[??? POV]

I walked towards the park, glancing at the happy couples chasing each other around the park. i smiled upon seeing them happily together. Suddenly, someone bumped into me, causing to fall.

                "Sorry!" apologised a girl, her voice cracking.

She helped me up, guiding me to the chair nearby.

                "It's alright sweetie. I'm old, you young people usually run around the place. i just happened to be in the way." i said, patting the seat next to me, signalling her to sit.

She hesitated, but did as i said.

                "Young girls shouldn't cry." i told her, handing her a tissue.

                "I can't help it! My stupid boyfriend was kissing another girl! What else am i supposed to do?!" she shouted, tears b over her eyes.

                "Things aren't always as they seem. Trust me, I’m old. I’ve been through more than you, i understand these things."

                "How can you understand? You’re just an old lady." she complained.

                "Never judge a book by its cover. I may just be an old lady, but i know much more about your situation than you think." i said, smiling slightly.

                "Do you know how to solve it?"

                "I once knew someone who met the same fate as you; however her ending wasn't so great..."

                "Tell me! She can't be as sad as me."

I merely nodded, getting myself comfortable in my seat.

                "Her name was Guigui, and she wasn't like you. She was more of a rebel girl. She always went to nightclubs and partied all night. But don't get me wrong, though she was rebellious, she wasn't a player. In fact she was very conservative. I know you're probably thinking how can a girl like that not be that type of girl that gets in every guys pants, but she was different..."

~Story~

[Guigui POV]

                "Come on Guigui. I know you want me babe. Stop lying to yourself." said Wang Zi seductively.

I pushed him away, ordering another beer.

                "No." i said sternly.

He sighed and walked off. This happened every night, he would come over, ask to sleep with me, and every timeI’d just reject him.

                "Why'd you do that for? He was hot!" complained Ya Tou, my best friend.

                "Ya Tou, i don't like him. i barely even know the guy!"

                "I know, i know. I’m not that type of girl either! I’d only do 'it' with the guy i love."

                "Be careful which you give your love to, for guys, love simply stands for: Legs Open Very Easily." i warned her.

I walked out of the club drunk. I swayed side to side as i slung my arm around Ya Tou. Suddenly, i bumped into someone and fell unconscious.

I held my head in pain as i got up from my sleep. I was having a major headache. One thing i hated about drinking was getting a hangover. That was when i remembered that i had fallen into the arms of a stranger which happened to be a guy. As a reflex reaction, i pulled the blanket off me, checking to see if i still had clothes on.

                "I didn't do anything to you, don't worry. I brought some painkillers." said a male voice.

i looked at the door, seeing a man around his early twenties, standing there smiling at me. He walked over, handing me the medicine.

                "Thanks," i mumbled, swallowing the tablet.

He was dressed formally. It didn't take a genius to know that he was from a wealthy family.

                "How can i trust you that you didn't do anything to me?" i asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.

                "I can't make you trust me, but i can give you my number in case anything happens, which i highly doubt." he said, handing me a sheet with his number.

I took it, getting up from the bed.

                "Thank you Mr...?"

                "Aaron, just call me Aaron." he said with a smile.

i nodded and walked out, leaving the mansion.

~End of Story~

                "And from that day on, they became the best of friends. It didn't take long before one thing led to another and they were officially together. Everything sailed smoothly for them until the day he decided to bring her home."

~Story~

[Guigui POV]

i walked into his mansion, tightening my grip on his hand.

                "It's going to be alright." he assured me, squeezing my hand a little.

i smiled weakly as he led me to the dinner table. my heart felt like it was beating so fast that I was afraid Aaron could hear it.

                “Mum, Dad this is my girlfriend, Guigui.” Introduced Aaron.

They looked at me briefly, shaking their heads. I tensed up, taking in a deep breath.

                “Hi, Mr and Mrs Yan.” I bowed politely.

                “Come on, don’t just sit around, let’s eat!” said Aaron, trying to lighten the mood.

We sat there, eating in silence.

                “So Guigui, what do your parents work as?” Asked Aaron’s mum.

                “My dad doesn’t work, my mum works in the school down my road.” I said.

                “Oh, is she a teacher?” asked his mum.

                “No, she’s a cleaner.”

I heard his dad choke on his food. I held onto my fork tightly. Aaron rubbed my hand, smiling.

                “Not everyone is rich.” Stated Aaron.

                “Aaron, remember we have a ball tomorrow evening. Do bring Guigui. DO you have a dress dear?” asked his mum.

                “Um, not the fancy kind…” I replied.

                “Oh! Heavens, I forgot! You’re poor! I’m so sorry. You’ve probably never went to such a high class event.” She said, giving me a small smile.

