Chapter 49: The Talk

Avery couldn’t believe what she was seeing right now. Even if she can see Carson in commercials and billboards, it was different when she saw him again. His aura was different from the one she remembered.

He was no longer angry or cold. His vibe was warm and gentle, just like he was when they first met. She lightly smiled, “Indeed. Are you free?”

He walked to her and nodded. She wiped her hands using her handkerchief as she lead the way. “So I heard that you opened a café.” He started as they walked. She nodded but paused when she realized that she didn’t tell the news to anybody aside from Jane and Alexander.

“How did you---”

He didn’t let her finish and smiled when they reached the café. Jane and Brix were smiling widely as if everything was a secret surprise. Avery shaked her head as she smiled. “So, we have a date. We’ll leave the two of you?” Jane asked as Avery and Carson approached them.

She didn’t wait for Avery’s response and grabbed Brix’s hand. The couple then left. Avery can feel the awkwardness between her and Carson. She opened the shop and saw that everything was already cleaned.

“Coffee?” She asked as they went inside. She headed to the counter while she waited for his response. He was looking around the shop and nodded at her question. She started preparing the coffee. She couldn’t do the same thing that they had at the old coffee shop before, but she made a recipe just for him.

“What made you decide to open a shop?” He asked as he stood by the counter. He was looking at how she prepared the coffee. As the water boiled, Avery placed the coffee beans in the coffee maker.

“I wanted to start something new. A life where I don’t have to depend on anybody.” She replied while she poured the boiling water into the coffee maker. The room started smelling like coffee. He smiled, “It smells great. It’s also amazing that you thought of this.”

Avery poured the coffee into two cups. She handed one cup to Carson. Both of them sat by the corner. It was Avery’s favorite spot. He sat in front of her with a blue mug on his hand. He was wearing his usual formal work attire.

She looked at her red mug. She knew that happiness like this won’t last forever. “What brings you here?” His smile lightly faded and his expression became serious. “I know it was immature for me to treat you like that but I knew I needed time to understand.”

She shaked her head, “No. It was my mistake.” He slowly held her hand. “I just want to know everything. I knew you had a bad past with your dad but I couldn’t comprehend why you had to do those things to me and to other men.”

“Other men?” She asked. He nodded as his grip tightened but it was warm. “Ji told me everything.” She smirked, “Of course he would.”

“I fired him, Avery. I could easily research your past but I didn’t. I want to know everything from you.”

Avery took a deep breath and started everything. Her past, her fears, her struggles, and how she came up with the idea of finding rich and old men. Carson listened attentively. She mentioned Alexander, John, Ran, and the other men.

“Jane was the one who convinced me to pursue you. She believed that I will fall for you and stop all this madness.” He smiled, “She was wrong. I was the one who fell for you.”

She knew she hadn’t told him her feelings yet but she wasn’t sure if this was the right time to do so. “Carson, I wanted to tell you these 3 months ago. I wanted to apologize for my mistakes but I want to let you know that the woman you met and knew was still me. Sure, it was my goal to get your attention but my stories were true.”

He nodded in understanding. “I know.” She looked at him in confusion. “I just didn’t understand why you didn’t tell me sooner. I thought you treated me as someone you could trust. I told you I had issues and if you told me then what was happening between you and Ji, I could’ve helped you.”

She looked down, “I know. I’m sorry. If you don’t want me in your life, I can easily go. I mean, I’ve done a pretty good job these past months---” He cut of her off by cupping her face. “Avery, you need to calm down. This is not the strong independent woman I knew.”

She turned to him with her sad and confused eyes. “What?” She missed his touch. He continued to smile at her to remind her that everything is going to be fine. “I just want to understand what happened.”

“You’re supposed to be mad or hate me.”

He nodded, “I did. But you are also aware of my feelings for you. Remember? I knew you were doing everything to talk to me but I was a coward for running away.” She couldn’t understand what he was saying. She didn’t imagine that things would go this way.

She expected him to get angry at her or even shout at her. But why was he so soft and kind? Why did he kept on looking at her as if she never did anything wrong. Is this what they said about love? No. It wasn’t. She lied to him. She tricked him.

She didn’t notice that a tear already fell from her eye. He wiped the tear and smiled. “Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you. Other than the truth of course.” She tilted her head in confusion.

“What is it?”