~~~ Lester ~~~
"H-hyacinth..." I uttered when I recognized that it was her who was blocking my way.
Her eyes widened when she heard me speak.
Her shocked expression morphed into an insulting one with a smirk on her lips yet there were traces in her eyes that she was very hurt by my lies to her. "So, everything is made up? Your gender? Your speech disorder? The scar on your neck that you always hide with a scarf and your entire identity as Terry? She doesn't really exist... and is just a made-up?" Her tears began to flow, but her stare was piercingly cold.
My heart began to pound inside my chest, causing my mind to spin. I didn't even know what to say. "H-hyacinth... I'll explain—"
Her palm suddenly landed on my cheek, causing me my face to turn to my side making a loud slap sound. "F*CK YOU! YOU STILL HAVE SOME GUTS TO SAY SOMETHING AFTER MANIPULATING MY MIND FOR SO LONG!" Her voice was so loud that it drew other people's attention to us, and her face was already flushed with rage.
"Please, Hyacinth—" I reached for her arm, but she quickly stepped away as if she was repulsed by my presence.
"SCREW YOU!" she exclaimed, showing her middle finger at me and storming away.
I quickly followed her. "Hyacinth!" I grabbed her arm, but she shoved me away. My eyes widened in surprise at what she did.
"Touch me again and I swear…!" she yelled at me threateningly while she looked daggers at me.
She continued walking away from me, crossing the street, and getting into her parked car. I couldn't immediately follow her because the pedestrian lane's green traffic light had turned red. The traffic started passing by, and all I could do was keep my gaze fixed on Hyacinth's car. She quickly drove away, leaving me behind.
F*ck!
Fortunately, a cab was approaching, so I signaled it to stop. When it came to a halt in front of me, I hurriedly in and requested that the driver follow Hyacinth's car.
Sh*t! I couldn't fathom Hyacinth finding out the truth in this manner. This shouldn't be like this!
When I arrived to the dome where Hyacinth's car was parked, I hurriedly exited the taxi, gave my fare to the driver, and dashed into the dome to find and speak with Hyacinth.
~ Narrator ~
When Lester arrived at the rest house, he saw Hyacinth throwing out of the rest house his belongings that she had taken from his room. He rushed up to her and embraced her to stop her from what she was doing. "Please, Haya... Please listen to me first," he pleaded as he stroked her back, attempting to soothe her.
Hyacinth tried to get free from his embrace. "Why would I listen to a liar like you?! F*ck! Could you let me go?! " She pushed him away, but he wouldn't let go.
"Yes! I admit it! I lied to you Hyacinth! But my actions to you were true! Like what you confessed to me... I fell in love with you too... and that is the truth. Please believe me," he pleaded sincerely as he was hugging her.
He could hear Hyacinth sobbing on his chest but she gave him a forceful shove, forcing him to release her from his embrace. "LIAR! ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE SAYING AREN'T TRUE!" she yelled, her eyes welled up with tears of distrust.
Lester shook his head, refusing to acknowledge that his feelings for her were also a lie. He knew he could never lie about his feelings for her.
"Accept that you are a disgusting liar, LESTER!" Because if that is true... that you do love me... you will never hurt me to this extent!" her voice trembled with anguish and hatred. "You made up so many stories and here I am who was so f*ckin' stupid, believed all of it! I gave you my complete trust, and I even scheduled your counseling session with a psychologist because I wanted your f*ckin' made-up condition cured, not realizing that you acted mute because you were frightened I'd find out the truth if I heard your voice!" Hyacinth was sobbing uncontrollably because she was so hurt.
Because of the shame that was already consuming his chest, Lester, who was sobbing, couldn't even look her in the eyes.
"Did you find it amusing to watch me be so gullible?! Did you enjoy making a fool of me, HA?!"
Lester's tears seemed to pour endlessly down his cheeks, and all he could do was grasp her hand. He expressed regret while looking at her. "I-I'm sincerely sorry, Haya... I really wanted to confess everything to you... but I was so scared... this very thing that's happening to us right now is exactly what I was afraid of... I'm so sorry that I couldn't muster the courage to tell you the truth... "
Hyacinth's forehead creased. "BULLSH*T!" she exclaimed as she yanked her hand away from his. "That's the very proof that you never loved me! Because if you really do, you'll choose yourself to be hurt instead of me! It might not have hurt me as much if you had told me the truth before and did not allow this to happen... because that very action would tell me that you are remorseful for what you done! But you didn't! You continued lying to my face and didn't even feel bad about it every day we were together!"
He just had himself to blame for his tears. He had not anticipated this scenario, and he had not imagined the grave consequences of his lies.
"How could you do this to me?... I've been a great friend to you! Was I just too easy to toy with?! Was deceiving me so simple?"
Lester shook his head, expressing his complete disagreement with what she said. "No, Haya! I-I just did it because I desperately needed a job here; I couldn't pay my school fees if I couldn't get one, so I pretended to be a woman solely to be able to—"
Hyacinth's eyes went wide. "So it was all about money!" she exclaimed, her face contorted with disgust.
She took the money out her wallet from her pocket and tossed it in his face. "Do you think you'll be happy when you graduate from college knowing that the money you paid for your tuition came from deceiving someone?! But maybe you won't mind since your conscience won't work on you again! You have gone so low for money, and who knows, you might stoop even lower!"
Lester's face was painted with hurt with what she said, but it quickly shifted to anger. "You won't understand me because you're privileged, Hyacinth!" he exclaimed. "You can buy whatever you want with simply a flick of your hand! Your parents support your schooling and all that you need, but that's not my case! I honestly hate doing this, but I'm too desperate to not go through the worst again! This is how we, the unfortunate ones, will be able to survive and thrive and you will never understand that!"
Hyacinth was just looking at him, perplexed.
Her disappointment could be seen in her gaze at Lester. "I could not even imagine that Terry, who was such a sweet and pure person whom I fell in love with... was really just an illusion."