Chapter 31:
Everything suddenly felt like one big joke.
I kept thinking back to all the moments when he had obviously been hiding things from me.
All this time… he had a fiancée.
A beautiful one. Elegant. Perfectly suited for his world.
And me?
What exactly was I doing there?
I should have known he was too good to be true.
As those thoughts kept swallowing me whole, I felt myself fading into the crowd, drowning in the noise and lights around me.
Then Lily's voice pulled me back.
"Lea… hey, earth to Lea. Are you okay?"
I turned toward her and simply nodded.
I couldn't even find the energy to explain what I was feeling.
So I left the room.
The sun had already begun to set, painting the sky in soft orange and purple shades as the night breeze brushed against my skin. Lily followed me outside and stood quietly beside me.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, trying to lighten the mood:
"So… does this mean you're the mistress? Sorry, I just had to ask. Should we leave?"
I looked at her and sighed.
Then, for some reason, tears started falling on their own.
Not sadness.
Not anger.
Not even bitterness.
Just exhaustion.
Mental exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion.
And the worst part?
I still loved him.
I didn't understand anything anymore. I just felt… out of place. Like I never should have come here in the first place.
Without saying anything else, Lily pulled me into a tight hug and stayed there with me quietly.
After calming down a little, I wiped my tears and prepared myself to leave.
But before we could—
Someone stepped onto the balcony.
Faye.
"Already crying, I see," she said softly.
For some reason, there was no mockery in her voice. She simply walked closer and leaned lightly against the balcony railing, staring at the beautiful night scenery ahead.
"I came to tell you one thing," she continued. "Jack already broke up with me."
Lily and I both froze.
"It hurts to admit it," Faye said with a faint smile, "but it's true. The situation is just… complicated because of family involvement."
She finally turned to look at me.
"But I'm going to let him explain everything to you himself."
The wind moved gently through her hair as she added:
"I hope that at least calms your mind a little."
Lily crossed her arms immediately.
"I don't think that really helps," she said bluntly. "We'll just leave now. You guys can continue with your wedding."
Faye lowered her eyes slightly.
"I just wanted to help. What you decide to do from here is up to you."
And with that, she quietly left the balcony.
But somehow…
I felt even more confused than before.
This whole situation felt like some dramatic movie—one of those stories where you desperately want to watch the next episode just to understand what's happening.
Except this time, I was inside the story.
And I hated it.
I had already cried from confusion, from shock, from discovering everything little by little instead of simply being told the truth.
Maybe I wasn't some brave heroine.
But at the very least, I knew when I wasn't needed somewhere.
So I left.
As Lily and I walked through the quiet streets, the warm night breeze felt strangely comforting.
Since I wanted to clear my head, I decided to walk back to the villa instead of taking the car.
Then suddenly—
"Hey, girls!"
We turned around and saw Beau jogging toward us.
"It really is you guys," he said, slightly out of breath. "I wasn't sure at first since you're dressed fancier than usual."
"I thought you already left," Lily said, visibly surprised. "Why are you still here?"
Beau scratched the back of his head awkwardly and looked away.
"I stayed one more day because… I wanted to see you again. After the way things ended yesterday, I've been trying to understand everything."
I looked between the two of them and immediately knew they needed to talk alone.
So I leaned closer to Lily and whispered:
"I think I'm going to walk by myself from here."
She instantly frowned.
"But Lea, you need support right now."
I smiled weakly.
"Don't worry about me. The night is beautiful… and I want to be alone for a little while. Go with him."
She still looked hesitant, but eventually nodded.
I waved goodbye and continued walking on my own, thinking:
At least one of us should get to experience a normal high school romance.
Extra Part: Lily and Beau at the Festival
As they walked toward the place Beau wanted to show her, Lily's heart refused to calm down.
Maybe it was the festival atmosphere.
Maybe it was nostalgia.
Or maybe…
It was simply him.
Before she could finish sorting through her thoughts, Beau suddenly stopped walking.
