"Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire."
-Anonymous

May cleared the dishes and washed it against Iby's wish. He'd told her he was going to do it
himself later but she disagreed. She joined him in the room sometime later and found him face up with his two hands behind his head on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice her appearance. She looked at the ceiling too, struggling to find what was so interesting. May found nothing. She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, which caught his attention.

Iby turned towards her. She tilted her head and forced a smile, making her look stupidly cute.

He noticed that she smiled a lot whenever she was with him. And not her usual fake smiles. These reached her eyes.

"What?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

"I've been standing here for like two minutes now and you didn't notice," she said, taking a seat.

He sat up, "So?"

She stopped herself from rolling her eyes again. "So a penny for your thoughts?"

Iby couldn't contain his smile. "I was just thinking abou-"

She raised a finger. "Stop." She stood up and added, "Close your mouth first."

He motioned, zipping his mouth, using his hand to demonstrate it while thinking of what she was
up to.

"Good." She nodded her head, smiling as if she'd achieved something big. "Give me a minute, I'll be back." She walked into his kitchen and he waited patiently for her, wondering what she was up to.

When she returned, it was with two bottles of Coca-Cola in hand. Iby face-palmed.

She chuckled. "What?"

"Was Coke the reason for all that drama?" he asked, baffled.

"Uhm-Hm." May pressed her lips together and nodded. "I need something to wash down the
food we just ate." She stretched a bottle towards him. "Here. Would you like one?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I already drank water."

Her shoulders slackened and a pout grew on her face. "Why not? I thought this was the moment
where we'd drink and have a heart-to-heart discussion."

He laughed, thinking of how adorable she looked. "Who said it would be that deep? And this is
my house flower, I could get a bottle any time I wanted."

"Okay. That's your business." She sat back down, placing the rejected drink on the floor. "So what were you saying before I interrupted?"

She removed the top using her teeth, then slipped the straw inside and took a sip, waiting for his reply while he watched her.

"I was thinking of a plan."

"What plan?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already."

"Don't blame me! I have a short memory," she joked.

He shook his head slightly and sighed whilst grinning. "A plan on how to win the heart of your
husband."

"Oh ... That."

"Yes ... that," he mocked.

She removed the straw from her mouth. "Everyone wants me to win my husband's heart. And
don't get me wrong, I want to, but ..." She was thoughtfully looking at the ceiling now. "Something tells me this ain't gonna be easy."

His right brow shot up. "Why?"

She shrugged.

"Are you scared?"

She wasn't expecting that question but nonetheless she replied, "Maybe."

Iby didn't miss the tears forming in May's eyes but she blinked them away. She was getting
emotional again.

He licked his brown dry lips as he thought of what to say, causing them to look soft and inviting. "Listen. In this life, we have to fight for what we want. And if you truly love your husband, you shouldn't let him slip away." His words were firm. "There is a saying: they can't take what they ain't gave you. Bella didn't give you Edric so you can't let her take him." Once he finished, he rested his back on the wall.

His words had created some sort of determination in her. "So what's the plan?"

An impressed smile graced his face. "Now that's the spirit, flower."

She chuckled. "Stop calling me 'flower'."

He ignored her. "So, first of all, tell me how you and your husband first met."

"Is this some kind of interview?" she asked playfully. May hoped the topic would change, She wasn't comfortable with digging deep into her personal life.

When he didn't she begrudgingly continued, "Well ... I know this will sound stupid, but ..." she
trailed off.

"Just go on." He urged, impatiently. Time wasn't on their side. They needed to discuss this
before she left for the orange store.

"Okay." She cleared her throat. "I still remember how I first met him. It was love at first sight, I
would say. Daddy had employed Edric's dad and I was asked to give Mr. David the keys. When
I went down the stairs and opened the door, though, I was met with this tall, handsome,
dark-skinned, young guy standing outside our door. I was stunned because I was expecting his
dad instead."

Iby listened, his eyes not leaving her face. May spoke as if everything was replaying again in
front of her. Like she was falling in love for the first time again.

"We stared at each other for a long time before he found his voice. He introduced himself and
so did I. I gave him the keys before he could start checking me out and quickly ran to my
younger sister's room to tell her about what happened downstairs. After that day, we kept
seeing each other. It started with little greetings and waves, after which we became friends and I
got to know his twin sister too-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Iby interrupted. "Edric has a twin sister?"

She took a sip from her drink. "Had. She died some years back in a car accident."

"Oh" Iby mouthed then swallowed the lump in his throat. Whenever he hears about death, it
makes him uncomfortable.

She continued, "She became my friend too. Long story short, Edric started sending me love
letters. He asked me out and I accepted. I mean, who wouldn't accept such a handsome guy-"

Iby cleared his throat, cutting her off again as he sat up. "So let me get this straight. Almost
everything you've mentioned revolves around his physical appearance. That means you were
blinded by his beauty, no?"

"Ugh," she wasn't certain of what to say. "Well, I wouldn't put it that way-"

He continued, "Now let's try to see things from Edric's point of view. Let's say, he also loved you
because you were young and beautiful."

She pulled a strand of her messy hair behind her ears. "I was."

"You still are," he said matter-of-factly. "It takes a real man to see that."

She gulped down some of her drink noisily. Fighting the urge to ask him if he was the real man.

"You guys were young-naive. Not like people haven't been in that position before, so I am not
judging you for that. But for the purpose of this discussion, you need to know that you guys
rushed things. The fact that you were attracted to his appearance means he must've been
attracted to yours as well."

"How sure are you?" she asked him. She didn't know why exactly, but this conversation was
starting to offend her.

"Seventy-seven percent out of hundred."

She gulped down the lump forming in her throat.

A long silence lingered for a while before he broke it. "If I am wrong, correct me."

Damn! She knew he was right, she'd already figured it out on her own. But it wasn't only her
beauty Edric was attracted to. He was attracted to her father's wealth as well.

He continued when she couldn't say anything. "See that's the thing about love. If you love a
particular thing about someone, it hardly lasts because once that thing is gone, the love dies
too."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"I am saying that Edric doesn't see the beauty in you anymore. In his eyes, that beauty has died
and so has his love for you."

She didn't see that coming. Hot tears started trailing down her eyes at this new revelation. It hurt
her so much. "So what should I do?"

He opened his palms. "It's simple. You have to work on your femininity first."

She nodded, wiping her tears. "Okay?"

"I'll help you with that," he winked, trying to make her mood lighter.

~~~~

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