Cherished.
"Something or someone we intend to protect or care for, lovingly."
Something that Senthie Salvador had failed to do to the person she had cherished the most.
*************
"Bes, there is something I didn't tell you yet," Senthie said, she was about to break the news to her best friend. "I broke up with Kenzo last month."
"What? Are you kidding? It's not even funny, Sen." Cecile's face was showing no expression.
Senthie sighed as she looked down. "It's the truth."
"Sen, look at me," Cecile uttered softly.
As soon as Senthie turned her gaze at her, Cecile's palm met her face as the loud sound of a slap filled the air. Senthie found the cheek that had been hit as she turned to face her best friend once again. Her eyes were big, not believing what just happened. Why did Cecile slap her?
Cecile shook her head as she narrowed her eyes at Senthie. "I'm so disappointed in you."
Senthie's heart sunk. She knew that Cecile hated to be left out with this kind of news. If by any chance, she wanted to be updated as soonest possible on everything important about her best friend.
"I'm sorry, bes. I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner." She reached for Cecile's hands that were on her lap.
"Do you think that's the reason why I'm mad at you?" she uttered with an unreadable expression.
Senthie realized that Cecile was mad because she broke up with Kenzo.
"I'm sorry, bes. But please understand me. I don't wanna hurt Kenzo any longer."
Cecile heaved an exasperated sigh and smiled sarcastically. "Do you think he's not hurting right now? I bet he never wanted to break up with you. I bet he begged for another chance to try again, still thinking that maybe time can make it work. Do you think your decision was the right thing to do?"
Senthie didn't say anything. She just stared at Cecile with her moist eyes.
"But you know what, Sen? I know you didn't want this to happen. More than anyone else, I know you're hurting, too. I think you made the right choice, though I was really hoping you two would be together in the end." Cecile gave her a small smile and held Senthie's hands.
"You want him to find someone he deserves. Someone who is sure about him and can love him with no question. You don't want him to close his heart, with you in there. Am I right?" she added.
Senthie nodded as her response. Cecile smiled at her and sighed. "Come here, I'll give you a hug."
They were now in a hug and Cecile was patting her best friend's back. Senthie's heart felt comforted with the act. "Thank you, bes."
"Sen?" Cecile called, still in each other's arms.
When Senthie answered, "yes," Cecile continued, "how was my slap? Am I a fine slapper?"
Senthie pulled away from the hug and crossed her arms over her chest as she rolled her eyes. "Hmph! Seriously? what was that slap for?"
Cecile shrugged. "No reason, I just feel like it."
Senthie glared at her. "There you are again with your 'I just feel like it.' But don't worry, I'm fine, I'll just slap you when I feel like it, too."
And then they both cracked up hysterically, hands on their stomachs, eyes were even teary, and their laughs were loud enough to be heard outside the house. Walter must be annoyed by the noise by now since they were in the living room just across from his room.
A few moments later, their faces grew serious and silence began to engulf them.
Cecile was the one who broke the silence first. "But Sen, are you sure you won't regret it? I mean, where can you find someone like Kenzo? Objectively speaking, he's every girl's dream, plus you've known each other for a really long time, like for more than 10 years, right?"
"That's right. Time sure flies really fast," Senthie said with a sad smile.
Senthie and Kenzo met each other through Walter. It was Walter's birthday when he invited and introduce him to his family. They were high school buddies like Senthie and Cecile. Senthie's first impression about Kenzo was proud and annoying but a bit milder than Walter--but then she realized that he was nothing like her brother. Kenzo was the opposite of Walter. The kindest and  the most considerate.
"Are you sure you won't regret your decision?" Cecile asked again.
There was a brief silence before  Senthie responded, "to tell you the truth... I don't know."
"What?!" Cecile sighed in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
Senthie smiled sadly. "I don't wanna lose Kenzo."
Her best friend's face now looked confused. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes were as if asking Senthie what did she mean.
"It's true," Senthie began. "He is very important to me. I want him by my side forever as my friend if possible. I know that I might be asking too much and I don't know if I won't regret my decision."
Senthie and Kenzo knew each other for more than 10 years. They were best friends. He was Senthie's boy best friend. She would come to him to ask for a piece of advice from a man's perspective when she was having troubles in her past relationships. Kenzo was there for her, always. Even when her first boyfriend at 19 years old cheated on her--as everyone knew about but was actually her second boyfriend. Senthie had five ex-boyfriends, including Kenzo, but everyone knew she only had four. Her first-ever boyfriend was when she was 18 years old. The boy was persistent--he kept on begging and asking Senthie to be her boyfriend until she agreed and dated him out of pity but with the condition of keeping their relationship a secret. However, the boy slipped up and ended up sharing this news with his group of friends, and so Senthie broke up with him after two months of dating. No one close to Senthie knew about this, even Cecile, and that was why everyone knew that Senthie's first boyfriend was the handsome college boy who cheated on her. Senthie caught him in the act, or perhaps, the boy intended it to happen. When Senthie broke up with him, the boy confessed that he wasn't sure if Senthie loved him. His excuse was because she never seemed jealous even if girls were flirting with him, so he tried to kiss a random girl to make Senthie jealous. Little did he know that betrayal was the thing that Senthie hated the most. He begged for a second chance, but without a second thought, Senthie cut him off from her life--he didn't know that she could burn bridges that easily. Senthie could treat anyone who betrayed her like they never existed.
When Kenzo learned about the news, he went to check up on Senthie but was surprised when he saw that she didn't cry or even get mad. In fact, she acted as if nothing happened. It wasn't a big deal for her. In fact, there was a bit of guilt in her subconscious mind that it was her fault that the boy cheated on her--although they only dated for less than a month.
