A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Tul's POV

I cursed at myself for three reasons.

First, I was not fast enough in grabbing my phone so Max beat me to it. I'm starting to get sluggish. I should start going back to the gym.

Second, I should have deleted Naree from my contacts list long time ago.

And third, I should not have assigned a special ringtone for her. Max knew that everyone on my contacts list had a generic ringtone except for those closest to my heart like him and my parents.

After taking one glance at my phone, he flicked it away to the farthest corner of the room and went straight to the bathroom.

I could hear the strong flow of the shower. He must have turned the shower knob to the fullest. He does that whenever he's trying to shower off some anger or frustration.

I slowly put my clothes back on and picked up my phone from the corner of the room where it landed after Max had angrily flung it.

I then went to the kitchen to start putting together the ingredients I needed for making our lunch. I had been thinking of making a Citrus Quinoa Avocado Salad to go with a tuna sub each for the two of us.

I had finished making the salad and was starting to prepare the tuna spread for the foot long sub which I had cut in half when Max stepped into the kitchen. Our kitchen is right beside the front door of our unit. He was all dressed to go out.

"Where are you going???" I asked in a panic, my voice ending on a squeaky tone.

"None of your goddamn business," he growled before grabbing his car key from a hook on the wall close to the door.

"Oh so it's none of my business now whatever you do, like we are not in a relationship?" I asked, my heart beating furiously and angrily against my chest.

His hand that had started to reach out for the doorknob paused in midair.

"Well, the way you're acting yourself is like we are not in a relationship. And if you really want to know, I'm on my way to see Debbie," he said before turning the knob and rushing out the door, slamming it shut before I could say another word.

Debbie...... did he mean Debbie, the newly hired receptionist in the company he was working for? The one who took him home when he got so drunk after their company anniversary party? The one who had a very strong perfume that would cling to Max's shirt every time he came near her? That Debbie? I wondered how Debbie looked like. I wondered if she was pretty and sexy and intelligent.......

I shook my head to ward off the thoughts that were starting to give me palpitations from excessive anxiety.

I prepared for two lunches anyway even if I knew that I was going to be eating alone. I took out a carton of guanabano juice from the fridge and stuck the sharp end of the hard plastic straw that had been glued to its side into the small round aluminum on one side of the top end.

Halfway through my lunch I heard my phone ringing again. It was Naree again.

I could not decide whether to take her call or to just let it go to voicemail.

I decided to let it go to voicemail. Shortly after, my phone pinged to let me know that she had left a message on my voicemail.

I took my time in finishing my lunch. I was in no hurry to listen to what Naree had to say. When we were together, she could have fought for her love for me to her dad but she didn't. She had opted to leave me in order to please her dad.

In fairness to her, even if she had left me, she did not get into any relationship with anyone, so I was not sure whether she had just left to cool off, to give herself time to assess our situation, to perhaps think out a strategy on how to convince her dad that she would not be happy with any other man, who knows what had been on her mind.

On my part, I had met Max and got instantly attracted to him and as time went by, the attraction had turned into something deeper, something called love.

I could barely finish my lunch. I kept sipping on my guanabano juice to help wash down my tuna sub and my citrus quinoa avocado salad.

To ward off images of Max being with Debbie whose face was of course blurry in my mind because I had barely gotten a good look at her when she brought Max home that one particular night, I decided to listen to Naree's voicemail message.

"Hi, Tul, this is Naree, in case my number is no longer in your contacts. I wanted to thank you again for coming to my rescue at the supermarket parking lot. Also (there was a catch in her voice right after this) I just wanted you to know that nothing has changed for me, that I still love you very much... (her voice trailed off and then she cut off her call).

No, Tul, no, I kept telling myself.  Don't throw away your happiness with Max for someone who did not hesitate to leave you for a shortcoming that you had no control over.

I tried calling Max several times. My calls kept going to his voicemail. I did not allow myself to get angry with him. He had every reason to be upset with me. He had every reason to think that I had cheated on him.

I went back to my list of contacts and deleted Naree's number. That way, when he came back, I could show him that she would no longer be in my life ever again.

I went through a sad and lonely and anxiety-ridden evening.

I couldn't eat any dinner. Food was the last thing on my mind.

I tried watching TV but could not focus on whatever was showing on the random channel that I had clicked on.

I turned off the TV and closed my eyes, unable to keep some tears from rolling onto the sides of my face.

I fell asleep out of mental and physical exhaustion on the couch. It was a light and uneasy sleep. I would awaken every now and then from the slightest of noises.

I was awakened by the jangling of keys on the front door. I ran and peeped through the eye hole.

It was Max trying to unlock the door.

I quickly opened it and a very drunken Max fell into my arms. I dragged him across the living room and plopped him onto the couch. I automatically pinched my nose so as not to smell Debbie's nauseating perfume.

But wait, he wasn't smelling of Debbie's perfume.