Chapter 64
Serene's mind kept replaying Justin's hurtful words. Like a knife, each work he said struck her heart, stabbing it repeatedly until it bled. The taxi driver kept on glancing at her from the rear-view mirror, concern written all over his face. Tears had not stopped falling from her eyes the moment she sat.
everything go south in less than 24 hours?
I need to fix this. She kept repeating in her head. But how? She did not know; all she knew was she needed to make things right. Justin's furious face flashed on her face. His sharp eyes that ripped her apart. They were just lovingly cuddling this morning. How can After a while, her taxi stopped at the gate of Justin's villa. She paid the driver and alighted from the vehicle. With heavy steps, she approached the gate and keyed in the passcode. It beeped to show an incorrect passcode got entered. She tried again, this time focusing on each number her finger punched. The results were the same.
She sneered. How quickly had he changed the codes. Just like that, he had shut her off in his life. However, Serene was naturally stubborn and did not want to give up. She knocked on the gate and called for the helper, but nobody came.
The sky is getting darker. His secretary said that he did not have any dinner engagements. So she waited for him. She sat by the gutter to wait for him. He will go home eventually. Anxiousness filled her heart the longer she stayed sitting in the gutter waiting for him. Looking up, she saw the sky littered with stars. It's already nighttime, and he has not yet arrived.
Serene rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes. She tightened her embrace on her knees as the frosty night breeze hugged her.
A blinding light woke her up. Lifting her head, she saw Justin's car ahead. Because she had been sitting for quite a while, her legs became numb, making standing up a little difficult, but she persisted. She gritted her teeth as she forced herself to stand up and walk towards Justin's car.
"Justin, please let's talk," she said while knocking on his window.
Justin looked at the woman before him. Her hair dishevelled probably from the night wind, her eyes swollen. She looked haggard and aggrieved. His heart tightened at the sight of her. The feeling of tenderness he had only lasted a flicker and got replaced with anger. He recalled how Bryan held her in his arms.
He got out of his car, making her stagger and almost lose her balance.
"Justin, you're back!" Serene said. Her lips stretched into a pained smile.
"Didn't I say I don't want to see you?" he spat his words as he looked down on her.
"Justin, please let's talk. Please, Justin..." she pleaded, a fresh wave of tears leaked out from her eyes.
"There's nothing to talk about Serene. I saw what I saw. How could you refute that?"
"I'm not refuting it. But ---"
"but what? You're not content with having just one man, is that it?"
Serene felt livid from the insinuation. "Justin, I have never cheated on you. Not once. Not ever."
"Ha! Save your lies, Serene. I was a fool to believe you once, but I will not fall for your trap again."
"I never lied to you, Justin. I have been honest from the start. I told you my apprehensions and my hesitations right off the bat. But you never trusted me, did you?"
"You always held a doubt about me at the back of your mind, and that's what's eating you now. Justin, all I'm asking is for you to listen to me. Please, Justin, don't push me away. I need you, please..."
"I won't make the same mistake twice. Go away, Serene. Get out of my life. I don't want to see you ever again."
"No... No...No." Serene shook her head and covered her ears with her hands. "Justin, please don't do this... please Justin, don't leave me."
She wanted to hug him. She had just barely touched his body, but he pushed her away, making her fall from the ground.
"I said, get out of my life!" he angrily spat his words, then got back in his car and entered the villa. Not even bothering to give her a second glance.
His words further shattered her heart into pieces. She did not know what hurt more, the pain she felt from falling to the ground or the tightening in her chest. She could not believe that she's in the same situation as before she's getting abandoned again. However, unlike before, this time, Justin categorically stated that she did not belong in his life.
She got up from the ground, but with much effort and difficulty, and looked up to the direction of his bedroom. The lights were still off. He's probably in his study finishing up work. She bitterly laughed at herself for thinking about what he was doing now, when he probably already slept to his heart's content.
Her heart ached not so much from the pain he inflicted, but for the void he left in it. She never felt so alone and devastated in her life. She hugged herself tightly as the night wind grew colder, biting her flesh.
She stubbornly stood in front of his villa. She did not want to leave because she knew that if she left, there would be no turning back. Elaina's words rang in her ears.
"Please do not give up on him when such a time comes. This is the first time I saw my son love as deeply as he loves you. And the deeper that love is, the more intense his insecurity will be."
She will wait for him until the morning. And so, she stood there like a sentinel in the dark, braving the stiff wind and the light drizzle of rain that came in the night. Holding on to the hope that Justin's heart will eventually open up and take her back.000000000000000