My Boss Is Secretly A Softie - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: True Love
Terra sighed loudly as she observed the sullen woman who sat downtrodden before she approached her.

Meanwhile, John was surprised by something else—what did she mean by she did worse when she was young?!

‘Indeed, all of Ela’s friends are so strange.’

“Elara doesn’t hate you,” she began while scooting towards Star. “She’s just… 16.”

Star paused and then stared at Terra, who looked at her with a sweet smile. That’s right, Elara did not hate her; she was just amnesiac.

But it was so odd. She never really was the type to concern herself with others’ pasts, unlike Terra, so all she knew about Elara was what she had observed when with her and what she had told her.

Obviously, there seemed to be a lot of things Elara didn’t tell her—most especially her past.

Thinking of it more, Elara had always been reluctant to share her past… It seemed she had been separated from a whole lot of things.

“Anything you want to tell me, Terra?” she looked towards the lady, who flinched.

Terra eloped her gaze guiltily. “I don’t know… Elara hasn’t always been a fan of sharing her past. You could say she’s not exactly proud of it.”

‘I can almost guess why,’ John, who had closed in on the two ladies, thought.

“But you know,” Star squinted angrily, “Why do I feel like I’m the outsider in this friendship?! So she wasn’t lying when she said she only had one best friend.”

Looking at the pouting lady being consoled by Star, John almost wanted to ask, What about him? But he knew better. His situation was just… different.

“She was amnesiac when she woke up, Star. Now, come on!” Terra groaned at the still-pouting woman. “Fine, I’ll tell you something.”

The duo, Star and John, leaned closer and sharpened their ears.

“Elara wasn’t exactly a good person in the past, at least by the good person standards we have. She told me she was mostly surrounded by people who couldn’t exactly be bothered to know the real her and just wanted to be close to a popular person.”

Terra paused, and on noticing the bobbing motion of Star’s head to continue, she chuckled.

“So she just went with the flow and did whatever she wanted. One of her meanest habits then was playing ‘lovers’ or ‘friends.’ You were lucky if she called you an acquaintance; that’s the only way you stick. If you’re tagged her lover or friend, she’ll just treat you like a toy till you either leave or she gets bored and tosses you aside.”

Terra sighed. “In other words, Ela was quite bitchy when she was in high school.”

“… I never knew?!” Star hit Terra’s lap in the complaint.

“Well, you never asked! Plus, do you think I got this info so easily? I had to pester her hard enough to see the patience drained right out of her till she had no choice but to tell me! Did you not understand the first part? Not exactly proud of her past!”

Star recoiled. “Okay, okay, sorry… But,” she looked towards Terra with a frown, “Don’t tell me there’s more I don’t know.”

Terra giggled nervously. “Oh, you have no idea.”

***

Terrence was frozen in place by the sudden kiss. Not just his body—his mind, heart, and everything was placed on a time stop.

But somehow, his thoughts were running faster than ever before.

To say he was being played with by his Ela was an understatement. The new version of his Ela was a menace; she treated him however she wanted, whenever she wanted.

She’d have a long discussion with him someday, talking about random things, and then the next, she’d ignore his messages for however long she pleased.

She’d ask him for things cutely and, when she got them, resume her silent treatment till she felt like reacknowledging his presence.

It was a mess. He was being thoroughly toyed with, yet he remained loyal like a dog groomed to accept being abused.

It was tormenting. On one hand, the evil desire to kidnap the woman kept haunting him, and on the other, he couldn’t bring himself to see her, as he was too scared of hurting her.

And just like that, their toxic relations had been going on for a while, with him being played with like the fool in love he was, until she suddenly called him today.

“I think I’ll live with you for a while,” she told him. “Let’s live somewhere those dumbasses won’t ever find.”

He couldn’t care less what or why or who—all he knew was that she had called him, and there he was like an obedient pup.

He stared wide-eyed at the lady who stood on her tiptoes, dragging him downwards while kissing him deeply. It was undeniably a novice kiss, yet… His hands clenched the wall tighter.

