3. Goodbye, Marco

It was a nice, hot day. The sun was up, shining brightly,

'But my life sucks,' she thought. Thinking of what happened the other day, she decided that she had to do something. She would not let others hurt her again.

As she was about to drive her car, an unexpected call from a hateful one came through.

"Jacyn, where have you been? I have called you a hundred times already!" Marco angrily shouted at her.

She winced as her head ached again from Marco's shouting on the other line. What’s the point of worrying about her when he’s the reason why she’s hurting?

"Hey Marco, I'm not deaf. Please don't shout at me," she calmly answered him. What on earth did he want to play with her? He was acting like a concerned boyfriend out of nowhere. Just yesterday, he proposed to another girl. Her heart cried again in pain, but she already promised herself not to show them her weakness. She will not give them a chance to see how she was breaking inside.

"Jacyn, honey, I'm just worried about you. I tried calling you last night but you were out of reach. I am very worried. What if you're with another guy? What am I supposed to feel, Jacyn?" He tried guilt tripping her. Why would he say those things when he was clearly the one who was cheating?

"Marco, honey…" she imitated him. "I am fine. You told me yesterday that you were busy so in order not to call you, I turned off my phone," she lied. "You told me you'll take me to dinner tonight, right?" She asked, adding some sweetness to her voice.

"Yes, baby, I'll pick you up at seven, okay?" He answered her sweetly. He was the same Marco she knew. He was still sweet. But she could not believe him again after watching him propose to another girl yesterday. She could not let herself be hurt again.

"Okay Marco, bye." She coldly bid him goodbye.

As she drove away, she opened her car radio just to hear some bad news she already knew.

"Marco Liang of City A is now getting hitched with the famous actress Winnie Lou of City B…"

She turned off the radio. He had the guts to call her and invite her to dinner when all the news about his engagement was all over the news. How could he do this to her? How could he be so cruel?

"Winnie Lou? City B? Sounds familiar." She couldn't help it but googled her name. She smirked while reading her info. "Oh, is she really my cousin?"

Yes, you heard it right. She didn't know her. Winnie just came out of the blue when her family's death was all over the news. She was introduced by her long-lost uncle to the family as his daughter. This uncle of hers came from abroad, brought his daughter to Lou family since the first family died in a car accident. His uncle was the first cousin of her father and that makes her and Winnie as second cousins.

Winnie Lou was now a famous actress. Though she was well-known, Jacyn didn't know her still. Why? Because she didn't bother herself with show business. She also didn't care how this cruel world works. She got her 'Marco' and that's all that matters.

After her parents died, Jacyn and her nanny lived a normal life, away with all the riches that her previous life would offer. When she transferred to Marco's school, he was one of those students who treated her as a normal teenager. Although she already looked beautiful, she was a loner and introvert back then. Marco was very popular in their school. He courted her and he didn't give up on her so easily. That made her fall in love with him, his sincerity and patience. Though they didn't become lovers until three years ago, Marco has been with her the longest time. That's why it really hurts her knowing the one she trusted with all her life was now deceiving her. The one who let her feel loved was also the one who was giving her pain now.

She would like to get her revenge. Maybe she would be happy when she saw these people hurting her get hurt.

She arrived at her apartment. She packed all her belongings as she planned to go back to City B. When she graduated, her grandparents already decided for her to come back. But since she's happy with her life with Marco, she decided to stay. Maybe this was the right time to go back to where she rightfully belonged. But first, she had to sort things out.

At exactly seven, Marco knocked on her door. He was so gorgeous in his business suit. He had white lilies with him.

"Beautiful flowers for a lovely lady," he said while looking at her lovingly. She chose to wear a black sexy dress which accentuated her body. She was indeed very lovely today.

"Thank you, Marco. You're so handsome as well." She smiled sweetly as she kissed his cheeks. "So where are we going, love?" She inquired excitedly.

Excitement filled her eyes. She hid the pain and the contempt well. If only she didn’t discover his infidelity, if only she could turn back the time, the time when everything seemed fine and perfect.

Marco chose a restaurant in a secluded part of the city. The restaurant was well-known for catering only to those who were on top of the social class pyramid. They only served high class food for the elites.

