Escaping The Past (Agreste Series #1)

II: STRANGERS

"So, what else would you like to order, Mr. Ziel?" Ei asked sarcastically.

It was already one in the morning, and Ei was still working, serving her customers at the bar. The night was deep, the environment loud, and the people continued to party. Meanwhile, Raziel sat watching her, still unable to believe what was happening. Unsure if he was on the verge of breaking down, he drowned his confusion in alcohol. "Give me a mojito," Raziel said.

"How many drinks have you had now?" Ei muttered as she prepared his drink, clearly disapproving of Raziel's drinking. Once she finished making the mojito, she served it to Raziel and whispered, "This is your last one. I can't carry you if you fall asleep or collapse here." Raziel just rolled his eyes in response. "Then don't bother," she retorted. Ei noticed his attitude but simply returned to her work.

"You weren't like this before," Raziel murmured, but Ei ignored him. She had been sensing Raziel's restlessness for a while but chose to overlook it, not wanting to create a scene and attract unwanted attention at work. In Raziel’s mind, he was reflecting on the past, remembering how Ei used to be wild and a heavy drinker. He couldn't believe how differently she was acting now.

As the night wore on, a large man with a downcast expression arrived. He was handsome and seemed serious, but his eyes betrayed his sadness. "The usual?" Ei asked the man.

"Nah, I want a Martini now, Lara," the man replied.

"Alright, give me a minute, Blake," Ei responded to her regular customer. "Having a tough night, huh?" she added as she prepared Blake's drink, with Raziel watching intently.

"Yeah, my brother and I had a fight," Blake answered in a deep voice while waiting for his drink and watching Ei.

As Raziel observed Ei and her regular customer, Blake, he raised an eyebrow, wondering why Blake called her Lara. It wasn't long before Blake noticed Raziel watching him. "New guy?" Blake asked Ei, pointing to Raziel.

Raziel thought to himself that Blake and Ei must have known each other for a long time, given how comfortable they seemed with each other. "It depends," Raziel answered sarcastically.

"I like him," Blake said, turning to face Raziel while seated. "You look familiar, yet not," Blake remarked to Raziel, causing both Raziel and Ei to feel uneasy as Blake scrutinized him. "By the way, I'm Blake Santorini, a regular customer here," Blake introduced himself, extending his hand for a shake. At first, Raziel hesitated to introduce himself, but then he quickly came up with an idea.

"Ziel Leong, her pas—"

Raziel couldn't finish his sentence as Ei interrupted, "I'm his friend from his past, Blake, a high school friend," she interjected, handing Blake his drink. Raziel was surprised by Ei's swift response and display of quick thinking.

"Well, yeah, I didn't expect us to meet again, and I thought you were her boyfriend," Raziel replied sarcastically, his tone and demeanor puzzling Ei.

"Not yet, but I will be," Blake answered, surprising both Ei and Raziel. Raziel concealed his emotions, but inside he was at a loss. He hadn't yet come to terms with seeing Ei again, and now another shocking revelation had been thrown at him. "Is it right, Lara?" Blake asked, smiling at Ei.

Still in disbelief and unsure how to react, Ei agreed out of politeness and embarrassment. She noticed Raziel's indifferent demeanor, assuming he didn't care about what he had just heard. "You'd make a great couple. Good luck, Blake," Raziel agreed, though his tone left both Ei and Blake uncertain whether he meant it sincerely or sarcastically.

Raziel and Ei had a long history together, but their relationship had been no joke for Raziel. Ei was a completely different person back then. Compared to now, Ei seemed more composed and mature, unlike the person she was when they were together. This left Raziel full of confusion as he faced the woman he hadn't seen in a long time and who seemed to have changed significantly. Despite this, he struggled to trust her, as the Ei he remembered was vastly different from the one standing before him now.

From the very first moment they met again, Raziel was at a loss for how to act or what to feel. Even now, his emotions were a whirlwind of confusion. He didn't know whether to be happy to see the woman he once loved or angry because she had shown up again after causing him so much pain. His only response was to give emotionless and inconclusive reactions, having adopted the go-with-the-flow attitude that the old Ei had once possessed, a trait and mindset he had picked up from her.

Raziel was deeply conflicted. The reappearance of Ei in his life stirred up unresolved feelings and memories, making it difficult for him to find his footing. On one hand, there was the undeniable love he had once felt for her; on the other, the bitterness of past wounds still lingered. Raziel's struggle was not just about reconciling with Ei, but also about reconciling with his own heart, which had been both healed and scarred by their shared history.

"Hey," Ei called out to Raziel, who was zoning out. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. "We're closing. Are you drunk?" Ei asked, concern evident on her face. Before long, Ei and the staff closed the club because they were exhausted, and they had a rest day the next day. She was also tired from serving so many people earlier, and they had already met their quota. "I told you to stop drinking. You know I can't lift yo—"

She stopped mid-sentence when Raziel grabbed her hand, snapping back to reality from her wake-up call. "Are you even real?" Raziel asked in a husky voice, startling Ei. His eyes, heavy with fatigue, stared into hers. "No, you're not real," Raziel murmured, prompting Ei to let out an exasperated sigh.

