A familiar ringtone resounded in the room, breaking the ice-cold silence. Allison stiffened immediately, for she knew who it was without even looking at the phone screen. She watched silently as Matthew took the call and excused himself to the balcony for some privacy. She didn’t say a word or make a move to stop him; it was the least she could do, after all. Matthew’s phone rang every night recently, and Allison knew exactly why that was. It was because Lily missed him dearly. Allison knew her well. Lillian Hanson was a genuinely nice woman, a pretty girl with long, flowy blonde hair and vibrant hazel eyes. Her personality was warm and charming, and she genuinely cared about other people with no such pretenses. They were pretty much opposites of each other; Allison was quiet while Lily was talkative. Allison normally kept her feelings to herself while Lily preferred to speak them out honestly. Allison liked solitude while Lily liked to be with others as much as she could. Lily h
Matthew had known Allison Whitney ever since they were in high school.It wasn’t love at first sight, and nor was it an enemies-to-lovers story. As time passed, Matthew simply found himself falling in love with Allison, and it was the first time he had experienced that kind of feeling.Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had a father who catered to his every need and sent him to the best schools and tutors to prepare him for inheriting the company once he became of age. This also included his father planning to introduce him to the daughter of his good friend, to let Matthew know that this was the girl he was going to marry.Everything was already planned out for him and set in stone. Matthew eventually felt like he was simply a puppet dangling on its strings, controlled by his father whenever and however he pleased. He had no say in his future and only needed to obey the rules, to follow through with the plans his father so painstakingly prepared for his sake.Matthew hated it,
He never forgot the words she said that day. He could never forget the day she left him to move to another country, leaving him alone, divorced, and broken-hearted. His parents had been furious. His father, especially. Edward Laurier despised a ruined reputation, and he had already let it slip by once when Matthew insisted on marrying a nobody. He only agreed with it eventually because it meant that Matthew was finally willing to take over the company, but he knew very well that this would come back to bite him. And bite him it did. “Tell all the reporters that you two divorced because you’re both so busy that you don’t have enough time for each other,” Chairman Laurier said gruffly, seated behind his desk at the company. He had called Matthew here to discuss the news that broke out the moment Matthew and Allison finalized their divorce and exited the court. “Don’t you dare tell them that she’s the one who proposed a divorce first. Either tell them that you’re the one who divorced h
It took Matthew five years to move on from Allison. After a few months of agony, he decided to bury himself in his work, so he eventually climbed up to the top position in the company, proving to his people and his father that he was fully capable of handling major business deals and managing the company and all its branches worldwide. He became well-known in society as one of the youngest, most influential CEOs in the country, and also as the hottest, most eligible bachelor in the city. However, Matthew wasn’t happy at all. He simply lived through life on auto-pilot, finding work to be a proper distraction from the unending waves of sadness and emptiness inside of him. Through time, he started to understand why Allison was able to concentrate on her career so zealously; perhaps she had been depressed, or perhaps she had felt the constant need to prove herself, hence why she chose to prioritize her work and strive to become successful. Matthew didn’t know. He didn’t know anything. Ho
As though he’d been scalded by boiling hot water, Matthew wrenched himself out of Allison’s arms, spinning his entire body towards Lily in surprise. Lily approached the two of them with a puzzled expression on her face, peering closely at Matthew’s companion. “Oh, Lily,” Matthew exclaimed, nervous sweat dripping down his brow. He hadn’t been doing anything wrong, had he? It was only a friendly hug meant to comfort… Matthew realized at that moment that he had been unconsciously insensitive of Lily’s feelings. Even though Allison was his first love and his ex-wife, he should’ve restrained himself from getting close to her, at least out of respect for his current girlfriend. But just as he opened his mouth to say an apology, Lily’s face suddenly brightened, and her lips curved into a delighted smile. “Oh! I know you. You’re that talented scientist, aren’t you?” Lily said, politely stretching out her arm for a handshake. “You’re Allison Whitney. You’re also Matt’s ex-wife, right? It’s
Matthew was still shaken by the news even after they returned to their villa. They came to this faraway island for a break from their respective careers. Matthew had been plowing through company matters nonstop with barely enough rest since it was a busy season while Lily handled numerous clients a day, a product of her fame from being Matthew’s new girlfriend five years after his divorce. At first, the clients came out of curiosity to see what kind of professional Lily was, but after experiencing her gentleness and passion for her work, they eventually became her loyal customers. Chairman Laurier hadn’t been quite pleased with their decision to take a break somewhere far away, but after some convincing from his wife, Lily, and Bryce, he gradually relented and allowed them to do what they wanted for one month. “I’ll be holding the fort here for a month until you guys return,” Bryce had told them before they packed up their things to leave. “Matt, I’ll be giving you progress reports t
Lily grasped him gently by the shoulders and slowly pushed him away so that she could look him in the eyes.“Get the closure that you need, Matt. We have a lot of time on our hands. We have thousands of moments left to spend,” she told him softly, the sincerity shining in her eyes. “We have numerous days, months, and years ahead of us, but Miss Whitney… she doesn’t have that kind of luxury.“Ever since we met, you’ve been warm and attentive, and I appreciate all the efforts you made just to make me happy. But there are also times when I feel that there’s something missing inside of you, an emptiness that can’t be filled even with my help. You need to gain understanding in order to let go, right?“So don’t worry about me, and go. I know that you’ll come back to me eventually.”***That was how Matthew found himself sitting in a restaurant the next day with Allison Whitney seated right across from him. Lily had insisted on getting her phone number the day before, so that was how Matthew
Matthew felt Allison’s words echoing in his head even after she left thirty minutes ago.“I left you because I didn’t love you anymore.”“It had nothing to do with my current illness.”“Don’t worry about me. My husband will take care of me.”'So it had nothing to do with her cancer, after all.' A wry smile curved Matthew’s lips as he shook his head. 'What was I even expecting? Why did I make a fool out of myself earlier?''She must’ve been really weirded out by me back there…'Matthew sighed. Husband? Then she was married now. But why didn’t her husband accompany her to the hospital? Had she felt the symptoms so strongly, but didn’t want to worry him so she went there secretly instead? Thinking about it this way, Matthew felt a pang of sadness in his heart.He had thought that she was all alone, that she would fight her cancer by herself, so he thought that…He stopped his train of thoughts right there. 'What the hell am I even thinking? Look at me, thinking about sauntering into her