Celia closed her eyes for a moment, her breath coming in long, harsh gasps. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but stopped herself from doing so because the waiter arrived with the food they had ordered.

"Thanks." Erin said, smiling at the waiter.

"Yes, you're welcome."

Erin's focus turned back to Celia after the waiter left. "Eat first, you haven't eaten yet, right?"

Celia shook her head weakly.

"Okay, let's eat. Your stomach will hurt."

Actually, Celia had no appetite for food at the moment, her tongue did not want to touch anything, and her stomach did not want to be filled. She wasn't hungry at all. But, she didn't want to disappoint Erin, who was trying to help her. She did everything she could to make her feel okay. And finally, she chose to nod and touch the spaghetti bolognese in front of her.

Halfway through the meal, Celia couldn't take it anymore, her stomach refused to be filled. "I'm already full."

"You don't seem to be in the mood to eat, do you? Or do you want to order something else?" Erin had already turned her face back to call the waiter, but she stopped when Celia stopped her.

"No need, this won't even run out." Celia sighed softly. "I don't know how Jason's treatment could have such a big impact like this."

"Celia."

"Jason is playing behind my back, he's ...." Celia swallowed harshly, it was too hard for her to even say her next sentence. Her tongue felt numb, not to mention that suddenly her tears fell down her cheeks again. Celia burst into tears. "He cheated on me. I—"

Celia covered her face with both hands, trying to muffle the sound of her crying so as not to attract the attention of other restaurant patrons. The wound gaped wide again, and this time it felt sprinkled with grains of salt, stinging, and so painful.

Erin's guess did not seem to have missed at all, Jason must have hurt Celia. But, hearing it directly from Celia's mouth like this made hee feel sick too. She looked straight at Celia, her eyes glazed over.

"I don't know what to do." Celia continued, followed by a sob that escaped for who knows how many times.

Erin stood up from her seat and chose to sit next to her friend. She hugged Celia from the side, rubbing Celia's back gently to calm her. She knew that at this moment, Celia just needed to be listened to, without being interrupted with any calming words.

"Four years is not a short time. But why would Jason do this to me?" Celia cried, letting out all the emotions she had been holding back.

"Why does it have to be now? Why did Jason choose this time? If he wanted it to end like this, why did he have to wait four years?" Celia continued to probe, speaking with bubbling anger. "I really don't know what to do, I..."

Erin immediately calmed Celia down. "Hey, you're strong. Jason is a jerk who doesn't deserve you. He'll regret it later, you'll see. He'll know what it means to lose someone loyal. I'm sure of it."

"I should have listened to you and Margot a long time ago. But I was too blinded by love, it was my fault." Celia continued to cry without stopping.

"Don't blame yourself, please. You're not at fault. Jason is at fault here, he's not the man for you, you deserve another man who loves you more."

"If I had listened to your words, things wouldn't be the way they are now."

Yes, Erin and Margot have often warned Celia to be careful with Jason and not to depend on him too much, as they have both seen him with other women. And it wasn't just once. As good friends, Erin and Margot of course warned Celia, but because Celia was already romantically involved, their words were taken for granted by her. And this was the result—everything got out of hand.

"What should I do? I still really love him."

Honestly, hearing Celia's confession made Erin a little upset. "Hey, remember that Jason already cheated on you behind your back, and now he's been caught. Then he doesn't need you anymore, and you still say you love him? Oh shit!"

"Still, even if he's rude like this, it can't make me just forget about him. Four years, you know yourself, that's not a small amount of time. Four years we've been together, how can I just forget him? That's impossible."

"But from now on, you have to be able to forget about him. Remember that he's playing behind your back." Erin's words were so striking, making Celia immediately stunned. But Erin was right, she was not wrong, Celia did have to forget Jason.

Erin hugged Celia. "Listen. There are many good men in this world. You don't need to keep wishing for Jason, especially with the fact that he's behaving badly towards you. Remember, he's already cheated on you, and once he cheats on you, he'll keep doing it. I'm proof of that, and Margot too, we've both seen him walking with other women, and it happened several times. But you closed your eyes. Please, wake up and forget about him. He's just a jerk who doesn't deserve you!"

"Can I?"

"Yes, you can!" Erin said it with great confidence. "You have to forget about him. Remember that she has betrayed you. Margot and I will always be by your side."

Although Celia doubted that she could do so, she would try her best. She nodded. Yes, she did need to forget Jason. No matter what.

"Thank you. You and Margot are my best friends."

"If you have a problem, tell me and Margot. Don't keep it to yourself, remember Margot and I will always be there for you."

How Celia felt so lucky to have such good friends as Erin and Margot. They would always be there for her. She carried a faint smile. "I will forget Jason, even though it's hard. I will try."

Erin expanded her smile. "Good, that's what you have to do. Forget him, he's a jerk, heartless, and a cheater. He doesn't deserve to be with you."

Even though Celia had made up her mind to start forgetting Jason, at the bottom of her heart, she hoped that Jason would return to her arms.

***

Two hours ago, Celia had indeed told Erin, and convinced herself that forgetting Jason was her goal now. But now, at 1:28 a.m. Celia was crying over the fractured relationship again. She couldn't sleep, her mind was too muddled and complicated, and her feelings shattered into pieces that kept her awake until now. She really wanted to sleep. But she couldn't, more precisely, she was not calm.

All she could do was cry and keep crying, sitting on the head of the bed, hugging her knees, while watching the sky full of stars through the window of her room that she left open. Celia didn't even care about the cold air that entered her room, making her body feel cold.

Even now, Celia could not figure out why Jason had done this to her so easily. Was it that easy for him to destroy Celia's feelings? If what Erin and Margot said was true, that Jason had betrayed her for a long time, she would not deny that she was so stupid.

The one thing that caused Celia's emotions to flare and bubble so strongly was the reason Jason had said at the hotel a few hours ago.

Celia laughed sadly as she remembered Jason's words. What she couldn't understand was why it had to take four years? Why did it have to take this long if Jason was not serious about his relationship with her. That's what annoyed her. After all, she also loved him very much. But Jason had the heart to betray Celia's deep and sincere love.