All those once-close friends now gathered around Quincy, the very same person I had brought into this circle back then.
The suffocation became too much, so I stood and slipped away to the restroom. I stayed hidden there for a long time before I finally gathered the courage to come out.
But just as I reached for the door, voices floated in from outside.
“Luka, now that the two of them aren’t here, tell us honestly, your old lover is back. What’s going through your head? Don’t tell me you’re planning to start things up again?”
Luka let out a sharp click of his tongue.
“How could that be? The hospital report says she already has two children. Rekindle? What, you expect me to play the fool?”
One friend sounded doubtful.
“But when she went missing, you were the one who panicked most. You acted like you couldn’t live without her. And now you’re saying you feel nothing?”
Luka stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking.
“I don’t even know myself. But now, whenever I see her, I can’t stop imagining that she’s been touched by someone else. I do feel sorry for her, but she’s not the same as before. Now she’s just… secondhand, isn’t she?”
I leaned weakly against the wall, my legs barely holding me up.
“So you’ve chosen to embrace a new life with Quincy? In stories, this is the part where the man hurts the one who once shone like heaven, clings to his first love, but in the end still chooses the one from above.”
Luka’s voice hardened. “I won’t hurt Quincy. As for Talia, as long as she doesn’t cause trouble or do anything against Quincy, I can let her stay by my side.”
His friend sounded puzzled. “Then why not just send Talia away?”
Luka didn’t even pause. “No, she can’t leave. Even if I marry Quincy, I still have old ties with her. She has nothing now, not even her parents. How could I just throw her out? Besides… she only has me left.”
“And besides, I also carry the blame for her kidnapping. If I hadn’t walked Quincy home that day, maybe Talia wouldn’t have been taken.”
I was about to slip away, but when I turned, I ran right into Quincy.
“Talia, why aren’t you going inside?”
At that moment, the door behind me opened.
“Talia? When did you come back?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I bolted straight out of the hall.
“Talia!”
Out on the roadside, Luka caught up and grabbed my arm.
“Talia! Calm down, please! Tell me, what exactly did you hear?”