After that night, Lyken started courting Jada. After 6 months of courtship, she decided to give him her sweetest yes.
In their 3rd year, Jada decided to surprise him. However, when she got to his condo, she was the one surprised and it turned out to be a heartbreaking surprise.
In so much pain, Jada decided to go straight to her condo after leaving Lyken's place. She looked for a dark spot around the parking lot and parked there.
She had no plans to stay and she didn't even get out of the vehicle. She just took her phone out to check her messages. She got one from Honey.
'I'll just rest for 30 minutes. I'll go there so we can talk.'
Honey's home and Jada don't know if her best friend has already found out that her car's not in its usual spot. In a hurry, she stepped out of the vehicle and quickly hailed a cab.
Jada asked the driver to take her to Hotel 618, the only hotel she knew near the airport. When she got there, she asked the receptionist to book her a flight to New York.
She made sure that she could leave at two in the afternoon and when the receptionist confirmed her booking, she headed to her suite. There she started drawing her plan.
After that, she set her alarm and decided to take a nap. When the clock struck noon, Jada started preparing.
She headed to the mall to buy a suitable set of clothes for her trip to New York. After that, she headed straight to the airport.
While waiting for her boarding time, Jada decided to turn on her phone and it started beeping incessantly. She received tons of messages.
Ada: Byotch, where are you?
Ada: Where did you go last night?
Honey: Sis ur not in ur unit when I went there. I'll sleep first, dead tired. Talk to you in the morning.
Honey: Where are you?
Honey: Jadanela I'm worried. It's past 3 AM, I still can't find you.
Bambi: By0tch wh4t'$ up? W3'v3 b33n l00k! ng f0r u!
Lyken: Good morning sweetie. I missed you last night.
Lyken: Where r u? Everyone's going nuts trying to find you.
'Fuck you!'
She cursed at him in her mind, but she still looked around to see if someone heard her. She's fuming mad and she still can't believe that she actually fell for him.
After several hours, Jada finally arrived at JFK Airport. It was around eleven in the evening. Faith doesn't have the slightest idea that her cousin's on her way.
'Surprise! Surprise!'
But heck, what was it with reversed surprises? When Jada got to Faith's apartment, she was the one surprised. She witnessed her cousin having a rated R moment with her boyfriend.
They even laughed at each other, but because it was very awkward, she told her she'd just come back later. Jada decided to go to the coffee shop while waiting for her cousin's message.
Sitting at the table outside, she can't help but think how unfair she's been to her friends, especially to Honey. She wanted to call her but she didn't have the courage yet.
For sure, as soon as she hears her voice, she won't be able to stop herself from telling her everything she saw. And that's the last thing she wants to do.
Jada doesn't want anyone to know about it. It was painful, but she wanted to keep everything to herself. She doesn't want anyone to know how much her boyfriend made a fool of her.
Meanwhile, in Jada's condo, Lyken was furious. "Didn't you say she was sick last night? Where is she now?" He was almost shouting while asking Jada's friends.
They looked at him in unison, as if he had done something terribly wrong. And yes, he did. He admits to kissing another girl last night. But he knows they saw it when he pushed her away.
What they didn't know was that something else had happened. And thinking about it, he feels like his head's about to burst.
He can't always use alcohol as an excuse. At least not to his conscience, because he knows that he was sober last night.
Lyken stood up and kicked the beanbag in front of him. Everyone was startled. He turned around and looked out the window, still unable to understand what was going on.
'It's impossible that Jada saw what happened last night.' He thought to himself, then he faced them again. "What was her last message to you, Honey?" he asked her, feeling frustrated.
"She just reminded me to text her as soon as you left the bar. She was just here. I even dropped by to check on her before I left. She got a fever and was in bed almost the whole day. I'm not even sure if she heard me when I told her I was leaving," Honey explained.
