Chapter 39
Justin attended to the discharge procedures Serene changed into the clothes he brought her.
Inside the paper bag were three items - a simple white A-line dress, and a pair ofcy red underwear.
Blood stained her cheeks when her eyes focused on the lingerie.
Picking up the redcy bra, she quickly put it on. It felt like a second skin. The fabric hugged and lifted
herdies perfectly. Her nose scrunched when she inspected thecy panties. Thece looked almost
transparent. One begs to question why they would need to wear one if they disyed what they should
cover. Putting it on, however, Serene feltfortable.
After she wore the white A-line dress, she looked at herself in the reflection. Every piece of clothing
Justin picked fit perfectly on her body. Did he pick these up himself? Once again, she admired his
judgement.
Shebed her hair and tied it to a ponytail. Apart from her slightly pale lips, she looked fine.
Justin was still not around when she came out of the bathroom. To pass time, she sat on the couch and
yed with her phone.
“You’re ready?” Justin came in with a bunch of paper in his hands. She nodded, then stood up.
Justin surveyed her appearance. Feeling satisfied with what he was seeing, his lips stretched to a
smile. He extended his hand to hold her. His pace matched hers as they walked towards the elevator.
After waiting for a few minutes in the lobby, Justin’s car halted at the entrance. He got out of the driver’s
side to open the front passenger door. She just finished buckling her seatbelt when Justin started the
engine.
The car quietly drove out of the hospital and into the city. Once in a while Justin would nce at her.
Serene just stared outside the window. After a few minutes of driving, the view outside the window
became unfamiliar to her. Tall, shady trees reced the tall buildings that nked the streets.
“Where are we going?” She looked at him, confused. He simply smiled at her to answer her question.
“Justin, where are we going.” Her tone demanded an answer.
“My ce.”
“Justin, that’s unnecessary. I can go back to the hotel or move to a new one.” Panic written all over her
face. With wide eyes stared at him. Her voice sounded shaky from the intensity of her emotion.
“No can do, Serene.” He gave her a quick nce. His tone was calm but firm. “After what just
happened, I won’t have peace of mind if I don’t have you by my side.”
“You are exaggerating, Justin. What happened was just a one off --”
“Do you want me to just sit idly and wait for another incident to happen?” His brows raised to challenge
her.
“Justin, it’s not like, things like those happen every day.”
The car stopped in front of a vi. He shifted his body to look at her.
“I know. Things like those do not happen every day. But I am not willing to take risks as far as your
safety is concerned.” His eyes looked at her seriously.
“Then, this means that I’d be living with you. Don’t you think that’s too rushed?” Her face reddened as
she tried hard to get her message across.
He smiled at her. “What are you so worried about, Serene? We’re adults, we’re both single. What’s the
difference between us living together now orter?”
“Babe, don’t be so concerned about what others would feel or say about us. Their opinions do not
count in this rtionship.”
Justin took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. His eyes bore into hers. “The only opinion that
matters here is ours — yours and mine.”
She racked her brain on how to refute him. But his words felt liberating for Serene. He made sense.
They own this rtionship and the only voice that they should listen to is each other’s. She felt a
warmth in her heart when she realized the heaviness of his statement was. Her voice is the only voice
that he’d listen to among all the noise that surrounds him.
“What are your hesitations for living with me?” He spoke gently, like he was speaking to a child.
“I just felt that things are going too fast. We’ve just recently agreed to give each other a chance, and
now I’m moving in with you.” Her eyes met his, speaking the things her words failed tomunicate.
“Why does that bother you, Serene?”
“I just don’t want to bebelled as easy. After all, our rtionship just started.” Her voice was low and
her head bowed after she finished her exnation. She felt embarrassed because her reason was
because other people’s opinion mattered to her so much.
“Is that how you really feel, Serene? That you were easy?” She heard the undisguised pain from his
voice. It pained him to know that she thought of herself that way.
After not getting a response from her, he started the engine and maneuvered the car back from where
they came from.
She kept her head low. She did not know where to put herself. For the longest time, other people’s
opinion of her and her actions had yed a big factor in her decision making. She hated the feeling of
being ridiculed or frowned upon, so did her best to avoid actions that would give others such an
opportunity.
Yes, more often than not, her choices were not necessarily the ones that gave her the most happiness,
but at least they kept her out of trouble.
A solitary tear fell down her hand when she felt Justin’s car move forward. The air in the car felt
strained. Justin kept his eyes on the road. In the brief instance that Serene bravely took a nce at his
direction, she saw the slight movement of his clenched jaws. The veins on his arms were prominent as
tightly gripped the steering wheel.
“J-Justin,” her voice sounded weak. There was no change in his demeanor. He did not even nce at
her.
“Justin, I’m sorry.” Her voice broke as the sob she was trying to contain got out of her mouth.
He stopped the car at the side of the road. With a frown on his face, he scanned her face.
“I’m sorry.” She bravely looked at his eyes. Seeing his furrowed brows added to the difort she was
feeling. He looked disappointed.
“What are you sorry for, Serene?” There was an obvious strain in his voice. There’s just too many
emotions he was holding on to. The first of them was disappointment. He felt so disappointed that the
girl he put on a pedestal looked down on herself.
“I’m sorry for disappointing you. For not meeting your expectations. I wish I were as strong as you are. I
wish I could afford to ignore others'' opinions. But I can’t.” Her shoulders shook as her sobs grew louder.
Without a word, he his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. His hand moved up and down
her back, soothing her like a child.
“I’m sorry I did not ask for your opinion before deciding.” His voice was as gentle as the hand rubbing
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her back. He lifted her chin tenderly kissing her eyes, then her lips.
When her breathing returned to normal, Justin returned to his driving. Slowly, she saw the tall buildings
rece the trees at the side of the road.
The sun is setting at the horizon. A wonderful red-orange hue colored the sky. From a distance, she
could see the calm waters of Hyacinth Bay. The view was breathtaking. It''s a pity that city dwellers
hardly had the time to stop and take in the view.
“Penny for your thoughts?” He broke the silence. When the stop light turned red, he shifted his focus on
her. And for the whole 60 seconds, she just stared outside the window, deep in thought.
“When was thest time you admired the sunset?” She nced at him and smiled.
The traffic light had turned green, so he returned his focus on the road but continued to ponder on her
question.
“I don’t know. It’s been a long time, I already forgot.” He threw her a nce.
“Me too. It’s been a long time since Ist watched the sunset. I guess because we are assured that
there will always be a sunset, we take it for granted.”