False Love After Betrayal

I stood still in front of the cinema, feeling the cold wind made me shiver. It was Valentine's Day and I was patiently waiting for Hendrix Jennings to arrive so we could celebrate this special day.

I had already called him four times, but he didn't respond. When I tried for the fifth time, he finally answered the call.

"Hey, the movie has already started for two hours. Where are you?" I asked, puzzled.

"I'm so sorry, but I forgot we have an appointment tonight," Hendrix reasoned on the other line.

The background noise on the other line was a bit noisy, almost making him almost not audible.

I closed my eyes and added, "Gosh. We booked movie tickets a week ago. How did you forget it? I've been looking forward to this movie premiere for a long time, yet you just forget."

"That's why I want to apologize," Hendrix replied. "I am so sorry, but I am a little busy here. Maybe we can talk about it later."

Suddenly, a charming female voice was heard on the other line, confusing me a lot.

"Hendrix, the doctor, had just called us," said the woman.

However, I couldn't hear further as the call suddenly ended, leaving only the busy beeping sound.

I decided to open my Instagram account to check.

Right there and then, I saw Whitney Moore, who had posted a photo.

Whitney captioned it, [I am on cloud nine when someone has to accompany me when I am sick.]

As I carefully checked the photo, I saw Whitney, with whom she had hung an IV Drip in the hospital corridor. On the side, I glimpsed Hendrix smiling.

That photo of them together made my heart almost skip a beat.

Whitney was exceptional. She was the only person who could let Hendrix cancel all his appointments for her and he wouldn't be like that to others, even to me.

During Whitney's birthday celebration, Hendrix gifted her a pink diamond ring. She was that special to him.

Right after I found their photo together, I was in a rage. I even questioned Hendrix to clarify their score.

However, Hendrix only blamed me for making a fuss and said that he and Whitney were just friends and had no relationships. It was just that Whitney had liked the ring for a long time.

When he saw that I was unconvinced by his words, he coldly said, "Come on, can you not be too sensitive enough?"

Hendrix and I didn't speak for half a month when that happened. And it wasn't like this before.

Whenever we both had miscommunications and arguments, I would tremble in fear whatever happened to our relationship, then made me think twice and spoke to him the next day.

And I remembered he would embrace and kiss me after I made up to show that he didn't mind our past arguments.

We have been like that since we started dating. It wasn't new to us and we got used to it.

He changed how I feel. I did what he wanted, like a puppet on strings. Who made me the first one to fall in love?

A week ago, Hendrix sent me a screenshot of the movie ticket and told me, [Look! This is the premiere you've been looking forward to. Maybe we can go together and watch it on Valentine's Day.]

That was his sign of making up.

Once he knew what I liked, it made me very on cloud nine. But now, I only feel calm and tired inside.

However, I still dared to reply, [Alright. See you then.]

As usual, I found myself getting up because of that person again.

I remember to eat but not to fight. With that in mind, I couldn't help but laugh aloud.

Tears slowly escaped my eyes and I slowly wiped them with my hands. Since I was alone, I bought a new movie ticket and popcorn and walked inside the cinema. I wanted to enjoy the movie alone to the fullest.

When the movie was done, I was satisfied and returned home. There, I packed my luggage and went to bed earlier than usual. In a daze, I heard the door open.

Later, I could feel his presence. I sat on the bed, holding myself in his arms and acting playfully.

"Stella, are you asleep?" He suddenly asked me.

Upon hearing his voice, I felt annoyed, so I had to open my eyes and reply coldly, "You had woken me up even if you know I'm asleep. You should not have."

She continued, "Why didn't you just let me sleep first and won't wake up? Besides, we can still talk tomorrow."

Hendrix only smiled and replied, "Stella, I am hungry. I want to eat some fish soup you made."

It annoyed me when someone woke me up, even if they knew I was asleep.

Well, Hendrix was busy with work, I knew and had a lot of social engagements. I am terrified he would drink and eat things that would hurt his stomach. Every time he went out to socialize, I would prepare his favorite fish soup and wait for him to come home, despite how late he was.

But at that moment, I did not want to do it at all.

"If you are hungry, you better find something to eat in the fridge," I told Hendrix coldly.

"Come on, my stomach isn't good. I know there's food in the fridge, but I can't eat cold food," Hendrix reasoned.

"Is it even a problem? If you can't, then order some food!" I laughed instead of loathing him. "Don't tell me you're as old as you are; you still don't know how to order some food using an app."

Hendrix's smile disappeared, saying, "I know you are still angry at me. I admit it is my fault and should be blamed."

He continued, "It's just that Whitney suddenly had some fever and called me. As a friend, I couldn't just ignore her. You know that."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Are you a doctor to be called? If someone gets sick, they can go to the hospital."

Hendrix reasoned, "I know, but Whitney is scared to be alone in the hospital. That's why she had asked me to accompany her. She's now a patient, so understand her!"

I shook my head and said, "Hendrix, count how many times you have done this. The last time was when we moved and the last was when we countered some difficult clients. What will happen next time, huh?"

I continued, "Does she have a terminal illness and need us to break up to get better?"

"Stella, mind what you have said! It's too vulgar!" Hendrix reacted, adding, "How often do I have to tell you we are just friends? Is it hard to understand?"

All of a sudden, Hendrix's phone rang. He didn't hesitate to answer it.

Whitney's sobbing was heard on the other line of the phone. She said, "Hendrix, I have a fever again. I'm so scared. Can you please come over and accompany me?"

"Sure. I'll be right there and accompany you," Hendrix replied.

