After they returned home, Liam kept staring at Susie. Although he didn’t speak, she knew what he wanted to ask.
Liam was full of curiosity, but he decided not to ask anything since Susie didn’t bring it up.
Susie thought for a moment and concluded that there was nothing wrong if she wanted to talk about it. After all, she also had her own blindness to blame. How could she not see through his gentle and elegant facade?
“He used to be my boyfriend when we were in college. We met in high school and dated in college. We had also decided which company we would apply to after we graduated, but he cheated on me with another girl. Then he decided to leave this island after we graduated.”
“Susie, you have such poor taste,” Liam said disdainfully.
“Judging from your expression, I can tell that things aren’t simple between both of you.”
“You can tell? Was I that obvious about it?” Susie asked in confusion.
“It is! You might as well have the words ‘I hate Bastian’ written all over your face! Moreover, you’re avoiding the reunion party because of him. Tsk, tsk!” Liam said.
“Hey! He did accompany me during the most difficult period of my life after my parent’s passed away. I didn’t think he would cheat on me later,” Susie said with a sigh.
“At first, we had good grades and were both recommended by our teachers to study abroad. It was a famous school and it meant everything to me! Then Bastian framed me and went abroad with the girl he cheated on me with.”
Liam didn’t expect to hear this kind of story. He first thought Bastian was simply a sc*mbag, but he never expected him to have such an awful personality. It seemed that a person’s appearance could always conceal a horrid personality within.
“There, there. Don’t be sad. You shouldn’t dwell on the past,” Liam said as he patted Susie’s head and comforted her gently.
“I’m not sad! I thought he went overseas permanently, so I didn’t expect to see him here today. What bad luck I have!” Susie exclaimed as she avoided Liam’s hand that was inching towards her head.
“Are you running from me? Do I need to remind you that you called me your boyfriend earlier? Now it’s my turn to collect what I’m owed,” Liam said unhappily when he saw Susie’s reaction.
“I-I’m not a loser! I just get so angry when I think about him! I want to prove him wrong and let him know that I’ve found a better person!” Susie said with a blush on her face.
Liam was very happy when Susie referred to him as a “better person”, but he didn’t let it show on his face.
“You’ve finally improved your sense of taste! So, are you still going to avoid the reunion party?”
“No way! Honestly, I was quite busy in the past!” Susie retorted.
“Alright, you were busy. You should bring me along with you this time!” Liam said with a smile. He didn’t pursue the matter any further.
“Bring you along?” Susie asked in confusion. She continued, “What does my reunion party have to do with you?”
“Didn’t you call me your boyfriend earlier? As someone close to you, why can’t I participate? Besides, what if Bastian bullies you again?” Liam asked confidently.
Although Susie said that she was no longer concerned about the matter, Liam was still worried. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have avoided Bastian for so many years by not attending the reunion parties. This time, Liam would accompany her and protect her if Bastian decided to do anything.
Susie could tell that Liam was quite concerned about her, and she felt a warm feeling envelop her heart.
At that time, she was just a young and ignorant individual. Her feelings for Bastian weren’t as deep as she thought they were.
Perhaps it was because she had grown up with Bastian that he managed to help her move on when she found herself immersed in deep sadness after her parents passed away.
At that time, Bastian cared a lot about her and accompanied her through her darkest days.
Susie appreciated what Bastian had done for her. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have been able to move on from her parent’s death so quickly.
She had been surprised and elated when Bastian confessed his love for her in college, and she accepted his confession in a daze. Did he really have feelings for her? Susie didn’t know. But she felt thoroughly betrayed when she learned that Bastian had cheated on her.
After her parents passed away, Bastian was the only one who treated her kindly. However, she now had Liam by her side.
Although Liam sometimes had a cold and distant look on his face, he had a warm heart and took good care of Susie.
“Mum, Dad, you must be happy to watch over me from heaven. Now, I have good friends and Keani by my side. I have moved on from my grief. Don’t worry! I will be sure to live my life to the fullest!” Susie thought.
“Why are you in a daze? Your phone has been ringing for a while now. Aren’t you going to answer it?” Liam asked as he looked at Susie, who had been sitting on the sofa. He stepped forward and waved his hand before her eyes.
Susie finally came back to her senses when she saw his hands waving in front of her.
“Hello?”
