Chapter Three: Cankerworms

Rena's mind journeyed back to the present as she wore a sour look. "This part is so embarrassing. I don't even like remembering it." She confessed.

"Does that mean you would be jealous if you met her again?"

"What are you talking about? Who said I was jealous? By the way, what have you learned up till now?"

"Wait. Just in case you're wondering, I'm still a virgin!" Julian exclaimed as she raised her hand in surrender.

"I didn't even ask that but, okay." Rena replied subtly. "Anyway, the lesson from this part is that a romantic love doesn't have to be erotic. Amen?"

"Yes, ma'am." The girl agreed.

"Thank you. Also, like the theme implies, it's extremely important for both parties to have a common ground or basis of understanding and if they have this, but do not communicate, it won't work either."

"I guess we agree on a few things." Julian said with uncertainty in her tone.

"Who?"

"Jonathan and I." She replied.

Rena's face twisted into a sour frown on hearing the name.

"Well? How did you handle jealousy and the lady?"

"You see... don't emulate this. I'm just telling you so that the story connects."

She continued to recall;

•••

"Would you like to join us or you want to eat out?- I'm so sorry. I would have prepped if I knew you were coming.

Come to think of it, this is the first time you're visiting my place."

Rena was silent as he spoke, gushing with excitement.

"It's fine. I'll eat here." She replied. She had decided to stay because she wanted to find out the exact relationship the girl shared with Maxwell- her man!

"Food is ready." The Stella-girl poked her head out into the living room as she announced.

"Let's go." Maxwell spoke with the same glint in his eyes.

Rena helped him up and they walked to the dining.

"For our visitor," Stella pulled out a chair for Rena, wearing a half-baked smile. When the latter was seated, she also helped her friend sit.

"So, how long have you both been together?" The girl asked.

"It's only been a few weeks." Maxwell replied.

"A month." Rena chipped in. "Four weeks make a month," she whispered to Maxwell.

"Yea, you're right." He remarked.

Rena and Stella shared a look- she wasn't sure what the look was all about but the environment was definitely tensing up.

Nevertheless, they all dug into the meal- noodles. Stella had made stir-fry noodles!

"Only a month?! Maxwell and I have been friends for seven years." Stella commented.

Rena pursed her lips as her fork danced inside strings of the hot, spicy noodles. Her veins bulged through her forehead.

"So, uhm Rena ... what kind of name is that? It sounds foreign. Have you lived abroad?...

Wait. I hope you you're not like one of those spoilt rich brats." Stella kidded and giggled mischievously.

Rena boiled over with anger and embarrassment.

"I also heard you were sick. How is your health now? ... Are you enjoying the meal?- Max likes to cook a lot so I hope rich kids like yourself can, too." She blabbered on.

"Uhm, Rena. Isn’t it getting late? Would you want to leave?" Maxwell who understood the delicate nature of the situation asked.

"Yes, please." She replied bluntly as they both stood up from their seats.

"Oooh... rich girl has a curfew." Stella teased further.

But Rena didn't hear that one because she and Maxwell had already left from the dining.

"What is that?!"

"Rena ... I'm very sorry about the embarrassment." He placed a hand on her shoulder and apologised once they reached the living room.

"I'm not talking about the embarrassment. I'm talking about that!- her." She pointed towards the dining room.

"Stella can be a handful sometimes but I'll talk to her."

"You had better done that because I can't put up with that! Why is she even here?"

"She's a friend, Rena and maybe one day ... you two would hit it off and get along."

"She's so razz and rude!- even Nike is far more put-together."

Maxwell smiled at the statement. "Yea." He replied.

"I'm going home. I guess I'll call you ... or not."

"Just like that?" He asked in shock.

"Yea, goodbye." She spotted the white cellophane bag she had come with and picked it up.

"Here." She gave it to him. "Feel better soon ... and invite me to your place sometime- probably when that animal of a girl is not here!"

"Come on. Rena!"

The door slammed shut- she had left.

"So she's finally gone." Stella commented as she strode into the living room.

"Shut up."

"What? ... she's not even fashionable, Max. Were you ill when you fell in love?!" She burst into mocking laughter.

"Leave." He thundered.

"Fine. Sorry. I'll come back for my boots. My feet were killing me, so I took them off. I'll borrow your slippers. Thank you!"

She left with a satisfactory smile as the door slammed shut.

