person.

"Nice to meet you, sir," I replied, doing my best to sound humble.

"You two might be wondering why I called you for a short meeting," he began, finally getting straight to the point. "I'll be leaving the country a week before Evangeline's flight going here so that we can still meet each other for a while before she goes here. Son, I'd like to ask for a favor. Please pick up Eve at the airport when she arrives here. That would be on March 7, she'll be here at around 9 pm. You can message her for more clarification that day. I don't want her to randomly get some taxi ride. You'll understand why when you see her for yourself," Son? Lance is right, after all.

Sir Elliot is like a father to him, and he treats him as a son. I can't help but feel surprised how an employee and an employer can be that close.

Sir Elliot looked at me after explaining everything Lance has to know.

"Megan, my daughter told me about what happened to her recently, and I'd like you to help her if in case she'll bring her problem until here. You're her best friend, after all. It should be natural for you to listen to her problems. That's it."

That … short? That was literally a short meeting. We could've talked about all these things standing up.

All of us stood up and grabbed our bags, heading out of the restaurant. I looked at my phone to see any hints of Arthur, but nothing. I guess it's not always bad to walk back home. It is, however, 10 pm.

A car stopped next to me as I walk, and the driver opened his window for me to see him. "Hey, where do you live?" It was Lance, our head chef. Hearing that is the last thing I'm expecting from him.

"Well," I replied, trying to process my thoughts – I'm currently stuck at thinking about calling Eve, going home, and Arthur. Now, this.

"That's not even a proper answer," he scoffed. "Want a lift or not?"

"No, thanks. I'll be fine. I kinda want to walk to think, I want to process something.

Lance waved his hand goodbye as he closed his car's window and went ahead. I can't help but remember the last time a car stopped by while I was walking back home, and it was Vincent.

Vincent, who said that Arthur went to the hospital to check on Euphemia, his ex, instead of picking me up. After that night, Arthur and I still talked as if nothing happened, but judging on his tone, what's obvious is he completely forgot the entire thing, being pre-occupied with Euphemia being hospitalized.

His twin, Vincent, might be a bit mean to his brother, but he was only honest when he indirectly said that Arthur is just using me to cover up the pain he was feeling when Euphemia dumped him. I see where Vincent is coming from, but then there's me, an idiot, who couldn't face that reality, so I keep pretending that everything's fine. But how long? How long will this so-called relationship last? I want to have hopes that Arthur can still change, and I can help him move on. But I can't see any hint of that from him.

Ha. It's not something surprising that I'm experiencing this. If I'm not experiencing dramas of any kind, then I wouldn't meet Evangeline from the group, Home for the brokenhearted girls. I suppose I should conclude that everything has a reason.

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"Eve, I saw your post on your group. What happened?" I didn't bother to say 'hello' when she accepted the call. I don't know if she'll see that as rude, but I want to be direct to the point.

"Long story short, I broke up with Justin for good. I forced him to drop all the details, and yeah, the best option to do is to end it."

"You do know that I don't like short stories," I said, more than willing to hear more of it even if it's 11 pm already. "I'm willing to listen. You should get that out of your chest."

A deafening silence followed, and I started hearing her sobbing. Emotions being held back, which I can imagine is more destructive than tears being expressed aloud. A couple of seconds later, she hanged up without saying anything, but she started a video call instead and I picked up right away.

"I really need a hug right now," she wiped her swollen eyes with her arm, her voice shaking. "If only if you're here. I confronted the girl and he 'saved' me from her. After that, I gave him a gift but started shouting after, demanding him to tell me everything. You have no idea how I looked like. Imagine, I gave a gift, then out of the blue, I'll begin shouting? I was too … irrational. I was laughing, crying, shouting, burning in anger … all at once. I'm an emotional wreck. He was almost speechless, seeing me like that. Because imagine, we were together for seven long years … SEVEN YEARS. I'm not regretting my decision, because that's the only way to stop having anxieties about him. At first, I'll be an emotional wreck. But I'll live. It's better than prolonging the relationship. I'm at least glad that we didn't get married when he did this. It'll be harder to handle because the divorce will be needed or annulment."

"I'm sorry about that, Eve. I wish I can transport there to hug you. I really want to," with that, tears started falling from my eyes, just like her.

"I don't remember tears as something contagious," I chuckled. "Maybe because I feel your pain."

"Something about Arthur?" her facial expression falls, her eyes filled with worry.

"Nothing serious, but I've been thinking lately … remember when I told you before that Vincent, Arthur's twin, confessed that he has eyes for me, right?"

Evangeline nodded.

"If you'll think about it, he can simply ruin his brother's reputation for me to break up with Arthur, right? But when he told me what Arthur has been doing, like visiting Euphemia to the hospital instead of picking me up from work even if he promised to, it's pretty clear that Arthur is still into her, and there's a possibility that he's just using me as a backup so that he won't be an emotional wreck after Euphemia broke up with him." I explained, feeling empty.

"I hate to say this, but Vincent is right. I believe he is. You mentioned before that Arthur is a good guy, and that's fine. But if the heart is not really with you, kindness is just friendly. It's more of a love for a friend, and … I'm sorry to say this, but not in a romantic way."

"Should I break up with him?" the idea of doing feels like a stab in the chest. But it's better to weigh my options instead of doing something without thinking.

"It's your choice. I suggest you confront him with that. Because, though what Vincent said is true, what if he's trying to learn how to love you and not 'using' you? It'll take a lot of courage and energy to confront someone especially because I just did that. But I suggest it because it's better than doing something reckless. Tell him that he should be honest, even if it'll hurt you. Truth always matters. The real truth would set you free. Don't be a victim of half-truths just like what I experienced."

"I'll … keep that in mind." I looked down to reflect, thinking when I should do it. I fixed my eyes on Eve as I come up with an answer. "I'll confront him after their birthday party. That'll buy me time to think about everything and prepare for what I should say."