Saya blanked out at Ren's frankness. Faced with the question, she didn't know what to say.

"I-I . . . I don't know." Saya looked at her fidgeting fingers on her lap. "All I know is . . . I don't want to lose all of you. Can't we just . . . make up and return to like we were in the past?"

Leonel licked his lip before he shut them tight. He then sipped a glass of water while he gazed at Ren under his lashes. On the other hand, Ren leaned on his chair and crossed his hands.

"You're still denying reality, I see. Unfortunately, I'm done playing house. Our friendship is already over. Once a rift that huge occurs, there's no going back and fixing it. To begin with, our friendship wasn't deep in the first place. I'm sure you felt it too."

". . ." Saya didn't know what to say.

"It's time to choose a side," Ren said and added, "But don't worry. We're not going to shoo you away if you want to stay. But I hope you'll think things thru because I don't want to have anything to do with Mike anymore. He is toxic, and I don't need that kind of toxicity in my life."

After Ren had said his piece, he offered no further ongoing conversation and began eating. In contrast, Leonel finished another glass of water and asked Saya.

"So . . . how's the weather today?"

Saya didn't know where to put her eyes. Ren might not say it directly, but she felt she was no longer welcomed. The only thing that kept her on her seat was Leonel's kind and comforting words.

At least Leonel was still talking to her though she got to admit that even Leonel had changed. He got money now and a lot of guts to stand up to Mike. He might sound friendly, but his tone was awkward, and it felt like he didn't know how to talk with her anymore.

Saya got to admit that in the past, Leonel was a pushover that could easily be ordered around. On the other hand, Ren would do anything for her, even serve Mike for a price.

But now that they could stand on their own feet and wanted to be free from them, Saya got to admit that she and Mike didn't like it and that was the start of the rift in their friendship.

Saya inhaled a deep breath. The fault lies with them, she admitted. The moment Ren and Leonel no longer followed them, they got angry to the point that their friendship turned this way and could no longer be fixed.

And right now, Saya was torn between Ren and Mike.

However, she couldn't just dump Mike and choose Ren and Leonel. An uncertain future awaited her if she did.

Whereas a bright future awaited her with Mike if she persisted with him. What's more, if she broke up with him, she would never hear the end of it from her family.

While Saya was deep in her thoughts, Leonel suddenly waved a hand in the air.

"Hey, Evie!"

Shifting her attention to where Leonel was waving, Saya was surprised when a woman with alabaster skin, white hair that was raised in a ponytail, and a mask covering half her face, walked to where they were.

She wore a waitress uniform, and she didn't know where to put her two hands. There was an awkwardness in her that was endearing. And behind her face mask, Saya knew she was beautiful. It was apparent from her ashen eyes that drew attention. There was an aloofness and mysterious air about her, but when she spoke, she seemed lethargic.

However, the most surprising thing about the whole thing was Ren's reaction. He stiffened in his seat, and his face turned white while the tip of his ears was red.

Saya was very familiar with that look. It was the face Ren portrayed every time that he saw her. And she thought that she would never see it again . . . but lo and behold . . . she saw it again but this time . . . it was not directed at her.

And worse, a genuine smile tickled Ren's lips when Evie closed the distance between them. It was small, but it was honest, and a surge of annoyance and irritation bubbled in Saya's heart.

"Hey, Evie. Did you have lunch already?" Leonel asked while wiggling his brows at Ren. "Do you want to eat with us? It's Ren's treat. Do you know that he defeated Scar, the leader of Black Lion? Wait . . . do you even play COVENANT?"

"Leo." Ren calmly reprimanded Leonel with an edge to his tone, complete with narrowing of eyes.

Ren's hard face then melted when he faced Evie. "Sorry. Don't mind him, and continue with your business."

Evie slightly shook her head and said with her usual dead voice, "It's no bother." She hesitated for a moment before she added, "Congrats on your win."

Ren caught his tongue before he cleared his throat. He then retrieved his eyes and said coolly with reddened ears. "Thanks."

Leonel snickered at the side, and Ren stomped the heels of his shoes against his. The latter gasped, and when Evie left, that was only when Leonel released a yelp.

"What?" Leonel asked with fake surprise, eyes wide. "I was trying to help you."

