Love at the Nth Time

The Hint of the Past

Chapter 12

"Thank you so much. I had fun. I would like to be with my old sis next time, so it would be better to go on a group trip. Just contact me if you're free."

As if I would.

It's been two weeks since we went to Thailand. After that, I avoided talking to her anymore. I missed her. Yes, I badly do. But, I was getting a bit too attached that I forgot where my place was on terms with her.

"Thank you, Seth. Your dad is always busy," Rose whispered. I chuckled.

"Yeah, though he enjoys your company. You're too smart. He's thinking of hiring you as his assistant or something."

"Oh? But I dislike being an employee~."

"You chose to be a businesswoman. I know." We both laughed.

"Sis, these are the reviews. Some people asked your contact number to set up a presentation," Celine said as she handed some papers to her older sister. I altered my attention to my sketches of a woman's body. I thought I would practice myself not watching women all the time, and I would start to practise it on her.

"Setherlyn, may I borrow your laptop? I didn't bring mine. Our mentor borrowed it all of a sudden."

"Sure, sis Rosalinda." She glared as she watched me leave the room, disliked calling her by her full name. She had a powerful personality, and they had opposite personalities. I was too afraid to mess with Celine still. She's so cute today-

I took out my eyeglasses and wiped them off with my handkerchief. Stop it, Seth.

I tried not to talk to her all this time, to evade her, done with pretending. I wished to end it, and it wouldn't end if I didn't start it.

"You're good at making videos." I lowered my body a little to watch Rose edit a couple of recorded scenes. The ordinary folks of their business gathered and happily worked on activities.

Unique, she's a wise woman, and these people were looking up to her. Celine showed up in the videos as well.

"I started making videos when I was starting in this business. It helped me a lot of things I can do." I smiled.

"Yeah, you have a big team already. No wonder everyone looks up to you." She laughed.

"Not really, so don't you have any souvenirs for me? Ceng brought me a lot." I glanced at Celine a second while sitting on the sofa before us and caught her gazing up at me.

"Why would I buy you? Did you tell me?" Rose laughed and darted at her sister.

"Ceng, buy food for us. I'm hungry."

"Hah, okay, what food?" I went to my desk and flipped on the papers stacked up.

"Your money," Celine stated, and I caught her hand asking for it.

"Aba, you just got your allowance." I sat down on my chair and minded my own business.

"Crazy, give it to me. You wanna eat something too, Seth?" Celine inquired. I looked at her and shook my head.

"Nah, I'm good, thank you." Her expressionless face showed at me again, huh.

"Don't ask. Just buy some!" Rose yelled a little. Were they fighting?

"Your money," Celine shouted. Were they fighting in front of me?

"So stingy," Rose mumbled, handing her wallet to her. I watched Celine saunter through the door. She seemed edgy…. "Good thing she didn't ask you to treat her. She's a real thrift." I smiled at it and saw her seriously busy on the laptop.

"I wanna see some more of the videos you made."

I didn't try to avoid Celine on purpose. I acted like we were not close, avoided any conversations with her, and altered my attention to anyone else or displayed my indifference towards her.

Nevertheless, a sting in my heart pierced through me as they left, and Celine didn't look at me. I felt the distance in between us. Was I doing the right thing? Was I acting the hero of letting go of the person I hoped to be with? Or did I not even tell her why I behaved like that? Was I merely a friend, right?

Even at work, I couldn't think straight. The face of Celine, her voice, smile, and presence remained to appear around me.

"You still have two tubes, dude. Drink it up..!" The group of people with whom I usually hung out urged me to finish the last liquor. My feet staggered a second, yet I stood still and loud voices mixed with the party music in the background. I covered my eyes with my hand. My head was so damn clear, which made the sounds deafening. Spikes of chills ran through me even though my body was drowned in the heat.

A woman clung to me suddenly.

"Hey, still not done here b***h, get outta here," said one of the guy's acquaintances and pulled the woman away from me. He tapped the back of my shoulder. "I've had a lot of women at table 4. Join them there." I frowned.

"What?"

