Back in his apartment in L.A., Hero is still laying on his bed but he notice that someone is laying beside him.
Its Jo
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"This isn't another dream, is it?" He asked
She turns her head to him, she's smiling but her eyes are all black and empty. There's no life in it. Again, this isn't Jo. Her eyes are always full of life, its as bright as the sun, even when she's not smiling.
He has to wake up from this illusion at some point but for now he'll try to live in this moment with her.
After a few hours of sleep, Hero woke up feeling empty.
I'm married
The last thought he has before he falls asleep and the first thought he has upon opening his eyes.
He knows the reason why he's feeling empty of course, when suddenly he heard his phone receives a message. He reached for it and saw the person who's been occupying his mind sent him a message. It took him a minute or two before reading the message that says:
From: Jo
Hi, Hero. It was nice seeing you again after all these years. I'm sorry about last night, I know that it caught you off-guard. If you don't have any plans for today, I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch at my house later? It will be a nice for us to catch up after that.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you accept my invitation.
Hero doesn't know how long he was staring and repeatedly reading Jo's message. Of course, he wants to go but the possibilities of seeing the man she married is high. Seeing him with her will just add to the knives that are already piercing his heart.
'I must be a fvcking martyr' Hero internally says to himself after responding to Jo's message that he accepts her lunch invitation. Minutes later she replied back, grateful of his decision and gave him the address of her and her husband's house.
30 Minutes before lunchtime, Hero is already outside Jo's house. Its a massive 3-story, contemporary house located in one of the most richest neighborhoods in L.A.
He took a deep breathe and finally rang the doorbell, after a minute or 2 someone opens the door. A man, as tall as him, has a lean body and a clean-cut, almond brown hair. This must be him, Hero thought assuming that the man smiling widely in front of him is Jo's husband.
"You must be Hero! Its nice to finally meet you. Please come in." The man sais still smiling, he opens the door widely and stepped on the side.
Hero roams his eyes and he actually finds the house very beautiful. The design screams simplicity and elegance. So much like Jo
He faced the man again and said "You must be Jo's husband. I'm Hero Fiennes Tiffin and its nice to finally meet you too" he offers his hand and the man gladly took it. "You have a wonderful home" Hero added
"Thank you. Its my wife who was in-charge of the interior design. She did really great to the place." The man commented and he has this really proud look on his face as he mentions about Jo. "By the way, I'm Wilhelm. Wilhelm Arnholt. Shall we go to the Dining Room? Me and Jo were almost done cooking when you came."
"Yeah. Sure, let's go." Hero followed Wilhelm, as they enter the dining room Hero saw Jo doing some finishing touches to the table, checking if everything is perfect.
"After all these years, you're still the most meticulous woman I've ever met." Hero said getting the attention of Jo
Jo raised her head upon hearing his voice, she can't help but smile seeing him again. She moves away from the table and went straight to Hero and give him a really tight hug. H hugs Jo back, completely forgetting Wilhelm.
"I'm glad you came." Jo said softly, still hugging him. Gosh, how he misses hearing her Aussie accent. They don't know how long they were hugging, they just came back to reality when they heard Wilhelm clears his throat and said "We really should start eating before the food gets cold"
H and J forces themselves to separate from their embrace. They sat and the couple immediately offers him food.
They chatted about a whole lots of stuff, he found out that Wilhelm is a German-American business tycoon, he owns Hotel and Restaurant chains across the U.S. and Germany. He and Jo met in Germany when she and her friends went there for a vacation, 10 months after they separated at the airport. They're married for a year and a half now, they chose not to announce their marriage publicly and just share their wedding with family and some close friends.
"So Hero I was wondering. All throughout Jo and I's relationship, this is the first time I met you. I just recently found out actually that you and Jo are really good friends after I watched your latest movie. Do you hardly visit the U.S.?" Wilhelm asks
"I do hardly visit, most of the time I'm here in the U.S. I spend on working. To be honest, its been awhile since I actually hang out with my former co-workers not just my co-workers in After but also with my other movies. Its just that, I get to miss home a lot and I would jump straight to the first flight back home once I finished filming or promoting my movie."
"Oh I understand. Jo and I-" Wilhelm was interrupted by his phone ringing, he excused himself and answer the call.
"Sorry about that, he gets busy a lot especially now that his hotel and restaurant business is continuously expanding." Jo said in a apologetic tone
"Its fine. I'm sure he's working hard for the family he is going to have with you and you must be very proud of him."
"Oh I am very proud of him! Yes.. Despite of his busy schedule, he still manages and able to spend more time with me. Ever since we got married, he never forgets to make me feel special every single day." Jo said with a loving look towards Wilhelm who's now at the garden still on his phone..
Hero can't help feeling jealous. This is what I've taken for granted
Regret is enveloping his entire being, hoping that he could stir back the time. He took her love for granted it was purest thing he ever encountered here on earth. He once had it but he wasted that chance and now someone else has it.
Looking at Jo now. All he wanted to do was give up everything he has, he'll do anything just to have her love back.
====================
"So I'm sorry to my unknown lover Sorry that I can't believe That anybody ever really Starts to fall in love with me"