Maxwell sank into his chair and heaved a weighted sigh.

A coy smile crawled up his lips as he realised ... she could've been jealous!

•••

"And then she called me a spoiled brat! A spoiled brat!"

Rena sputtered as she diced down a colony of vegetables on the kitchen slab.

"Stella can be like that, sometimes."

"Even to you?" She asked in slight annoyance and curiosity mingled in her voice.

"Well, I'm used to it." He gulped down the orange juice in his cup and stretched out the empty glass to her, beaming with anticipation like a toddler. Rena refilled his cup.

"I can't get used to her; she's rude and annoying. Why and how do you even put up with her?"

She lit the cooker and placed a skillet on it.

"Why?" He asked soothingly ... too soothingly- suspiciously soothing.

"What do you mean why?" Rena stopped what she was doing and turned, waving a wooden spatula in her hand.

"I mean why does it bother you that much?" He repeated with that eerie glint in his eyes that consisted a bit of mischief and amusement as he sipped from his glass.

"Because of who I am to you. And also, why would you even keep a person like that in your life for God sakes?! What are you gaining from such a toxic person? Blah!"

She stuck out her tongue in irritation and made a sour expression with her face.

In response, he chuckled.

"Stella has been my friend since we were teenagers."

"Is she your ex? ... I mean, did you date as teenagers?" She asked with fury and desperation in her eyes.

"Rena ... why would you ask that?"

"I'm ... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." She brushed imaginary hair out of her face and turned to face what she'd been doing in an attempt to hide the embarrassment.

Though she had the right to ask!- it was eating deep into her and it made her skin crawl and her blood boil over!

Maxwell noticed that she was a wreck. He loved it!- it made him feel ... well, good to know that he had an 'effect' on her.

"But we did; once." He remarked with mischief in his tone, watching for her reaction.

Rena's heart wrenched.

"What?!" She exclaimed and abruptly turned towards him. There was a short-lived look of dread in her eyes right before she composed herself, but he saw it.

His only mistake was mistaking the hurt he'd seen in her eyes for some kind of desire or devotion to him.

"But it was a long time ago." He added and further sipped his drink, feeling elated to push more of her buttons.

He seemed unusually calm and it made her skin crawl.

"And you didn't deem it fit to tell me?- I easily told you about my dating history!" She yelled, completely losing control of her emotion.

The corners of her eyes had even begun to water, but he didn't notice it.

"That's because you don't have one." He pushed her further.

Rena's heart sank on hearing the words. She gaped at him like a bewildered idiot, trying to recognise the person sitting in the chair- it just wasn't him..

"Are you serious with me right now? ... Maxwell!" She snapped- grabbed the kitchen towel off the slab and aggressively flung it at him.

"Rena..." he called her name and struggled a bit to get off his seat with the crutches.

He nursed a smirk at the corner of his lips, still taking it all as some sort of entertainment.

"Rena!" Seeing her not stop, he called once more as he limped into his living room. "I'm sorry. Please don't go." He uttered with regret in his voice.

She stopped at the door with her hand on the knob. Then she turned towards him. Maxwell saw them- tears! She was crying?... he thought to himself, feeling a stronger wave of guilt and confusion.

He watched her cover a bit of the distance between them as her stony expression softened.

"I wasn't going to leave." She said soberly. Something melted away inside of Maxwell, but then she added; "because I forgot my bag!"

Rena reached down and picked up her black leather bag from a stool where she had left when she arrived earlier.

Then she came even nearer, leaving a few inches between them.

"I came here hoping I could pour my heart out to you since in the first place, you were hurt because I was ... distant!" She barked out the last word. "But it turns out that you're either an insensitive jerk ... or a plain moron!" She thundered as tears now flowed freely from her eyes.

Maxwell froze on the spot watching her cry as words stuck in his throat. "I

..." he stuttered- barely in a whisper.

"It's okay!" She stuck her palm out to him. "I don't need any explanation... but you need help."

"Rena..." he called in a quaking voice and grabbed her passionately.

She jerked out of shock, not expecting the action. Before she could turn around completely or understand what he was doing, Maxwell had kissed her.

Rena paused in motion and slowly lifted her head after the action was done.

Maxwell watched her silent melodrama, hoping his sudden action didn't stun her too much.