I took the knife, holding it tightly in my hands, before stabbing it into my steak. His mother gasped, as did his father.

                “Oh, did I scare you? Sorry, I never knew you high class people were so sensitive to these things. Got too much money that you can’t risk dying, right? Who would spend your money if you died?” I asked innocently.

                “Guigui.” Said Aaron, his voice all tense.

I stopped talking, knowing that I had gone too far.

                “It’s alright Aaron. Who can blame her? Low class people give birth to low class people. She was probably never taught about manners.” Stated his mother.

                “Oh no, of course not. Like you high class people teach your children so well. They even let their children date LOWER class people!” I said, pretending to be shocked.

                “Guigui, that’s enough! Come out here with me.” Shouted Aaron, pulling me out.

I looked at his mum one last time, seeing his mum smirk.

We stood in his garden silently.

                “I want you to apologise to my mum.” He merely stated, not looking at me.

                “What?” I asked, bewildered.

                “Say sorry to my mum. You went too far in there.” He repeated.

                “I went too far?! Ever since I stepped into that room, she was shooting daggers at me! Every question she asked was clearly said to embarrass me!” I shouted, losing control of myself.

I tried to calm myself down, but it didn’t work. I took out a cigarette, lighting it before putting it in my mouth.

                “You promised you’d stop smoking!” he shouted, snatching the cigarette out of my hands.

                “Old habits die hard!” I retorted.

                “Who taught you to smoke anyways.”

                “Of course my low class parents did. You know, since we’re so low class?”

                “Stop it Guigui! Stop mocking my mother!” he shouted.

                “Why are you getting so angry for?!”

                “You’re insulting my mother Guigui! I can’t take that!” he shouted.

                “Oh, so you can take her insulting me, but you can’t take me insulting her?! I’m your bloody girlfriend, for heaven’s sake Aaron!”

We just stood there, as silence enveloped us.

                “Guigui, just go back into the dining room and apologise to my mum. I’ll drive you home after that.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

                “Say that again.”

                “apologise to my mum, and I’ll drive you home.” He repeated.

I just stood there, rooted to the ground.

                “What if I were to say no.” I asked.

                “Please don’t make this harder than it already is.” He pleaded.

                “There is nothing hard about this Aaron! You’re just making the problem bigger than it already is.! Just drive me home, and we’ll forget about this okay?”

                “I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” He answered.

Angrily, I pulled him into the house, into the dining room. His parents looked up at us.

                “Oh dear, why are you crying sweetie? Has Aaron finally broken up with you?” asked his mother innocently.

                “Aaron, make her apologise to me.” I ordered.

His mum started laughing.

                “Who do you think you are, my dear? You’re just his girlfriend, I’m his mother.”

I looked at Aaron.

                “Tell her.” I ordered again.

He looked at me, then to his mother.

                “If you tell me to apologise then I’ll disown you as my son.”

                “If you don’t tell her to apologise to me, then we can’t be together.” I stated confidently.

I looked at him with confidence, as he walked over to me.

                “Guigui, just apologise to my mum.” He whispered.

Tears started b over my eyes. I looked at him with sorrow.

                “What did you just say?” I asked.

                “You heard him. Apologise to me.” Said his mum proudly.

                “Shut up! I want to hear him say it.” I said.

                “Guigui, say sorry to my mum.”

At that moment, my heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces. My smile was immediately wiped off my face.

                “Is that what you really want?” I asked him again.

He just nodded. I started laughing hysterically.

                “If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get!” I shouted. “Sorry that your life is a hole, sorry that your husband is an ugly bastard, and I am truly sorry that you son is a ing mummy’s boy that he chose his mum over his girlfriend.”

I grabbed my bag and ran out of the house.i stood outside his house, waiting for him to chase me, but he never came. I just stood there, in the cold night, staring at his front door, waiting for it to open.

~End of story~

                “She went home and waited for his call everyday. She didn’t do anything from that day on, just sitting there, staring at her phone, waiting for him to call.”

~Story~

[Guigui POV]

                “Guigui, please eat. You’ll get sick! Please honey.” Pleaded my mother.

I just sat on my bed, staring at my phone.

                “He should be calling soon.” I repeated. “Mum, why isn’t he calling me?”

                ‘Honey, please don’t be like this.”

                “Maybe he’s just too busy. That’s right.” I repeated it over and over.

My mum sighed, and left my room.

                “Maybe he’s waiting for me at our old hideout.” I thought.

I quickly grabbed my jacket and ran out of my house. I drove there as quickly as I could. I smiled widely as I saw his car parked outside the house.

