Steven watched as Charmaine and her father left Raymond standing in the middle of the dance floor. He felt ashamed for his own selfishness. Even from the distance he can tell that Raymond and Charmaine still had feelings for each other. He was not mistaken by the flash of tenderness and longing on their faces when they looked at each other. He had to make things right again between them.

“Steven,” Frankie said as he approached him, “Have you seen Raymond?”

Steven looked from Frankie to the dance floor and Raymond was gone already, “I saw him dancing out there not too long ago.”

Frankie’s interest perked, “Really? With who?”

Steven breathed out “Charmaine Seh.”

Frankie’s face turned hard as he said, “Charmaine Seh? I knew this would happen.”

Steven pretended ignorance as he asked, “What would happen?”

Frankie looked at him and said, “Nothing. If you see Raymond tell him that I’m heading home now but would wait for him there. I have something important to discuss with him.”

Steven nodded, “Sure, sure.”

Frankie turned to leave but Steven held him back. He looked inquiringly at Steven and waited for him to say something and when he didn’t he said, “Well, goodnight then and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait,” Steven said, “Can I ask you something personal?”

Frankie looked at him curiously and smiled, “Go ahead.”

“It’s about Raymond,” Steven added quietly and saw the puzzlement on Frankie’s face. “I wanted to know whether Raymond is seeing someone or if he’s interested in anyone.”

Frankie mulled over Steven’s out-of-nowhere question and asked, “Why do you ask?”

Steven thought quickly and stammered, “I-I wanted to introduce him to some female friends of mine who are single.”

“Really?” Frankie said and looked suspiciously at Steven, “Why don’t you introduce them to me? Why only Raymond?”

Steven felt trapped by the question and didn’t know how to answer it. He searched his mind for a quick response but could only mange, “I-I…”

Frankie chuckled, “I was only kidding! To answer your question, he is not seeing or interested in anyone.”

Steven visibly relaxed and smiled sheepishly at Frankie, “Oh good then. I’ll give him your message when I see him.”

Frankie did not miss the anxiety on Steven’s face just before he relaxed. Something was definitely wrong with him and he had learned to always hide what you know at first because it’ll make finding out the truth so much easier. He smiled brightly at Steven and said, “Thanks and good night.”

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Bosco dragged Selena off the dance floor and towards a remote section of the room. “What did you hear?”

Selena’s expression was one of irritation, “I didn’t hear much! How could I when we couldn’t get close enough for them not to notice.”

“You must have heard something. From their expressions, their conversation seemed pretty intense.”

Selena flicked a look at Raymond, who was now chatting with some men, “I have this feeling about him. Something not good.”

Bosco was exasperated, “Can you tell me more? This not knowing is driving me nuts!”

Selena leveled her eyes on Bosco and said, “When we were near them I heard Charmaine say something about not being able to forgive and then Raymond asked forgive what.”

Bosco pinched his chin in thought and murmured, “I wonder what happened between them or is going on between them.”

Selena had an idea but she was not going to tell Bosco until she knows a bit more. She knew she had a knack for jumping to the wrong conclusions and then jeopardizing everything because of her own bad judgment. This time around, since it concerns her best friend and Bosco’s good friend, she would learn patience. “I don’t know but let’s try to find out.”

Bosco nodded, “Hopefully we’ll know the truth soon.”

Selena smiled in agreement and looked around the room for Charmaine. She was still with Kevin and was chatting with her father and Mr. Lau. She moved her eyes and caught sight of Steven standing off to the side, his eyes trained on Charmaine. That’s strange, she thought. But what was more strange was the expression on Steven’s face as he watched Charmaine. It was the same expression she saw on him after realizing how much his father loved him despite all his wrongdoings. It was guilt.