He watched her face redden- embarrassment, he thought it was but he was wrong when rushes of hot tears streamed down her face.

Rena suddenly raised a hand and tore a brutal slap across his face.

"How dare you, What has come over?!..." she ran out of the house and slammed the door.

The intensity at which she'd run out of his house made Maxwell feel like a monster... like he'd done something ... heinous!... shame crept up him.

•••

It was a Thursday; a demure casual day

like any other. Rena laid on her bed with her feet up and leaning across the wall right by her window.

She had no scheduled meetings at Crawford Arts for that day so she'd been home all morning in a white polo and her tithes.

Mummy was out shopping for lunch- ogbono soup ingredients; she was on a hot streak with the whole traditional dish revolution and daddy who was in full support of it had driven her to the local market.

Honestly, the woman was sheer serious with it- she'd bought lineups of traditional cookbooks.

As for Nike- she just needed a break from the girl sometimes because she could be... too much.

Rena was rhythmically bouncing a small green ball off the wall and thinking of brunch since she'd slept into breakfast time.

Ideas skipped across her mind- a bread and butter sandwich or probably Nutella, Nike's stir-fry sandwich or maybe stir-fry noodles instead? ... perhaps snacks or small chops?... she imagined.

Suddenly, sleep took her eyes.

Her mind blurred into a familiar light... 'The place of gray'- or at least, that was what it once was...

Reality folded up before her eyes as her body lightened. She stepped into the old place- her good old mind.

"Welcome. It's been a while." The throne attendants greeted as she entered. Rena gaped in wonderment at just how beautiful the place had become since she'd last visited.

"I love what you've done with the place." She remarked.

"Thanks. Pleasure is all mine!" The man in the white tux replied with a cheery smile.

"Can I see the other rooms?" She asked in curiosity.

"Of course, sure! Why don't we start with this one?!" He asked as they walked down the now brightly lit hallway and stopped at a red wooden door with the sign; "Insecurities."

"Wow." Rena said with a sigh. "Let's do it." She muttered as he pushed the door open without needing a key.

"Why didn't you... I thought I entrusted you with the keys to each of these doors?!" She asked in shock, also noticing that there were no able-bodied suited men at the door like there were at the other doors.

"Didn't you read the sign? I don't have the key to this one because it's well ... not secure." He replied as they entered.

When they entered, it was well- a room! ... but with so many disorganised drawers and cupboards.

Stuff that was meant to be sequentially arranged like it was in the other rooms weren't.

"Why is it so ... trashed in here?" Rena asked.

The man pulled out chairs and a desk for them to sit at.

"You know ... I'm not the only one who comes here. The enemy is keen on this room but of course he is, it's the only one I can't protect right now."

"Okay ... so, if this room is for my Insecurities, then what are all these files that are suffering from the insecurity?" She asked.

"All these files are the remains of the precious and delicate fragments of your soul that have been suppressed due to those Insecurities." He explained and poured some red wine into a glass.

"Am I supposed to drink that?" Rena asked in curiosity.

"Not without first knowing why." He replied and stared keenly at her. "Why did you slap him?"

"Because he kissed me! ... and I specifically made it known to him that I am not comfortable with physical contact."

"That is not the answer I am looking for, Rena. What I am asking is what you felt that caused you to hit him."

"Well..." She hesitated. "He ... when he did it, he made me feel ... things. Things inside that I don't want to feel. I can't explain it but it feels like-"

"Desire?"

"No! I mean, maybe. I don't know."

"Or you don't want to know. Rena listen, feeling emotions is human. It's how you manage them that makes the difference and defines you as more than just human.

Max didn't kiss you because he desired you. He did it because he hoped to convince you through that action that indeed you matter to him and he values you ... even far above Stella.

Though he didn't make his point in the best way, he still tried to. That doesn't mean he's right!"

"I'm sorry. But, why am I this way?"

"You see, it's in the human nature to recognise the unknown as danger. Rena, this is all new to you since you've never even experienced anything close to this before now.

But if I can walk you through it, you'd have enough understanding of it not to hold back and build your own defences around your beautiful, delicate self."

"Well, if I built walls, why can the enemy still penetrate?"

"Because Rena, those walls aren't full proof and secure. I've known that guy longer than you have so I know all his tricks and how to create the perfect security system, dear."

"Okay. Thanks a lot. But, how then do I fix this?" She asked in genuine concern.

