"Uncle Rain, this is not something I could control or inform you beforehand, because Joyce caught me off guard yesterday and revealed her love for me. I took a spontaneous decision to break her fantasies once and for all," Justin said honestly. Justin too had realized that his rejection was perhaps a little harsh to Joyce, whom he regarded as his sister. In his defense, he believed that beating around the bush could only worsen the situation and would never make the dilemma easier to handle.
"You were undoubtedly very rude to her this time. I guess it will take a long time for my little girl to recover, but I still have you to thank for not giving her any hopeless fantasies, which would have ruined her life," Rain said sincerely. Rain was not here to reproach Justin today. There was nothing wrong with the approach of Justin from a man's point of view, but as Joyce's father, he couldn't help but blame Justin for her misery. To sum it up, he wasn't sure where his allegiance was.
"Uncle Rain, in fact, Joyce is a very lovely and cheerful girl," Justin paused for a while and continued, "Although I don't have any romantic feelings for her, I certainly believe that she deserves a better man than me." He stared at Rain's cold eyes, fearlessly. He honestly believed that he did what was right and that he had hurt none intentionally. Joyce would always be his beloved sister.
"I think so too", said Rain, a little relieved. "The reason I came here today is to tell you that even if Joyce begs you to reconsider your decision, you should not budge an inch from your present decision. Any hope on you that she might have will only end up harming her." Rain was worried that if Joyce came to plead before Justin, he might consider shedding his toughness. It was duty to avoid any more of such incidents.
"Uncle Rain, you can be assured, I will not alter my decision!" Justin said, perhaps a little annoyed. "I have my own integrity and I shall keep my decisions firmly." Justin threw an uncomfortable look at Rain and thought, 'Unlike you, Uncle Rain, I would never be so unprincipled.'
"It's settled then. I need to go now," Rain said, standing up. "As for whatever happened with Joyce, sorry for all the trouble she has brought to you. But remember, don't you dare think about reconsidering your decision", Rain reminded him again, perhaps just to reassure himself.
"I got it, Uncle Rain. Goodbye!" Justin said sincerely. After watching him walk out of his office, he leaned on the chair in a blissful remorse.
If he ever had another option in sight, he would never have opted to hurt Joyce. Considering her future, he had to be ruthless to her.
That summer, because of being lovelorn, Joyce travelled abroad to spend her vacation. Only by getting herself away from the city wherein she found Justin would she learn to forget about him. She couldn't afford to keep her mind idle.
Perhaps, some feelings are only meant to be hidden in the bottom of one's heart, never meant to be revealed to another soul on earth. Perhaps, some people are merely meant to be desired from far away, never approached. Maybe because she was forced to relinquish her love for him way too early and ended up getting rejected ruthlessly, the intensity of pain she experienced was insufferable.
Every morning, walking by the road in a foreign country, all she could think of during day and night was Justin, as if his name had been carved in stone of her fate.
Some wise man had said that imperfections perfected an individual. She might have obtained such an imperfection in her life, but was the price she had to pay far beyond its value? She realized that everything had its own price in this world and nothing could be acquired so easily.
Every time Edward drove past the entrance of the army base, all sorts of mixed feelings erupted in his mind. In this place, he had lived a lifetime of memories.
At this moment, with the exhausted sun preparing to set for the day, Edward felt elated like the wind. Although the beautiful woman standing next to him was no longer as young as she used to be, only because the elapsed time had left its mark on her creased forehead. However, as far as he was concerned, she was the only lover of his life and she'd always remain his beloved.
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