Chapter 2

Silence filled the whole dining room, maybe even our breathing was too shy to disturb the profound silence, that's why I couldn't hear it. My gaze kept shifting between the engagement ring and.. Kent. NO! What I mean is.. uhh.. to.. to Aria and the engagement ring, I sighed, and then returned to my seat.

"So you're engaged?" Jiro was the first to break the silence. I nodded.

"Is she?" Aria asked, this time directing her attention to Kenzo. She immediately caught my irritation. I felt a surge of annoyance within me. It seemed like she wanted to take Kenzo away from me as well. I gripped my spoon and fork tighter, and without thinking twice--

"Why? Do you also want to steal him from me?" I asked her without any concern. I met her gaze, and I clearly saw the surprise in her eyes. She quickly looked away and focused on her food.

"Kylie," Dad called me. Maybe he's trying to stop me from whatever--

"I am just asking.." she replied softly.

"Kylie, my dear, why didn't you even tell us, Daddy and me, that you're already engaged? Since when?" Mommy asked me with excitement and joy. She smiled at both of us, Kenzo and me.

"Before anything else, Jiro, Aria.. uhhmmm, K-Kent, this is Kenzo, my fiancé." Jiro and Kenzo nodded while Aria smiled at Kenzo and said, "Nice to meet you." I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"And Mom, about me getting engaged, it just happened last night." I continued eating, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes again at Aria's interview with Kenzo.

"So, Kenzo, where did you and sissy meet?" Aria asked.

"At the Spade Club's parking lot." I saw Aria's smile widen, indicating that she wanted this topic to continue.

"How?" she eagerly asked.

"Uhh.." Kenzo looked at me. I knew that look! He's asking me if he should tell them how we met.

"Kenzo thought that Kylie stole his wallet that night. Kylie got jailed, and we bailed her out." Dad said seriously. All eyes were on him. I didn't know he still remembered it. It's been two years, though. Aria nodded and continued with her questioning.

"That's cool! It's like a scene from one of those teleseryes that I dream of happening in real life. It's exciting and not cliché. If only Kent and I weren't married yet, I wanted to be in your shoes, sissy. I wanted to get jailed and meet someone like Kenzo. I saw a photo you posted before on I*******m. Was that the time you got arrested? I really wanted to like it, but I was shy, since, you know, we weren't on good terms at that time." Aria continued to talk.

I forcefully dropped the spoon and fork I was holding. One landed on the table while the other fell on the floor. I glared at Aria, unable to hide the anger I felt towards her. She was showing everyone that everything was fine, especially between the two of us! I am not as fake as her, and I can never pretend that everything is fine, especially when it's not!

"First of all, Aria, I don't need your freakin' like! I have plenty of people who like me, and even if I lose all my likers, I still wouldn't accept your like! I'd rather delete my I*******m account. Second, you wanted to be in my shoes? Are you sure?! You want Dad's attention, right? And you also want to be Mommy's daughter, right? You already have Daddy's attention, that's enough! You don't need to become Mommy's daughter! She's mine! You've always wanted to take everything from me! First, it was Jiro, then Kent! And then Daddy, and now you want Kenzo too, right? Really? Aren't you tired of always trying to snatch everything I have? Kent is already your husband!"

And then I stood up, I'm leaving! I don't want to be here. This dinner with them is such a fvcking disaster! I saw in my peripheral vision Kenzo standing up and saying, "Excuse me." But before I could completely leave the dining room, I heard Aria speak again.

"I admit, I was childish before, and I really wanted to take everything you had because I was jealous of you. Everything I wanted was with you. Daddy, and you even had Mommy while I had no one, just Grandma and Grandpa. I also wanted a complete family, but I knew you didn't want me. I felt it the moment we first met. I was really jealous of you, you have friends who clearly adore you and would never leave you, unlike me. If I don't include them in my getaways and buy them what I have, they would leave me. I also want real friends, I envy you, Kylie."

"And I loathe you, Aria."

"I know. I know.." I heard Aria's voice break, indicating that she was crying. But what surprised me was her next move—she hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry.. I'm really, really sorry.. sorry, Kylie." She kept repeating her apologies as she embraced me. I could feel her tears continuously soaking my shoulder.

Without hesitation, I pushed her away. I saw Kent's swift movement as he caught her. I immediately felt a knife repeatedly stabbing my heart, the pain, so intense.

All the pain I had felt in the past two years and up until now came rushing back, and I had no idea how to get rid of it.

"Kylie.." Kenzo called me and offered his support. I felt like I was about to collapse, but he held me up.

It hurts to see the person you love, from then until now, comforting someone else.

I bit my lower lip, trying to hold back my tears, but I couldn't. The pain I felt now overwhelmed me, so in the end, I faced Kenzo and cried on his chest. I felt his arms wrap around me.

"You don't have to push her away, Kylie. You can tell her straight to her face that you can't forgive her, not like this, that you don't have to fvcking hurt her."

I stopped crying and met the person who owned that voice. He was holding Aria tightly while she cried on his chest.

Cool. So, I'm the bad one here again, and Aria is the damsel in distress. Fvck this life!