PHB 101
“Why is your face all scrunched up like that? Another fight? World War? Or what?”
Having just met Deasy, Veronica could already guess what was happening with her friend. Deasy, who had been very busy, was called and asked to join her at their favorite coffee shop.
“Just annoyed,” Deasy replied casually. Her face looked extremely sour. It was evident that she was not in a good mood.
“Annoyed about what again? Did Lucas ask for permission to get married again?”
Deasy immediately looked up, glared at Veronica disapprovingly. She couldn’t believe her longtime friend was talking so carelessly.
Oh, Deasy forgot.
Veronica’s behavior was quite similar to her mother’s. She often spoke without thinking and lacked empathy towards others.
“Gosh, you love speaking so recklessly, don’t you?” Deasy scolded. She was clearly annoyed. “Don’t forget how you used to talk when I first got married to Darwin. Your comments were way worse, Des.”
Deasy sighed. But she couldn’t deny what Veronica was saying. Back when her friend had just married Darwin, Deasy herself had often added fuel to the fire, saying inappropriate things and even provoking Veronica to divorce Darwin.
Indeed, compared to what Veronica had just said, her comments back then were nothing.
“You don’t have to respond like that, seriously, I’m annoyed right now. Instead of comforting me, you’re making fun of me.”
Veronica chuckled softly. Seeing how upset Deasy was, she tried to give a more serious response.
“Why? What’s bothering you so much? And why are you telling me to hurry up and come?”
Deasy sighed again. She seemed to be taking deep breaths repeatedly, maybe trying to calm the anger building up inside her.
“I had a fight with Lucas.”
“I could have predicted that,” Veronica replied immediately. Like a fortune teller or a mind reader, Veronica could always tell what was going on with her friend. “I could tell just by looking at your face.”
“Ve…” Deasy sighed in irritation. “Can you save your comments for later? Let me finish my story first.”
Veronica laughed right away. Seeing Deasy becoming increasingly sulky, she encouraged her friend to continue.
“Alright, go ahead, tell me what happened.”
“Actually… I admit it’s all my fault,” Deasy explained slowly. She took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. “When I was taking Jonas for his vaccine at the hospital, I accidentally ran into Joseph. You know Joseph, right? My ex from way back.”
“Doctor Joseph?”
“Yes,” Deasy nodded repeatedly. “My most wonderful ex after college.”
“If he was so wonderful, he wouldn’t be an ex, Des.”
“Well, what can I say? Among all my exes, he was the most sane, the most handsome, and I dated him the longest. I wish he hadn’t gone abroad for further studies; maybe I’d be married to him now.”
“It’s not guaranteed,” Veronica disagreed. “He might not have been your destiny. So, what about Joseph? Are you revisiting the past?”
“Nonsense!”
“Then what’s the deal with Joseph? Tell me the real story.”
Deasy took a deep breath. She tried to be patient with Veronica, who was getting more and more annoying.
“Before this, when I was pregnant, I ran into Joseph once during a prenatal checkup. Because Joseph started chatting and brought up our past, Lucas didn’t like it. And then yesterday, when I took Jonas for his vaccine, I accidentally ran into Joseph again for the second time.”
“And then?”
“We hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so we chatted in the lobby. Talked about various things. Then Lucas saw us, and he got angry.”
Veronica listened attentively to Deasy’s story, trying to understand and process what her friend was saying.
“Wait… wait… Lucas is mad because he caught you chatting with Joseph?”
Deasy nodded.
“Yes. He’s jealous.”
“Are you sure his jealousy is just because he saw you chatting with Joseph? It doesn’t seem very convincing.”