The Ring

NINETEEN

[ADRIAN'S POV]

I'm in the kitchen cooking something up when I hear the door swing open. Ingrid comes in, walking very fast, she doesn't say anything to me. I put off the stove and chase after her.

"Hey," I call out, in my calmest voice. She turns around, her hand is over her mouth, trying to stop her moans. Her eyes are filled with tears. It's a sad to see her like this.

"He hates me now. Everyone probably hates me now. I lied to him for the first time in my life." she cries out, choking on her every word.

I honestly don't know what to do, but I understand how she feels.

"I..." I try to speak, but I'm shocked when she buries her face in my chest and throws her arms around me.

"I feel like a bad person. I said really terrible things to him." she sobs more onto my shirt. I hesitantly try to stroke her hair, thinking she might pull away, but instead, she stops crying and calms down under my touch. I can only here sniffling.

"I made lunch. Wanna have some?" I smile, changing the subject. She lets go off me and shakes her head.

"I'm not hungry." she says. I however take her hand and drag her to the kitchen and give her a seat. I serve her a bowl of Mexican 7 layer salad and a glass of juice.

"I felt worse than this when I broke up with Emily." I say to her. "But it would've felt the worst if she died because of me."

She looks up at me worriedly when I say this. I give her an assuring look and stroke her hand. "You did the right thing, Ingrid. You're really strong. Strength is not holding on to someone, but rather, letting go."

"So what now?" she asks, toying with her knife.

"We wait. When Scarlet appears again, we give her the ring."

She nods at me and pulls her red hair behind her ear. "I'm trying to imagine my life without Adrian. He's the only one I've ever known. I wonder whether... this.... between us will work."

I force a smile. "If Scarlet forgives us, we can go back."

"But what if she doesn't?" Ingrid's tears return again.

"Let's be optimistic. That's the only way."

"But... but what's the possibility that Adrian would accept me back? I've basically ruined all my chances with him. I don't know how I am gonna explain everything to him, you know? I'm really scared."

"Same here. I think about that every day. But I feel like if Emily really loves me, she'll take me back as I am." I say.

"That's stupid. I mean, you freaking cancelled your wedding and lied to her. It's not that easy for her to forgive you. It's the same for Adrian."

"I don't know, really. It's messed up. But I'll do anything to get her back. If I fail, well, I have to move on." I shove a piece of the salad into my mouth.

Ingrid is silent for a while and looks lost in thoughts as she eats.

"Do you like the salad?"

She nods. "It's nice. How did you learn how to cook."

"My sister taught me. She was a food maven." I smile when images of Camila and I frying bacon together flashes my mind.

I remember when she got all cross with me because my several kilos of bacon turned from pinkish to pitch black. I chuckle, remembering that she had called me a noodle head and made me follow her to ballet class as a punishment for wasting money and food.

Abruptly, tears form in my eyes, reminiscing the good times.

"You and her were pretty close, weren't you?" Ingrid asks, her turn to stroke my hand.

"Yeah. When my parents died, I became her son. She was my favorite person in the world. And...and Emily sometimes reminded me of her."

"How?"

"They had the same eyes and hair. They even had the same laughter. I felt like God had brought back my sister to me. So we were very happy together."

"Is Emily in Mexico?"

"Yeah. We opened up a restaurant together, but when I left her, she had to run it by herself."

"I'm sorry about you and Emily." she whispers 

I shake my head. "Don't be. It's my father's fault that all this happened. I hate him a lot right now for being greedy. Anyway, how were you and Adrian like?"

"Our relationship, was uh, shaky. I loved him and all, but he was having problems with what he wanted. Since I was his very first girlfriend, he was having problems sticking to just one person. So you can guess what happened." she says miserably.

"He cheated?" I ask.

"Yes. But I still love him because I understood him. I wasn't perfect either. And besides, he chose to marry me over all the girls he slept around with, including my best friend. So I thought, why not let go?"

"That was really... kind of you. But I don't think that was a right thing to do. If you're too kind, people take advantage of you." I point out.

"I knew Adrian loved me, he was just confused figuring out his feelings."

"That's still not right, because to be in a relationship with someone you must prioritize the person." I explain.

"I know, but...he decided, at the end. That's why he wanted to marry me."

"Ingrid, for you to date someone your whole life, while he countlessly cheats on you and disrespects you...it's wrong. Unless, you're kind of desperate. Maybe you were too afraid to leave him because you thought he was all you had." I discern.

"Really?" she frowns, questioning herself.

"Yes. But you were wrong. And he was wrong. You're probably worth more to somebody out there than you think.  You just need to leave the shadows to see the light." I say.

She doesn't reply. She sits in awkward silence, twisting her fork in the salad, probably thinking about what I said.