31. Frustating

"Why is he still coming to you? It's obvious you guys don't have anything to do with each other anymore," Hugo grumbled after his second encounter with Justin. Arleena remained silent. Justin's arrival was not what she wanted or expected. And that made Arleena feel like her mood was ruined. Throughout the trip, Arleena just looked out the window with her head resting on her hands. Arleena's mind replayed what Justin had said a few minutes ago. Even though she knew clearly that their canceled wedding plans were not his fault, but still. As time went on, Arleena was so moved by Justin's words that she lost focus. Arleena didn't know what was going on. Why did Justin keep coming around and couldn't accept the fact that they were separated? "Arleena, my offer still stands," said Hugo who noticed Arleena was distracted. Hugo tried to speak softly so as not to disturb her. There was no answer from Arleena. Hugo still paid attention to Arleena occasionally, alternately looking at Arleena and the highway in front of him. Hugo felt annoyed with Justin for making Arleena this way again. "If he's bothering you so much, let's just tell the family-" "No need," Arleena cut in, finally speaking. But she didn't want to turn to Hugo. "I don't want to involve anyone's family in this. Justin should understand that I have nothing more to do with him. But..." Arleena immediately held back her words and pleaded. With a single breath, Arleena let out a long sigh of exhaustion. "If he didn't want to accept that, he shouldn't have done anything to ruin our relationship in the first place," Arleena continued. She had been holding herself back from grumbling like this. Sensing that Arleena needed time to vent her frustration, Hugo remained silent. Hugo looked pityingly at Arleena who looked dazed and agitated. "Why... why won't he stop bothering me? What does he want?" Arleena ended up leaning her head against the passenger seat beside the driver. As she closed her eyes between resting her head, Arleena imagined Justin as an annoying figure. Suddenly, the memories of their four years together also swirled in her head. Arleena couldn't escape the memory of her and Justin's love story. Everything was really beautiful. Even though there were a few times Justin made mistakes, Arleena somehow had strong feelings for him. Arleena was able to forgive Justin for his repeated mistakes so that their relationship could be maintained. Unfortunately, Arleena's hopes of being with Justin for a long time soon vanished. At the point where Arleena discovers that Justin is cheating on her with three different women, her feelings die. Gone. There was nothing left but anger and a sense of questioning her own worthiness. Before deciding to cancel her wedding plans with Justin, Arleena questioned herself. Arleena felt unworthy to be Justin's partner and that he would rather have fun with other women. Unfortunately, this sense of unworthiness was getting more and more disturbing for Arleena. Throughout the process of knowing that Justin is not worthy of being her partner, Arleena has experienced many battles with her own heart. And if only Justin had understood all that... maybe he wouldn't have taken her for granted. Wouldn't have dismissed Arleena so easily for breaking up the two of them. "Arleena, are you going to cry?" Hugo asked suddenly. Hugo was gradually provoked into panic. After watching Arleena until there was a single teardrop on her cheek, Hugo could no longer relax. "Hey, you're crying already," Hugo said as he looked at the road in front of him and Arleena in turn, getting faster and faster. Arleena hurriedly wiped her cheeks and covered her face. She didn't want Hugo to see her face that was holding back tears. Also, she didn't want to provoke Hugo's anger. "Ah... geez, Justin's that jerk," Hugo said angrily. His one free hand that wasn't holding the steering wheel reached for a tissue to hand to Arleena's face. "Take this tissue. Arleena, hey, why do you act like you don't care and can be strict with him, but you're still crying over it?" Arleena didn't want to answer. That was another reason why Arleena did not want Hugo to see her face. Hugo would nag her, saying that Arleena should have gotten over someone like Justin. "Don't mind me," Arleena said in a submerged voice as her face was completely covered behind her palms. "I don't like you seeing my face when I cry like this. You should be supporting me to... to get over him." Hearing Arleena's stammered sentence made Hugo immediately laugh sarcastically. Hugo felt that it was impossible for Arleena to forget someone she loved. Since they were children, as long as Hugo knew and knew Arleena was dating another man, Hugo understood that it was not easy for Arleena to forget a former lover. The cycle was always the same: pretending to forget, pushing away, then crying behind her ex-boyfriend's back. "Aish. Why are you blaming me? I feel weird for you because you can still cry for a jerk like him," Hugo replied in a tone that almost sounded grumpy. Arleena closed her face even more tightly and turned her body to the side. "Why don't you know how I feel?" asked Arleena between sobs. Hugo immediately sighed heavily. "Here, take the tissue in my hand. Don't you know I'm holding back?" he asked sneeringly. Hesitantly, Arleena opened her eyes slightly to accept the tissue from Hugo. Then quickly returned to sitting with her back to Hugo while wiping her face. "If you keep watching me like that, I won't be able to stop crying," Arleena retorted, expressing her annoyance again. Hugo was actually annoyed. But on the other hand, he was amused. It had been three years since he had seen Arleena, which meant he had never heard or seen her like this. Now, Hugo again witnessed Arleena's attitude that had not changed at all since then. Luckily, Hugo was already quite used to it. "Alright, I won't pay any attention to you. I also won't report this to your family, my family, or Justin's family," Hugo said, looking straight ahead because he didn't want to disturb Arleena. Next to Hugo, Arleena suddenly lowered her hands and sat down, leaning towards Hugo. Her sudden movement made Hugo turn his head in surprise. "Really? You won't tell anyone?" Arleena asked Hugo. Hugo was stunned for a split second, looking at Arleena who was very close. Their faces were now only two feet apart. In that short period of time, Hugo's concentration vanished as quickly as the snap of a finger. His entire body stiffened suddenly. Until finally Arleena realized that the car Hugo was driving was about to swerve. Arleena hurriedly took the steering wheel and moved it to the right for balance. "Hugo, wake up!" Arleena cheered to Hugo. A second later Hugo regained his consciousness. Hugo shook his head while balancing the steering wheel again. "Oh my..." Hugo muttered, not expecting his own reaction. "Arleena, you can't get too close to me." Arleena, who was originally annoyed that Hugo had lost focus, suddenly smiled mischievously. "You must be thumping when I look at you up close, huh?" guessed Arleena. Hugo chuckled and refused to look at Arleena. "You're just guessing. Never mind, let's go to your favorite steakhouse. Do you want to?!" "I DO!"