"LEAVE!" Lara continued to push me away, but I just stood there in front of her, a smile creeping onto my face at the idea that finally…I found her.

"Are you deaf?" That's when she began to move.

With anger in her eyes, she stormed away from the counter, and that's when I got a clear view of her current appearance. For a few more seconds, I had to restrain myself from drooling. Her boobs had gotten larger...

"I said go away!" She shouted again.
When I still didn't move, she grabbed my arm. The moment her warm and soft palm touched that specific part of my body, my heart started racing like crazy. It was as if it wanted to escape from my chest.

I know this might sound strange, but at that very moment, I felt butterflies in my stomach.

"What's the big idea?" Her voice continued to echo throughout the four corners of her shop. And I was too wonderstruck to give a damn. All I care about right now is her being on top of my pedestal. I was enslaved by her. I was paralyzed, just staring at her face.

She is still naturally beautiful..."

"Don't you have ears?!" And I finally snapped out of my daze when she slapped my arm. I blinked reflexively at the force of it. "You have no place here," she said firmly, "leave—"

"I'll reclaim my place in your heart, then." I pursed my lips.

"Wow," her face was turning red with anger, "impressive." She clapped her hands mockingly. “I’m really impressed. You’re seriously hitting on me? As if you’re a saint who didn’t wrong me.”

She clapped her hands again. The mockery on her face was intense. There, I involuntarily pursed my lips even more.

"You're a damn good demon!" She spat. "The audacity."

I couldn't respond. I just kept looking at her. This might be the very first time I felt so embarrassed. I am completely intimidated and belittled by the way she overwhelmed me.

That was the moment when the atmosphere around us started to heat up. I was defenseless in the face of an impending war. I had nothing but my hopes slowly crumbling in front of my ashamed face.

“It’s amazing as if everything comes so easy to you," The anger in her eyes began to fade as sadness took over. "As if you didn't deceive me. Like you didn't humiliate me."

I was left speechless. I could only blink in response to how intimidating the situation had become. Like, what the hell? I was expecting something more. Something like hugging and kissing, endless "I miss you's," and a cheesy happy ending.

Like, where the hell are the confetti and the glitter that can usually be found whenever the heroine meets the love of her fucking life again?

But it’s so stupid.

Oh right, I was stupid to expect that she would immediately accept me wholeheartedly after the foolish things I did to her..."

Lara sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. "So, please, don't bother coming back because there's nothing left for you to return to. Don't expect anything because even before you came back, you already lost your place in my heart."

Wait... why does my chest hurt this badly?

She pressed her fingers against my chest. She pointed at me. There, my heart ached even more. "Everything between us ended when I found out all your secrets. That's it... I won't let it happen to me again."

"I'm not stupid anymore," she said, her irritation evident as she drew a deep breath.

I swallowed hard. I was irritated by how the lump in my throat devoured my confidence effortlessly. "Am I not worth your second chance—"

"Yes!" Her sharp eyes stabbed my heart. It felt like I was losing my balance from the sudden pain. "Yes! You're not worth a second chance! Are you too dumb to realize that?!"

"Or maybe you don't even know my reasons? Here..." She furrowed her brow. "You degraded me. I lost everything because of your malicious schemes. I was drained because of you—"

I tried to exhale all the pain in my chest. "But you complete me—"

"I complete you?" She looked at me mockingly.

I could only nod in response. I was frustrated by the sadness in my eyes. How could I get rid of it? Shit.

"I complete you? Ha?" She laughed sarcastically. "I was shattered when I made you whole."
I lost myself when I helped you find yourself. You played me by making me take you seriously," she snapped. Her eyes were filled with rage. "Do you think it's easy to forget all of that? If it were, I would have done it the very day I found out how much you mistreated me, right?"

I couldn't respond anymore.

I just hung my head. I felt so small and angry at my own foolishness.

She was right.

It was true.
With the burden I had put on her, I didn't deserve her best. I was all about her worst. I should have known that from the moment I set foot on this island. She had turned her back on me.

"Leave before I call the police," her voice was devoid of emotion.

I swallowed hard as I watched her return to the counter's area. Eventually, I couldn't think of anything else to do but surrender. I was a defeated soldier the moment I turned my back on her. Along with the painful silence, I tasted the bitterness of my shits as I quickly reached the exit.

My eyes blank, I looked up at the sky. I couldn't think of anything else except finding a way to win Lara back. It couldn't all end here. I would keep coming back... until she was mine again.

But... could I still do it?

I let out a sigh...

Bullshit.

I KICKED the grass at the foot of the mountain. Until now, I couldn't accept that I left my cell phone in the helicopter earlier. Now, I couldn't contact Denver. I couldn't borrow a cell phone here either. None of them had one.

According to some farmers I spoke to earlier, it used to be a regulation imposed by the late Donya Victorina. No gadgets are allowed here. She wants the people on her island to live far from the poison of technology.

Well, shame on that deceased Victorina. Her perspectives on life are bullshit. How can her island become competitive if they don't embrace the essential medium that advanced technology offers?

Fuck it!

Annoyed, I lay down on the soft grass with a scowl on my face. I watched the drifting clouds moving westward until suddenly I heard something nearby.

"Meow!" It was sounded by an orange cat.

I maintained a poker face. For the love of God, I'm asking for a damn phone. Can someone please shoo this cat away from me?!

It's like the cat did it on purpose, it rubbed its head against my waist. I sat up, glaring at it, but it didn't care. "Meow!" It even bit my finger.

That's when my jaw clenched. I pulled the cat's neck when I was already in pain. It seemed paralyzed by then, unable to move.

"Where's the river?" I don't even know why the hell I'm suddenly talking to a freaking cat. This island is really driving me insane.

The cat remained still. And because I had little patience, I approached one of the bodies of water near me. I still had my poker face when I was about to throw the freaking cat in there. But a familiar voice interrupted me.

It stopped me.

"Seriously, you're messing with a cat now? You really don't choose anyone, do you?"

It's Lara, rolling her eyes.

I automatically froze in my place. I blinked when she took the cat from my hand. She hugged it, and I annoyingly felt jealous.

"Such a demon." She glared at me again before turning away.

F*cking hell. I wanted to beat up an animal. Shit. That was such a turn off . That darn cat!