Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,90
shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“Thanks,” I tell him sincerely. “I know I haven’t been a great friend lately…”
While I search for the best words to express myself, Matthew takes over. “Petra, I’m seriously worried about you. In two weeks, you’ve become so thin and bony.” Wow. His comment is so unexpected that I lower my gaze in utter embarrassment. “What he did to you is disgusting. But life goes on. You should be mad at him and forget him.”
“I agree. What he did is bullshit.” After the waiter fills our glasses with water, I take a sip of mine and add, “You have no idea how much it hurts. I feel cheated, you know.”
The waiter reappears and asks, “Are you ready to order?”
“Yes. Um, we’ll have two vegan sushi combos, please,” Matthew answers.
“There are twenty-one pieces in the combo,” I tell him in terror. “How am I supposed to eat that much?”
“Did you have breakfast?” he asks me back.
“No…”
“Then you can perfectly well eat twenty-one pieces of vegan sushi. It’s not that much, trust me.” After the waiter takes our order and leaves, Matthew seems to be thinking something through. “Um, if I may ask, do you know why your ex moved to Singapore?”
“Oh.” And now I’m even more surprised that we are still talking about him. It’s the first time I’ve heard the word ex. Guess it’s a word I should get used to. “Well, he said he couldn’t marry me and that my parents are also an issue,” I tell him, keeping it short. “It’s all bullshit.”
“But do you know why?”
And for some unknown reason, I have no issue telling him the truth. “My parents are very against us, especially my mom,” I confess. “And since she has some dirt against him and my dad, she threatened them if he didn’t leave me alone.” Not sure why I decided to tell him all that, but I’ve known Matthew for over a year now, and I don’t think there’s any reason not to trust him.
“Wall Street and its skeletons…” Matthew teases, shaking his head. “See? That’s why we need Bernie.”
“Oh gosh!” I can’t help but laugh at his comment. “So that’s what you guys have been up to with your extracurricular activities?”
“Yep,” Matthew replies with a big grin. “But I know you’re not into activism, so that’s why I didn’t invite you.”
“You did well. I’m definitely not into that.” I keep my tone joyful and add, “So, what kind of activism have you been doing?”
“Well, we do podcasts, interviews, and YouTube videos teaching people about social rights and stuff,” he explains. “It’s mostly educational.”
As I continue observing him, I decide to ask, “You must be hating our study about objectivism and Rand, no?”
“Hmm, since we are doing an unbiased project, I’m focusing on the bad side of her philosophy.”
“Yeah, I read your ten reasons why objectivism sucks,” I say.
Matthew smiles at me in return. “And what did you think of it?”
“I think you did a good job.” I keep my tone even, but Matthew is already nodding at me. “And showing both sides of the coin will give us a better grade.”
“Exactly. And we’ll have a good reputation among our profs.”
“Here are the vegan sushi combos.” The waiter puts our plates in front of us, and I smile at the delicious rolls with avocado, cucumber, and other imaginative combinations.
“Enjoy,” he says before leaving.
“So, what do you think?” Matthew beams with joy as he takes his chopsticks and grabs the first avocado roll off his plate.
“It looks delicious,” I tell him as I do the same. “Thanks.” I mean, each roll is pretty small and seems quite easy to eat. Or at least, easier than I thought.
His gaze remains pinned on me, and his lips curve into a smile I haven’t seen before—a smile full of empathy and compassion. Something I don’t see very often. “You’re welcome.”
I wonder what I did to deserve a friend like Matthew—caring, attentive, empathetic. I’m really blessed to have him by my side during the worst breakdown of my life. With Emma out of town, I was terribly missing the emotional support, and having someone to talk to who has no agenda. Someone that is the precise opposite of my dad. I remember how Matthew has always been present in the hardest moments. Even if I didn’t pay much attention to him, he was always there, cheering for me.
“Thanks for lunch,” I tell him as we walk back to my apartment.