Right after he said that Hendrix glanced at me. His guilt was visible, but he said, "Stella, please calm down now. I still have something to do today and I will accompany you to watch movies next time."

It felt too odd. His choices should sadden me. I am already tired of this and could give up.

This damn relationship had consumed all my entire life's energy.

After returning home, I couldn't sleep and continued packing my luggage. I pulled off some clothes in the wardrobe one after another and placed them inside the suitcase, which was already full of them.

However, that was the last thing I left in this house. I had already used it six times and started moving things away, so that was the last point to do.

As I moved away, I felt some anticipation in my heart, hoping that Hendrix would not find out.

But then again, he still didn't pay attention even if the wardrobe was emptied.

That wasn't surprising, anyway. His mind wasn't on this home. It was somewhere else. I shook my head and turned to look at the green floral curtains at the side, lost in thought.

Those were the curtains that Hendrix brought who had just moved into his new home after he graduated and after he searched for several furnishing markets. At that time, I was puzzled.

I remembered what he had told me before.

"That's about it." Hendrix pinched my face and smiled, staring at me as he told those to me before.

"This won't do. This is our home. Everything has to be perfect."

He replied, "Stella, I am sorry. I only had to return home now. Wait until I can save money and then I will marry you. I assure you!"

In a blink, I came back to my senses. I had just realized he once loved me.

If that damn Whitney didn't return to the US, then for sure, we might have ended up getting married. There were a lot of whatifs on my mind, but I shook those thoughts away from me.

I had already heard Whitney's name when I was still in college. At that time, Hendrix and I still weren't together. I still had a crush on him. Who wouldn't? He was tall and handsome and even won the national scholarship in his sophomore year.

Many friends had told me Hendrix preferred Whitney more than me.

Whitney was tall and gorgeous and the two were a perfect match.

I knew I was no match from then on, so I didn't bother Hendrix. Unexpectedly, Whitney, still a junior, decided to go abroad.

Hendrix was devastated at that time. He started smoking, drinking and fighting some students. He skipped the class, failed some courses and was forced to retake to pass. He suffered a lot and I felt sorry for him.

When he was drunk, I made some oatmeal and brought it for him to eat.

He skipped his class, so I attended and organized some key points for him not to miss anything.

At the end of the semester, I took him to the library to stay up late to review.

In the second half of his junior year, Hendrix suddenly gained some scholarship.

The same night, he asked me, "Stella, can you be my girlfriend?"

There were no flowers, nor there were confessions. It was so sudden that I didn't think he would ask me.

However, I still think I was the happiest person in the world. At that time, we were sweet and were on cloud nine.

Not until Whitney started lingering in his mind. Whenever Hendrix would have a phone call, he would go somewhere else to accept the call. He wasn't like that at first.

With that, I cried, made a scene and argued with him.

But then again, he remained unmoved, thinking I was unreasonable.

I didn't dare mention breaking up with him when we were in a heated argument. I was terrified that he would immediately break up with me if I brought it up.

Whatever happened, I still liked him, making me wonder how I could be willing to leave him.

I thought he would be the one to end this relationship. It never crossed my mind that it would be me who would think of ending it as I was exhausted.

My once passionate love for him finally withered.

"Here you are," Hendrix said and smiled as he looked at me. "So, Logan will organize a party tonight. He said he wants you to accompany him. Will you?"

Logan Williams was his university colleague. During college, he also lent a hand to Hendrix to plan to pursue Whitney. When Hendrix and Whitney weren't together, he regretted it.

Since it was he who organized it, I wouldn't attend. I always pushed gatherings he usually organized.

"You can attend by yourself. I am not going," I reasoned. I had no plans.

With that, Hendrix replied, "Even if it's just for a meal, you must go. Besides, Melissa Morgan will also attend. You must be there too."

He continued, "She once told me she misses you and Logan even asked me to bring my family, too."

Melissa Morgan was known to be Logan's girlfriend.

Logan was a known jerk, but Melissa, his girlfriend, was a good person. It was surprising the two got well together.

Melissa and I had become close friends.

"All right." I agreed. If he didn't mention Melissa, I wouldn't.

Once Hendrix was done with his work, he came home on time.

I opened the passenger seat door and saw the lipstick on it.

It was a Dior 999, Whitney's favorite lipstick color and brand.

Hendrix happened to see it and suddenly felt embarrassed and said, "Oh, don't overthink. I just gave her a ride on the way to meet a client. I'm sure it fell there, so don't think about anything else."

I blinked twice and remembered it wasn't the first time I had seen something like that on the passenger side.

Whenever Whitney rode in Hendrix's car, she left something for me in the passenger seat, like her hair tie, lipstick and perfume. I got mad and scolded her; Hendrix quickly showed me how to defend her.

Whitney had already done so many childish tricks but still hadn't gotten tired of them.

Hendrix said, "Come on, hop in and sit down." He pointed at the front seat.

However, I shook my head and replied, "No need. I'll sit here."

Instead, I sat in the back seat without mentioning anything.

On our way, Hendrix couldn't focus on driving because he would look at me in the rearview mirror from time to time. However, I was on my headphones, pretending to handle some official business.

Later that time, we arrived at the restaurant.

Hendrix exited the car first, looked at me and said, "Stella, tell me if you are furious with me. Don't keep it to yourself."

I shook my head and lied, "I am not loathing you anymore. But there's something I want to say."

Hendrix nodded and said, "Fine. Let's go home after dinner."

I nodded without hesitation. Of course, breaking up needed to be discussed in a quiet place, not a place like this.