"They're already checking you. Look." The other guy tapped me. I watched those women wave at me, and one of them licked their lips. I drank the last tube straight and joined the ladies. Constantly, the smell of solid perfumes of women and their feminine scent drew my worries away. The casual touches and distinct breaths which lingered along my body held me secure. Yet, somehow, the usual reason for drowning myself in mutual intimacy was pulling me away from something I once recognized.

"It's your turn, babe," whispered the woman beside me. Leaning on the couch had no effect of getting dizzy. My hand reached my head to rest on it. The woman blabbered to the circle while her arms snaked around me. She's moving too much. It's making me nauseous.

"Wait, my phone is ringing," muttered I, and took it out of my pocket. I saw the name of Celine on the screen, and my mind remained blank from the heaviness of my body. I answered the call.

"Yeah?" I asked softly.

"Seth?"

"Yes…"

"Hey, Seth, I have two tubes in me. Wanna drink it? I wanna kiss you right now." The same woman snuggled me. I gently elbowed her away.

"I'm on a call. Be back," I responded and hardly walked away from the noisy crowd.

"What? You just got here. Tell her to wait forever!" One of the women shouted. I chuckled. As the noise reduced, I rested my left elbow on my right arm and talked to Celine again. The posture lessened the sickness I felt.

"What are you saying, sorry?"

"Um, no, I'll talk to you tomorrow-" How shameless she could be to speak casually to me.

"Do you think I wanna talk to you anymore? No, I mean I don't have a lot of free time to talk to anyone." I had no control of my emotions in my current state. My mind's a mess.

"A-are you mad at me?" I stopped for a brief moment when I heard her voice tremble.

What, what did I say?

"No. Wait-" A woman suddenly hung her arm on mine. I scowled at her and continued talking to Celine. "What are you talking about?"

"Seeeeth!! Come on!" the woman bawled out and tugged me continuously.

"Wait, I have, I have to take this call-"A long beep sound on the phone left me with a deep breath, and a sudden realization of the tiredness I had for the night.

Her trembling voice bothered me. I got a headache and hangover last night. I didn't even try to drink more and called Win to drive me home.

*Calling... Celine

I groaned from the strikes of pain my head caused. The moment I woke up with naked and messy hair, not that I thought about it. Rather, the trembling voice of Celine last night added above all.

"Hello?"

"Celine, Celine, I'm sorry. I-I'm hanging out with friends. That's why I couldn't keep up the conversation last night-" She cut me off.

"It's okay." Did what I said bother her?

"Hey, it's not like that. I-I'm not mad at you or anything-"

"Yes, it's fine. It's okay, I said."

"W-what are you saying, it's all okay?"

For Pete's sake, she didn't even know how I feel right now!!! I felt sick, and I was still worried about her!

"It's fine. I thought I was bothering you last night. That's why I hung up the phone, but it's okay, I don't mind." I calmed down. I scanned my condo unit and stared at the clothes scattered on the floor.

"Yeah, I see-" She went on, cutting me off.

"Yeah, it's okay. Stop being so nice. I don't need it."

"What?"

"You're so nice to me. I don't need that-"

"So you want me to be rude to you then?" I raised my voice. s**t. "I'm sorry. It's just I still have the headache I had last night..."

"You're always like that. What are you trying to prove in your life whenever you drown yourself drunk? I don't need your apology. I don't care. Stop acting like a good person in front of me!" My heart hammered. I could hear it in my ears. A standard set of events were pulled out from my memory. A flash of a blonde woman smugly grinning at me, and her words attacked me from the danger she brought me in.

"Serves you right," her snicker registered the result of the scheme for a long time.

"I, I'll talk to you later-"

"No. I don't wanna talk to you anymore." She hung up the call. I redialed her number, yet she rejected it. Her phone rang several times, and could no longer be reached.

Restlessness added to my headache. I couldn't breathe. It was suffocating. I scanned the area and tried to remember where I put the medicine. Gradually, my foot staggered as it met the floor. The place's air blocked my airway, and a loud thud blacked out my view.