I quietly walked into the house, hearing the tv on. I looked into the living room, but didn’t see anyone there. I looked everywhere apart from the bedroom. I smiled, quickly opening the door.

                “I knew you’d be in here!” I shouted in glee.

But to my surprise, he wasn’t the only one in there. He was with another girl.

                “Aaron?”

                “Guigui?! What are you doing here?!” he asked in surprise, putting his pants back on.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I ran out of the house.

                “Guigui, wait!” he shouted.

I continued to run and run, until I tripped over a ditch in the ground.

                “Guigui!” he shouted, helping me up.

                “Let go of me!” I screamed, pushing him away.

                “Please! You’ve misunderstood!”

                “Get away from me Aaron Yan!” I shouted. “For the past week, all I’ve been doing is waiting for your call, waiting for you to tell me that everything was fine and that we were still normal. I was worried whether or not you were safe. Or whether or not your mother was giving you a hard time. But this was what you were doing this whole time?! You were in’ ing some rich ?!”

I pushed him away, getting up from the ground.

                “Guigui, please!”

                “Please what?! Act as if I didn’t see anything? Act as if my boyfriend wasn’t cheating on me?! I may be of low class, but not as low as to be with a guy who was just playing around with me!” I shouted.

                “I thought we already broke up anyway! Didn’t you say that if I told you to apologise to my mum, then you would break up with me?!” he asked me.

I froze, trying to take in what he had just said.

                “You’re right. Why am I so worked up about my ex-boyfriend’s stuff? I’m not his girlfriend anymore. He said it himself. I’m officially single again. Yay!” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. “I thought you were going to act as if I never said that. That day when I ran away from your house, I stood outside; waiting for you to run after me, but you never came.Though I knew it was the end of us, I still let myself believe that you were going to show up the next day at my house and ask me on a date. I was even foolish enough to think that if you had done so, I would’ve come over to your place and apologised to your mum properly. I didn’t want to lose you. But I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re over.”

He pulled me into his embrace, pressing his lips against mine.

                “Guigui, you have to believe me!”

 I pushed him away, slapping him across the face.

                “Stop it! Stop acting as if you’re still my boyfriend!Haven’t we already established the fact that we are now officially over?! Stop toying with my feelings!I may look strong, but I’m not! Ever since I met you, I’ve changed. I don’t want to this weak and fragile Guigui anymore! I want to be the strong and independent Guigui I used to be! But since I met you, that seemed to be impossible.” I paused, wiping my tears. “We are two people from 2 totally different worlds. You mother was right, low class people do have low class ways of solving things. I don’t want to be with you anymore Aaron. All it’s done is hurt me. I can’t live like this.” I cried.

I pulled my necklace off my neck, throwing it on the ground, stepping , and crushing it.

                “My love for you is like this necklace. Old and broken. You gave this to me once, and now you can have it back. I don’t need it.”

 I walked off, letting my tears flow freely.

                “Guigui, I don’t care what you say, I still love you.”

Crying harder than before after hearing what he said, I sped up. I looked up at the sky. This will be the last time I will shed tears for a guy.

~End of Story~

                “Months passed, and both of them continued on with their lives, until it was her birthday. August 11^th 2010. The most memorable day of her life…”

~Story~

[Guigui POV]

                “Guigui, are the decorations up?” asked my mum.

I nodded, sitting myself down on the couch.

                “Get dressed. There was an anonymous parcel for you. I put it in your room.” She informed me.

I walked up to my room, seeing the parcel on my bed. I opened it, revealing a beautiful dress. I looked at the card that was left in the box.

                ‘To the love of my life, Happy Birthday.’

Tears started running down my cheeks as I recognised the writing. I took the dress and changed into it.

                “You look beautiful.” Said my mum, standing at the door.

I turned around and smiled.

                “It’s Aaron’s birthday present for me.”

I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, and smiled.

I was about to walk out of my room when my mum held me back.

                “There’s another note in the parcel.” She told me.

I walked over to the box, taking the note out.

                ‘I know you’ve always wanted the famous cheesecake from Tian Xiang Lou, so I’ve taken this chance to buy it for you. I hope you like my presents. But don’t get too excited, there’s another surprise up ahead. I’m sure you’ll be very happy.’

Smiling widely, I held the note to my chest, hugging it tightly.

My friends finally arrived, but they all seemed very different.

                “Guigui, let’s play a game! If you follow all of the instructions properly, it will lead you to happiness!” they all shouted.

                “What game?” I asked.

                “All you have to do is follow the arrows on the ground, starting from your house. It’s that simple.”

                “That doesn’t seem very fun.” I said.

They just laughed and pushed me outside. I started following the arrows, leading me to random places. I sighed, following each and every one of them, making sure not to get lost. Finally, I came down to the last one.

