Iris's POV:

A week have passed after the incident at the beach and i'm feeling a lot better after a good amount of rest. But right now, i don't know exactly how to feel. I'm about to meet Xian at a café near the hospital to clear things with him.

Even though i don't love him anymore, i don't want to give him false hope on getting back together with him. Sure his dad literally did broke us apart because of the arranged marriage he was a part of, but i still loved him once and i'm done hurting him. All i want now is for him to move on from me and finally be happy.

As i was standing outside the café, i saw him already there with a bouquet of my favorite flowers again by his side. I can feel the tense from him as he was fidgeting with his fingers. I took a deep breath to relax my nerves and entered the café.

I head towards his way and the moment he saw me, his face expression became somewhat calm and relieved. Maybe he was having thoughts that i may not come and talk with him. I just smiled at him to not seemed rude and sat down in front of him. Our seat is far from people and it's in the corner of the café.

As i was about to open my mouth and talk, he gave me the bouquet of flowers and said "Here, it's your favorite flowers right? I personally bought the flowers myself from the boutique near here so it won't quickly wilt" i accepted the flowers and thanked him.

"You know, you don't have to do this right? Besides, you probably know what i'm about to say to you now" i lowered my voice because i felt him tense up because of what i said.

"I know very well.... but i still wanna try and change your mind. You know how much i love you and i still do. I don't want the 8 years of me waiting for you to just go in vain, i know you don't love me anymore and i'm not gonna force you to love me again. All i'm asking you is to just give me another chance, i don't care how long it takes for you to love me again. I will wait no matter what but i can't do anything if you won't give me a chance. I respect you too much to force you to love me again" he said while holding my hands. I can feel it's shaking.

I didn't let go of his hands and spoke "You are the best man any woman can ask for. You're very polite, gentleman, respectful, understanding, you don't force people to do anything for you, you always do anything for the people you love, you're selfless to the point you'll give up your future for me. But the only thing i don't like about you is you love too much. You don't leave anything for yourself, you always think about me and completely forgot about the relationship between you and your family. I know you completely distanced yourself from your family the day i left, i knew everything that happened" i started while i feel hot tears glistening my eyes.

"I don't wanna be the person that completely destroys you the moment i leave. I know i already did that and that's why i'm here, talking to you. I want you to love yourself more than me. I want you to be genuinely happy without me and it's true, i know how much you love me and i can feel it. You are always ready to take risks for me and i appreciate it a lot. If only i could give you one thing in this world, it would be a peaceful heart. I'm saying all this because i want to set you free from the love i bounded to you in the start that i don't feel anymore towards you. I'm deeply sorry for the pain that i cost you and i will forever cherish every moments you and i both shared with each other. I loved you and now, it's time to move on"

I took a deep breath and let go of his hands. I lowered my head and felt my hands tremble. I know that this has to be done someday and i am fully aware on how it will both scar us. I wiped my tears away and looked at him straight in his eyes. All i can see was pain and regret lingering in there. I felt so sorry for him.

"I hope you forgive me of all the hurtful things i did to you" i sincerely said. All i got from him is the smile i used to love but now, the smile he gave me was full of sadness.

"I forgive you. If that is the answer that you will give me, then i will let you go. It may hurt along the process of me moving on but i'll accept it. I'm also sorry for all the pain that i caused you and i will always cherish our memories in my heart. No hard feelings right?" He took a hold of my hands and showed me once again a smile but now it symbolizes contentment and happiness.

"No hard feelings" i smiled back at him

***

Five months have passed and everything was finally in order. My life and heart are both in peace and i feel contented. Tomorrow is actually Max and Alex's wedding so the girls and the boys are actually celebrating today. We wanted to invite Xian but he insisted on not going, probably because he is still in the stage of moving on so we just let him be. I hope he will attend his friend's wedding tomorrow though.

The girls and the boys separated ways because you know? Girls and boys have to celebrate without being together or something like that. I don't know i just intended to go with the flow. Old people say that the bride and the groom can't be together or see each other before their wedding so now, Max had been overreacting.

(Author-nim: please forgive me for having lack of knowledge about weddings and stuff like this. I've never attended a wedding once so please forgive me)

"Come on! Can't i just celebrate together with my wife? I kinda don't trust her with you guys" Max whispered the last sentence but we all heard what he said.

"What did you just said Mr? Excuse me but i am a trust worthy person and if i may correct you, Alex is still not your wife. She may be engaged to you but she is still single right now and unmarried so shut the f*ck up before i slap you face! I've been waiting here for about and hour and a half and all i can hear is you blabbering your mouth saying you wanna be with Alex!" I shouted with full irritation in my voice. It's literally scorching hot here outside our venue and he won't stop talking with his irritating voice.

