While at the mall, I could see on Vanessa's face that she was happy. The joy of being together was reflected in her eyes, and I suddenly wondered what had happened that she wanted to steal Aric from me. I really couldn't imagine that my best friend would betray me. I couldn't imagine her getting close to my husband, Aric.
And then, before my mood could be ruined, I quickly dismissed from my mind that those things hadn’t happened yet. They were yet to happen in the near future, that is, if I marry Aric.
Honestly, when I had the chance to go back to the past, I was worried that I might still love Aric too much and wouldn’t be able to avoid him. Thankfully, I never forgot what they did to me.

They weren’t satisfied with just betraying me. They beat me up and then locked me in the basement. I was abused several times by that man and accused of carrying a child that wasn’t his. Such a beast! So cruel!
As I recalled what happened to me, I didn’t realize that I had suddenly frowned and Vanessa wondered why my mood had suddenly changed. When she asked, I quickly thought of an excuse.
“I’m hungry,” I told her. “Let’s eat first? Isn’t there something you always want to eat when we're here at the mall? Let's eat there,” I said, and she immediately smiled with great joy.
“Yes! Finally, I can taste my favorite chicken with lots of cheese again!”
When I looked at her, she looked so innocent. What did I do wrong to her that she just betrayed me? Should I talk to her? Ask if she holds any grudge against me?
But first, we headed to a restaurant. It wasn’t just Vanessa who liked the place. I also like their noodles with spam. They’re super spicy but delicious.

After entering the restaurant, we immediately looked for a place to sit. Then I placed our orders. While waiting for our orders, my cell phone suddenly rang. I frowned because I wasn’t expecting any calls and had blocked Luke on all social media accounts and even my mobile number.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?” asked Vanessa, and I shook my head.
“No. I don’t know this number calling me. Probably just spam calls,” I said as the caller kept calling.
“It doesn’t seem like a spam call though, maybe it’s an emergency since he wouldn't stop calling.”

“Later,” I said and quickly turned off my cell phone so we wouldn’t be disturbed.
The food we ordered arrived just in time, so we focused on eating. Vanessa was enjoying her meal, and her joy was contagious. Actually, before the disaster, food trips were usually our bonding time.
“You know, Vanessa, I really envy your metabolism because no matter how much you eat, you don’t gain weight. Unlike me, who needs to exercise a lot when I eat a lot,” I said to her.
“I’m the one who envies you. You have a complete family, and they love you so much,” she replied, and based on her words, I got an idea of why she did those things.
It was really just jealousy. Maybe she didn’t like seeing me happy with my parents and when we moved to the Lancaster pack, she also saw how happy I was with Aric. I thought she was happy for us. She was really envious.
“What are you talking about? Your family is also complete. Me, Mommy, and Daddy are your family now so stop thinking about anything else,” I said to her, and she suddenly looked at me.
Did Vanessa feel guilty?
“It’s easy for you to say because you didn’t lose your mother. You didn’t see how they killed your Mom in front of you, so it’s easy for you to say that,” she lamented, and I furrowed my brow.
“They killed your mom? And you saw it?”
“Yes. Even after many years, I still can’t forget the people who killed her. One day, that person will also experience the pain of losing everything,” Vanessa said.
So I thought about it. She wasn’t angry with me. She was angry with my dad. She would hurt me and even Mommy to punish Dad. Could Vanessa be involved in Mommy’s illness? If my suspicion was correct that she knew a witch, maybe she used black magic to make Mommy sick!
“You seem really angry with that person,” I said, not letting on that I had an idea who she was angry at.
I really want to talk to Daddy about what happened back then.
What if Vanessa’s mom was innocent? If so, I could really understand why she was so angry with my dad.
“I am furious, Isabella. Whenever I remember how my mom was killed back then, my blood boils against that person, Isabella. But soon he will also experience the pain of losing a loved one,” she said, and my eyes widened.
“It seems you have something bad planned,” I said, but she just smiled and didn’t answer.
I think Vanessa has indeed done something to punish Dad. If so, I needed to act to prevent anything bad from happening to me or Mommy. When I looked at Vanessa, her expression was calm, focused only on her food. How could she do that? There was no sign on her face that she was furious!
“Your noodles are getting cold, eat them,” she said.
“What if you just forgive the person who hurt you back then, Vanessa? Just move on and focus on yourself to be happy,” I suggested, but it seemed she took it the wrong way. She suddenly dropped the spoon she was holding and looked at me sternly.
“If it happened to you, could you forgive him, Isabella? Imagine, your mom was killed in front of you, and you see that man grinning while enjoying the murder of your mom?” she asked.
“No. I would take revenge,” I answered because that’s the truth. In fact, I am already seeking revenge on Aric even though he hasn’t done anything yet.
“See? You can’t forgive a criminal, and neither can I! I’ve been harboring this anger in my heart for years, but now, I’m close to getting my revenge!”
“What do you plan to do? Are you going to kill someone?”
“Yes,” Vanessa answered without hesitation.