Chapter 2
The voice was so familiar. I looked up, and there he was, James.
The guy who always popped into my mind whenever Edward pissed me off.
After we broke up in our previous life, we went our separate ways and never crossed paths again.
He looked a bit older now, and a lot more composed.
"Can we talk?" James asked.
My first reaction was to say no, but then Edward's voice drifted over from nearby. "I'll be back for another drink."
So, I changed my mind.
James's eyes crinkled with a hint of a smile.
"There's a nice café just around the corner. Want to go grab a coffee?" he asked.
"Sure," I replied.
Edward turned around and saw Julia and James walking away together.
But he didn't look surprised at all.
After all, he'd already met James in his previous life.
Back then, Edward was just a regular employee, tagged along with his boss to Foster & Co. for a business meeting.
James made no effort to hide the animosity in his eyes when he saw Edward.
No matter how many tweaks Edward made to his proposal, James just wasn't satisfied.
In the end, Edward had to hand the golden opportunity over to another colleague.
One day, while tidying up his room, Edward came across Julia's high school graduation photo.
"James was your classmate in high school?" he asked.
"Yeah, what's up?" Julia replied.
Julia felt awkward under his stare, so she confessed.
"Okay, he was my ex," she said.
That was when it hit Edward: James had been deliberately giving him a hard time.
"Don't be jealous. It's been forever since we broke up," Julia said.
As Edward listened to Julia's explanation, all the frustration in his heart just faded away.
Instead, he felt a sly sense of satisfaction rising within him.
As Julia and James walked off, Edward felt the urge to follow them.
Out of nowhere, Victoria was suddenly standing right next to him.
"Edward, where are you going?" she asked.
"Nowhere," he replied.
Edward took Victoria's hand, his eyes lingering on the diamond ring on her finger.
"Come on, let's head inside," he said.
Julia had James, and he had Victoria.
Edward thought to himself that this was the best ending.
*****
James and I were walking together, both of us quiet, unsure how to break the ice.
"I heard you got engaged?" James ventured, his voice tentative.
"No," I replied.
It was supposed to happen today, but things didn't go as planned.
After that, we fell silent again. It was kind of awkward.
When we got to the café, I ordered a hot chocolate.
"You still go for hot chocolate, huh?" James said.
Back in school, James would always surprise me with something different to eat every day.
In winter, he'd bring me hot chocolate; in summer, it was this sweet drink.
"How did you know I was supposed to get engaged?" I asked.
James kept stirring his coffee, not meeting my eyes.
"I've been having someone keep tabs on you. I'm sorry, I know it's not right, but I just..." he said.
He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.
We broke up because he was so possessive, I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"You asked me here, so what is it you wanted to say?" I asked.
I looked him dead in the eye, hoping he'd give me the answer I was longing for.
"I hope you can forgive me. I want us to start over," James said.
"Okay," I replied.
James looked a bit stunned, like he hadn't expected me to say yes so easily.
Now that Edward finally had the girl he always loved as his fiancée, I wasn't about to keep holding myself back.
James and I wandered around for hours, not heading back until it was late.
When I returned home, Edward was sitting by the door.
In the darkness, the only thing visible was the glowing tip of his cigarette.
He only stubbed it out when he saw me.
"Where have you been?" he asked.
"Do I need to remind you that we're already broken up?" I shot back.
Edward seemed lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Julia, I'm really curious, how much did you ever truly care about me?"
"And what about you? How much did you ever really care about me?" I shot back.