Shadows of You | Englot (GirlxGirl)

31. Surprises

POV ENGFA

I'll be heading to Sydney, Australia, for filming in the middle of next month, so Charlotte and I won't be working together for a while. Especially now that her contract with MGI has ended. Even though I'm still pretty busy, things have calmed down a bit for me.

Since coming back from the Philippines a week ago, Charlotte and I haven't had the chance to meet up. As usual, we've just been sending each other short updates about what we're up to.

Right now, Charlotte's in Phuket, on vacation with Marima, who's back in Thailand after being in the U.S. for a while. They're not alone either; Heidi and Tina are with them. Tina's back in Thailand too because, with her job as an international flight attendant, she's constantly traveling abroad and rarely gets to stay here.

So, it seems like they decided to have a little reunion and take a break together. Honestly, I'm really happy for them. It's nice to see them getting to hang out again.

"Fa..." P'Faye calls out to me, her voice soft and relaxed. She's lying next to me, both of us getting massages, with cucumber slices on our eyes. We decided to treat ourselves to a spa day.

"Hmm? What's up?" I mumble, feeling too relaxed to even move.

She sighs, "Yoko really wants us to go public. I'm so torn about it."

That gets my attention.

Charlotte had mentioned something like this to me about Yoko and P'Faye's, a while back when we were both stuck in my condo during my recovery phase.

Honestly, I felt just as conflicted as P'Faye does now, but Charlotte sided with Yoko. She said if it were her, she wouldn't want to hide anything anymore-she'd want to live fully and openly.

I didn't have much to say back then because it's such a sensitive topic, and it involves more than just the two of us; there's our management to think about too.

"So, what do you want to do, P'Faye?" I ask, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

She lets out another sigh, "Yoko and I have been talking about this for months, but lately, she's been pushing harder. We've even argued about it. I kept telling her, why do we need to go public? As long as we're good and we have each other, that's all that matters. People are already speculating, so let them. But Yoko... she can't seem to accept that."

I don't say anything for a while, just letting the words hang in the air until our massage session is over. Then, I sit up and ask her to do the same.

"P'Faye, Charlotte told me Yoko mentioned this to her too," I begin, seeing her about to speak but holding up a hand to stop her. "Just a little bit, about how Yoko really wants to go public and how you're against it because of your movie and all the publicity around it. But now that your movie's out and done with, what excuse do you have left?" I ask, trying to keep my tone light.

She falls silent, rubbing her temples like she's trying to ward off a headache. "I guess I don't have any excuses left," she admits, sounding frustrated.

I chuckle softly and grab her hand, "Hey, usually you're the one giving me advice when I'm down! Don't lose hope. So, what's the real reason you don't want to go public? You've been together for over two years now, right?"

She shakes her head slowly, "I'm scared that if we break up, the public will tear her apart."

That makes me pause. I get it, really. But still...

"I'm not worried about myself," she continues, "I've been through a lot in this industry. I'm used to it. But Yoko... I love her, Fa. She has so much ahead of her, so much potential. I don't want to ruin that for her."