Me After Meeting You

Amber was certain that Ian had expressed his true thoughts, without any malicious intentions.

‘My goodness, it became even more hurtful because it wasn’t intentional! Can’t you tell, geez?’

Sarah had initially been a bit pleased with herself, as she had heard of Ian before. She didn’t expect that he would call her pretty, and even less so that he would call her prettier than this Amber in front of her. Yes, she couldn’t help a feeling of pride from welling up.

And so, even though he had said that he didn’t like her, she thought that it was simply a part of the flirtatious banter between him and Amber, that it was wholly unrelated to the truth. This caused her to smile slightly and try to look reserved, so as to not make her pride too obvious.

But then, what did she hear next?

Amber thought that Sarah looked like she was about to cry, and even Frank’s face stiffened awkwardly.

Trysta slammed her head against the table three times as she burst into a gleeful laughter. Only after that did she recover; she rubbed her face, lifted her head up, and delightedly said, “Director Axton always makes jokes like this.”Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

Ian’s tone was insipid as he responded, “You think that I’m joking?”

Amber didn’t like where this conversation was going. If they continued down this route, who knew what Ian would say? Even she had fallen prey to his vicious tongue before!

And although she wasn’t all too pleased with Sarah supposedly being Frank’s mistress, everyone who had ever studied psychiatry knew not to provoke someone who gave off an introverted and honest image. As the saying went, ‘dogs who bite don’t bark.’

In other words, the more honest and sincere a person seemed, the more mercurial their behavior when they were enraged.

Like Sarah, if she were really as pure and guileless as she looked, then how would she have gotten involved with Frank while knowing that he was dating and planning on marrying her best friend? Even if one discounted her friendship with Trysta, they were still distant relatives!

So at that point, Amber had to interrupt and derail the conversation. “Alright, jokes are jokes, but I need food. Let’s order something. I’m famished.”

And with that, she took the lead and pressed the bell to call a waiter over. She truly wished for them to just drop the topic, but someone was clearly being obstinate.

While they were waiting for a waiter to come, Frank, who had regained his senses, actually smiled and said to Ian, “Sarah isn’t so bad, is she? Dr. Camille seems pretty thin too.”

Why?!

Amber looked at him expressionlessly, not even wanting to reply.

Trysta had collapsed onto the table with a face full of smiles, but when she heard that comment, she immediately made a gagging sound. Amber immediately stood up, concernedly asking, “Are you alright?”

“It’s fine, just one of the side effects of pregnancy.” Frank stretched his hand out to pat Trysta’s back, but Trysta pushed him aside and instead grabbed ahold of Amber.

Without a moment of hesitation, Amber walked around him and helped her outside.

Sarah was about to stand up and accompany them as well, but Amber cut her off. “It’s alright, I can handle it myself.” She then forcibly dragged Trysta away before Sarah had a chance to respond.

***

In the restroom, Trysta dry-heaved a few times over a toilet before vomiting in earnest. Only when even her gastric juices started coming out did she feel slightly better.

Amber brought her some water for her to gargle, and helped her wipe her face as she asked, “Do you feel a bit better?”

Trysta leaned against the wall, raised her head, and took a deep breath before smiling without any genuine happiness. “Quite well.”

Amber clutched her hand concernedly. “Do you want me to send you back?”

Trysta turned around and looked straight at her. “Amber, tell me. Am I being stupid?”

Amber pursed her lips and thought for a moment before seriously saying, “You’re really are acting quite stupidly, very much unlike the Trysta I know. The Trysta I know would smoothly adapt to any circumstance.

She let things go when she had to, and focused on new things when she could. She lived life without worries, free and at ease. Given what you’re doing now, do you even recognize yourself anymore?”

Tears started falling from Trysta’s eyes, but her smile remained glued onto her face. “I just want to hurt myself more. When I feel numb, there’s a compulsion to poke at my wounds a bit to remind that it’s right there. I only feel comfortable when it hurts.”

When Amber heard this confession, she sighed, and her voice relaxed as she consoled, “If you want to lead a happy life with him, then why bother hurting yourself?”

Trysta covered up her face with her hand, though she was still smiling. “I can’t stand living this kind of life, If they want me to forgive them just like that, then who’ll forgive me?”

So it was indeed this! Amber frowned. “You fool! If a man is bitten by a dog, must he bite back? Your path is your own to tread. You can’t stop moving forward just because you tripped over a few pebbles.”

She wanted to keep persuading Trysta against her current course of action, but at that moment, Frank’s voice came in from the outside. “Trysta, Amber, are you in there?”

Amber could only stop talking. She took a moment to look at Trysta, who was trying to wipe away her tears, and then coldly answered, “Yes.”

When they went out, Amber’s face was still cold, but Trysta’s expression was once again plastered with a fake, broad smile.

Frank said, “There’s a washroom right inside. Why did you run all the way over here?”

Trysta replied, “We were just about to eat. Wouldn’t it be disgusting if I vomited in the restaurant?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re pregnant!”

Amber looked at the two of them from behind, feeling helpless. Even though Trysta had momentarily lost her calm, her acting skills immediately recovered to their peak in a millisecond. When she reentered the restaurant, she let Sarah, who had come up to her to welcome her back, support her. “It’s nothing, just the baby.”

And then she even apologized to Ian. “I’m sorry. My reactions have been pretty extreme lately, and I even feel the urge to vomit at random intervals.”

Ian’s face was unbothered. “It’s no big deal.” His gaze swept over Amber’s face, and once she sat down, he asked, “Are you unhappy?”

Amber remained silent.

He hadn’t lowered his voice, so Frank and the others all heard him and looked over, shocked. Trysta even blinked before asking, “Amber, what’s wrong?”

Amber glanced at her. “One of my patients has a problem.”

If it was a work problem, then no one could help her. All they could do was simply commiserate with her before dropping the subject.