"I–" Fara started to say "I do," but her words got stuck. Her brain seemed to freeze, and her ears started ringing as she processed Sean's words.
"W–what?" After a few seconds of stunned silence, Fara managed to ask Sean to repeat himself. She was afraid she'd heard wrong, though honestly, she was already on edge from Nindy's stupid wishes.
Maybe this was all Nindy's fault.
Sean sighed, his eyes beginning to water.
"I didn't hear you... Can you say that again, Sean?"
And there it was. Fara's tears spilled again, for the second time today. She knew exactly what he'd said, clear as day. But she was hoping, begging, for Sean to take it all back.
"I'm sorry, Far..."
That was all Sean could manage. He couldn't bring himself to repeat what he'd just told her. His head hung low, and he couldn't look her in the eye, the girl who'd been by his side for five years.
"Say it again!" This time, Fara demanded it.
Sean reached for her hand, hoping it would calm her down, but she yanked her hand away.
"Why, Sean?"
Damn it. More tears fell, leaving her cheeks wet. So much for her touch-up meeting Sean was ruining her makeup twice in one day.
"I agreed to the marriage my parents arranged, Far."
Oh, come on. Couldn't he have come up with a more modern excuse?
Fara cursed silently. She wanted to throw every insult she knew at Sean's face, but her mind was still trying to process the whole mess.
"And why'd you agree to it? Do I mean nothing to you, Sean?" Fara wiped her tears with her finger, trying to keep her makeup from smearing like it had that morning.
"It's not that, Fara."
Sean's denial, without any explanation, only fueled her anger.
So, all this time, she'd been holding onto someone meant for someone else? Was this some kind of joke? She hated wasting time even for work, and this was five whole years of her life. Five years could pay off a mortgage.
And this? Forget a house, she was left with nothing. Not even her feelings for Sean. Well, that's how it should be.
"Who?"
Ah, her curiosity was stronger than her pride. She needed to know who was taking Sean away from her.
Sean shook his head, refusing to answer. He had no courage, no heart.
Fara leaned back in her seat in the lounge. The classical music that had been playing softly throughout the room felt like it stopped just for her. She could barely hear anything because her mind was too loud.
Like a madwoman, her brain and heart were locked in a furious debate. When her brain asked, her heart responded with feelings. When her heart asked, her brain shot back with logic.
The waiter approached, ready to take their order, shattering the silence between her and Sean.
"Ready to order, sir?" he asked.
Fara closed her eyes, breathing deeply as her breaths grew shallow. Maybe this was from the shock Sean had just served her with their meal.
"I'll call you when we're ready," Sean dismissed him. The waiter nodded and left them alone again.
"Fara?" Sean called softly.
That voice, the voice that used to melt her, soothe her anger, cradle her with love. Now sounded bitter in her ears.
"Fara?" he repeated, since she hadn't responded.
Fara was busy trying to steady her breathing. She wouldn't faint here. Not now, not in front of Sean.
"Fara!" Sean's voice rose with concern, and he almost got up to check on her, but she opened her eyes just in time.
"So, your decision... there's no changing it, right?" Fara asked. Her voice was weak, her breath was shallow, but her love for Sean, somehow, was still strong. Even though Sean had just thrown her out of his life with brutal indifference.
"I'm sorry, Fara. I don't want this either—"
Fara lifted her hand, signaling for him to stop with his empty words.
Don't want this, my ass! Even a kid knows arranged marriages are nonsense and can be avoided. And here she was, dealing with a grown man who should be able to make his own choices by now.
She smirked bitterly, mocking Sean and even more so, mocking herself. Now it felt like her best friend and boyfriend had teamed up to ruin her life.
"Okay, I know what I need to do." Fara struggled to get up from her seat, despite her shallow breaths and the dizziness overtaking her.
"Thanks for the past five years. It was... wonderful." Fara grabbed her bag and staggered away from him.
But Sean wasn't letting her go that easily. He ran after her and grabbed her hand to stop her from leaving.
"Wait!" he said, stopping her in her tracks.
"I want us to end this on good way. Don't go like this," he added.
The pain from Sean's grip made her blood boil.
"Good way? Really?" Fara was starting to show her anger.
"In what way could this possibly be on good thing? Is it the part where you're already promised to someone else? Yeah?"
"Or the part where our relationship was all a waste? Tell me, Sean, what part 'good way'? Tell me!"
Sean looked panicked. "Fara, behave. We're attracting attention," he hissed, leaning in close to her ear.
Fara pushed him back, repulsed. She didn't want to be anywhere near him now.
"The only one that need to behave is you. I hope you don't hurt your future wife like this!"
With that, Fara turned and walked away, fast. Of course, Sean wasn't giving up yet, and he chased her down again, trying to get her to stop.
"Please, Fara, let's talk this out," Sean pleaded as he caught up with her.
Not because he was holding her back, but Fara stopped, letting him catch up.
"What else is there to say?" she asked when he was beside her.
"My apology. I hope you can forgive me," he said.
Fara crossed her arms. She couldn't believe that the man she still cared for had such a heartless side, someone completely undeserving of her love.
"And if I say I forgive you, then what?"
That question left Sean speechless. He had nothing left to say and hadn't thought this far ahead.
"You want me to come to your wedding?"
That question made Fara's tears fall once more. It wasn't just a question, it was the thought of her actually being there, watching someone else stand beside Sean at the altar. Her eyes stung, her heart shattered.
"No, no. I just want us to stay the same. I can't imagine being apart from you. Just know this, Fara. I still love you. You're the best thing in my life. It's not that easy for me to just walk away from you."
Sean tried to hold her hands again, this time both of them. But Fara had had enough, and she refused his touch. The disgust flared up again.
"I hope you thought about those last two sentences before deciding to marry someone else. Thank you, Sean, but I can't end this on good terms the way you want."
Her breathing became ragged again. Her chest felt so tight it hurt.
"I love you, Sean, but I have to forget you from now on. And I hope you never back in my life again. Let's end this crappy relationship, and let me hate you to hell."
Fara left Sean standing there, frozen. Even though her legs were unsteady, she ran out of the lounge. Her vision was blurring, and everything around her started dimming, like the bright midday sun was fading, fading, until it all went black.
"Fara! Fara! Fara!"
Only the faint sound of Sean's voice echoed in her ears before her world went dark. Fara had fainted!
Sean quickly caught her, wrapping his arms around her just as she collapsed onto the pavement in front of the lounge. But before he could fully process what was happening, a tall, muscular man approached as bystanders stopped to stare, doing nothing.
"Miss Fara?" the man barked in a deep voice, making Sean turn in shock.
The man knelt down, reaching for Fara as if to take her from Sean's hold.
"Who are you?" Sean asked, panicked as this stranger attempted to take Fara.
"I'm Ziggy. Who are you? I'll get her to a hospital. You're just holding her and that's not helping," Ziggy replied, his gaze focused sharply on Sean.
"I'm her boyfriend!" Sean spat back.
Unbothered by Sean's words, Ziggy carefully lifted Fara into his arms. With his strength, he effortlessly carried her, leaving Sean to trail behind as Ziggy made his way to take a taxi.
Ziggy gently placed Fara inside and looking back at Sean, said, "You can follow us to the hospital down the road," before shutting the taxi door and driving off.
Inside the taxi, Ziggy carefully laid Fara's head on his lap, brushing her hair away from her face.
"Her makeup was messed up before, now it's ruined again. Way too many tears."