"It's not going to be easy; for him that is. It's true that you've learned to be more open but he'll have to learn to value you, else this relationship cannot work." He explained.

"So in essence you're saying..."

"We'll be unraveling all the pitfalls causing this insecurity and help you loosen up in those aspects.

And as for him, you'll give him some space and set some boundaries but not after apologising for hitting him."

"Understood. How do I unravel the pitfalls in myself that are causing these insecurities?"

"He'll still be in this part of the learning process. I'm going to be teaching you how to make your partner value you in a courtship while still not holding back on them." The man explained further.

Rena felt slightly distraught.

"I don't understand." She said. "I'm not avoiding him?..." she asked as her voice suddenly echoed in the room.

"Drink up, Rena." He said.

She lifted the glass and emptied it into her mouth, gulping down the grape red liquid.

Her vision blurred and her body felt heavy again...

Rena opened her eyes; it was over. She quickly looked around for her cell phone, found it and dialed Maxwell's number.

When it rung, she hesitated, feeling a slight pang in her chest.

"He was the one who started it ... should I be apologising?" She muttered under her breath.

But then again, it was too late.

"Hello?" A voice echoed at the other end of the line- it wasn't his.

Rena felt her heart wrench as her teeth gritted fiercely.

"Maxwell's in the bath right now." The familiar feminine voice spoke at the end of the line; Stella.

Rena opened her mouth for words but only a faint gasp escaped. She hung up and flung the device across her bed and put her feet back up on the wall, thinking to herself.

I can't let things affect me like this, she assured herself. "He needs to know that he doesn't have a hold on my emotions." She muttered under her breath as her bedroom door suddenly swung open.

"Rena! Come help me in the kitchen." Mummy had returned from the market. No brunch for her.

•••

Don't go to his house unless it's absolutely necessary ... don't dress for him; your body is still yours ... Be open not reckless ...

She stuck the last piece of the sticky notes on the board and looked at the work so far, feeling satisfied.

"Now all I have to do is to memorize and follow them."

"Sorry oh." Nike who sat on the bed chewing on a packet of chips interrupted. "But, this is still the same dating that everyone else is doing, right?"

"Are you mocking my method?" Rena asked in slight annoyance.

"That's if you put it like that because me, I don't feel all this is necessary." Nike pointed her oily fingers at the board as she spoke.

"Then thank God we're not doing things based on how you feel." Rena retorted and slapped her oily fingers away.

"Meaning what, na?"

"Meaning I need you to just support me." Rena sunk into the mattress right beside Nike.

"But how do I support what I don't understand. You know you've not yet told me what this is." She emptied the crumbs at the bottom of the packet into her mouth.

"Okay." Rena sat up on the bed. "This is like ... a guide but it's just for me personally because I'm going through a phase that I have to be able to open up to him in such a way that he would still respect me."

"Hmm... ok. If you say so. Where did you get this idea from?"

"I prayed, Nike." She replied and got up from the bed, pacing.

"I mean the plantain chips; how did you come up with the idea of frying and stocking them in the snack shed?" Nike asked with enthusiasm in her eyes and voice.

Rena slouched and replied;

"It was mummy."

•••

Dry leaves took flight as a steady wind blew across Crawford on that fine afternoon. The weather was great and all, the sun was out and the skies were clear... but Rena wasn't at all in sync with nature's vibes.

Her heart half- wrenched and half-skipped a few beats at regular intervals. She'd taken the advice of the man in the white tux and had earlier suggested an outing ... with Stella included.

Somewhere in her heart, she wanted to prove that she didn't care and wasn't well ... insecure about anything concerning Maxwell- especially the rude girl!

Rena strode across the tar, making her way outside the yard to wait for them. As she stood there, the wind blew her dress and caused her slight, short-lived discomfort.

She blamed herself, though. Besides, she was at the chiffon game again but this time, in a short-sleeved, ankle-length flayed dress with abstract blockings of all the colours that soothed her and in all the nice shades too.

It was only a matter of time before a red Sienna pulled up right in front of her. She adjusted her dress and moved closer to the driver's seat. "Hello." She greeted subtly with rehearsed enthusiasm, not even bothering to make eye contact, despite his lingering gaze.

"Hi. You look ... good." He genuinely complimented.

"You're not so bad yourself. Hi, Stella." She greeted rather mechanically.