"I texted her again last night that I'm coming over after a short rest. But when I got there, I didn't find her. I thought she just went out for a bit. I came back around 3 AM and she was still not home. I tried calling you but you did not answer your phone until I fell asleep on her couch. I woke up around 6 AM but there's still no sign of Jada," she continued, then she started weeping.
'She tried calling me to let me know my girlfriend was nowhere to be found, but what was I doing?'
Lyken wanted to go on a rampage. 'Why was I an asshole?' He couldn't understand how he did that to Jada. She doesn't deserve to be cheated over and over again.
He loves her so much. But he couldn't understand why he was allowing himself to do it not just once, but multiple times. She doesn't deserve the pain he's been giving her.
And now he finally realized that he doesn't deserve her. He never did right after the first time he kissed another woman and hurt her.
After a moment of silence, Lyken ran out of Jada's unit. He doesn't know where he's going or where he could find her, but he still wants to try. It's better than just standing there, doing nothing.
He's rattled. He can't afford to lose her. Jada is Lyken's life. He knows that it will be difficult for him to wake up tomorrow having to face the reality that she's no longer with him.
'That can't be. I can't.'
After two long weeks, he's still unable to get a hold of her. One week after she disappeared, Lyken tried calling her parents in the States but Jada's aunt told him that the couple were in Hawaii for a vacation.
After one more week, he tried calling them again and Jada's mom told him that she was with her cousin in New York. Lyken felt like he was doused with ice-cold water.
'Why did she leave? Why did she go to the States without saying anything to me? What happened?'
"Have you talked?" Lyken asked Honey and she nodded at him, frowning. "What did she say?" he followed up.
They were at Jada's condo and Lyken had just arrived from work. Although he knew she was in the States, he'd still go to her unit every day, hoping he'd get a chance to see her and be able to talk to her.
"She said she went to New York for a vacation and she doesn't know when she's coming back," Honey narrated without looking at Lyken.
"That's all? She didn't even explain why she left?" He was angered by what he heard. Ada and Bambi looked at him as his voice grew louder.
Honey sighed, "I told her you were looking for her, that you were furious and frustrated. She asked me to tell you that she's fine and that you don't have to worry about her anymore. She said… she said…" she trailed, not knowing whether to continue or not.
"What? She said what?" Lyken yelled as his patience started to run out. Kobe glared at him as he shouted at his girlfriend, but he knew his best friend understood.
"She said she woke up the next morning and realized that she had fallen out of love… and that you're now free to do whatever you want," Honey stated, almost in a whisper.
Lyken doesn't know if Honey's voice was just too low or if it was his ears that couldn't accept what Honey said. I plopped on the couch.
Letting out a harsh sigh, he cupped his face with both hands. After processing what Honey said, he wasn't able to stop his tears from flowing.
He felt someone sitting next to him and saw Kobe smiling faintly. He gave him a light squeeze on the shoulder to calm him down.
"I don't know what to say, man. But Jada must have a reason for doing this. Maybe she just can't tell you now," Kobe tried to explain.
"Bullshit! What kind of explanation does she have? That was it? She woke up and fell out of love. She should have told me! Heck, she can even curse as much as she wants while telling me. I can accept that, instead of just leaving me behind. Not like this!" he roared.
Honey's right, he's furious. He's mad at himself. He's mad at Jada. Lyken doesn't know if he has the right to get mad at her for what she did. All he knows is that he's mad, period.
He's mad that she didn't even give him a chance to prove himself to her. That she didn't give him a chance to show how much he loved her.
'But who am I kidding? I cheated on her on the night of our anniversary. And just when she was sick.'
Lyken can't believe that everything they had would just go down the drain. Without a hint. It's so sudden that he doesn't even have the chance to process things.
He knew what he did was wrong. But on top of that, he was wrong to let his world revolve around her.
No. He was wrong in making himself believe that her world revolves around him. It was wrong for him to believe that she did love him.
'If she ever comes back, I can try and hear her out if she wants to explain. But I can't forgive her. I definitely can't.'