CHAPTER 21: IT HURTS

It hasn’t been the same ever since Juan left her house. Irene wasn’t used to this new Juan at all. She remembered back then when she was in university and Juan was a lone wolf.

She had no friends to play with and everyone alienated her. It wasn’t that Juan was a bad person, it’s just that students didn’t want to be associated with someone like Juanita, and because of that Juan was always alone.

Irene was someone born with a silver spoon and grew up receiving everything that she asked for. She never lacked anything and her family loved her so much but there was one problem she never dared tell anyone.

In families like hers, there is always competition and she wasn’t the only girl in the family. In her own family, she was an only girl and had two brothers but when it comes to the extended family, there were at least four girls in the family.

She wasn’t the most beautiful girl in the family or an intelligent one. She can be graded as number three and she hated that fact. To know that she is inferior to some other girls, really made her feel as if she was being looked down upon.

Her grades weren’t that good and, in the end, she had to go to Snow City to study her university course. She didn’t want to be there in the first place and wanted to study in the capital, find a capable young man from a rich family and marry and live a high life.

But life was not that fair to her at all, she ended up in Snow City once more and had to suck it up. She didn’t give up and kept on fighting for what she wanted. that is how she caught the eye of Mark and cooked him until she was the only person in his eyes.

Irene was someone who really loves attention and hated it when that attention diverts. So, using tricks and little schemes really helped a lot. And because she didn’t want to be compared to those prettier and capable than her, she decided to find someone who can make her look superior.

It’s just that when she was busy looking for the perfect candidate, she came across Juan who had been humiliated after her secret crush had been exposed. Irene saw Juan as the perfect person to be with.

For someone who had been bullied and looked down upon, her self-esteem will definitely be very low and she will be grateful even for the small things and all that Irene had to do was have a thick skin and pester Juan until she agreed to be her friend.

Irene hated the fact that Juan was a hard nut to crack but after so many tricks, she finally made Juan a friend. To keep the relationship and friendship going, Irene had to show some love and concern for Juan.

Just like she anticipated, Juan was a grateful person and depended on her greatly and for the first time in years, she felt valued and didn’t want to get rid of this wonderful feeling.

When they graduated, she wanted this lackey of hers to follow her and keep on showering her with praises but Juan made up her mind and remained in Snow City.

Irene didn’t want to marry Mark at all as he wasn’t a very rich person and Irene wanted to marry big but she got pregnant and that sealed her fate. She married Mark and seeing the envy in Juan’s eyes made this sacrifice worth it.

Juan was a hard-working person, this was something that Irene personally witnessed, seeing how Juan won scholarships every semester. If it wasn’t for the burn scars, Juan will probably be a beauty and be somewhere better but luckily, she was unfortunate.

So, when Irene who was struggling to live on her salary and relying mostly on Mark received news from Juan that she was no longer in Snow City, she quickly urged Juan to come to Zlila.

Seeing her there struggling and looking up to her will make her feel better. Every woman enjoys flaunting and being complimented and just imagining that envious gaze of Juan, Irene happily chased politely her brother who was lived with her for a short time.

Her brother had places to live but Juan with her financial situation will be entirely relying on her. To everyone, it just looked like Irene was being big-hearted and just doing everything she can to help her friend.

She looked like a Samaritan; too bad her heart was black as charcoal. Juan finally came and she felt something wrong from the very second, she saw the other. As someone who had been by Juan’s side for years, she knew her scars so well, and yet for a moment, she thought that she saw that those scars were getting better.

But after checking on Juan, she learned that the other wasn’t using anything special and there were no changes from last time. In order not to let Juan get the surgery, she warned her numerously not to trust loan sharks when it comes to taking loans as her life may be in jeopardy.

There were some truths in that but with Juan, Irene was confident and sure that Juan was capable of working and paying back the loan. If she were to take a loan from the bank, that will be impossible as she didn’t have anything in her name.

In the end, Juan never took any loan and saved money. Irene didn’t know how much the other saved but she was sure of one thing and that the money will never be enough.

Unless a miracle happens, it will take probably a decade before all the money has been saved but who knows if the prices will still be the same by then?

When Juan dropped that bomb on her and told her that she wanted to live by herself, didn’t want to work, and just e herself. Irene was so angry at Juan. After everything she had done, all the schemes she had done to make Juan live with her, the other didn’t want to stay with her for long.

How was she supposed to show off, torment the other, and flaunt off her wealth which was better than Juan? She hated Juan for this and she let her emotions overtake her and ended up blowing up.

She knew that Mark hated anyone who makes her cry and Mark hated Juan a lot for the reason, she had no idea and didn’t want to know.

This is how Juan became mistreated in their house, she thought that the other will apologize and gain her senses but who knew that Juan was formidable and actually moved out on her own.

What was even more infuriating was the fact that for over two weeks, she never heard from Juan again and it looked like the other wasn’t going to contact her anytime soon. How was she going to keep track of the other like this?