Standing before Love

“I’ll be busy, so I won’t be joining you.” With that, Myra gave Estelle a wink before turning to leave.

On the other hand, Estelle gaped at her as she left, so much so that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. No longer able to suppress her anger, she let out a howl. “Myra Stark, you rascal! What did Shawn promise you? Let go of me, you b*stard! I’ll break both of your legs if you dare touch me—Um—” Her voice was muffled out, and things soon heated up.

Myra paused before smiling out of relief. It’s time someone teach her a lesson. From what she could see, Shawn’s feelings toward Estelle were genuine, so she was certain Shawn would treasure Estelle.

Myra arrived at the cafeteria on time, but Lyla was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t in a hurry, so she ordered a glass of lemonade after taking a seat. After some thought, she ordered another glass. While sipping on her drink, she glanced at the bustling street view outside. The sun had set rather early. As darkness descended, the street lights lit up one by one, giving the city a warm glow.

“It has been a while since we last saw each other. You are as punctual as ever, Miss Stark.”

A familiar lilt came from behind her, but her countenance shifted at the sound of such a pleasant voice. Cafeterias were designed to be more enclosed, so Myra’s table was blocked from view by a thick bamboo growth. When she turned around, she saw Lyla pushing the bamboo aside, from which her slim figure emerged.

Lyla observed Myra, who quickly schooled her expression, with a smile on her dainty lips. Then, she took off her sunglasses slowly, placing them on the table in front of her. “Does this place look familiar to you?”

The pianist in the cafeteria had just finished a splendid performance of ‘Für Elise,’ which was followed by a sparse applause. However, the two of them seemed to be isolated in their own world, the tense atmosphere between them setting them apart from the crowd.

Myra held a sophisticated glance. She knew what Lyla meant. Back when Eve forced Lyla to leave the city, Myra asked to meet her in the exact same cafeteria. Two years later, it was still in business. Back then, the atmosphere between them was even more awkward. But on second thought, Myra recognized that it might very well just be a matter of perspective. Not wanting to waste time beating around the bush, she cut to the chase. “Didn’t you tell me you would like to talk about what happened to Sean’s baby that you carried?”

Although Myra tried her best to hide her feelings of unease, Lyla could read her like an open book. With a smile on her face, Lyla asked, “Why the rush? I have plenty of time to tell you the full story.”

Lyla let out a chuckle while staring at Myra with an ever broadening smile. It had only been two years, and despite the fact that they had returned to the same place, both of them had opposite mentalities compared to how they used to think back then.

“Myra, I have to say, you’re even more useless than I thought.” Lyla gave her a once-over before letting out a chuckle. “You’re as disgusting as ever. You didn’t even manage to win Sean over.”

There was a drastic shift in Myra’s countenance when she shot up from her seat abruptly.

“Don’t you want to know about the child?” Lyla was unaffected despite Myra’s reaction, as if she was certain that Myra wouldn’t leave. “You’re free to go if you don’t think you want the answers.”

With that, Lyla sat down to take a sip out of the lemonade in front of her with slight disdain. Sure enough, Myra didn’t leave. Instead, she was clutching onto the strap of her bag, and managed to calm herself down within a short time. Then, she called for a waiter. “I would like to have some more water please.”

After that, she sat back down, and a heavy silence hung in the air between them. Just when Lyla arched her brow, Myra spoke up languidly. “I know why you’re here. Even if you didn’t come back, I’ll soon be divorcing Sean anyway.”

That short sentence seemed to have taken a whole lot out of her. However, she knew she owed Lyla an explanation, since she was the one who made the promise. Although nothing dictated that she had to follow through on the promise, she acknowledged that it was, nonetheless, a breach of trust.

Memories of Sean’s aloofness toward her in the past two years prompted her to squeeze her hands together while wearing a self-deprecatory expression. “He never liked me. On the contrary, he loved you all the same despite the hatred that he harbored toward you. If you’re here to protest, I’ll have you know that you already won. In fact, you always had the advantage,” she said. Meanwhile, I’ve always been on the losing end.

“Won?” Lyla smiled. Although her smile was dainty, Myra couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread when she saw that. “I have not won, at least for now. Do you know what is it that makes me hate you the most?” Lyla asked.

The smile on her face melted away as she stared at Myra’s dark and alluring eyes with a vicious glint. “I hate you for having the support of your family despite having done nothing to deserve it! I hate that Eve would beg for you to marry Sean even though you didn’t even put in any effort! Myra Stark, why do you get to have things that are way better than those that I possess when I’m so much better than you?”

At that moment, the light in Lyla’s eyes had died out, and something dark took its place. Her intense stare sent a shiver down Myra’s spine. Begrudgingly, Myra retorted, “I don’t even want my family if I get to choose.” After all, she had no qualms parting with everyone and everything related to her father.

“Those are but hollow words!” Lyla took a second to scan her surroundings, a hint of menace fleeting across her gaze. “It’s all because you never experienced all the hardships that normal people like me have experienced! Speaking of which, I have never seen someone as shameless as you. Who are you to meddle in my relationship with Sean? Who do you think you are? The Messiah? Aren’t you being a little too haughty?”

Myra squeezed her hands together when Lyla was going all out on her. “You can’t hide anything from me! I know your b*tch of a mother was the one who undermined your father’s relationship with another woman that he liked! However, she did receive her karma, having been reduced to a madwoman who ended her own life! As for you—”

Before Lyla could finish, she was given a loud, hard slap on the face. She wore an odd expression while observing Myra, whose chest was heaving due to anger. Then, she let out a chuckle. “Myra, you should blame yourself for going back on your word. If only you’d honored our agreement, nothing would’ve happened, including everything that happened after…”

All of a sudden, Lyla’s gaze became even weirder. After that, she snatched the glass of water in front of Myra to splash it on herself while Myra watched in bafflement. In the meantime, the weird look in her eye transformed into one of innocence and weakness.

As tears rolled down her cheeks, she retrieved a stack of photos from her bag before spreading them out on the table. Then, she began lamenting, “Myra, I know you don’t like Sean, but you’re still a married couple, so how can you do this to him? You should come at me if you hate me. I don’t mind begging for your forgiveness, so please don’t do this to him…” By the end of her words, she sniffled.