Victoria looked at her phone full of unread messages and missed calls from Seohyun. She opened the thread and smiled bitterly. The messages were sent barely 2 hours after she left the hospital.

 

Seohyun: Vic, it's me, Seo. Call me when you see this.

Seohyun: Victoria, Kris had an accident. Call me.

Seohyun: Where are you?

Seohyun: Victoria please pick up.

Seohyun: I don't know where you are, but I'll let you know that Kris is okay now. Thank goodness. Did something happen between you two? Call me when you can.

Seohyun: Or let's meet up.

 

She sighed as she looked at Seohyun's number. She pressed the dial number. She was nervous, but she had to call Seohyun.

 

"Vic?" Seohyun's voice was calm.

"Seo... Can we meet up?" She was nervous.

"Uhm, yes. Let's just meet here in the hospital. I can't leave Kris yet."

"Let's just meet somewhere close."

"Okay. Vic, I'm worried. Are you two okay?"

"I'll call you later when I get there, Seo. Bye." And she pressed the end call button.

 

*

 

After showering, she took out her simplest clothes. Just a plain white shirt, skinny jeans and white sneakers. She didn't bother tying her straight, black hair up. She brought her bag with the stuff that Kris gave her. He didn't give her many gifts because she doesn't like accepting stuff from people. Even if it was her boyfriend. The only things she accepted were their pink and blue couple shirts, the gold anklet he bought from his trip in Canada, black round cap, his shirt that she liked so much and the most recent one- the gold and diamond earrings.

 

They decided to meet up at a nearby coffee shop. Victoria checked her phone to see if there is a message from Seohyun. She's on her way. And it made her more nervous than she was already. But she needed to end things, burn bridges. And that means avoiding Seohyun, too.

 

Seohyun went directly to her table and smiled at her. "Hey, what happened?"

Victoria took a deep breath and sighed. "It's my fault..." She looked at Seohyun who looked confused. She proceeded. "I broke up with him."

Seohyun held her hand, her smile returning slowly. "Hey... It's not your fault. It was an accident. According to Edison, they were both drunk."

"He was drunk because I broke up with him, Seo."

"Don't blame yourself, please." Seohyun said and hugged her.

Victoria just pushed the bag towards Seohyun. "These are the stuff that he gave me. I'll return them to him."

"Are you sure about this?" Seohyun said. "I mean, I don't wanna be selfish, so I won't ask you to stay with him. But... I can see it in your eyes. You still love him."

"I do. I still do." She replied frankly. "But I can't give him a good life. I won't make him happy. I'll make him suffer with me."

"Our family is rich, but I don't think Kris wants the money." Seohyun defended.

"I know. I just..." Victoria wiped the tear that escaped from her eye. "Please tell him I'm sorry. I'm being selfish, and I'm really sorry about it. But I just need my job, and your mother doesn't want me for him."

 

She got up and took her belongings. Seohyun followed her and gave her the bag. "If you want my brother to forget you, take those." She said sternly and went to the counter to order.

 

She doesn't know what she's gonna do with all those stuff. Throw them away? Keep them? But will it help her move on? She's madly in love with Kris, but what can she do?

 

*

 

Edison asked Jessica to buy him food. And Jessica excused herself. She's going to buy his food - and hers. And probably some coffee, and then remembered she didn't bring a lot of toiletries. She texted one of their maids to bring a travel bag full of Edison's clothes - Pajamas, shirts, pants, underwear - and his flipflop and bring it to the hospital Edison was confined in. And she also listed the things she'll be buying for her brother.

 

While she was checking her list, she bumped into someone familiar. She smiled and held her hand. "Hey, you were the girl at the hospital, right?" Victoria smiled back and nodded. "Can I ask you a favor? This is a massive favor. I'm going to buy Edison's stuff. Can you lend me a hand?"

Victoria, feeling flustered, couldn't say no. "Sure." She said and Jessica yelped.

"Yey! Let's go?" Jessica and Victoria walked towards the supermarket.

 

They picked up a few things Edison and Jessica needed in the hospital, and a bunch of snacks, just in case she felt like eating chips in front of her brother. Jessica paid for everything, and still asked Victoria to come with her to the fast food chain to buy food for her and her brother. Their last stop was the coffee shop. She knows how much her brother loves to drink coffee because they have the same taste.

 

Victoria also ordered a drink and a whole box of strawberry cheesecake. She loves cheesecake, and she's going to visit her student, Edison. She knew it wasn't normal for a teacher to visit her student, but he's helped her out a lot. She owes him too much.

 

*

 

They were on their way up, and fortunately, the elevator opened just when they needed it. The both of them rode the elevator and pressed the '7' button. They were silent for a few seconds, but Jessica's phone started ringing.

 

"Were are you?" Jessica asked impatiently.

"Madame, I'm inside the hospital. Which floor is Sir Edison's room?"

"7th floor, room 701." She said and pressed the end call.

 

"Uh, hey." Jessica called out to Victoria. "Victoria, thank you so much for doing this for me."

"No problem." Victoria said and smiled at her. "He's my student, after all."

Jessica's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah." Both of them giggled.

"So..." Jessica trailed off. "How's he at school?"

"Pretty terrible." Victoria said and added something quickly. "I mean, his performance would've been good if he would show up at least three times a week. And less lates."

Jessica made an 'o' with . "I'm sorry about my brother." She smiled bitterly. "He's just started being like that ever since our step mom came into the spot light."

"I understand." Victoria said and smiled at her. "But fortunately for him, he's very intelligent."

 

When the elevator door opened, Tiffany stiffened, so did Jessica. Jessica scowled at the sight of Tiffany. But the latter ignored it and smiled at her.

 

"Long time no see, Sica." Tiffany's eyes hid her anger deep inside.

"Yeah. Nice to see you here, Fany." Her voice was low, but you could sense a tension between the two.

"I heard Ed's here."

"None of your business."

Tiffany's attention shifted to Victoria, who was carrying a recyclable bag same as Jessica's, and a box. "You must be the new girlfriend."

"No." Victoria said quickly.

"Okay then." TIffany said and went inside the elevator.

 

Jessica and Victoria went directly to Edison's room. Edison's eyes widened, but only for a split second, and then he smiled. Jessica's face, still pissed at Tiffany's presence earlier, handed him his food.

 

"Did Tiffany visit you?" Jessica said and Edison's smile immediately turned into a scowl.

"No." He started eating.

"So why is she here?" Jessica wondered.

"Probably for Seohyun. Y'know, Kris' sister."

"Ah! Yeah." Jessica just kept quiet and ate her food. "Vic, why don't you eat with us?"

 

Victoria smiled at her. "Sure." She said and opened the box of cheesecake. It was meant to be for Edison, but she just loves it too much. But even though it was her favorite, she still offered a slice to Jessica and Edison. They started eating. While Jessica and Victoria were cleaning the area, somebody knocked on their door.

 

"I'll take it." Jessica said, thinking it was their maid. But when she opened the door, she was surprised to see who it was. Why is he here?