"I don't need your help. And stop that. She might get the wrong idea."

Leonel chuckled. "I think you and I both know who has the wrong idea here." He then muttered under his breath, "Very in denial but so obvious."

Ren cut Leonel a look, and they bickered before Saya joined in the fray.

"Uhm . . . who's she?" she asked, hiding her bitterness behind her nonchalant voice. She tried hard to make her face neutral but failed when her brows wouldn't stop knitting together.

Leonel blinked, and he realized what he had done. Saya was here, and she was Ren's previous fling, and just now, a new love interest appeared. Could this be the start of Ren's love problems?

Leonel snickered at the thought. But then he realized Saya had Mike, so all of that was just his wishful thinking.

It took a solid thirty seconds for Leonel to recover and said, "She's Ren's new loveow!!"

Another heel hammered against Leonel's foot, and his breath was punched right out of his throat.

"I said it's not like that!" Ren said with an edge, and the two bickered again.

While Saya . . . she . . . she didn't know what to feel. The news that Ren, like another girl, shocked her system, that she shut down at the sudden information, and her heart visibly dropped.

No wonder Ren no longer had any interest in her. Turned out that another girl stole all his attention that was supposed to be directed at her.

Suddenly, Saya's vision turned dark. A wave of nausea made her head pound hard, and her heart constricted at the thought that Ren no longer had any feelings for her because of another party.

It was fine if Ren was cold to her. If he treated her with nothing but indifference. If she ignored her. All that was fine. She could accept that. But imagining him with another woman made her stomach churn and her heart twist in contempt.

Suddenly she felt miserable, and she wanted her, the girl Evie, to feel miserable like her. There was an undeniable urge inside her that wanted to ruin her. That feeling grew more and more as she looked at Ren peeking at Evie from time to time while he repressed a smile from his lips.

Jealousy could be such an ugly thing.

While Ren and Leonel bickered, they didn't notice that Saya was staring at Evie with dead eyes.

Until the three parted ways, and Ren and Leonel went back to their room to play COVENANT.

But unbeknownst to the two, Saya was still in the area. And when the coast was clear, she went back into the restaurant and observed the girl named Evie.

Studying her, Saya didn't know what Ren had seen in her. Sure she was a beauty, but she was nothing compared to her. She was taller, elegant looking, and leaner with a model frame. She had money to boot.

"Excuse me," Saya called when Evie passed by her seat.

Evie stopped and faced Saya with a stoic face. "Yes?"

Evie's dead expression reminded Saya of Ren, and her anger fuelled her words.

"I heard that you're Ren's classmate. I'm Saya, by the way, and Ren and I knew each other way back in high school."

Evie was baffled as to why Saya said all that. "Is that so?"

Saya smiled and kept everything light with a cheery voice. "Yes. I'm sorry to ask, but . . . is everything okay with Ren?"

". . . I don't think I'm the right person for you to ask that. We're not close," Evie said straight to the point and was about to leave when Saya held her hand before the latter immediately let go like she was burned.

Saya didn't know why Evie was hard to talk to . . . just like Ren. Which got her irritated even more. But the fact that she confirmed that Ren and Evie weren't close made her breathe again.

"Sorry . . . it's just . . . I thought you were close. Ever since that I rejected him after high school, he hasn't been open to me . . . and I fear that it will affect his grades."

". . ." Evie blinked. So that's it. "No worries. Ren had C+ in most of his test scores."

Saya's lashes fluttered. She didn't know what to make of Evie's reply. It seemed that she wasn't really interested in Ren based on her bored tone and nonchalant replies. There was no jealousy in her voice too.

But still, Saya couldn't let her guard down. Ren liked her, and the only thing holding him was probably because of Evie's disinterest, which got her eyes burned with jealousy.

"If you'll excuse me then," Evie said at Saya's silence before she went on her way without looking back.

Saya was trapped in the jumbles of thoughts in her mind and the torrent of emotions in her heart.

Now she was torn, and Ren, liking another girl, was the last straw to break her.

She made up her mind.

She would break up with Mike and get Ren back.

A/N

Chapters update will be late tomorrow. Around 11 PM Hongkong time

Please wait as I publish the 5 privileges chapters (this will be the last). too tiresome to publish it every month

Have patience with me