And there it was.
A beautiful waterfall cascading into a small glowing lake, illuminated by soft blue lights. The entire scenery looked straight out of a fairy tale.
Lily's eyes widened instantly.
"You like it?" Beau asked softly.
She couldn't even answer right away.
"It's beautiful…"
Beau smiled while watching her reaction.
"When I found this place, I immediately thought about you," he admitted. "Remember that fairy movie you used to love so much? This lake looked exactly like it."
Lily looked at him in shock.
"I can't believe you remembered that."
"I remember more things about you than you think."
Her heart skipped.
"This is amazing, B—"
The nickname slipped out naturally.
The moment she realized it, she immediately covered her mouth in horror.
But when she looked at Beau—
He was completely red.
A shy smile slowly spread across his face.
"I didn't know hearing you call me that again would make me this happy."
His voice sounded smaller. Softer.
Real.
"Come here," he said gently. "I prepared something."
Near the waterfall, Beau had set up a small picnic with festival food and several of Lily's favorite snacks.
And at the center of it all—
their famous barbecue meat sticks.
He grinned proudly.
"Of course, I had to include our specialty."
Lily was genuinely happy.
She sat beside him, eating, talking, laughing—
just like old times.
For a moment, it almost felt like nothing had ever happened between them.
At the center of the picnic box, only one strawberry remained.
The moment they both noticed it, they looked at each other and said in sync:
"It's on."
They immediately burst out laughing.
Back then, whenever there was only one piece of food left, they would settle it with rock-paper-scissors.
So naturally—
They started playing again.
Round one.
Tie.
Round two.
Tie again.
Round three—
Lily lost.
"No way!" she groaned dramatically while Beau celebrated his victory as he had just won the lottery.
"With great power comes great responsibility," he said proudly while grabbing the strawberry.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"You're so annoying."
Beau took a small bite from the strawberry before suddenly holding the remaining half toward her.
"Say ahhh."
Lily's heart instantly started pounding.
Without thinking, she automatically opened her mouth slightly—
then froze when she realized he was trying to feed her the other half.
Her entire face turned red.
Beau immediately started laughing.
And after staring at him for a few seconds in complete embarrassment—
Lily ended up laughing too.
It was stupid.
Simple.
But warm.
She had missed this feeling so much.
Missed him so much.
Then suddenly
Her smile faded.
She slowly stood up, holding a hand against her chest as if trying to calm her heartbeat.
"Why?"
Beau looked up at her, confused.
"Why did you leave me behind?" she asked quietly. "Why did you ignore me?"
Her voice trembled more with every word.
"Why are you acting like we can just go back to being friends like before… when the moment we return home, everything will probably go back to normal again?"
Beau's expression slowly fell.
"You know how I feel about you, and yet you still—"
Before she could finish—
Beau suddenly grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her down toward him.
Lily fell against his chest with a small gasp.
"Beau—!"
He wrapped his arms around her tightly before she could move away.
"I know," he whispered immediately. "I know all of that."
For the first time in a long while, his voice carried no teasing.
No performance.
No fake charm.
Just sincerity.
"I'm sorry, Lily."
She froze.
"For a long time, I stopped feeling anything real," he admitted quietly. "But today… being here with you like this…"
His grip around her tightened slightly.
"It reminded me of who I used to be."
Lily could hear his heartbeat pounding beneath her ear.
Real.
"I know rebuilding your trust won't be easy," he continued softly. "And honestly… I don't even know if I deserve another chance."
He lowered his voice even more.
"But I want to try."
Those words felt so foreign coming from him.
So honest.
So vulnerable.
And somehow—
That scared her more than the old Beau ever did.
Because a part of her wanted to believe him immediately.
Wanted to forgive him.
Wanted to go back.
And that terrified her.
Almost instantly, Lily pushed herself away from him, stood up quickly, and ran.
Leaving Beau alone beside the glowing lake.
Watching her disappear once again.