Loving The Heartless Man

Chapter 33

Elara Pov

"Why did you suddenly want to meet up with me, bestie? Did you miss me already? We were just together at the office yesterday and now you miss me already?" Liam asked me with a laugh as he sat down in the empty seat across from me. I met him at a coffee shop inside the mall. His house is nearby, so I ordered him a coffee while waiting for him to arrive.

"You're right. I miss you that's why I called you here," I replied to him with a smile. I gave him the coffee I ordered for him. I didn't mention anything about my suspicion of a red car following me because I didn't want him to worry. He's too exaggerated anyway. I'm sure I'd be more scared if I heard any exaggerations from him.

"How are your parents? Are they okay? Is your dad healthy now?" he asked while sipping through the straw of his coffee.

I smiled and nodded at him. "My Papa is fine. Papa actually wants me to go back home and live with them."

"So what's your answer?"

"Of course, I refuse him. I still have a husband now so I can't live at home with them. I just said it's more convenient at my house because it's close to the office and I'll visit them often."

"Why don't you just let them stay at Alexander's house? For sure that man won't refuse you because his house is big."

I quickly shook my head. "It's not possible."

Liam's eyes widened when he realized the answer to why my parents couldn't live in Alexander's house. "Don't tell me your Papa doesn't know about Alexander? My friend, that's trouble if your Papa finds out about him."

"Just five more months and Alexander and I will be divorced, so there's no need for Papa to know about that matter. I'll just try to hide from him the fact that I have a husband in exchange for the ten million pesos he used for his surgery."

"It's up to you. As for me, I'm just here supporting you."

"That's why I super love you, bestie. You're the best among the best friends in the whole wide world," I smiled at her.

"Don't try to fool me, girl." He pretended to glare at me. "By the way, we're already here at the mall so let's just watch a movie. Last time we didn't get to do it, remember?"

I thought that maybe the driver of the red car would leave if he got tired of waiting for me to come out, so I agreed to watch a movie.

We left the coffee shop to go to the fourth floor of the mall where the cinemas were located. While we were walking, I discreetly looked around and checked if anyone was looking at me. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that no one was looking at me.

When we arrived at the ticket booth, Liam immediately lined up to buy tickets.

I furrowed my brow when I saw that he bought tickets for three people.

"Why did you buy three? Are we bringing a ghost with us?" I joked, laughing.

"It's not a ghost we're bringing but my boyfriend. I'm inviting him so I can introduce him to you," Liam replied with a wide smile, clearly giddy about his new boyfriend. The last boyfriend he introduced to me only deceived him. It turned out the man was already married and had children. When the man's wife found out her husband had a gay boyfriend, she immediately confronted my friend. My bestie was humiliated, so he quickly broke up with his boyfriend and took back all the things he had given to the man.

"Do you have a boyfriend again? What if he’s married again and his wife confronts you?" I asked her hesitantly.

"Don't worry, bestie. This time I had him background-checked, so I’m sure he’s still single."

Liam bought two large popcorns and colas while we waited for her boyfriend to arrive. We only waited for about ten minutes before her new boyfriend arrived.

"Hi, babe. I'm here," the newly arrived man said with a smile to my friend.

The man was handsome and muscular, so it wasn’t surprising that Liam liked him. But for me, my bestie would still be more handsome than his boyfriend if he were only a real man. I can’t help but feel regretful that he turned out to be gay. Such a waste of his genes.

"It's okay, babe," Liam replied flirtatiously before kissing the man's cheek. "Babe, I would like you to meet this beautiful woman beside me. My best friend Elara. And bestie, this is my boyfriend, Henry."

"Hello, Henry," I greeted the man with a smile. I secretly wished that he wouldn't hurt my friend. I didn't want her to be hurt again because it also affected me. She always ends up crying and venting her frustrations at my house, just like the last time she got hurt.

"Nice to meet you, Elara," Henry said to me with a smile. He extended his hand for a handshake. Not wanting to embarrass him, I smiled and accepted his hand. However, my smile slightly faded when I felt a slight squeeze of his hand on my palm. I quickly withdrew my hand from his.

I just didn't pay much attention to Henry squeezing my hand because I might be overreacting.

"Let's go. Let's enter the cinema," I invited them.

I felt uneasy when Henry sat next to me and Liam sat beside him. I wanted to move next to my friend but there were no vacant seats. We chose a popular movie to watch, so the cinema was full.

I just stayed quiet in my seat and focused my attention on watching the movie while eating popcorn. When I reached for the popcorn, I was surprised when suddenly someone grabbed my hand inside the popcorn container. When I looked to see whose hand it was, I discovered it was Henry's hand. Faster than lightning, I pulled my hand away and worriedly glanced at Liam because he might have seen what happened and thought badly of me.

"Oops! Sorry. I thought it was our popcorn," Henry apologized, but it was obvious that he wasn't sincere because he was smiling at me as if he was teasing.

I wanted to throw the soft drink I was holding at his face, but I restrained myself because I didn't want to ruin Liam's mood. My best friend still seems happy with her new boyfriend. It's just annoying because I can already tell that the guy next to him isn't serious about him.

After the movie, we immediately left the cinema. There were a lot of people watching, so it was crowded on the way out. I felt an arm wrap around my waist, and when I looked to see whose arm it was, it was Liam's boyfriend again. I couldn't remove his hand because my friend was holding one of my hands, and the other was holding a soft drink that I hadn't finished while watching the movie.

"My gosh! Finally, we got out. There were so many people watching, that's why it was crowded," Liam exclaimed as soon as we got out of the cinema. "Wait for me, I'll just go to the bathroom. I really need to pee," he said before walking towards the nearest comfort room.

When my friend was gone, Henry immediately took out his cell phone and smiled as he talked to me. "Can I have your number, Elara? And let's take a picture together so we have a souvenir," he said to me with a smile, the kind of smile that you know has a meaning behind it.

I had run out of patience with him, so I couldn't stop myself from speaking up what was inside my mind.

"My best friend is serious about you, Henry. I hope you take him seriously too." I didn't hide the annoyance I felt towards him.

"C'mon, Elara. Stop pretending to be Liam's good friend. I know that you liked my touch earlier, that's why you didn't tell him about it. Don't worry because I'll keep it a secret from him about us," he said to me, full of self-confidence.

"Excuse me? About us? There's nothing about us. You're just imagining things. I don't know you so spare me." I took a deep breath to control myself. Now I'm sure he intentionally made those subtle touches on me earlier. He is really taking advantage of me earlier.

"That's why I'm asking for your number so we can talk without Liam and get to know each other better. The first time I saw you earlier, I fell in love at first sight. And I know you felt the same way about me." I don't know where this strong self-confidence that I fell in love at first sight with him is coming from.

"Please tell Liam that I went home because I need to poop," I told him instead of responding to his nonsense. I don't want to see his face anymore, so I'll just leave. I was about to turn around when he suddenly grabbed my arm to stop me from leaving. Angrily, I jerked my arm away for him to let go. "Hey! Next time you touch me again, I will really tell my friend your true colors!"

I did not wait for whatever Henry's answer would be and immediately left him. My body was trembling with anger. The nerve of that man. He was just introduced to me by my friend and he already showed his true colors. But on the other hand, it's also good because at least now I know that he is not worthy of my friend's love. I will find a way for Liam to break up with him. I will show my friend the true colors of his new boyfriend so that while it's still early and his feelings for Henry are not yet too deep, he won't get hurt too much if they break up.