Chapter 61

Taria was walking back to the apartment, with a confused mind and a bleeding heart. She drowned in her thoughts to the point she didn't actually know where she was heading to.

The wind was cold, yet not colder than the ice that surrounded her heart, the city was raucous, yet not as raucous as the sounds in her own mind, even the dark night wasn't as dark as the black sea her thoughts pulled her in.

"There you are", a sound from behind her said, getting her out of her thoughts.

Taria turned around and saw Steven panting and breathing hard. She tried to force a smile in order to not show that child how broken she was, yet her lips moved to the opposite direction, painting a sad face instead of a smiley one.

"Teacher…", Steven said, then he walked towards her and hugged her with shaky hands

"Don't cry, teacher, everything is going to be fine", he said, patting her back gently

"What should I do, Steven? What should I do now? I hate him. I hate him so much", Taria said, with a shaky voice as she was trying to keep her cries hidden

"You can hate him, no one will blame you for that", Steven said, yet Taria stayed silent, knowing that her heart would blame her for hating him, the heart that was about to jump out to his side once she saw him.

Steven took Taria to her apartment, and he stayed beside her until she fell asleep after shedding hundreds of tears. He looked at her eyes that were swollen, then he brushed her hair softly and left. However, when he opened the door, he saw Tian standing there.

"She was crying, wasn't she? Her eyes must be swollen now, and her cheeks must be red", Tian said, then he hit the back of his head against the wall and said "I can feel it, I can feel her tears drowning my heart"

"If you can feel it, then why did you show up again after being dead all these years? She hates you now, so stay away from her", Steven said coldly

"Even if she hated me, even if she punched me or shouted at me, I will keep loving her until the day she runs towards me with a smile instead of sharp eyes", Tian said, with shiny eyes filled with tears that were refusing to fall down.

Steven looked at Tian, unable to understand if that man standing in front of him was good or bad, if he really loves his teacher or not, however, he was sure of one thing only, that man was dangerous.

That night, no one other than Taria could sleep. Steven kept boxing all night to calm his thoughts down, yet it wasn't working at all. Edrian spent the night drinking tea trying to understand all the things that happened. Ray stayed in his room, awake yet pretending to be asleep as if he was deceiving his own mind. Josephine and Kai were having a peaceful chat as it was the only thing they could do, and finally, Tian stayed at the rooftop of Taria's apartment, calm from the outside yet fighting his exploding feelings inside.

Taria's words kept ringing inside Tian's mind. The sharp look she showed him was a knife slicing his heart, slowly and painfully, however, he didn't blame her, not even for a moment, he only blamed himself.

"I knew I would find you here. This city is crazy, I love it", Dazai said after he sat beside Tian, yet Tian stayed silent

"Ffff again. I hate when you are being broken and calm like this", Dazai said

"Leave me alone, Dazai", Tian said, burying his head in his arms

"So it didn't work out. Don't mind it, she would eventually accept you again and give you her heart", Dazai said with a lively voice

"I don't want her heart, I know I will break it again and again. It would have been better if I was really dead", Tian said calmly

"... are you the same Tian? Do you have high fever or something? You must be thankful that she is still single, things might have got really complicated if she got married. You still have a chance you know, don't give up", Dazai said, punching Tian's shoulder softly to give him some energy, yet he failed

"Ahh, so annoying. You and white head are really annoying when it comes to ladies. That's why I'm still single", Dazai said

"Were you with Kai?" Tian asked

"That idiot got his wound open again, but I suppose he is awake by now, and his girlfriend, she is really different", Dazai said

"What do you mean?" Tian said

"She was able to get a hold on herself fast, just like a warrior or a queen", Dazai said

"... she was able to get a hold on herself fast too", Tian said, burying his head in between his arms again

"Oh come on. If I said I like water would that remind you of her? Ew being in love is so problematic. I will leave now, Romeo, try not to suicide, ok? bye bye", Dazai said, then he disappeared, leaving Tian to actually consider suiciding as he was already on the rooftop.

On the next day, Taria woke up and stretched with a smile on her face. She took a warm shower, then drank her morning coffee with joy.

"Good morning, mom", Ray said, confused by seeing the normal version of his mother only a night after being broken

"Good morning, sweetie", she said with a smile

"mm, are you ok?" he asked

"Why wouldn't I be ok? Oh, if you meant what happened last night then don't worry. I already know what to do", she said, then she patted his head softly and got back to her room. After that, Taria and Ray went to their schools normally.