"It's up to you. Get up and go back to our room," Ei instructed. As Raziel stood up, before he could walk away to return to their room, he glanced around as if looking for someone. "Blake is gone. He left while you were zoning out," Ei added. "He had to leave because he has something to do tomorrow. He just dropped by to pass the time and vent."

"I don't care about him. You can talk to any guy here, you're an expert at that," Raziel replied coldly, causing Ei's eyes to widen as she set the towel down on the table.

"Excuse me?" Ei said, annoyed. "Blake and I are just friends. What are you talking about, Mr. Agreste?" As her irritation grew, Ei stepped closer to Raziel, cornering him.

"Yeah, you guys are friends even though you know he likes you. Just like those other 'friends' you had back then, right?" Raziel couldn't hold back anymore and let out the first hurtful things that came to mind.

Ei grimaced at Raziel's words and instinctively stepped away from him. "You're already drunk, Raziel. Just sleep," she said, nervous and unsure of what to do or say next.

"I don't even know why the f**k you brought me here, Ei. For what? Just for me to see that you're already with somebody else? Did you really need to rub that in my face? Even if I turned my back, you've already been with so many guys," Raziel ranted incoherently. Thankfully, they were alone, or Ei would have been mortified if anyone else had witnessed the scene. "Is it the truth, right? Right, Ei?! Goddamn it, you can be with someone else and I don't care about that! Just please don't mess up my inner peace more! You can be a slut anytime, anyw—"

"Are you f*****g done?" Ei slapped Raziel hard, causing him to face the ground. "Let's go if you don't want to be here anymore, Raziel! I'll take you back!" Ei couldn't hold back her anger any longer. "Yes! I messed you up in the past, Raziel, but you didn't give me a chance to f*****g explain! You don't want to be with me? Then fine! If I could just let you be killed by one of your bride's men, I would let that happen!"

The surroundings fell silent after Ei's words, and Raziel snapped back to reality. "Huh? What are you talking about? Who's going to kill me? Me?"

"Yes, you! I know you're not okay, and I just wanted to do something to make you feel better and I'll explain everything. But that's your problem, you never listen to me. You're always right! Your assumptions are always right, even when they're not." Ei responded to Raziel, who was now silent. "I was one of your staff, Raziel, and I overheard that you wanted to escape. The person you hired to help you escape planned to kill you because your bride, Natalia, knew about it. If she couldn't marry you, it was better for her to have you killed. So I got to you first to take you away from wherever you were. I don't want you to be killed, Raziel. You don't deserve to die tragically," Ei added, leaving Raziel speechless.

Raziel knew that what Ei was saying was true. Natalia didn't want the wedding to fall apart because her reputation and what she stood to gain from him were crucial to her. But Raziel never imagined Natalia would go so far as to have him killed just to avoid the issue of them not getting married because he didn't want her.

"And Blake and I are just friends, even though I know he likes me a lot. I just can't reject him right now because I owe him so much since I came to this country. Sometimes I really don't know what to do in certain situations, so I need time. I don't know what to do about Blak—" Ei continued, but Raziel interrupted.

"If there's something stopping you from loving him, don't let that stop you because I know what it feels like to have one-sided love, Ei," Raziel said, looking down. "It's clear from his eyes that he's willing to give you everything you need, want, and what makes you happy, so choose him." With each word Raziel spoke, he gradually looked into Ei's eyes. "Don't do to him what you did in the past. Don't take him for granted."

"But—"

"Please, he's the only one who can give you everything. I can see that. He can give you things that I couldn't in the past. Don't waste his love just because you want to be wild. Not this time. I couldn't give you the love you deserved, and it will never be enough, but him? I can see that he can give you everything to make you fall in love with him." Raziel spoke continuously. "The things I couldn't give you won't make you fall in love with me, but him? He can give you that. He can give you the freedom you want in life, and he can be your someone who will support you in everything."

"Raziel..."

"I'm not worthy of you, Ei. I can see that in your eyes. If I were worthy of you, we wouldn't have broken up, and we wouldn't be in this situation. I know you just pitied me before, and if you only saved me now out of pity, don't. I don't want to be cared for anymore. I've already accepted the fact that you didn't love me, and you won't. So please, if I'm going to die, let me die. I'm tired, and that's my kind of freedom," Raziel said without emotion. "So choose him. I don't want to be with you or anyone else anymore. I just want to be alone and free."

"Every love inside of me has already turned into hate, so if you're here out of pity, I don't need your pity. But I appreciate your effort to save me, and I'm thankful that you don't want me to die tragically. I owe you that because even though I want to die, I don't want to die that way either," Raziel added, leaving Ei silent.

"Well, if that's what you want, then fine, I'll respect that. I'm sorry if it seems like I pity you, but please, just promise me you won't die tragically," Ei said quietly, her head bowed. "Maybe it's better if we just stay friends. There are things I'm working on within myself that I hope will give me clarity someday. But yeah, I hope you'll stay alive."

After saying that, Ei excused herself, telling Raziel she was going to the staff's comfort room. However, as she took her first step and turned her back on Raziel, she paused for a moment. "You've changed a lot, Raziel," she whispered, feeling the weight of her emotions.

"You too, Ei. Whatever happened in the past is already in the past. Let's just move on."