I couldn't help but roll my eyes when he brazenly questioned me. After all the unspeakable deeds he'd done, he had the gall to ask me whether I know the reason. The nerve of him was just astonishing.
Despite everything, I managed to maintain a cool composure as I faced him. It wasn't that I didn't want to respond; I simply had nothing to say.
With his chest puffed out, he ranted, "Ever since I met you, you've acted all high and mighty, as if you're above everyone else, ignoring my existence, disregarding all I've done for you!
You never truly loved me. I was just a pawn in your game of arrogance, a mere tool for you to flaunt your superiority. You lavished gifts on me and my family just to show off, to bask in the admiration and worship of others, to have them bend to your will and follow your every command. It was all about showcasing your nobility and your indifference to everything!"
Watching him talking, I started to wonder when his eloquence had improved so much. Too bad the substance of his speech was utterly flawed. Or maybe, it was just his frustration talking.
His expression was so repulsive I could hardly bear to look at him.
What a disgrace to such a good-looking face.
Then, with a sly smirk, he leaned in closer and said in a conspiratorial tone, "So I tested you, to challenge that hidden haughtiness. And there it was, your true self emerged, the meek and mild facade gone, revealing someone who bites back!"
His face, shadowed with malignance and pettiness, suddenly made me feel an unprecedented sense of helplessness. It seemed the huge gap between us had always been there, right from the start.
He was the one hiding evil, masquerading as a gentleman.
Biases are like mountains; only by moving those mountains can one truly think clearly.
Take Jaylan, for example. He'd never thought things through properly because he was inherently biased. Perhaps our paths crossing was a fundamental misalignment.
He belonged to his old world, where he could play the heartthrob to a succession of women, showing them his many faces, getting them into bed with illusions of grandeur, moving on smoothly to the next girl after each brief affair.
It was I who pulled him from his track, not only exposing him to the positive energy of the sunlight but also granting him a wealth that he'd always desired but could never attain.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan)