Sweet

It was Friday evening, and I was alone in the house. Erin had a sleepover at her classmate's house to finish a project, and my parents were out on a movie date. Since our farm started running well, they had been going out on weekends, having dinner in a restaurant or at their friend's house. I saw they weren't ashamed to hang out with their friends anymore.

I had a meal. Just a cold ham sandwich, leftover mashed potato from lunch and an apple juice while watching a Netflix movie in the living room.

My phone beeped. A text message.

Sebastian: What are you doing?

I smiled and replied.

Me: Having dinner with Ryan Gosling.

Sebastian: Seriously?

I rolled my eyes. He didn't get my joke.

Me: I'm watching The Notebook on Netflix.

Sebastian: [laughing face emoji]

Sebastian: Get an early sleep tonight. You need energy for tomorrow.

Me: Are we going rock climbing?

Sebastian: I'm not telling you [Zipper mouth face emoji] But definitely, you'll do some climbing tomorrow [Evil emoji]

I didn't have to ask. I knew what he meant.

Me: Even by text, you made me blush [Blushing Emoji]

Sebastian: Good to know [happy face emoji] My thoughts about you making me blush [blushing face emoji]

Me: [Face with rolling eyes emoji]

Sebastian: [laughing face emoji]

We had been talking on the phone earlier. He told me about his meeting with Mr. Takahashi, his presentation, the board of directors' reaction, closing the deal and the wonderful lunch that followed with his grandparents and Mr. Takahashi. I also told him what I had been doing the whole day, which was spent most in the farm packing potatoes.

Me: What are you doing?

Sebastian: Having dinner with Angelina Jolie.

I laughed.

Me: What are you watching? Tomb Raider?

Sebastian: Nope. I'm actually having a business dinner with her and some of our executives to discuss a charity event.

Me: [Shock face emoji]

Shocking. He was in a meeting and yet had time to flirt with me.

Sebastian: I can't wait to see you tomorrow.

Before I could reply, there was a knock on the door. I checked the time. It was eight in the evening. Who could that be?

I peeped through the door hole and sighed when I recognized a familiar face.

It was Jace, holding a water bottle.

"Hi Sweet," he greeted the moment I opened the door. "Sorry to disturb you. I just want to ask for some drinking water. I forgot to buy it on my way here. I need to drink my meds."

"Sure. You just arrived?" I opened the door wider to let him in.

"Yeah. I'm staying for the weekend to fix the plumbing."

I followed him as he headed directly to the kitchen. He took some water from the water dispenser and took medicine.

"What meds are you taking?"

"Pain reliever for my back. The throbbing started again when I joined the potato carrying event. It really sucks."

"You don't have to keep on taking the meds. It will be harmful to your body. The doctor advised you to do a hot compress to relieve the pain."

He chuckled, "I don't have time for that. I have a load of work to do." He poured more water into the bottle and drank some more.

"Take care of your body, you know. You only have one. Just do what the doctor said."

"Okay, I'll try." He nodded, then said. "I read your recent blog. So, you're still dating him and getting serious."

Although he said it calmly, I could feel the jealousy in there.

"Yeah, we are." I rubbed my arms, feeling uncomfortable about being alone with him in the house and talking about Sebastian. I didn't want to hear a declaration of his undying love for me again. After his betrayal, I set my mind on Sebastian.

He nodded. "It hurts knowing that, and it sucks that no pain reliever could ease the amount of pain in my chest. But I deserved it for betraying your trust in me." He smiled lightly, and continued, "I love you so much, Sweet, and you deserve nothing but love and happiness. Sadly, you won't get it from me. So, I'm letting you go and learn to move on with my life."

"Oh, Jace," my heart melted at his words. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "don't say sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. It was all my fault that I messed up."

I nodded, "so, thank you would be more appropriate."

He agreed and gave me a big smile. "I hope we'll still continue to be friends."