Meanwhile, Winnie Lou received a photo message showing Marco and a certain lady entering the said restaurant. The photo included the name of the restaurant. She was full of jealousy to see her fiance with another woman. She was about to leave her photo shoot angrily.

"Where are you going, Winnie?" Linda Yun, her best friend who was also her manager, stopped her.

"To hell!" She responded angrily.

"But you shouldn't walk out in the midst of your shoot! It might affect your image!" Linda scolded her.

"What do you want me to do when my fiance is dating another woman?" She shouted at her manager as she showed her the picture she received earlier. "There's no way I could let him cheat on me. You know I could sacrifice anything just to be the future Mrs. Liang, right?"

"Relax, Winnie. Let me talk and fix things first with the director. I will personally drive you in there, okay?" Linda calmed her down. Winnie nodded in agreement.

Upon reaching the restaurant, she automatically looked for Marco. She easily found them. She calmed herself and put a sweet facade on her face.

"Hi, baby! What are you doing here?" Winnie loudly asked Marco, getting the attention of the people around them.

Marco turned pale as he saw Winnie approaching them. He and Jacyn were in the midst of eating their sumptuous dinner. Jacyn was not surprised to see Winnie there. In the first place, it was her plan to let her know of her existence. She asked a paparazzi to photograph them and send it to Winnie anonymously.

"W-winnie, I thought you had a photo shoot tonight? What are you doing here?" Marco asked, he couldn't hide his nervousness. He was supposed to celebrate with Jacyn tonight, he didn’t expect Winnie to be there.

"Oh, it ended earlier than planned. Linda and I decided to get our dinner here. So, do you want to introduce this lady over here?" Her eyes blazed in anger as she looked at Jacyn.

People started whispering to each other as they were intrigued by the situation. They were enjoying the show. Since they knew of Marco's and Winnie's engagement, naturally, their assumption was Jacyn was the other woman.

Marco didn't know what to say, he looked at Jacyn helplessly.

"Hi Miss, I'm Jacyn, Marco's friend," she introduced herself, stressing the word 'friend'. She smiled widely at her, "...and you are?"

"Oh, you are his friend, did I hear you right?" She calmed down a little. But she still looked like she would kill for him. "I'm Winnie Lou, Marco's fiance."

"Really?" She looked at Marco knowingly. "Marco, why did you never mention your fiancee to me?" She asked innocently. "Or maybe, she’s just not worth mentioning?" She added sarcastically.

"What did you say?" Winnie couldn't handle her anger anymore. "Who really are you?" She asked while preparing to make a bigger scene. "I said, who are you?" She shouted.

Jacyn gave her a light smile. "You already know who I am, yet you're still asking. Marco, you really have no taste in women." She laughed at him, but her eyes said otherwise. She could accept it if he cheated on her with someone better. Yet he chose someone with no class.

Winnie was really angry now when she heard what Jacyn had said. "Repeat what you just said!"

"I'm just telling Marco that he had no taste in women. Just look at you," she said tauntingly. She even sized her up, she looked at her from head to toe, and smirked.

"Y-you..!" She raised her hand to slap Jacyn.

“Winnie, stop it!” Marco stopped her hands in time.

“Oh, so you are willing to defend her now, Marco?” Winnie asked angrily.

“Babe, you got it all wrong. I’m just here to personally invite her on our engagement day," he answered her. He looked at Jacyn apologetically. “Jacyn, I’m sorry, let’s talk another day. I’ll explain everything," he said in a low voice that only he and Jacyn could hear.

“Marco, are you sure of what you’re saying?” Jacyn just wanted to confirm that he was choosing Winnie over her. Marco nodded with a sad smile.

“I’m sorry. Please excuse us. Winnie, let’s go.” Marco said as he took Winnie away. Winnie looked proud of her victory.

She stared at their retreating back sadly, “Marco, I’ve given you the chance but you wasted it. You’ve still chosen her over me. Then, you left me with no choice. That’s it, Marco, we’re over," she whispered as she wiped the tears on her eyes. “Goodbye, Marco!”