His heart, which had frozen for a second, skyrocketed, and an overwhelming, almost uncontrollable desire crashed onto him like a powerful wave.

His breathing became troubled as he tightened his grip on the wall until the lady pulled away slowly and then looked up at him with a gentle smile, hiding her crafty ambitions.

He hissed loudly, then stumbled back, distancing himself from Elara, who merely leaned against the wall with a smirk.

“You once worried Terra would take advantage of me and threatened to call the police,” she stated, merciless eyes never leaving the male who bent down with his face hung low. “I guess you can’t now, can you?”

“You…” he muttered before looking towards her with a flushed face and helpless expression. “What do you want, Ela?”

Elara shrugged, then walked towards the door. “I’ll tell you later, but for now?”

She grinned at him, the edges of her face crinkling lightly from the intensity. “I need to lie on a bed. Will you show me the way?”

***

“So, you’re saying Elara might be testing us?… To know if we like her enough to tolerate her or something like that?” Star asked while gently caressing her jawline.

“Technically, yes. I guess.” Terra shrugged.

“This is stupid,” John interjected.

“Yes, and she’s a teenager. They do stupid things all the time.” Terra rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Well, not all teens. But some teens were natural menaces. It’s like they couldn’t help but be wicked.

But Star didn’t think it was that simple. She felt there was something… something more they couldn’t quite grasp.

“Did you talk to her about her older self?” she asked Terra, who nodded, albeit confused.

“Ah, I see.” Star clicked her tongue. “Elara doesn’t just want to test us; she’s skeptical.”

“Of what?” John beat Terra to the question.

“You probably told her how Elara is the sweetest and nicest person alive. How kind she is and all the good stuff, no?”

“Yeah?” Terra responded, still confused. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s not,” Star stood up. “But I guarantee she concluded that the only reason we like her is because she’s now a good person. But she’s not quite sure, so she decided to do this to be convinced.”

Terra and John were left bewildered by the argument but had to agree that it made a whole lot of sense.

“There’re two things I can deduce here.” Star paced about the room. “Elara is not only jealous of her older self but also believes that if we cannot condole her bratty side, then we’re just like her former relationships—we’re with her because of her image. In this case, being nice.”

“But that’s just cruel. How can you want people to like you but not be likable at all?” John pursed his brows.

“Apparently, that hasn’t occurred to Elara yet.” Terra scoffed. “It’s because she’s that type of person.”

“What type?”

“The type to endure whatever you throw at her once she accepts you in her life. Why do you think I was so involved in everything she does? The worst thing that could happen is her attracting a toxic fuck.” Terra shook her head in annoyance.

“The issue now is that Elara’s adult self would rather not show you her bad side, while her teen self expects the same intensity of devotion and will show you everything because she expects you to accept it just as she would yours, which explains why, despite having so many people around her, she couldn’t find any friends. Her standards were simply unrealistic.”

“Accepting someone for who they are is one thing,” Star stated.

“While accepting their terrible actions to their and your detriment is another,” John added.

“True love is not just about accepting but prioritizing the safety and goodness of the person you love, even if it means being hated for it,” Terra concluded.

There was silence for a while before Star asked again, “So where is she, and what do we do about this?”

“She’s with Terrence,” Terra replied, “and all we have to do is talk some sense into her. If it doesn’t work, we’ll just let our actions speak for themselves until she gets sick of this.”

“Terrence?!” Star exclaimed.

“Yeah?” Terra was startled. Was there an issue?

John groaned loudly. “Terrence is the worst possible person to be with for a teen with that kind of terrible mindset.”

“He’ll practically accept whatever she dishes out to him and enforce her messed up belief that a person who loves you will accept whatever shitty thing you do! Which is bad, because we’re trying to teach her that being shitty is terrible!”

“Oh.” Terra blinked.

Looking at the lady who was giggling stupidly, they sighed. Tough luck.