The Devil's Good Girl
Chapter 162: I think we were

Chapter 162: I think we were

As the night deepened, the chairman had to come on the stage to thank everyone for making time for him. It wasn’t as late for the young ones, but the chairman already overstayed in his own party. He expressed his gratitude and wished everyone an enjoyable night, and then personally bid a few a farewell.

Since many of the chairman’s personal invitees were busy men, they also had to go. Hence, Vincent, together with Fil, had to send them off as the chairman’s grandson and host of the party and Fil, because the chairman asked her to walk him out.

"Filomena." The chairman held Fil’s hand gently. "I am sincerely grateful that I could share this day with you."

Fil’s heart warmed up, holding the chairman’s hand affectionately. "Chairman, it is me who is grateful to be here. Please take care on your way home."

"Haha. I will." He nodded, patting her hand one last time before turning his back. His assistant immediately closed the door for him as soon as he got in the car.

The chairman wound down the window to add a parting remark. "Vincent, make sure Filomena will get back to her room safe and sound."

"Of course, Grandpa," Vincent reassured. "Don’t worry. She’ll be fine."

The chairman stared at his grandson momentarily before offering Fil a smile. With that being said, the window slowly rolled up, leaving Vincent and Fil standing alone at the entrance of the hotel.

’Well, that’s a wrap,’ Fil thought, turning around to go back to the party. It wasn’t like she planned to stay longer, but Kim and Mr. Windsor were still at the party. She couldn’t just leave without telling them.

"Fil, wait." Before she could even go further from the entrance, a hand grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Looking back, a deep frown immediately washed over her face. "If you want to talk, we already did last night. I’m not changing my mind, Vince."

"I know," Vincent sighed. "I just want to apologize."

He slowly released her hand, waiting for her to face him squarely. "I screwed us up, and I kept screwing it up. I’m sorry that we ended up like this. It’s my fault."

Fil rocked her head with an arched brow, a little surprised at his demeanor.

"Also, I’m sorry about earlier," he continued with another deep sigh. "About Valerie and my mom. I don’t have an excuse for it. All I’m saying is, I am really sorry."

"It’s okay," she shrugged. "It’s not like I am the one who lost face tonight. Also, I’ve always known you can’t control them."

"Still, I apologize for tonight and everything they had done in the past," insisted Vincent. "I thought if I turned a blind eye to it, they’d realize hurting you also hurt me. But I was wrong, so I’m sorry about that too."

Her brows, this time, rose, observing him. ’Did he give up on us?’ She wondered. ’He’s more forthcoming about accepting his mistakes.’

’Should I test it?’ She reconsidered but changed her mind quickly. ’Nevermind. I’m still giving him time to cook up a plan. As much as I hate it, I need to keep him in the loop.’

Aside from the newfound interest and attention she garnered tonight, Fil also learned a lot of things. One of them was how she underestimated people. If not for Jackson, she could already imagine the outcome of tonight’s events.

She wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.

"Also, thank you for making it tonight," he added.

"I didn’t do it for you."

"You did it for Grandpa, but I’m still thankful. Having you here means a lot to him," he said sincerely. "I’ve never seen him so happy. It’s probably one of the best birthdays he had."

A moment of silence fell on them as Fil kept her eyes fixated on him. Now that she thought about it, this was probably the first time in a long time the two of them were actually talking instead of fighting.

It was like a breath of fresh air.

"Well." Fil cleared her throat, keeping it civil with him. "You’re welcome."

"Are you going to stay for the night?"

"No," Fil smiled. "I’m only going back because Kim and Mr. Windsor are still inside. I have to bid them farewell."

"I see." He smiled back, motioning his hand to signal her to go. "I’ll walk you in."

"Vincent."

"Don’t worry. I’m not planning on bringing up something that can start an argument."

Fil squinted her eyes mildly, pondering. "I’m warning you."

"Haha. Don’t worry."

With that being said, Fil walked back inside the hotel while Vincent walked beside her. However, he maintained a safe distance between them. Even when they entered the lift, Vincent stood in the corner while she was in the middle.

Vincent stared at her back quietly.

"Don’t say it," she said out of nowhere without even looking at him. "Whatever you want to say. You know it’ll start an argument. So, don’t say it."

"How did you know I wanted to say something?"

"Seriously?" Fil looked back, sporting a knowing look. "You’re going to ask me that?"

"I’m not thinking of saying anything about our breakup," he explained calmly. "I screwed it up and last night was a wake-up call. You’re fed up and you can’t stay with me anymore. You made that clear to me last night."

Again, Fil studied him. "You’re saying you accept it?"

"Now? No." A weak laugh slipped past his lips. "Fil, I loved you before and even as we speak. But before you get angry, I also want to tell you I don’t want you to be miserable."

The corner of his mouth curled up into a gentle smile. "I made you unhappy — made you cry. I took everything for granted and I deserved the anger. It’s just that... it’s hard for me to let you go so easily."

"I’m not asking you to come to me, but I was just wondering..." he trailed off, smacking his lips as he hummed a short tune. "Is it possible for us to be friends?"

"Lovers turning to friends?" Fil clarified in a condescending tone. "Didn’t you say you don’t believe in that?"

"I still don’t, but then again, before we became lovers, we were really good friends." Vincent drew a deep breath and forced another smile. "Aren’t we?"

Fil pursed her lips, knowing full well this was his only way to stay in her life. Vincent also knew that she was aware, yet he still asked. Little did he know, this was what she wanted to keep him in the loop.

"I think..." she paused and then smiled gently. "... we were."

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om