Chapter 11 - Acting

Serena laughed and then she retreated to her room.

"I'm kidding, Vernon. There's no need to be so panicky," she said and disappeared as she mocked him as well.

Vernon cursed in his heart because Serena really dared to play with him, teasing him. And yeah, he did panic and he could even feel the sweat on his scalp, a sign that he was that nervous.

While waiting for Serena, he rolled up the long sleeves of his shirt to his elbows so that he would look more relaxed to shopping with Serena.

"Come on, I'm ready," Serena said.

Both of them were equally mesmerized. Serena saw the increasingly handsome Vernon and Vernon saw Serena as sexy and beautiful.

But Serena was better trained to come back to reality. She even snapped her fingers in front of Vernon until he was completely awakened from his reverie.

Serena just smiled as she opened the door and they walked out of the apartment together.

Heading toward the shopping center, Serena was busy with her cell phone until she grumbled in annoyance and clucked every time her phone rang.

Beside her, Vernon was very curious as to what was bothering Serena and she was so upset.

"What's wrong?" asked Vernon. "Maybe I can help."

"You can't. Last time I needed your help, you didn't say what I wanted."

And Vernon understood who was bothering Serena. It was her ex-boyfriend. Vernon himself was still being bothered by Cherry, the difference was that Cherry didn't ask directly but Vernon knew what kind of character she was.

"Why don't you block her number? Or change the number?"

Serena snorted and replied. "I've tried everything, but somehow he found my number again. I mean, a new number."

“He begged?"

"Yeah. He knows how I am, I'll never go back even if I still love him," Serena said.

Vernon swallowed. Suddenly, a feeling of jealousy that he didn't like arose in his heart.

Hearing her statement as if she still loved him made Vernon reflexively drive fast.

When Serena felt the difference, she held the handle above her head, feeling scared because of how fast Vernon was driving.

"Vernon!" Serena exclaimed.

Unfortunately, there was no response from him. But Serena continued to call out to him.

"Vernon! Stop!" Serena shouted and the car stopped at her command.

Her breath came in gasps and she cried after remembering something that was triggered by the speed at which Vernon was driving.

No sound came out of her lips but slowly Serena's cries were heard, making Vernon wake up and look at her.

"Serena," he touched her hand but Serena brushed it away irritably.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted. "Why ... Why did you do this to me?!"

Vernon became confused when he saw Serena shivering but not from the cold. It was clear her tears were coming out in earnest and she was hugging herself.

"Hey, Serena ... Tell me."

"You ... you were driving like him, making me remember how rude he was to me. You stirred up my memories!"

Realizing his mistake, Vernon tried to touch her as gently as possible despite his confusion. Dealing with a tantruming woman might be familiar to him, but Serena ... knew she was different.

"What did he do to you?" he asked, slowly. "I'm so sorry, Serena. I didn't mean to be rude to you."

Serena was still crying until Vernon finally pulled her closer and hugged her. This time Serena did not rebel and her crying began to subside after Vernon rubbed her head hair.

The situation became quiet until she finally calmed down and started talking, "He always speeds up the car when we fight. It even led to an accident. I was hospitalized due to internal injuries and trauma, so—

"There's no need to explain anymore. I'm really sorry for driving fast. It was just a reflex because the road was quiet," Vernon said, choosing the right excuse, not because he was jealous.

He had no idea that Serena, with this kind of character, had a pretty bad sense of trauma.

Serena pulled away and wiped the lingering tears with a tissue. She sighed and smiled stiffly at him.

"I'm sorry if I troubled you," she said.

“It seems like I'm happy to be troubled by you."

Her cheeks flushed and she laughed until things finally returned to normal.

They continued their journey and this time Vernon drove slowly.

On the other side, Serena breathed a sigh of relief. The action just now was just an act as she was usually an actress in a movie.

She smiled triumphantly, but that didn't mean the excuse she used was a lie. Because that was honestly what happened, she just needed to spice up her acting to make it seem perfect.

"Here we are," Vernon said. "Are you feeling better?"

Serena nodded. "I'm fine."

They went inside and started walking around first to relax before entering the supermarket section.

While walking together, Serena was a little surprised when Vernon took her hand. She held back her happy smile and tried to stay cool.

But suddenly Serena's steps stopped when she saw her ex-boyfriend appear in front of her alone. She swallowed but then because Vernon was there, she felt she could act better to show that she was much better than with him.

"I finally met you, Serena," Henry said.

"So you're her asshole ex," Vernon said suddenly.

Henry frowned as he looked at Serena. His eyes had seen them holding hands.

"So, who is this?" Henry asked.

"What business is it of yours, Henry? You have no right to know who he is to me!" Serena said.

Serena chose to shy away while pulling Vernon's hand, but her hand was stopped by Henry who made her look at him.

"Please, I need to talk to you. My mom is asking about you. She ... she wants to meet you," said Henry.

“I will call her later so she won't ask you about me again. I'm sure you didn't tell her yet that you cheated on me!”

At that moment, Serena pushed away his body and walked back without looking back.