Chapter 17 A Big Surprise To Leena

When they'd hung up, Leena told Rena that Alina had agreed to meet with her. "I'm going with you!" Rena said firmly.

Leena squeezed her shoulders affectionately. "If you really want to go, I won't stop you. But you shouldn't act so aggressive and emotional, okay? You can only talk to her if you're calm. And even if she gives up Jimmy, you should not go back to him."

Rena didn't say anything. Instead, she clenched her fists tightly and took a deep breath. Leena gave her shoulder another sympathetic squeeze. "Hey, you'll be okay," she said in a soothing voice. "He doesn't even deserve you."

It was around one o'clock that afternoon when Leena and Rena went out. They took a cab and headed to the cafe Alina mentioned. While riding along the busy roads of A city, Leena worried about how Alina knew her identity. If Alina knew about her, then that would mean Carlson might also know. She felt strange, recalling the time they ran into each other on campus. Did he already know? Was that why he came there, to make fun of her?

Rena then leaned on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. She needed to focus on consoling her friend now. However, at the sight of her depressed friend, she couldn't help but think about her rocky relationship with Miguel.

It suddenly dawned on her that she hadn't seen Miguel for four or five days since he left for a business trip. He didn't even make the time to call her. She had sent him a thread of messages, but he only replied once. This worried her immensely. Pulling out her phone, she shot him a quick message. "When are you coming back?"

A few minutes passed with no reply from Miguel. Leena decided to give up on expecting one. More importantly, they had arrived at the cafe, twenty minutes earlier than the agreed time. The waiter served them and escorted them to a table.

Upon sitting down, Rena crossed her arms angrily. "The more I think about it, the angrier I become," she blurted out. "How dare she seduce my boyfriend?"

Leena sighed. "I told you that you need to calm down, so you could ask what exactly happened. You can threaten him to return to you the things that you gave him. Don't let him get off the hook so easily."

"Do you think Alina is beautiful?" Rena asked suddenly.

Leena frowned. This question caught her off-guard. If she said that Alina was beautiful, it would only irk Rena. If she said that she was not, it would be a lie. Alina was a true beauty, even she, as a woman, couldn't deny how alluring she was. On the other hand, Rena was also good-looking. She was 1.7 meters tall, fair skinned, and had a pretty face. While she did enjoy dressing up, her class paled in comparison to Alina.

"I would choose you instead of Alina," she said firmly. "For me, true beauty lies in not needing to be pursued by many men. You don't have to compare yourself with Alina. Besides, you shouldn't even be with Jimmy! I'm glad the scumbag showed his true colors before you two tie the knot."

"Dear Leena, you are too kind." Rena sighed. "But let's be real. Alina's a freaking goddess. There's no woman who doesn't envy her!"

"I respect that, it's your opinion," Leena said impatiently. "But you're only feeding your insecurities." She really didn't agree with Rena's words. While she admitted Alina was indeed a stunner, there was no need to envy her. Having men swoon over them was not the only purpose of a woman. There were other meaningful things to do. Moreover, even if a woman had a line of men waiting for her, she'd most likely end up with only one of them. She had to be wise in choosing a husband to spend the rest of her life with, that man needed to be someone who would love and care for her. No matter how many men were there, most of them would be discarded anyway.

Leena led a very simple life. She'd found a way to support her family alone, and had a reliable friend she lived with. She never really needed to find a man. Since her high school days, she had never fallen for someone. She thought such things were a waste of her time. For Leena, if she were to fall for someone, it'd be someone she would end up marrying and spending the rest of her life with. As a result, she was content with her life, because she had Miguel.

A couple of hours passed. Glancing at the clock, they noticed it was already three in the afternoon, and Alina still wasn't there. Rena growled in frustration. "Damn it! Does she take us for her suitors? How can she have the guts to be this late for an appointm

ent?"

Leena looked at her friend sympathetically. "Be patient. Anyway, I need to go to the bathroom." She left the table and headed for the bathroom, which was close to the parking lot.

Absentmindedly looking out the cafe windows, Leena noticed a familiar-looking Hummer parked outside. She squinted, trying to make out the plate number. Leena gasped. The plate number matched Miguel's car.

'Why is his car parked here? Did he come back from his business trip already? Maybe he is in this cafe, too! Why didn't he tell me that he was back?'

Her thoughts raced, overwhelming her. Struggling to get her thoughts in order, she tried to reason with herself. 'Maybe Miguel lent his car to his friend, they often borrow cars from each other after all. He is also out of town so it is normal for any of his friends to use his car.' She brushed her suspicions to the side and proceeded to head to the bathroom. Then, she froze.

There were two people standing by the door of the bathroom, a man and a woman. Both of them were tall, so they stood out. She easily identified the woman as Alina. The man, however... the man was actually Miguel.

Leena was shocked to see him here, given he said he was on a business trip. Moreover, of all the people he could be with, it had to be Alina! What a strange encounter.

The two of them were engrossed in a conversation, so they didn't notice her. Miguel was holding Alina's hand tightly and begged sincerely, "Alina, please give me one more chance!"

However, Alina yanked her hand from his grip. "I don't find your apology sincere."

"What more do you want? I already told you, I've been waiting for you all these years!" Miguel whined anxiously.

"Then why did you date another woman? Since you are with Leena now, our relationship has ended." Alina retorted.

Miguel snarled, "You betrayed me first! I promised you happiness and that it wouldn't be long until I convinced my parents to give us their blessing. But what did you do? You left me for Dylan Chen! Did you think I wouldn't be hurt?"

"So you're bringing that up now because you are looking to settle scores with me? If you hate me so much, stop bothering me." Alina scoffed and turned around abruptly.

But Miguel grabbed her by the shoulder to prevent her from leaving. "I'm sorry," he pleaded. "I was wrong to blame you, I shouldn't have. I just hope that you can still give me a chance! Alina, forgive me. Don't leave me, please!"

"Why do all of you treat me like this?" she spat. "I'd been in love with you for three long years, you even swore to me that we'd get married. But we never did! Because you couldn't go against your parents' wishes." She started to tear up. "Dylan is no different from you. He promised to love me and give me the best in this life, but until now, I am still hidden, like a dirty secret. He refused to divorce his wife. I can only be his other woman. I could have settled with a better man, but I can't because of all of you!"

"If he can't make you happy, then leave him! Don't ever run back to him. Dylan is not a good man. You can't be with him, anyway," Miguel said harshly. Then, his tone softened. "I've been waiting for you, Alina. Don't you remember our engagement ring?" Miguel raised his hand and showed her the ring he was wearing. The platinum ring in the shape of a delicate magnolia flower.

Leena felt as though she'd been struck by lightning. Alina had been wearing the exact same ring back at the hotel. It suddenly dawned on her that these two had a long history.

"I couldn't buy you a good ring back then, we were still in college so I couldn't disobey my parents," Miguel continued. "But now, I finally have a job after studying abroad. I run a company with my brother. I don't have to follow my parents anymore. I can buy better rings for you, and I can also give you happiness. As long as you come back to me, we can continue where we left off..." He was so scared of losing her, that he blurted out all these promises.

"What about Leena?" Alina asked venomously.

Miguel was obviously caught off guard. Panic filled his eyes. Guiltily, he said, "Stop talking about other people. As long as you're willing to come back, I'll marry you. Why are you so worried about Leena?"

Leena shook her head in dismay. She was sad, frustrated, and done putting up with it. With a murderous look, she said in a loud voice. "So, it seems you called me out here not to talk about Jimmy, but to let me witness this appalling scene."