“Ah! Susie! You must tell me the truth! Who was the man who answered the phone just now? His voice is so magnetic and pleasant! Are you living together?” yelled a voice from Susie’s phone. She felt like she had almost gone deaf from the screaming.
Susie recognised that voice. It was her good friend who she had known since high school and university. Although her friend had moved away after they graduated, they would often meet up during the holidays. They would also call and text each other frequently and maintained a firm friendship.
“Yilia, you’re too loud! You’ve almost disturbed my neighbours almost with your shouts.”
“Oh, c’mon! You’re exaggerating! Hey, don’t change the topic! Be honest with me,” Yilia said.
“His voice sounds so nice! He must be quite handsome!”
“It’s just my distant cousin who is here for a visit. He looks rather handsome, I guess? Don’t think too much about it,” Susie said helplessly, using the same excuse that she had used multiple times.
“Oh? Distant cousins? It’s not strange for distant cousins to love each other! After all, he is a man, and you are a woman! I don’t believe that nothing is going on between both of you!”
Susie knew that Yilia wouldn’t believe her after she heard Liam’s voice.
“Nonsense! There’s nothing between us!” Susie exclaimed. She mercilessly broke Yilia’s fantasy.
“Oh, c’mon!”
“Alright, what do you want me to do this time?” Susie asked. She knew that Yilia wouldn’t call her just to reminisce about their youth.
“Oh? You’ve noticed? You know, the class monitor called me. He said that you’ve been avoiding the reunion parties each year! He thought you had a problem with him. Moreover, he knew we are besties so he asked me to invite you this year. What a pain!”
Susie felt a little helpless when she heard what Yilia said. She wasn’t mad at the class monitor.
“I know you don’t want to see that person, but I can’t tell the class monitor that!”
“I mean, there’s always a handful of people who will be absent from the reunion every year, but it’s a little strange that you’ve been missing consecutively. Everyone always asks me so many questions about you, but I’ve already run out of excuses to give! Now I have to find a new excuse for you this year…”
Yilia knew what happened between Susie and Bastian. They were classmates in high school at that time, and they ended up staying in the same dormitory in college! Susie would often consult Yilia when she made decisions.
“Fine, I’ll go this year,” Susie said.
“What?!” Yilia cried in disbelief. She continued, “I’ve just come up with an excuse! Now you said you’re going!” Yilia had always understood Susie very well and hadn’t expected her to agree.
“Yes,” Susie replied in amusement.
“I thought you were avoiding Bastian?”
“Why should I avoid him? It’s been such a long time, and everyone is meeting up as ordinary classmates,” Susie said indifferently.
Yilia felt relieved when she heard Susie’s tone. She had been worried that Susie might lose control of her emotions if she attended the party. But it seemed that she had overthought matters.
“Alas! I no longer have to worry about it! You know, the class monitor thought that I didn’t want to invite you! I had to defend myself!”
“Are you sure?” Susie asked in surprise.
“After all, you skipped every reunion party so far. Don’t worry, the number of people attending differs each year. Everyone misses you dearly too because it’s been such a long time!”
Susie recalled how everyone went their separate ways after they graduated. Once familiar faces now felt foreign to her, and she missed her simple student life.
Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t worth it for her to avoid the reunion party because of one person. After all, she had been close to a few other classmates. However, they might’ve changed their numbers as time passed and Susie was left out of the loop. What a shame!
“Your classmate?” Liam asked when he saw that Susie had hung up.
“Yeah.”
“She sounds quite lively,” Liam commented. He had been listening to the conversation because Yilia’s voice was too loud.
For a moment, Susie didn’t know how to respond. Yilia had always been very lively and hadn’t changed much.
Liam found Susie’s speechless expression rather funny.
Meanwhile, the class monitor sent a message in the class group after he received a message from Yilia-“Everyone! Susie-who has been absent all this while-has finally decided to attend! Please, we must all free up our schedules and attend the party! Everyone must be present during this year’s reunion party!”
The class monitor rubbed his hands as if he was planning something grand.
If Susie were to see the message, she wouldn’t know how to react. After all, she had left the group chat after the incident because Bastian was part of the chat.
There were a handful of people who weren’t part of the group chat, and the class monitor sent them a personal message to inform them. The class monitor was really concerned about everyone.
“It’s not easy for everyone to meet up, so it’s good enough if everyone decided to attend,” thought the class monitor.