Prologue

"Anna, are you getting this? Where are you?" the loud beep from the phone followed right after the audible voice message ringing out in the dim living room of Anna Mendoza's condo unit, signaling another incoming one.

"Anna? Hey, love, I heard what happened. Where are you? Please give me a call when you hear this," the beep for another incoming message reverberated through the seemingly empty room.

In the far corner of the room, there she was, hugging her knees close to her chest. She was gently rocking herself back and forth, the events of the evening playing over and over her head.

Gradually the tears fell, her cheeks becoming soaked.

They started slowly, little by little, until eventually, they flowed like rainfall. She began to sob silently.

"Anna? Please answer your freaking phone! If you don't pick up within thirty minutes, I'm driving over whether you liked it or not."

Anna only sobbed even more after hearing the last message. 

She can't force herself to stand and answer her best friend. She had no energy to stop her from coming over. 

The drive from her place to hers was more than an hour if there was no traffic.

It was late, and the last thing she needed was for Nikki to see her like that. But there was nothing she could do. She felt like a total mess, and she lost the willpower even just to stand.

"Why?" she muttered. "Why me? Why does it always have to be me?"

The pain inside her chest felt almost unbearable. She sobbed until she had no more tears to shed and rocked herself back and forth in a slow rhythm.

She was about to belt out another set of tears when the phone rang again.

"Anna here. If you hear this, please leave your message after the beep."

"Hi, Anna. I miss you," hearing the voice on the other end of the line almost made her run towards the phone and pick up his call. Hearing his voice after a long while nearly made her forget that she had spent the entire evening wallowing in nothingness.

But then, she remembered what he did, and all of a sudden, Anna found herself laughing. 

It was a hollow laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

Somehow regaining her strength, she got on her feet, wiping the last drop of tears away.

"You don't miss me, liar. You can't fool me twice. And this will be the last time. This will be the last time that I ever cry for a guy. This will be the last and only time I will ever let you toy with me, cupid."