The greeted waved back. Maxwell opened the car door from inside and Rena hopped in.

"So where are we headed?" Stella excitedly asked from the back seat where she sat.

Rena looked quite absent-minded so Maxwell answered instead. "Let's go to a park!" He blurted with excitement in his eyes.

"Which of them?"

"Maybe Springfield Park!"

"Yea, the one we did your last birthday?"

"Stella, that was your birthday."

"But it's the park, right?"

"Yea, it is. It's at the G.R.A close to that foreign housing estate downtown."

"Oh yea... Remember when you really wanted to be a family doctor for that foreign couple and their son at Street B?!" She gushed with excitement as she recalled the fond memory.

"Let's not talk about that," Maxwell muttered and glanced at his Rena who sat, gazing out of the window; probably feeling clueless and left out.

Stella's expression turned sour.

"Rena where would you like to go?" He asked but she still looked lost.

Meanwhile inside of Rena's mind, she had already lost it and was struggling for oxygen and patience as she listened to them go on and on about fond memories.

She'd thought that she would be mature and make Maxwell understand that she was mature, in control of her own emotions, not vulnerable and all of that but ... it proved to be quite harder than she'd thought.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear Maxwell's question; even when he repeated it.

At that point, the young man took it to be that she was still somewhat upset with him, so he let her be, hoping to make it up to her during the rest of the outing.

•••

Springfield Amusement Park- they had arrived. Stella jumped right out in excitement once the vehicle stopped moving.

"We're here!" She exclaimed in her white tee and black boot cut jeans with both arms at akimbo.

From where Rena sat, she peeped out the car window and breathed in deeply. Suddenly, the car door swung open- it was Maxwell who had opened it. "Won't you come out?" He asked from where he stood outside with excitement in his eyes. She didn't reply, but she came out.

"Springfield," she muttered under her breath, wondering how she'd never seen this part of town before.

"This way." Maxwell placed a hand on the small of her back and led her towards the ticket booth. Stella had already gone ahead of them.

Rena froze once she felt his palm on her back but she composed herself with unnoticed steady deep breath and an emotionless expression that masked the unease she felt.

Suddenly, she saw the-Stella-girl running back towards them! "Maxwell!" She yelled, seemingly excited about something. "You'll never guess who it is." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her and away from Rena who stood there in bewilderment.

"Who is it?" He hesitated for a bit. Rena felt somewhat satisfied that he did. But then, Stella replied; "Miss Chi!"

The young man's eyes widened as his hand slid off Rena's back. He followed Stella in sheer excitement as they ran off into the crowd of people up front.

Rena stood there with her arms crossed, feeling her blood boil over with rage. Her heart wrenched as her face nursed a sour frown.

"I can't keep up with this." She muttered under her breath and sat on a bench that was just beside her.

Her skin crawled with dissatisfaction. She wondered if she had made a bitter mistake inviting her to come along with them but then again, what could she have done if it was left to just her and Maxwell..

She heaved a sigh, allowing the breeze that blew across the field to bathe her skin.

She anxiously watched her wristwatch as the minutes ticked by. Her stomach begun growling so she decided to get something to eat.

"Where can I?..." her voice trailed off as she looked around the large field- empty except for the crowd of people at the ticket booth. She needed to get a ticket first.

Rena thought it hopeless and decided to look for them instead. She stood up from the bench and started walking towards the crowd of people at the booth, hoping to spot either Maxwell of Stella somewhere ... but unfortunately, the crowd was too thick.

Rena decided within herself that she wasn't not going to plunge through a crowd of probably not-very-hygienic strangers so she went back to the bench to wait for a little while.

"What if they've gone in?" She muttered to herself, peering down at her wristwatch again and feeling panic well up in her.

She stood again but paced around this time around. When the crowd had loosened up, she went over to the booth and bought a ticket.

"Thank you," she said to the attendant at the booth and went into the main park.

Her stomach still growled fiercely, so she scouted out for nearby eateries or food vending booths ... while still looking to see if she could spot the duo anywhere.

At that point, she found one and began walking towards it, but felt hopeless. "How can he just do that?" She murmured to herself, feeling the pang in her chest return. "Why does he always do this?..." She pondered.

Rena pushed the restaurant door open and walked in. She spotted an isolated table that seemed to match her mood at the moment, so she sat there.

