Beyond The Gaze: A Love Unseen

Chapter 68

Elysia's POV:

I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves before slipping my phone back into my purse. Turning around, I faced Aubrey with arms folded across my chest, meeting her gaze directly.

"What are you doing here?" I inquired calmly, despite my tensed nerves. Ever since our encounter outside the restaurant almost a month ago, I knew this day would come sooner or later.

Aubrey scoffed mockingly. "Come on, is this how you treat your best friend?" she remarked sarcastically, "Oops, ex-best friend, I mean," she corrected herself, chuckling with feigned humor.

"Why are you here, Aubrey?" I asked again, choosing to ignore her abrasive tone.

Never in our school days did I imagine we'd be standing against each other like this years later.

Aubrey's chuckle faltered for a moment at my tone, before she scoffed again, her sarcasm dripping. "Why, you ask?" she taunted, "Of course, I'm here to show you how shameless you are being right now, trying to hook up with a married man."

"Are you sure we're not talking about you here?" I replied evenly, maintaining my composure.

Surprise flashed in her eyes before Aubrey gritted out. "Don't think I don't know about how you're trying to climb the ladder to get out of the dirt."

This is what I feared people may say when they find out about Ares and my marriage, Aubrey wasn't any different.

"I'm not ashamed of my roots, unlike you, Aubrey," I replied firmly, refusing to let my calm facade waver in front of her. Stepping forward, I continued, "If you're here just to talk nonsense, then please leave." With a gesture towards the exit, I turned away from her, intent on going inside the building.

But Aubrey's mocking voice stopped me in my tracks. "Do you really think you can compete with Silva Princess?" she taunted. "Can you even compare to his wife?"

Silva Princess?

Ah, so like many others, Aubrey also assumed that Ares was married to his fiancée?

Of course...

I wasn't bothered by it; Ares had already explained that it was his Grandpa's doing.

"At least I was once his lover. Who are you?" Her words echoed in my mind, stirring up memories of the days I used to watch them from afar, always just staring at their backs. Even after so many years, those memories were still vivid in my mind, as well as the ache in my heart that it made me feel.

I clenched my jaw, taking a deep breath, suppressing the ache in my heart, and swallowed a lump in my throat. "A lover who cheated on him...?" I stated coldly, steeling myself and turning to face her, locking eyes with her. "A friend who betrayed her best friend?" I continued, my voice steady. "A girl who did nothing except use others?" Aubrey's arrogant and mocking expression melted away, replaced by anger and fury. Yet, there was something else flickering in her eyes; guilt? But perhaps that could be just my imagination.

"Why, Aubrey?" I shook my head, stepping closer to her. "For years, I've wondered why you did what you did." I paused, searching her eyes for answers that never came. "I asked myself countless times what went wrong between us? What made you turn into a person I didn't even recognize? What made you hate me? But I never got an answer... Why?"

I had never truly understood her motives for harboring such animosity towards me. I had never wished ill upon her, so why did she feel the need to tear me down?

Aubrey glared at me, her eyes reddening, teeth clenched in hatred. "All because of you..." she spat, her voice dripping with venom. "I did everything because of you!" Her words hit me like a slap, catching me off guard, and I flinched at her outburst, my fingers subconsciously tightening on my sleeves as I tried to keep my calm facade. "You always take the one I love away from me, and now you're here to steal him again."