With my back against the bathroom door and my arms around my knees, my brain was buzzing with endless thoughts and questions. After 5 minutes of sitting in the same motionless state, I felt a knock on the door.

"Valerie, open up," demanded Ava.

"Did you know he'd be here?" I asked the question that had been haunting me for the past few minutes. I knew it was wrong of me to even doubt her, but it was too harsh of a coincidence to suddenly see him here, especially after seeing her get so worked up over my rejection to her offer of bringing me with her initially.

"I swear I didn't. I didn't even know my parents were inviting some new business partners. Please open the door!" I knew better than to believe people promptly but then again, Ava never lied to me so I decided I had to trust her with that. I couldn't hide away for long, so I stood up and unlocked the door. Ava barged right in and embraced me.

"I'm so sorry. I know the wounds are still fresh, no matter how long it has been."

I wiped the last of my tears and washed my face after fully removing my makeup-which turned into a mess- and applied a bit of lipstick and blush before coming out of the bathroom as I didn't have enough time to redo it all.

"I overreacted. I'm sorry if I ruined this experience for you. Is-is he still there?" I asked. I didn't know what to expect from her answer and most of all, I didn't know what I wanted her to say. I missed him dearly but I couldn't bear the thought of him giving me any scornful looks, even though I knew that he'd more than likely lock his thoughts away and act like I didn't exist. I don't even know which action hurts more.

She nodded swiftly, "he is still there. I know it's hard to ask for this but just pretend like he's not there and go back to acting the way you were before he arrived, okay? We need to head straight to the dining room. They're still waiting for you."

I didn't say anything before I inhaled and walked ahead of Ava to the room and took my seat again. The whole dinner consisted of everyone joking around and me sneaking secret glances at him. He didn't pay me nor anyone any heeds and only responded when asked. I hoped- just for a second- to feel his gaze on me, or anything to reassure me that he still cares but the cold reality struck and I had to accept the fact that he had moved on long ago. I kept my gaze on my food as I pretended to be busy eating when I felt a pair of eyes glaring at me. I looked up to see Mrs Everson sending me the most hateful look I've ever received from her. Mr Everson pretended like I wasn't even there along with his son. It's crazy to see the people who once treated you like their family suddenly exhibit their utmost disdain for your existence. I took in a shaky breath and tried to convince myself to calm down.

You're misunderstood.

You're not as bad as everyone puts you out to be.

You're misunderstood

You're not as bad as everyone puts you out to be

I kept telling myself over and over again. It was a tactic to remind myself not to join their hate club directed towards me because your biggest enemy is you, and I knew that first hand.

The longer I sat there, the more I felt my chest tighten so I took a few bites of my food before I excused myself again. I walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for myself to drink. I stood against the counter for a few minutes before I put the glass in the sink and walked out. I didn't want to disappoint Ava and ruin this experience for her, but I also didn't want to stay knowing that I was going to do nothing but hurt myself so I decided to go grab my things and announce my departure. Just as I was about to enter the dining room, someone else tried leaving which led me into bumping into them.

"I'm so sorr-" the words got caught in my throat after my eyes met his.

"Damian," his name came out of my mouth before I could stop it. He paused for a second and looked down at me with an inscrutable face. I waited for him to say something- anything- but I knew he wouldn't even bother to acknowledge my presence.

My heart clenched and I wanted so bad to tell him about everything that took place that night. I wanted to tell him about how much I had missed him in the past 3 years. I wanted to tell him about how much I've longed to hold him and breathe him in. It took all my effort for me to stand still and not jump at him and force him to listen to me. With that, I decided to just step to the other side and round him to enter the room. Unfortunately, he seemed to have the same idea making us halt in front of each other once again. He sighed before he stepped to the other side again and left without sparing me another glance, leaving me gaping at his retreating figure and before I knew it, I found my legs tailing after him.