Beauty didn't want to hear any more; she wasn't listening. Her hands shook as she fumbled with the door handle.
"Please, just listen to me for crying out loud. I hurt you, and I'm trying to-"
"Open the damn door if you want me to listen!" she snapped back.
Her face told Bruno everything he needed to know. She wasn't going to listen—not with her emotions all over the place.
He sadly opened the car door.
Beauty stepped out and slammed the door angrily.
Bruno sighed and threw his head back, his hands shaking with anxiety.
"I thought she would understand me more than anyone else..."
---
Beauty stormed down the lover's estate, trying to keep her emotions in check, unsure of where she was going.
Each step felt heavy, her breath shallow as she cried silently.
"I'm just a fun toy to him. He probably saw right through me, noticed how much I like him, and decided I'd be his little toy. Beyoncé? Who knows if they knew each other before everything? He thinks he can hurt me, and I'll cry back into his arms. Maybe in a few months, after he gets tired of his chubby girl experience, he'll throw me aside like the rest, call me ugly and fat." She mumbled to herself.
Her fists clenched as her pace quickened, and she sniffed back her tears.
"Please. I may be fat, but I'm not a fool. He could have anyone, any woman at all, and yet I fell for it. My delusional self stupidly believed he was different."
She scoffed and continued walking.
Lost in the whirlwind of her own thoughts and blinded by her tears, she bumped into something—no, someone.
The sudden collision knocked the air out of her, and she gasped.
Her face instantly flushed with embarrassment. She didn't look up; she didn't want to face whoever it was she'd just bumped into.
"I'm so sorry," she muttered, barely loud enough to hear herself.
"Beauty? Is that you? Wow! You look the same."
That voice sounded familiar. Ice ran through her veins, freezing her in place.
Slowly, dreadfully, she lifted her head.
Her stomach dropped.
Not him. What a day!
There, smirking down at her, was Tim.
The very first man in her life who took her innocence, only to break her heart the next morning. Not only that, he humiliated her, laughing at her with his friends afterward.
And now, there he was, arm-in-arm with a woman so stunningly beautiful it hurt to look at her. Beautiful, slender, perfect—everything Beauty wasn't.
She was wearing a jumpsuit that flaunted her curves, with a piercing on her thick brows and nice, healthy hair. Her body proportions were insane, the beauty standard a lot of men craved.
Jealousy filled her insides.
The girlfriend looked between Beauty and Tim with a curious expression.
"Beauty, what the hell are you doing here? In a place like this?"
Tim asked in amusement, his smile clearly mocking her.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
Beauty opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She felt ashamed of herself, standing there alone in a romantic estate, her face covered with tears.
"Well... I... I..."
Beauty didn't know what to say or how to explain being in a place like Eden's without a date. Bruno must be long gone by now. Not that she wanted him to be here anyway.
"You came with your boyfriend? I would love to meet the lucky man," Tim smirked after her failed attempt to answer.
Beauty knew that Tim thought she had her heart broken by her wet face and body language, and he wanted to make a mockery of the situation.
She thought he would have changed as an adult and regretted his actions but well...
Beauty bit her lower lip and decided to boldly face him.
She looked up to give an answer but noticed his eyes rise over her head, staring at something or someone behind her.
The same went for his smiling girlfriend, who looked starstruck.
Curiously, she turned and found Bruno. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly turned her face away.
"What am I going to do in this situation?" she said to herself.
Bruno had caught up to her and stood behind her like some bodyguard. His presence seemed to swallow Tim's arrogant smirk.
After a minute or so, Tim forced back a smirk, his eyes still focused on Bruno. He was quite tall, but next to Bruno, he looked so small that it felt intimidating.
"He looks like someone I've seen on a blog or so. Why the hell is that guy standing there behind Beauty?" Tim thought.
"I am sorry. Can we help you?" he asked, trying to hide the envy in his voice.