"Geez... why you gotta be so harsh in talking? I'm just gonna miss Alex. Is it the time of the month or something?" Max pouted and tried to show me his pitiful eyes but i ain't buying it.

"Did you just--" before i can continue on what i'm gonna say, Tyler came behind my back and covered my mouth with his hand. I just glared at him.

"Okay, the farewell part is over. Now we should head inside the venue now in our separate ways before Ms. Grumpy here bites my hand off" Tyler said with a grin while i just crossed my arms with his hand still in my mouth.

"Okay now, can you let go of her mouth so we can head inside now? I'm sick of Max's constant blabbering and my head hurts now" Alex commented and pulled my hand to head inside while the others just followed us inside.

I laughed "I don't know why you agreed to marry Max, he is literally the complete opposite of you" i joked while Alex slowed down her walking making me halt my steps also.

She let go of my hands and turned to look my way "I honestly don't know also why i agreed on his proposal but there is one thing i'm sure about. Even if he is the complete opposite of me and he always irritates me and act like a nuisance, i know that i need him. He completes the things that i lack in myself" she smiled at me. I can see the sincerity in her eyes and how much she loves Max.

"I'm so proud of you Alexa, you finally learned how to love someone" Cloe came out of nowhere and hugged both me and Alex.

"I hope you can love someone else too Ryi. I don't want you to grow old alone with a house just full of maids to accompany you" Cloe looked into my eyes and held my hands "It's not like you can't love someone else anymore... right?" Her eyes are full of anticipation in them to know my answer and i just shook my head.

"It's not like i can't Cloe, but i won't" i said to her with a sincere smile in my face.

"Why? You're free to love whoever you want and whenever you want. You don't have to not love someone just because of what happened to your past love life"

I sighed "Cloe. I promised my brother that the first person that i love will also be the last person i will love. He told me that once i love someone, i shouldn't easily let them go if i felt that he is the right one for me. That came true in my case, he is truly the right person for me but some circumstances didn't let us be together and completely broke us apart but u accept that. But hey, at least i fulfilled the promise i told my brother" i smiled at them and showed them that i was okay

After our little chat in hallway of the venue, we head straight to the room of the girls. They know how important my late brother was to me and i cherish every words and advice my brother once told me. I idolized him when we we're kids but then.... he died because of me. If only i didn't go near the ocean that day, my brother will still be our side.

I felt someone shaking me and when i fixed my gaze to the person i quickly recognized her face. I hugged her immediately when i realized that she's here.

"I missed you Sophia, you didn't informed me that you are coming here today. I should've went to the airport to welcome you." I slap her arm playfully and she just laugh and sat down beside me

"It wouldn't be a surprise if i told you, now does it? Plus i wanted to meet Alexa's husband-to-be, and see for myself if he's that great to get the yes answer from the Alexa" we both laughed while she nudged my sides and raise her eyebrow in a teasing manner. Now what does this girl want?

"What? You keep nudging me and raising that eyebrow of yours in such a disrespectful way on me" i put on a smug look to try and intimidate her but alas, it didn't work.

"I hear you're still single. Why though? A lot of boys in our college really like you and i bet that a lot of boys here also are dying to date you, not to mention Tyler. Why haven't you thought of him?" She smirked while i just showed her a disgusted look. I shook my head and realized why people think of me and Tyler like this.

"Why would you think of that about Iris and Tyler? Didn't you know?" Cloe asked Sophia while raising her eyebrow at her. Sophia just portrayed a very confused expression

The three of us laughed while Sophia was just sitting there looking at us. "Tyler and I are cousins. You literally know us for about 8 years and a half now yet you don't know that? Wow i'm surprised. Well, we don't just tell people that we are related and we don't really have similarities in some aspects so i don't blame you" after what i said, the three of us bursted laughing again and Sophia's face turned red as a tomato

The venue of Alex and Max's wedding will be held in this hotel so we will be staying here till tomorrow. All our parents might arrive a bit later because we got here at 8 am sharp but because of Max, we got to book our rooms by 12 pm. We told our parents that they can come at the hotel at 4 pm and we already reserved their rooms.

After we got our stuffs settled in the hotel, we just chat about some random things and tell Sophia more about mine and Tyler's childhood.

"Tyler is the only son of my father's little sister which is of course my auntie. He is actually a year older than me that's why we get along so much since we were little kids till now. Me, Tyler and my older brother are so close with each other to the point that if you don't know us, you'll probably mistake us as siblings" i smiled while remembering the old times. I know that those memories will always be painful for me but i can't help but smile whenever i remember them.

"You have a big brother? How come you've never told me before? Omg Iris, we've been friends for so long yet you never mentioned this to me" Sophia suddenly commented breaking the playful and happy vibe inside our room. I suddenly grew quiet because of what she said.

