The Exes

"Andra, put me down, I can walk by myself," Luna said sweetly, accompanied by her charming smile.

I had been carrying Luna from the small bridge all the way out of the grassy field. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked around. Then I sat Luna down on a nearby bench. She turned to me and gave me an innocent smile. My heart warmed a little knowing how happy she was to see me.

"How are you feeling now?" I asked worriedly, holding her hand.

"Better," Luna replied while wiping her tears.

"Alright then," I said with a smile.

"Today has been such a wonderful day with you, thank you, Andra," Luna said softly to me.

"I'm also happy to see you smile again," I replied.

Suddenly, Luna felt hungry, so I immediately took her to the place she wanted to go. Once again, Luna took me to her favorite bakery. And as usual, she always ordered a cheese-filled bread with spicy sauce topping.

Then a female cashier greeted me as if she knew me. I wasn't sure, as I didn't recognize her face at all.

"Hi, Andra, how are you, sweetie?"

After I carefully observed her face, I realized it was Vivi. She was also one of the girls who had lied to me. And I just found out that she had been working at this bakery all along.

"You still remember me, right?" Vivi asked me.

"Yes, of course," I replied while averting my gaze, then quickly took the bread and drinks I had already paid for. I didn't realize that Vivi was chasing after me.

"Hey, wait, Andra, I'm sorry for what I did to you. Don't ignore me like this."

I looked at her for a moment and said, "Apology accepted."

Then I continued walking. However, Vivi grabbed my right arm with all her strength.

"Andra, let me explain!"

"Vivi, not here, you need to get back to work," I whispered, as all eyes were on us.

"No, listen. I'm really sorry, please don't leave."

"Vivi—"

"—Please, listen! And I need to explain everything to you. Please, just give me five minutes," Vivi pleaded with me.

"No! I won't listen to you or any other woman now! I'm done, Vi! Do you hear me? I'm done!" I shouted at her loudly, causing everyone there to fall silent and stare at us.

As soon as Vivi heard those words, her face turned pale, and I immediately freed my arm from her grip. Vivi just stood there frozen for a moment. Then she finally left as I walked out of the bakery.

I took a deep breath, and Luna looked at me while enjoying her bread.

"Andra, are you okay?" Luna asked me.

"Yes," I replied weakly, feeling guilty and sad about everything that had happened.

"Are you sure?"

I didn't answer her right away. Instead, I just kept staring blankly. After a while, Luna gently touched my shoulder and brought my attention back to her.

"Do you need help?" she asked worriedly while giving my shoulders a light massage.

"Don't worry about me, just finish your bread," I forced a smile at her.

Luna was silent for a moment, then asked again.

"If I may ask, how many ex-girlfriends do you have, Andra?" Luna asked with a curious expression.

"Eleven," I answered.

"What? Really?" Luna was shocked by my answer.

I took a deep breath and looked back into her big, round, brown eyes.

"They all cheated on me. Some lied to me, some just left me without a word," I said calmly. However, deep inside, I felt a lot of pain.

"But you don't deserve them, Andra. They didn't care about you. But if one day you find someone who does care about you, cherish them like your life," Luna assured me with a sincere tone.

She was trying her best to comfort me. Luna was truly a little angel to me. Then, we finished our lunch together and headed to Riana's Restaurant to drop Luna off with her mother.

As usual, the restaurant was packed with customers when we arrived at the entrance. The waiters seated us near the entrance so we could enjoy our lunch peacefully.

"Andra, what do you want to eat? Let me order it from my mom," Luna asked.

"Do they have fried rice here?"

Luna took a long time to respond.

"Yes, they do. Just a moment, I'll order it," Luna replied with a sweet smile.

While waiting for Luna, Riana approached me with a bright face and sat down across from me.

"Good afternoon, Andra."

"Riana, how are you?" I replied kindly.

"I'm good, thank you. Oh, by the way, did you receive the invitation from Floryn?"

"Floryn?"

"Yes, our neighbor. Their daughter, Floryn, is getting married soon," Riana showed me the wedding invitation.

Suddenly, I remembered who Floryn was. She was one of my youngest ex-girlfriends among the others. Floryn was still a teenager. The last time I met her was a few months ago when she was still in high school.

She was like Luna, obsessed with me. The difference was, Floryn was quite calm when she was with me, unlike Luna, who was always enthusiastic and active. Well, maybe because Luna was still a child.

Floryn was also one of my ex-girlfriends not because she left me, but because I left her. And I had my own reasons for doing that.

"So, are you going to attend her wedding?" Riana asked.

"Why would I go if I'm not invited?" I replied.

"Maybe your mom already received the invitation. It's impossible for your family not to be invited. Floryn is our neighbor, after all," Riana said.

"Andra! Your fried rice is ready!" Luna called out from behind me enthusiastically.

Finally, my conversation with Riana about Floryn was interrupted by Luna. Luna was indeed my savior.

"I thought there was no fried rice here."

"There isn't, I made it myself for you," Luna replied with a playful smile.

"Really? This looks delicious, let me try it," I said with a smile, picking up a spoon and fork to eat.

Luna's cooking was indeed delicious. She was very skilled at cooking, just like her mother.

While enjoying the meal, I looked at Luna and said, "Thank you, Luna, this is very delicious, I love it."

"Really? So I succeeded, right?" she said enthusiastically.

"Yes, you did. Riana, you should make her your assistant," I joked with her to make Riana forget about our conversation about Floryn.

"I'd love to, but she's too shy to do it," Riana replied with a laugh.

Luna chuckled softly, then asked her mother to prepare our dessert. After finishing our meal, we thanked Riana for the delicious food, and the two of us returned home, sitting in the living room, discussing various things.

A while later, someone knocked on the front door.

"Andra? Someone's knocking," Luna said.

"Wait here, I'll be back," I got up from the sofa and quickly opened the door.

It turned out to be Floryn. She stood right in front of me with an anxious expression, holding a wedding invitation in her right hand.

"Andra?" Floryn said softly.

"Floryn? What's wrong?"

Without a word, Floryn handed me her wedding invitation. I saw her beautiful eyes welling up with tears as she looked at me.

"Congratulations, Floryn."

Floryn burst into tears after I said that. Then she hugged me tightly.

She sobbed uncontrollably in my arms, as if releasing everything. Meanwhile, Luna watched us hugging from behind. She just stood there frozen with a disappointed look on her face.