                ‘Your happiness is just around the corner.’

I smiled, turning around the building.

                “What is this?” I mused.

It was a beautiful garden that was beautifully decorated. I watched as a banner came across the door.

                ‘Guigui, I love you, give me another chance.’

I covered my mouth, stifling gasp.

                “Give him another chance!” encouraged my friends who were already here.

I smiled, looking around trying to find him.

                “Where’s the male lead?” asked Ya Tou.

I looked around again.

                “Maybe he’s playing a hide and seek game with Guigui!” mused Ya Tou

They all laughed, and I joined in.

                “Call the ambulance! Someone just got hit by a car!!!” shouted Jiro, running towards us. “What the hell are you guys just standing there for? Call the ambulance!”

My heart stopped beating.

My palms started sweating.

My throat seemed dry.

Everyone rushed towards the crime scene. I forced myself to walk, literally dragging my feet there.

There was a big crowd.

Everyone was screaming.

I walked over, pushing through the hoard of people.

                “Aaron!!!” I screamed, running over to the body that was lying on the road, covered with blood.

He smiled at me, caressing my cheek with his blood covered hands.

                “Happy birthday Guigui. I bought this for you.” He handed me over a smashed cake box.

I shook my head as my tears started streaming down my face.

                “I’m sorry it’s smashed.” He said.

I shook my head again, taking the box in my hands.

                “I’ve always wanted to try their cake.” I said between tears.

                “I wish I could try it with you.”

                “Of course you can!”

I opened the box, looking at the smashed cake.

                “It looks delicious.” I said.

                “It said: Guigui, I love you. Please be my girlfriend.” He stated.

I nodded madly.

                “I remade the necklace you broke the last time we met, the one I gave you.” He said, feeling around his pockets. “Where’d it go?”

                “Don’t worry about it.”

                “No! I want to wear it on for you.”

Everyone started looking for it, but to no avail.

                “I originally planned for this to be the perfect birthday party for you.”

                “It’s the most perfect birthday ever. Let’s cut the cake.” I said.

Ya Tou ran over, handing us a knife. Holding the knife together, we cut the cake.

                “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Guigui, happy birthday to you…” and with that his eyes shut, his hands falling out of mine.

I held him close to my chest as I cried.

                “Thank you Aaron, Thank you for everything.”

~End of Story~

                “He died, and she never got to attend his funeral. His mother hated her even more because she believed that Guigui was the cause of her son’s death. The only time Guigui could visit him was every night.” I paused, hearing the girl beside me sniff.  “She never found the necklace. No matter how hard she searched, it seemed to have disappeared. She was left with nothing, no memories of the man she loved.”

                “That’s so sad!” cried the girl.

                “No sweetie, that’s not all. The reason why he didn’t chase her was because he had an asthma attack when she left. But he never told her that. And the day that she caught him in bed with another girl, she was drunk, all she was doing was undressing him. That was his friend. She wasn’t going to do anything. It turns out that she always did that to her guy friends. She would always fall asleep before they could do anything.”

                “No way! So she mistook him that whole time?! I feel so sorry for her! Do you think that’s what happened with me and my boyfriend?!” she asked me desperately.

                “If you love him, then don’t leave him. Trust him no matter what. Go, go and chase your happiness.” I encouraged.

She ran off, smiling the whole way.

I got off the seat, walking to the bridge. I looked over it, seeing my reflection in the river.

                “Guigui, oh Guigui. You sure are old now, aren’t you?” I asked myself.

                “Mummy, mummy! Today’s my birthday! August 11^th! Did you get me a present?” asked a little girl.

                “Wait till you get home!” said her parents enthusiastically.

I held my heart in pain, remembering what happened this day, 60 years ago. That was the day I lost everything. I lost the only thing that mattered to me. I had nothing left to remind me of him – not even a single gift.

I felt my tears b over my eyes. I held my hands together, closing my eyes.

                “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Guigui, happy birthday to you.” I sung, hearing Aaron’s voice sing with me.

                “I really miss you Aaron.” I managed to say.

I clutched my heart, falling to my knees. The only thing I have left in memory of you is this broken heart of mine. Without it, I would have no memories of you. Every day I wake up, it hurts me more and more. I know that you are in a better place, but I never wanted you to leave. The only thing I have left is this heartache, the heartache, though I want to forget, I can’t let myself. Because without it, what is there to reminisce?

The reason my heart is still beating is because I want to have this feeling. I know it’s painful every day, but it makes me remember the fun times we had together. Not matter how much I love and miss you, it’s become only memories. That is why I will always cherish my heartache, because without it, I would have nothing left.