"Of course. Friends, former classmates, neighbors—"

"And exes," he laughed, then pulled me in a tight hug and I let him. "Good luck Sweet. I hope you find genuine love and happiness with Stavrakos."

"Thanks, Jace. I hope the same for you, that you'll find the right girl for you."

He let me go, then said, "tell me if he hurts you and I'm going to crush the guy."

"Oh no, that would be so messy."

We laughed, then he bade goodbye.

I was happy that finally; I had closure with Jace. We never had one when he moved to China, because I was very stubborn. I refused to face him. And when he came back late, he gave the impression that we'd continue where we left off.

Getting back together wouldn't be possible with Sebastian standing between us. Maybe if Jace arrived earlier, before I met Sebastian. Or maybe not. Because I would still have the same opinion about him after knowing he made out with Bianca during our high school graduation ball party.

Cheating and lying are the same thing. No matter what the degree is. It's still betrayal and deception that destroys a relationship. It's toxic, painful and unhealthy for both partners, and can be damaging to emotional and mental health. I avoided dealing with such matters; I wanted to be happy and live my life to the fullest with someone who is loyal and honest to me.

My phone beeped. It was a text message from Sebastian. For the next fifteen minutes, I responded to his flirty text messages while I continued eating my cold meal and watching a movie on Netflix.

My parents arrived early. They didn't finish the movie because they found it too boring, it just made them very sleepy. Mom went to the kitchen, while Dad stayed in the living room with me.

"What's the title of that movie?" Dad pointed a finger at the TV and sat beside me.

"The Notebook," I answered without glancing at him. I glued my eyes to the TV screen, feeling every scene of the movie, despite watching it several times and memorizing some dialogues.

"I saw Jace outside," Dad said. "He said he came here to ask for some drinking water."

"He did."

He sighed, "I pity that boy. He's in pain, his back is torturing him."

"Yeah, he told me. I advised him to get a hot compress instead of taking a pain reliever."

"What did you talk about?" Dad asked, and that killed my concentration on the movie.

"Why are you asking?" I frowned.

"Hmm," he pressed his lips together, "I wonder if he mentioned something about...um, never mind." He attempted to stand up, but I stopped him.

I paused the movie and turned to him.

"Too late, Dad, finish your statement."

He sighed, then twisted his lips, "I'm sorry, Sweet. I told him about your dating deal with Stavrakos."

"Oh Dad, how could you do that? That's confidential."

"I know. I was desperate, you know." He scratched his head. "I don't like Stavrakos and I want you and Jace to end up together. He's a good catch and hopelessly in love with you."

"You shouldn't have said anything. You promised."

"Sorry, Sweet," he tapped my shoulder. "Don't worry, I have told no one but Jace. He's trustworthy. He didn't even mention it to you."

"When did you tell him?"

His lips pursed, and his expression guilty, "during the potato festival."

"That was three weeks ago!"

No wonder Jace acted angry and overly confident in competing with Sebastian. But it impressed me he kept the dating deal a secret. He never mentioned it to me or to Sebastian when they had a heated confrontation during the potato festival.

He probably realized now that the connection we had before was gone. Investing his time and effort on me would go nowhere, because what I had with Sebastian was getting so real.

"What's going on?" Mom appeared from the kitchen and shifted her gaze from me to Dad.

"Asked Dad." I stood up and angrily stormed out of the living room. Then I remembered something. I went back and faced my parents, who were gazing at me. "By the way, I'm going away the whole weekend, whether you agree or not."

I think that worked just fine. I went up to my bedroom with a grin on my face. Acting was not my forte, but I had to do it, so I wouldn't hear complaints about why I'd be spending the entire weekend with Sebastian. Not that they could stop me, but it was better to avoid any conflict or argument.

Inside my room, I was staring at my closet, wondering what I would pack for the weekend. Sebastian didn't tell me where we were going. He just said to bring my passport.

Probably we'll go to the beach. I opened my duffle bag and put inside my sexy swimsuits, some beach clothes, underwear and sandals.