Shen Wen left the two alone and went home by herself after getting out of Memories Cafe. Since the Cafe was walking distance from the condo and Susu didn't plan on going anywhere else after meeting Shen Wen, she didn't drive her car. 'This was one of the worst days to not have a car,' she thought to herself silently.
She unlocked her phone and was about to order an Uber to the dock. "I don't think you brought your car today. Since we are going to the dock anyways, I'll drive." Tian Yuo offered.
Susu nodded and followed him to the car, "Thinking about it this is the first time I ever rode in your car." He opened the door to the passenger seat, and she politely thanked him.
"Oh.." it never came across his mind that she had never ridden in his car before. He was very much used to driving Karen everywhere she wished to go to, so he didn't realize that had never driven Susu anywhere.
After parking at an empty spot, Susu walked over to the rails and breathed in the fresh breeze of the salty water in front of her. The wind was caressing her face, running through her hair as if it was combing it. His eyes focused on the girl in front of him who had her eyes closed. The sweet smile on her face, small dimple on her left cheek, and simple curls on the tips of her hair that followed the wind's breeze; everything was perfect.
Her eyelashes fluttered lightly as she opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, what is it that you have to say to me?" She turned her body to face him and looked at him straight up in the eyes,
"I.. I just.." he stuttered, not knowing exactly what to say other than giving her an apology.
Her thumbs rubbed against each other as she waited patiently. After a while of standing there and hearing nothing but seagulls in the air, she decided to intiate the talk. "It seems to be very difficult for you to speak, but that's fine. I'll talk first. I'm not sure what's gotten into you for you to suddenly want to communicate with me because you never once wanted to in the past. Whether it waswhen I was a nobody to you back then or wife by status, I've learned my place."
"After countless times of accusations and facing your temper, I realized that this was not a place for me. Perhaps it began when we first met and Auntie Shen Wen put the thought of us getting married into my mind since that time...I always questioned what I had done wrong or things that I am doing wrong that made you react the way you did."
She sighed and looked towards the water, "Then, I finally realized that it doesn't matter how I change or how perfect I make myself to fit your ideal type because when someone doesn't have you in their heart, that person will never be able to see what the other does for them. I learned it the long and quite brutal way."
"That's not true. It was a misunderstanding! Karen was the one who told me all the lies and made me think of you wrongly. It wasn't me. I mean it was my fault for treating you the way I did before, but I'm different now. I'm sorry for the past things that I have done. I really am." He raised both arms trying to reach for her shoulders, but she ducked and moved back a few steps.
"Let's remain our distance. I believe that you might have figured out Karen's lies and that you are feeling sorry for what you've done to me, but here's a question for you. If you never found out about her lies, would you consider apologizing to me? Would you come to ask me about everything that has ever happened between us? Or would you continue your biases for her and trust her unconditionally?"
His hands slowly formed a fist as she continued speaking. She paused in-between her words to see if he had anything to say, but as she expected, he didn't say anything. "Remember here?" She pointed to the waters, the dock section, and then the ground below where the water incident occurred.
"Yes." He would never forget that day.
"Good because this was the place where I almost lost my life from Karen's scheme. When you saw us fall into the waters, you dived in to save her first because she held an important place in your heart. When we were at the hospital, you instantly assumed that it was I, who wanted to harm Karen and even screamed on top of your lungs at me."
"Again, very sorry. But Karen doesn't know how to swim, so in that situation-"
"In that situation, it is even more reasonable to leave everything under investigation and not base it off of assumptions. If you would have given me the teeniest bit of respect that I deserve as a human being, you would have asked me for my part of the story. This is only one of the examples. I have many more that I could list out." She interrupted his sentence and left him speechless once again.
Another sigh left her mouth, "Honestly, I don't have any regrets in liking you because I've learned to treasure myself more than before. Also, I found someone who would love me for me and appreciate everything that I do."
"Is that person, Chen Mu?" Tian Yuo looked at her softened expression when she spoke about him.
"Yes." She smiled blissfully and relaxed her tensed body.
"If I didn't do all those things that hurt you, maybe I would be the one to make you smile like now. If that happened, do you think that we would have.." he couldn't bring himself to finish the question because he already saw her shaking her head.
"No, we wouldn't because there are no hypothetical questions for something that already happened or will happen in the future. Nobody knows the answer to that, and I do not want you to dwell on this either. The if's and what's doesn't matter between us because we will never be anything in the future. I hope the best for your future and for you to find someone you truly love and loves you back."
"I..I just want to ask you one more question. Are you happy with him?"
"Extremely happy. I have never been happier. "
"I understand, but I still don't want to give up so what can I do? I love you. I could make you as happy, no even happier than how he makes you. I'll start caring and doting on you. My family loves you." He refused to give up the slightest hope of being with her.
"You had your chances for many years; it's already too late. Also, you will never be able to do what he does for me. What he did and does for me is beyond what any man could do for even their own wife. The only reason why you don't want to give up right now isn't because you love me or that you're guilty."
"You're standing here apologizing to me today because you realized you were wrong for many reasons. You also realized that you could have had me by your side, but you lost that chance. You feel like I belong to you and should be with you instead. All the questions that you've asked so far, none of them were to clear up the misunderstandings or ask about the incidents that had happened."
"Think about it for a while or even better, don't think of it at all. The apology that you owed me, I already got it. I don't need anything from you. Just let me live our lives separate from each other from now on. Eventually, you'll understand that I'm not truly who you love. As for whoever you meet later on, I hope would be someone you will be able to walk with for your entire lifetime...someone you will never abandon."
"Then marry me. The person I want to be with is you. You're the one who doesn't understand me. You're not forgiving the things that I've done and are still angry with me. You can hit me or rage at me. Don't act so calm. You love me too. I'll give us a family like how it was supposed to have played out since the beginning if we never divorced." he started approaching her, and she backed away to avoid him.
"Tian Yuo, just what did you not understand? I literally just told you that I don't want to have anything to do with you." She rummaged in her bag to get her pepper spray and cell phone. He noticed what she was trying to do and hurried grabbed onto her bag. Through the tug and wars fight, everything from her bag dropped out.
He kicked the pepper spray towards the waters and snatched her cellphone so that she couldn't call for help. "Do you know that even if you and Chen Mu end up together there will always be a splinter in his heart? Because I will always be your first man, the one who took your virginity. So, rather than wasting time and ending up crying back to me... you might as well come back to me now."
She moved back until her back felt the coldness of the pole. As he moved a few steps closer, a loud door slam distracted them. Not even a few seconds later, ten bodyguards with sunglasses and a royal badge on their suit surrounded Susu and separated her from Tian Yuo.
"Get your disgusting body away from her."