"Ohh...umm Sophia? Her older brother already died... 16 years ago" Cloe said quietly

"We don't really talk about Iris's older brother because of her trauma. He died because he tried to save Iris when she was 10 years old. He was 14 years old when he drowned and since then, Iris can no longer go near any type of body of water because it always triggers her trauma and the memories of 16 years ago kept replaying in her head"

Alex told Sophia all about what happened 16 years ago. I know i can't keep it forever because there will always be a time that it needs to be forgotten. Trust me i tried to forget it but i just couldn't. The fact that my brother died because he tried to save me just adds up to my pain. If only i didn't carelessly gone into the water, my brother will still be by our side

"Hey, don't think about it anymore. Even though your brother died, i'm sure that he's very happy wherever he is right now and he's watching you, your parents and us with a smile on his face. He didn't die in vain because he tried to save you. He chose to save you because he wants you to live a very happy life and he doesn't want you to blame yourself because he died" Sophia said and sat beside me while hugging my sides. I just smiled and nodded my head as an answer

"I never thought of that. I've been blaming myself all this years because i'm the reason he died. I've never thought that he chose to save me because he wanted me to live, he gave me a second chance of life so i shouldn't waste it" i said with a smile on my face. The four of us laughed, Cloe and Alex decided to join the hug

"Now that you know all about this, stop shipping Iris and Tyler together because it just sounds so wrong. When we found out that Tyler and Iris are cousins, all of us were shocked too. We knew about them being related because Tyler always said that Iris was always and will always be a little sister to her" Cloe nudged Sophia's side while the three of us laughed again

"Gee! Okay i'll stop shipping them so you guys should stop teasing me too" Sophia complained while crossing her arms

"I love Tyler as my cousin and also as a big brother because he sometimes acts like that to me but seriously, he always teases me because he's taller than me. It's quite annoying you know? I'm not that short right?" I asked them while we all let go of the hug and sat down properly at the couch inside our room.

"Honestly, you are pretty short Ryi... just saying" Cloe scratched the back of her head, looking nervous because of what she said. Alex and Sophia then decided to nod as an agreement

"What did you just said? I'm short?!" I grabbed a pillow while the three of them ran aways from me while i chased them in circles inside our spacious hotel room

***

The big day for Alex and Max finally arrived. We are fixing Alex's gown while she was looking pale sitting, probably because she's nervous.

"Hey don't be nervous. It's your big day today so no frown, just smiled okay? Everything's gonna be fine" i assured her while fixing the pin in her vail. She turned to look at me and smile while she nodded at my words

Alex's gown, hairstyle and make up:

(Author-nim: i'm not gonna get into detail on what happened in the wedding because again, i've never been into a wedding before in my life so please forgive me)

***

After the wedding, we went to the reception and celebrated with everyone. Dancing, singing, giving heart whelming speeches and recalling embarrassing memories with each other that happened throughout the years. I have never expected that i will be happy and contented with my life like this. I guess what Sophia said was right, all i have to do is move on from my trauma then i will truly feel free and happy from now on.

I sat down at our table alone while the others are just there, dancing and laughing with everybody else. I like this kind of celebrations, it bring a little pinch of happiness in my life. I some people sad beside me and i look at them. It's my best friends.

"Alex. Shouldn't you be there with your groom, celebrating?" I questioned her while she just shut me up by putting her hand in my mouth.

"We wanted to be with you right now. I don't know but i wanna be sentimental with you all. From highschool to now? Wow, i never expected that the five of us will come this far still together like this. I'm saying this to you guys because i wanna say that let's all stay together till we grow old. I can't imagine my future without all of you by my side. Through all the years and the problems that happened, all of us are still together" The bride once again cried and hug the four of us.

I wanna be honest with you, i can't live without them either. Because of them, i stayed strong until now and faced all my worries, doubts, and problems with them my by side. I trust them as much as i trust my parents and i'm glad i met such people like them. I wouldn't want anyone else, just them is enough for me to be happy.

"I love you guys so much. Let's stay together for more years?" I questioned them while i felt hot tears streaming down my face. They all looked at me and nodded. Once again i realized that they would always be by my side even if i push them away.

After all the things i've been through, i realized that love isn't just about loving someone. It's about choosing something that is better for them even if the consequences is letting them go. Love is something we can't easily describe. It's a feeling that is not easily to be given to just someone. Love is when you care for someone and you're willing to do anything for him or her, for their sake, you can give up on everything.

But at the same time, love is not just a cycle between a man and woman. Love can be for your friends too. Loving your friend is being by their side whenever they need it or not. Staying by their side even if they choose to push you away.

Loving is something that we can do and we should be aware that letting go is also a part of loving someone. We can't expect that when you love someone, it'll be your last too. Every relationship breaks depends on the choices that you and your partner decides. Be wise on picking the person that you love and make sure that it will be your last...

              ☆☾THE END☾☆