Jay's POV..
As we walked inside, a waitress approached us with a polite smile.
"Ma'am, your reserved seat is at table number 20. This way, please."
We followed her through the beautifully decorated restaurant. Meanwhile, my stomach was practically screaming for food.
Oh, the delicious food I was about to devour! Just thinking about it made my mouth water. Honestly, I deserved a grand feast after everything I had been through today.
But apart from my hunger, there was another thing bothering me.
Who exactly was this mysterious person Eva had been talking about?
Well, I was about to find out.
"Here we are, ma'am. Enjoy your meal!"
The waitress gestured towards the table before walking away.
And the moment I looked up, I froze.
My eyes widened.
My jaw practically dropped to the floor.
NO. WAY.
Was I hallucinating because of hunger? Had my brain finally decided to stop functioning?
Because sitting right in front of me was...
HIM.
And the moment he noticed me, he immediately stood up, looking equally shocked.
Well, correction.
He looked even MORE shocked thaan me!!
The one and only red-headed nerd.
YURI!!
Oh, for heaven's sake!
Of all the people in this entire city, why did it have to be HIM?
"Yuri… what are YOU doing here?" I asked, staring at him as if he had just risen from the dead.
He raised his eyebrows, clearly trying to process the situation himself.
"Same goes for you! What are you doing here, Jay Jay?"
Before I could answer, Eva looked between us with a confused expression.
"Wait a minute! Riri, do you know Jay Jay?"
RIRI??
I slowly turned my head towards her.
How on earth did SHE know Yuri?
"Eve, how do you know Jay Jay?" Yuri asked, completely ignoring her previous question.
"Excuse me? I ASKED FIRST! Answer me!"
"NO, YOU answer me first!"
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Were these two seriously going to start fighting over who got to ask the first question?
Good Lord!
They were both stubborn enough to argue with a wall and somehow expect the wall to apologise.
I folded my arms and watched them bicker.
Honestly, I should have brought popcorn.
"Um… well…" I finally interrupted, raising my hand slightly. "Yuri is my best friend."
"Jay Jay is my ex-fiancée."
We both spoke at the exact same time.
And then..
SILENCE.
Eva's mouth fell open.
She looked at Yuri, then at me, and then back at Yuri, as if she had just discovered the biggest plot twist of the century.
"So… you mean she's your EX?"
Yuri nodded.
Oh, wonderful.
Could someone please explain why my past relationships kept showing up everywhere I went? Was the universe running out of people to trouble me with?
"NOW," Yuri said, turning towards Eva, "tell me what you're doing with Jay Jay."
Eva immediately puffed out her chest and grinned.
"Well, I'm her SAVIOUR."
Wow.
JUST WOW.
Someone, please give this woman an award for saving me from a minor inconvenience.
And perhaps a trophy for her outstanding self-obsession.
Girl, humble yourself before I do it for you.
Yuri rolled his eyes at her dramatic announcement before turning towards me.
"Jay Jay, are you okay?"
His expression softened as he looked me over, checking if something was wrong.
For a moment, I forgot how irritating this man could be.
Despite everything, Yuri had always been someone who cared about me. Even after our engagement ended.But the thing I hate the most is his secrets.
"I'm fine," I assured him with a small smile.
Then, unable to control my curiosity, I glanced between him and Eva.
"So… are you two…?"
I deliberately left the question unfinished, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.
I was practically conducting a PhD in their relationship at this point.
Hehehe.
What? A girl has to stay updated on the latest gossip!
Eva immediately scrunched up her nose.
"NO WAY! He can't match my standards. Only wanwan can!"
I stared at her.
Then I stared at Yuri.
Then back at her.
Excuse me?
Did she just reject Yuri?
I mean, I wasn't complaining, but the confidence was impressive.
"Who's this WanWan?" I asked Yuri, genuinely curious.
"Her crush," he replied casually.
"Ohhh!"
I nodded like a detective who had finally solved a complicated murder mystery.
Interesting.
This information was definitely going into my mental gossip diary.
But before I could ask her a hundred more questions, she suddenly turned towards me.
"Now, Riri, tell me something. Why did your engagement break? I mean, you and she looked like a PERFECT couple!"
PERFECT COUPLE?!
I nearly choked on my own saliva.
WHAT?!
Was she serious right now?
I stared at her, trying to determine whether she was joking or had genuinely lost her mind.
Perfect couple, my foot!
I could feel my irritation rising by the second.
I only loved Keifer.
KEIFER.
And I would continue loving him no matter what.
No matter whatever people says!!
My heart had already made its choice.
And it wasn't Yuri.
"Actually, our engagement was arranged by our elders," Yuri explained calmly. "But she loved someone else, so we broke it off."
He said it so casually that I almost wondered whether he was discussing the weather.
Meanwhile, Eva's eyes widened.
Then she slowly turned towards me with an expression of complete disbelief.
"JAY JAY!"
I flinched.
"What?"
"You must be some kind of FOOL to reject someone like Yuri for your… what was it? Mr. Someone Else?"
I clenched my jaw.
Oh, this woman.
This woman was seriously testing my patience.
"I bet he can't even compare to Yuri!" she continued, shaking her head dramatically. "I mean, LOOK AT HIM! And you chose someone else over THIS?"
I stared at her in disbelief.
Was she actually comparing Keifer to Yuri?
KEIFER AND YURI?!
Those two names shouldn't even be in the same sentence when it came to my heart!
I felt an overwhelming urge to grab a pillow and scream into it.
No, wait.
A pillow wouldn't be enough.
I needed a whole mattress.
How could she say something like that without even knowing Keifer?
She didn't know how he made me feel. She didn't know the memories we shared, the way my heart reacted to his name, or how deeply I had fallen for him.His sacrifices.
And yet here she was, confidently declaring that he couldn't compare to Yuri.
Unbelievable!
I imagined myself giving her a punch and a very long lecture about why Keifer was irreplaceable.
Unfortunately, my imaginary lecture ended with me throwing a chair.
Ahem.
Violence wasn't the answer.
Especially not when the person I wanted to argue with had literally SAVED me earlier.
Yes, I remembered that little detail.
Annoyingly.
So, with every ounce of self-control I possessed, I plastered a sweet smile on my face.
A smile that probably looked more like a warning than an actual smile.
"Evelyn" I began, my voice suspiciously calm and In a dramatic tone, "you don't even know him."
"And I don't need to!" she replied confidently. "I have eyes!"
Oh, fantastic!
She had eyes!
Someone should inform the scientific community. This was groundbreaking news.
I took a deep breath and silently counted to ten.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four..
Nope.
It wasn't working.
Because there was simply NO WAY this girl could compare Keifer to Yuri!
Keifer was MY person.
And nobody..not even my self-proclaimed saviour..had the right to decide that he wasn't good enough for me.
I glanced at Yuri, who was watching the entire exchange with an expression that suggested he was thoroughly enjoying my suffering.
TRAITOR.
He could at least defend his former fiancée!
Instead, he looked like he was one second away from laughing.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Just wait, Mr. Red-Headed Nerd. Your turn will come.
Then I turned back to Eva, still wearing that dangerously sweet smile.
"Anyway," I said, forcing myself to sound cheerful, "can we PLEASE sit down and eat? Because I'm starving, and if this conversation continues for another five minutes, I might actually start eating the table."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Yuri burst out laughing.
Eva shook her head at me, muttering something ..
And me?
I simply sat down, picked up the menu, and tried to focus on the one thing that mattered most at that moment.
FOOD.
Because apparently, I still had to defend the love of my life against a girl who hadn't even met him.
What a peaceful day.
Nevermind.