Chapter 2: Moisture Glistening in Sky Blue Eyes

He turned his way towards the girl, intending to go and greet her. He should do that, he thought, as she was someone he was familiar with. But as soon as he stepped ahead, she suddenly pressed her palm against her mouth and sprinted out of the church, without looking anywhere. And before that, her eyes were the entire time towards the podium.

He looked ahead in that direction, and found that the groom was allowed to kiss his bride now, and thus the entire church erupted with cheerful noises.

So that was what made her run out of the hall.

For some reason, he wanted to get out of there as well. Maybe because all these marriage and crowds were getting noisy and unbearably annoying and pointless to him, and he was searching for an excuse. Or maybe, it was just curiosity. Curiosity to know the reason behind that broken, ruined canvas.

"Irvyn! Where are you going?"

Ugh, not now…

He looked behind his back, and he found one of his relatives calling out for him.

"Irvyn, the marriage ceremony is almost done. You have to greet and look after the people from your sister's in-laws," the woman spoke in a hast, as if she would be missing her train.

"Jeez, there are tens of people to take care of that. Just because I am the brother, why do I have to be the one handling these, for someone who wouldn't even care?" Irvyn thought to himself, as a sigh escaped from his mouth.

"Aunt Ella, I am afraid I need a thing to handle first. Aunt Suzy will be attending to the guest for a little while, okay?" And before Ella could refute anymore, he called out to their caretaker Suzy and told her briefly to look after the guests. And he sprinted out of the church as well.

He looked everywhere around the church, but couldn't find any trace of her in the large courtyard.

"Where is she?" The thought kept running through his mind, as he continued to search for her. For some reason, he wanted to keep going, even though she was nowhere to be seen, even though she wasn't needed.

And finally, he found her.

After running for a little while, he found her just a few steps ahead of him, along the road connecting to the highway ahead.

But strangely, her eyes had a lost look in them, dazed, not looking in any particular direction.

Not even noticing that she was slowly going in the middle of the road, and cars were rushing towards her.

"Fvck… WATCH OUT!" He shouted out loud, shortening the distance between them, and grabbed her wrist with a strong grip. Due to the force he applied while pulling her, she tripped a few steps behind. And just then, a huge courier truck sped past them.

"Found you, Miss Juan."

She turned her neck around to see who had pulled her back, and immediately a shocked look was clear on her bright shiny sky blue eyes. Her crystal-like eye reflected emotions way clearer than any mirror, as her pupils were enlarged and shrunk back pretty quickly. She composed herself before looking back at him again, and when she did, her face had a much somber look than it had been for the last half an hour.

"Mr. Collins, I assume?"

"I am glad and amazed you remembered me," he let her wrist go before answering her. And this time, he extended his hands towards her in hopes of a handshake. "Irvyn Collins."

"Y-yes, I remember," she responded in a low voice, while averting her eyes. She recalled how she was about to jump in front of a car and if not for him, she would've been successful by now. "T-thank you, Mr. Collins."

"If you don't mind, can we sit by that bench over there?" Irvyn pointed towards a white wooden bench nearby, and in response, the girl just nodded. They slowly walked towards the bench and sat down. For a long while, there was silence between them. Neither of them talked, or felt the need to break the silence just yet. Maybe, the silence was comfortable, and worked like a calming effect, as her sobs gradually calmed down with each passing second. She cried really hard, that much he was sure of, although he had seen her crying inside the church.

"Are you alright now, Miss Juan?"

She simply nodded her head lightly in response. She was afraid her voice would crack if she spoke up.

"Then, if you are, would you mind telling me why you were crying?" Irvyn dropped the question calmly. And her response was a rare spectacle to behold. Her eyes started to glow in moisture, and it was reflecting surprise in them.

"I apologize if it sounds weird and sudden, but I saw you, crying by the door," Irvyn replied to clear her confusion. "I was there, right beside you the whole time.

"If I reply to your question right now, I might be creeping you out, or maybe, put you in an awkward position. So, I'd rather not," she tried to smile at him as hard as she could, just not to sound rude with her response. After all, he is someone with a great deal of respect. One of the leading businessmen ruling the entire economy of Westford city, he shouldn't be deserving of some girls' personal mess. She was now feeling regretful about her actions back in the church. She should've controlled herself better. Or maybe, she never should've come to attend the wedding of her childhood friend in the first place, if she clearly knew that she wouldn't be able to tolerate this.

Just then, the phone in her hand rang. She looked at it, and her hands immediately flinched and froze upon seeing that contact information. Irvyn couldn't help but glance at her phone, and he was also a bit taken aback by it, specifically, by her expression.