Unpredictable Connection

42. You Say You Love Me?

Engfa's POV:

After stepping out of the room, I told Auntie to go and start packing. Maybe we'd stay there for a while. I was a graduate now, about to start working as managing director in my father's company—there was nothing holding me back. We couldn't let P'Serena make any kind of journey in her condition, and Kate and Nam would return from the mountain villa once the rest of us arrived.

I turned to the others, pressing a hand to my temple as the tension from hours of holding it together made my head pound. "Go order something from the canteen, and then you two—Becky, Irin—head home." My voice was clipped, the anger still sitting heavy in my chest, refusing to acknowledge Char's presence as I spoke.

Noey nodded, leading Becky and Irin away quietly, and they followed without a word. But Char... she trailed behind me, her presence like a shadow as I walked toward the washroom. I sighed, pulling open the door, ready to shut out everything for just a moment, but before I could close it, Char slipped in, locking the door behind her with a soft click that echoed too loudly in the tiled silence.

The hospital washroom was unusually quiet, clean, and cold under the harsh white lights, perhaps because this floor was reserved for VIPs. I didn't look at her, turning on the tap to splash cold water over my face, trying to drown the heat burning beneath my skin.

"Engfa..." Her voice was hesitant, barely above a whisper. "At least listen to me..."

When I didn't respond, she tried again, softer, her plea curling around the silence. "Please."

I grabbed a tissue, dabbing the water off my face before finally turning to look at her. Her head was lowered, shoulders stiff, like she was bracing herself for the weight of my gaze.

My eyes narrowed as I stepped closer, the anger and hurt I had tried to bury clawing back to the surface. Anger, betrayal, and an ache I couldn't name tangled inside me, pressing against my ribs until it hurt to breathe.

I lifted her chin, gripping it harder than I meant to, forcing her to meet my eyes. "Look at me when you speak," I said, my voice low and sharp, each word dipped in the betrayal I felt. "And if you dare to lie to me, Char, I swear on God, I will become the worst person alive for you."

ears welled in her eyes, a sheen that made her blink rapidly, her breath catching. For some reason, the sight of it only made the anger flare hotter.

I let go of her chin, my hand dropping as if burned. "You dare to cry?" I snapped, jaw clenching so hard it hurt. "When I told you everything, when I trusted you with every ugly, broken piece of me, the least you could have done was tell me that Rebecca—that damn Rebecca—was Becky."

Char flinched, taking a shaky step back, her voice barely a whisper. "I... didn't want to."

"Didn't want to?" My voice rose, anger flaring, unable to stop the bitterness in my words. "Then why did you even listen to me, Char? Why did you stand there and let me pour everything out to you if—"

She lifted her head, her eyes meeting mine, cutting through my words with a single, trembling breath. "Because I wasn't there."

I froze, the room suddenly too quiet, her words hanging between us like a sharp blade.

"What?" I hissed, stepping closer, grabbing her chin again, rougher this time, unable to control the chaos inside me. "Talk. Now. No tears, no sniffles. Speak."

I knew I was being harsh. I knew it was wrong. But the pain and confusion were eating me alive, and she was the only one I could throw it at.

Char closed her eyes, letting her tears fall before forcing them open, her voice trembling as she tried to speak without breaking. "You told me about your life, Engfa. You told me about the things you saw, the pain you felt, the moments you lived through because you were there."