During every breakup, Kenzo was there for her even though she didn't need him. At first, Senthie thought that it was only normal since Kenzo was kind. Soon, she realized that he might have liked her but just decided to shrug it off and didn't want to assume anything, until Kenzo confessed his feelings for her. Senthie rejected Kenzo many times. She didn't want to hurt Kenzo since she knew that it would only end up like her previous relationships, but Kenzo was adamant, he knew what Senthie was like, but still wanted to try and make things work. However, it ended up just like what Senthie had expected. It didn't work out. Nothing worked out. In the end, she hurt Kenzo--the man she had cherished the most.
Senthie let out a sigh before she continued, "I know that as soon as he found the right one for him, eventually and slowly, he will fade out in my life, and there will be nothing that I could do about it... But if I didn't break up with him..." She nodded and flashed a tight lip smile. "Yes, we could be together for a long time... We could even marry each other if we wanted to. However, it would be unfair to him, knowing that on my part, there is no such thing called romantic love."
"It's complicated," she added. "If I would say that I want him for myself and I don't wanna lose him to someone else, that would be selfish of me, right? I don't know if I'm even making any sense right now, but Kenzo is so precious to me. He is the most understanding, selfless, and kindest man I know... He doesn't deserve me, it would be best for him to find real happiness--happiness where he won't ever find in me."
This was how Senthie felt at the moment. But she knew that even if Kenzo--or even anyone precious to her would leave her someday, she wouldn't take it to heart. She would accept it. She wouldn't mind being left alone as she firmly believed that people would just come and go and that happiness didn't have to be dependent on someone else.
-------------------------
"How long do you think until we find a part-timer?" Senthie asked after they had posted a job hiring poster on the glass wall of Fashion Sen's.
"Hmmm, about in a month?" Cecile answered as she shrugged.
Last night, after Senthie had a heart-to-heart conversation with Cecile about what she truly felt for Kenzo, they had gone to their next topic--which was to hire a part-timer. It was Cecile's idea. She insisted on hiring one so that they could take a half day off together on the same day.
"What?! That's way too long!" Senthie whined.
Cecile flashed her palm at her. "Wait, wait, wait. What's this? Are you more excited than me? I thought—"
Cecile halted and was now zoning out, but her eyes were twinkling, and her mouth was hanging open a bit.
"Hey, bes? Hello? Are you there?" Senthie said as she waved a hand at Cecile's face, but didn't answer, so she tried again. "Hey, bes, what are you drooling for?"
Cecile finally responded. She nodded, which seemed to be that she was telling Senthie to look behind her--and so she looked over her shoulder until she turned around to see the man that her best friend was drooling for.
"Is he heading towards us?" Senthie mumbled.
Mr. Anderson was heading their way, which made Senthie's heart beat faster again. She was still nervous just by looking at his handsome face, but she knew that if she would let herself be exposed to his brightness, she would get used to it, just like how she had gotten accustomed to Kenzo's pretty face.
"What are you doing out here?" Jimhuesh asked as soon as he had reached the two ladies.
"Hi, sir! Good morning! We've just posted a job hiring poster here. You see, we are in need of a part-timer," Cecile said in a cute voice as she tugged the strand of her hair behind her ear.
Jimhuesh raised his brows and glanced at Senthie instead of the poster. "Oh, really?"
She nodded at him and flashed an awkward smile. Cecile was at her back mumbling, "ugh, bes, he's so hot! I've never seen someone who looks so sexy in a suit!"
Senthie pinched her best friend to warn her to keep her mouth shut.
"Can I apply?" Jimhuesh said as he leaned forward and flashed his one-sided smile, making Cecile tremble more to the point that she was even slapping Senthie's back. Senthie tried to keep her composure--from blushing because of their close proximity and from losing patience with her best friend, but she didn't last long and gagged by Cecile's hits, so she just faked a cough into her hand to hide her groan as she shoved her best friend a bit away from her by abruptly stepping backward.
When Jimhuesh straightened his back, Senthie then forced a laugh. "I know you're just kidding, sir, but we're in need of a female, actually."
"Oh, I see. Too bad I'm a man." He smiled. "Okay, I'll go ahead now."
Jimhuesh leaned forward again to whisper in Senthie's ear, and then by that, she was stunned by what she heard, she was still frozen even after Jimhuesh had disappeared from her sight, walking past her and stopping in front of Cecile who was a few feet away behind Senthie.
"Have a nice day Ms. Senthie and Ms.Cecilia," Jimhuesh said before he left.
"You too, Sir Jim!" Cecile replied.
When Jimhuesh was further enough, Cecile yanked her best friend's arm to make her turn to her, making Senthie snap from spacing out. "Bes! What did he whisper to you?"
"Hey, Sen! What did he whisper to you?" Cecile repeated when Senthie didn't respond. "Why are you spacing out?"
Senthie raised her brows and gasped. "Oh, that? It's nothing. I didn't hear him clearly."
Cecile rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you ask him to say it again?"
Senthie furrowed her brows and shook her head. "Never mind that. Anyway, how did you know him?"
"He visited our store last time when you were busy doing that Kassandra's gown," Cecile answered, rolling her eyes when she mentioned the customer's name.
"Oh, I see."
Senthie thought it was strange. Was he planning to check them up regularly? What was his deal? She was sure he had an ulterior motive behind all of his actions, and what was that about when he whispered something to her ear? How did he know that? How did he know that name?
He whispered the name that she didn't wanna hear.
"Rinana."
_____________________________
Hello, Noomiells!
Thank you for reading this chapter! Hope you liked it. :)
Did it make sense to you what Senthie had confessed to Cecile?
What can you say about Senthie's past relationships? What do you think of her?
What do you think of Jimhuesh? Do you think he's a walking red or green flag?
I would like to know your opinion. Please, let me know! :D