You, Me, and Her

Verse 38: Heart Crush

"Come on, what do you want from me? Blood?"

Inside one of the finest coffee shops, two people were facing each other, probably in need of therapy or more. Nia gazed at Craig Evans, the man she slept with for the sake of getting a response from the only man she ever loved but never learned to love her back. In all truth, someone like Craig wouldn't even be in her personal space, but at that time, she wasn't thinking straight. She only wanted to even the score.

"I did everything that you said!" he insisted. "You promised you'd give me back the USB."

Nia took a sip of her tea before slamming a magazine on the table. The man was confused at first then stared at the material. It was an issue of the Trend Wise magazine a few months back, where they featured Aidan Pryce, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the famous X-Holic band.

Puzzled by the behavior, he asked, "What is this? Do you want me to admire your ex-boyfriend?"

"Ex-fiance."

"It doesn't matter. What do you want me to do with it."

"Open it."

Breathing deeply, Craig started perusing the page. The more he read the contents, the deeper his scowl was. "I'm not interested in Aidan Pryce," he grunted and dropped the magazine back on the table. "Spare me all these furtive actions of yours. What do I need to do in order to get that USB from your hands?"

Nia drummed her fingers on the table, pondering for a short while. She opened the magazine and it stopped in the photo of Aidan standing beside a beautiful, tall girl. "Remember her?"

Craig's brows snapped together as he peered at the magazine once more. He did his best to rack his brain but couldn't seem to figure out at first where he had seen the girt. Until the same memory, a few years back in college entered his mind and recognition dawned on his face. "Wait, she looks like..."

"The girl who took pictures and videos of us entering and leaving the motel," she finished and he went into a shock when he realized what that meant.

"But isn't that..."

"Halwyn Yale."

"Holy---"

"At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. There's no way he would pull the same stunt as he did back then. And then I recalled that he is still friends with those people."

"Those people?"

"Eurig, Maxen, Steffan and Cadi. Remember them?"

"Barely. Sheesh, that group is so fucking overprotective of Halwyn!"

"They are. You see, this woman looked more mature than that girl but it's him. I know it's him. I searched for information about this model. She has no affiliated agency."

"Must be a freelance."

"Must be. But I can't seem to find any other work aside from this magazine. That's why, I'm handing her to you. This is your new assignment."

Craig stared at her in disbelief. "Why are you so obsessed with Halwyn Yale?" he couldn't help but ask.

Nia put the cup of tea down and stared back. "Because he ruined my life. Now, I'm going to ruin his."

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"Sia, I'm fine!"

Hal was on the verge of negotiating with his sister who insisted that he should take a break and approved a week of leave without even asking him. It wasn't like he was having a grand time inside his house, all alone, moping and watching movies.