A Beautiful Mess

PART 60: What She Didn't Know

Part LX: What She Didn't Know

"What are you doing here?" Raffy asked him. His hands were on his pockets while leaning on the wall.

He stood up straight. "Well, I just thought you could use some company. Paul told me you're wanting to go and look around."

"Paul told you?"

He nodded. "He dropped by our hotel and he went out with Ava."

"With Ava? Your sister?"

"Yes," he answered. "When we... You know, when we parted ways..."

"When you left me, not parted ways," she corrected him. "Those two are not the same."

"When I left you, I went to see Paul once and Ava was with me. I think he was no longer seeing the girlfriend I met during your Dad's birthday and I guess they just clicked," he explained.

What? My brother's dating my ex-lover's sister? And no one told me about it?

"I know it's sort of weird but... They're happy," he explained.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about it?"

"I guess it's because they're wanting to avoid the things you are thinking right now that it would be awkward. They know you don't want to have any connection that would be related to me," he said.

"Still, someone should have told me," Raffy shook her head and walked past him. He followed. "I'm fine. I can do this alone."

"I want to do this," he said.

"I want to be alone,"

"I want to be with you," he rebutted.

"No, you can't," she said firmly. She doesn't need her mind to be boggled.

"Then let us compromise. I'll just walk behind you," he said. "Besides, Paul agreed for me to look after you."

Raffy just gave him a blank stare and went for the elevator. He kept his promise of staying at the background. She went to different stores she found interesting and looked for some gift ideas. She went inside a tattoo shop and checked their designs.

"This seems to be nice," she said, looking at a butterfly design. She doesn't want the permanent ones so she checked on the henna tattoo that they do. "I want it on my side."

"Sophia," Ethan interrupted her to stop. "You have to check first if you are not allergic to henna tattoo. The dye might contain substances which your body doesn't respond well to."

She paused, wanting to be irritated with him since they made it clear that she wanted to be alone and he promised he would stay at the background. He pulled her out of the shop.

"Why are you stopping me from getting that henna tattoo?" she confronted him.

"I told you. You might be allergic to it. You have to test it before you have one," he said.

"And you don't have any right to stop me from doing what I want, okay?"

"I'm just concerned, okay?"

"Concerned? Since when? You have never been concerned," she said with sarcasm and her tone was becoming higher. "When you were concerned before, I got hurt. So what do you think will make me believe you?!"

"You keep on blaming me for leaving you but have you even asked yourself what I have sacrificed? You think you're the only one hurting?" his tone matched hers. The people walking past by them were giving them second glances. "Do you really think I did that just because I want to?"

"This talk is nonsense," Raffy shook her head. "And explaining it to me would not make any difference. I'm with someone now."

"It would make a difference. If you trusted me when I told you I will be with you at the end of this, we could have been together without any problem," he said.

She smirked. "Now, it is my fault?!"

"Who kept things from me? Who between the two of us kept the issue you were having with your parents? Why do I have to find out on my own, huh?!" Ethan asked her. She was startled. "Now, try to understand why I needed to do those things."

She was frozen on her place. She never knew that Ethan found out about it. She wanted to disappear from where she was standing.

"Raffy? Ethan? You guys are here," Paul noticed them. He was with Ava. "Are you two okay?"

Raffy wanted to answer but no word came out.

"I'll go ahead guys," Ethan excused himself. "I think I need some rest."

*          

Raffy retreated to her hotel room as soon as Ethan left. She was bothered with his presence before but now she was totally disturbed with what Ethan said. She never realized that it would have something to do with her.

She walked back and forth inside her room. She was torn between approaching Ethan to find out the rest of the story or just totally disregarding it. Anyway, she's already with Chad.

Dinner time. She was forced to leave her room even if she didn't want to. Paul went out with them and wasn't surprised when Ava's family were dining with them. She took a seat beside Paul, facing Ethan.

He was avoiding her eyes while she kept on trying to catch his gaze. She even saw Seff nudging Akira while watching the two of them.

It was the first time for both parents to meet each other though Ethan's mom knew both Raffy and Paul. Ethan stood up and excused himself after dining. Raffy wanted to stand up and follow him but she just continued looking after him.

"Go ahead," Paul whispered to her. She looked at his brother. "You need to talk."

Seff gave her an encouraging smile.

*      

"Ethan," she called as she ran after him. He stopped. "We need to talk please."

"About what? You never listen anyway," he said.

"I know, I know. It's my fault if I didn't tell you everything that was going on. But I need to know what you never told me as well," Raffy explained.

Paul is right. We should talk. We should have done this long time ago.