"Good day, ma'am. What would you like to have?" A waiter approached her and asked..

She sluggishly picked up the menu on the table and pointed at nothing in particular.

"I'll be right back with it." The young waiter said and left.

She poured herself a drink of water with the glass and jug that was already set on the table. As she gulped down it's content, she watched as Maxwell and Stella walked into the restaurant, beaming with smiles. Rena nearly choked on the liquid.

It was only a matter of time before they spotted her. "Hey!" Maxwell exclaimed as they neared.

"We were looking everywhere for you." He spoke as they both sat before her. "When did you get in? ... we went to say hi to our old secondary school teacher and when we returned, you had disappeared." He explained, still wearing a grin.

Rena tipped the glass and sipped her water idly. Momentarily, the waiter returned with her food.

"You even ordered without us." Stella remarked.

Rena glanced down at the platter; eba and White soup. She heaved a sigh and clutched her purse- she'd lost appetite.

In one swift motion, she rose from her seat and walked out on them and out of the restaurant.

•••

"And we're back to square one, aren't we?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But you said we were going to go out today and now you're on your lazy butt again."

"Because I changed my mind."

"Why?!"

"Because I realise that only bad things happen out there; it's why I hated going out in the first place. I wonder why I went."

"Oh God! Rena, what is wrong with you for crying out loud?! He's been here every other day since then and you've not even come down from your room to at least see him!"

"Too bad."

"Rena!"

"Hmm..."***

Rena suddenly stopped remembering but Julian wasn't at all pleased with that. Her face sunk in a sour frown as she gaped with expectation.

But this time, it wasn't her foster mother's fault.

A curvy, brownskinned woman in an afro had yelled out her name from the bedroom door.

"Nike!!..." Rena ran towards the door and embraced her friend.

"Good evening, aunty." Julian forced the courtesy, though she was displeased.

"I'll be waiting downstairs." The words rung in her ears as delightful echoes.

"Okay, so where was I?!" Rena asked in excitement and sat on the bed.

The teenage girl gazed at her, feeling satisfied and amazed. "Did you just send your friend away for me?"

"Yea, I did! But technically, I didn't send her away; she agreed to go wait downstairs." Rena explained and plunged back into her memories...

***"You need to stop all this rubbish and put yourself together." Nike looked at her friend in dissatisfaction.

"Nike, I am put together." She replied with a bland tone as she peered into the books before her.

"No, you're not. You've just been burying yourself in books and more books! What are you even reading?..." Nike tugged at Rena's books as they both struggled for them.

"Our final exams are in a week!" Rena yelled with gritted teeth.

"No ... there's more to it!" Nike was resilient and finally got a sheet of printed paper from the pile, but not without ripping off a piece of it by mistake.

"Nike!" Rena yelled in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, but you won't let me..." Nike's voice trailed as she gaped down at the sheet of paper in her hand.

Her expression was that of shock- not yet fathomable.

"Give me that!" Rena snatched the sheet back but it was too late already- Nike had seen the content.

"Rena ... why didn't you tell me you got in?!"

"I didn't want to blow my own trumpet till I was sure. I just decided to take their exam. I didn't ... really plan to get the-" she lied.

"We need to celebrate this. Mummy!" She squealed in excitement and attempted to run outside of the bedroom to call the attention of Mr and Mrs Dawson.

Momentarily, Rena ran her down and tackled her. "You can't tell them." She whispered into her ear.

"You haven't brushed your teeth." Nike replied in a whisper with a sour frown.

"Sorry." Rena apologised and got off her friend.

"But why? I don't understand" Nike spoke as she handed her the acceptance letter.

"You do realise that Bernard is in the Capital, right?" She asked with sadness and shock in her eyes.

"The Capital!" Nike exclaimed with both hands on her head.

"Yea and I don't know if they're ready to hear about it." She explained, suddenly wearing a sullen look.

"By they, do you mean Maxwell included?"

"He can go to hell," she muttered.

"Rena!"

"What?!"

"You've changed! Why are you so angry with the poor guy? He's been trying hard to win you back for the past two freaking months!"

"Oh please. He's the one that took me for granted in the first place."

"He took you for granted- yes, he's wrong for doing that but you are being overly paranoid for no reason. You wallow so much in self-pity that every pinch is like a blow and things like that keep eating you up like.. cankerworms!" She blurted angrily.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***