The food on the table was delicious, but I had no appetite. How could I feel like eating when I was watching Vanessa flirt with Luke right in front of me? And as for Aric, I don't know, but his face just annoys me. No matter how hard I try to be friendly to him, all I remember is what he did to me.
After dinner, I wanted to talk to Luke in private because I had more to clarify with him, but I had no chance to talk to him alone. Vanessa was always around him, and it seemed rude to disturb them, especially since Luke seemed to enjoy talking to Vanessa as well.
"I thought there was something between you and Luke, Isabella. Why does it seem like you're not paying attention to each other now?"

When I heard Aric's voice, I immediately turned to him and just stared at him for a few seconds. Okay, so he's really handsome, but is that a good enough reason to be crazy about him? With how much I loved him, I didn't notice he had another woman. And every time I remember his infidelity, I get so angry. Why though?
"I didn't know you were so up-to-date with my life, Aric," I told him.
"It's not that I'm updated. It’s just that I've seen you two being very sweet together before. I mean, he was sweet to you, and I saw that you liked him too," Aric explained.
"That's just your imagination," I told him.
"Maybe, but what are you doing here alone? Come on, let's join Luke and Vanessa. They seem to be having a fun topic."
"You go ahead," I said.

"You're being snobbish. Are you still uncomfortable around me because I'm your ex?" he asked.
"Maybe that's it. Why did you even come with Luke here? You know we have a past, yet you came and had dinner with us," I complained, but instead of being offended, Aric just laughed.
Aric laughed loudly, which made Luke and Vanessa turn to look at us. For a moment, Luke and I locked eyes, but I was the first to look away because I felt awkward maintaining eye contact with him. Like Aric, Luke was also my ex-boyfriend.
"You still seem bitter about what happened between us. Why? Do you still have feelings for me?" Aric suddenly asked.

"Are you crazy? Why would I be bitter? Aric, really, your imagination is too wild," I told him and walked ahead to the patio where Vanessa and Luke were having coffee.
I didn't want to face them because I was jealous. Luke was just too oblivious to notice that I was jealous of his closeness with Vanessa. Even though we were no longer together, I didn't want him to be close to any other woman.
Actually, I no longer have the right to be jealous, and I should be focusing on the man I will be marrying in the next few months, but it seems I can't. Here I am, hoping Luke would still end up with me.
"Isabella," Luke called me. "You're so quiet," he noticed because I was really avoiding eye contact.
"Just don’t mind me. Aric, I told him to let you and Vanessa be, but he wanted to come here to the patio too," I said, implying that I was talking to Aric earlier.
"It's good that you two are on good terms," Luke said, but when I looked at him, I noticed his jaw clenching.
"There's no reason for Aric and me to fight. Besides, whatever happened between us in the past is just that—past, and I was young at that time," I said, but then I realized I might have said the wrong thing. I turned to look at Aric and felt a bit sorry for him. Did he ever truly love me?
"Mmmm, excuse me for a moment, I'll just get some extra coffee for Isabella and Aric," Vanessa said, and hurriedly stood up.
However, I didn't expect Luke to follow Vanessa, and once again, Aric and I were left alone on the patio. I felt somewhat embarrassed by Luke's actions towards me because it was clear he didn't want to talk or face me. He was avoiding me.
"Aric, why are you still standing there? Come and sit down," I said to him, who remained standing.
"Was what I heard earlier correct, Isabella?"
"Which part? The part about us being young? Why? It's true that we were too young when we were together," I told him.
"Yes, we were young then, but you were the woman the Moon Goddess gave to me, Isabella. You were my mate," Aric said.
"But you messed up. I can’t even remember if you ever treated me right because all I remember is that I was the one making all the effort, Aric. Let me ask you, did you really love me? Or were you just forced because I was nice to you?"
"I loved you. And I still love you," he said.
"You still love me? How can that be? If you loved me, you wouldn't have cheated," I said to him. At first, I felt guilty when I rejected his marriage proposal, but when I found out he had another woman, I was relieved.
"I was just tempted, baby," Aric said to me, even using our old endearment.
"Tempted? Okay, you were tempted. But it lasted for several months, Aric. How is that just being tempted? You repeated it several times. Just because I wasn’t ready to have sex with you, you immediately looked elsewhere. That’s unfair," I told him.
"I already apologized, didn’t I?"
"You apologized? When? I don't remember you ever apologizing to me. Besides, if you were really sorry, you should have told me about the other woman even if she was just a fling. You shouldn’t have let me find out the truth," I said to him, and he looked at me angrily.
"Did Luke tell you?"
"Don't bring Luke into this, Aric. When you were cheating, I wasn’t close to Luke, so how would he tell me?"
"So how did you find out? I was careful not to get caught," he added, making me even angrier.
"Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. The fact that you cheated on me is enough for me. I accept that because there's really no forever. Just promise me that you won't bother me anymore. Stop sending gifts here because I'm not pleased," I told him.
"You're really harsh, Isabella. I just want to make it up to you," he said to me.
"Don't worry about your mistake with me. It's over. And besides, it's been too long to discuss it again," I told him because there’s no point in revisiting our past.
"I still love you, Isabella," Aric said, and I just stared at him.