"The audacity of that man, huh?" Diana huffed, shaking her head in disbelief after hearing the full story from Ceres about the disastrous breakfast at her house that morning.
"I know, right?" Ceres agreed, stirring her coffee absentmindedly. "I was already furious at him from the start because of the way he and Ciena deceived us. I mean, I didn't even care when I found out they were fooling around behind my back. But for him to question my credibility in front of Mommy and Daddy? That's when I really lost it."
She took a slow sip of her coffee, her eyes sharp with lingering irritation.
Diana studied her carefully before leaning forward.
"But, girlfriend... did you really love him?" she asked bluntly. "No offense, but in all the years we've been friends, I never once believed that you truly loved him."
Ceres blinked at the sudden question, momentarily taken aback.
"You think so?" she asked, tilting her head in thought.
Diana nodded firmly.
"I always thought that you weren't actually in love with him... You were in love with the idea of love, and he just happened to be the person you fixated on. After all, you two grew up together."
Ceres frowned slightly. "What makes you say that?"
Diana smirked.
"Because, from my perspective, it looked like you just accepted that you were supposed to be together. Your families have been pushing for it ever since you were kids. So, eventually, you went along with it."
Ceres opened her mouth to argue, but Diana cut her off.
"Let's be honest, Cee. Even back in elementary school, no matter how much of a brat you were, Ryzel always took your side. Just like Uncle Romos always did. And since Uncle Romos was your standard for how a man should treat you, and Ryzel treated you similarly back then, you assumed that what you felt for him was love."
Ceres fell silent, the weight of Diana's words settling in.
"But as we grew older," Diana continued, "our personalities developed, and so did Ryzel's. He was no exception. And just like any other guy, he developed an ego. He couldn't handle the way people talked about him... how they constantly questioned why you chose him when you could've had someone better."
Ceres clenched her jaw, but Diana wasn't finished.
"I'm not saying his cheating was justified or that he was right to try and change you. But I do understand, at least in part, where his insecurities came from. Can you imagine the pressure he was under? It's gotta be pretty damn humiliating to hear people say that his girlfriend was just 'settling' for him."
Ceres inhaled sharply, her grip tightening around her coffee cup.
"But the real reason I think you never truly loved him?" Diana tilted her head. "You never actually told him how you really felt. If you had been more open with him, maybe... just maybe... he would've actually stepped up."
"I was open with him," Ceres countered immediately.
"Not really, Cee," Diana said knowingly. "You expected him to do things that you liked without ever actually telling him what those things were. You expected him to just know what you wanted and what you didn't."
Ceres narrowed her eyes. "Zeus knows."
Diana laughed. "Zeus and Ryzel are two different people, girlfriend."
She shook her head before continuing.
"And their situations were completely different, too. Ryzel grew up believing that you two were meant to end up together. You believed that too, didn't you? He didn't have to work for your 'yes.' He didn't have to chase you, fight for you, win you over. The entire world just assumed you two were going to be together, and so does he."
Diana's lips curled into a smirk.
"If you think about it, technically speaking, Ryzel didn't even have a real girlfriend until your parents started arranging your marriage. Do you even remember when he actually asked you to be his girlfriend?"
Ceres blinked.
She didn't.
Diana chuckled at her stunned silence. "See?"
Ceres frowned, her mind racing.
"But Zeus?" Diana continued. "Zeus met you when you were already with Ryzel. From the very first day, he knew he had to step up his game if he ever wanted to get your attention. That's why it's natural for him to be more attentive to you... because he's been doing it from day one."
Ceres pursed her lips.
"So what you're saying is... if their places were reversed, Zeus would've acted just like Ryzel?" she asked.
Diana shook her head. "I can't answer that, girlfriend. Because that's not what happened."
She took a sip of her own drink before continuing, "What I am saying is that, based on what I've observed, there are things you're willing to do with Zeus that you never did with Ryzel. And I'm not just talking about sex."
Ceres arched a brow. "Like what?"
Diana smirked. "Like getting very drunk."
Ceres frowned in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Cee, when you were with Ryzel, you only got drunk when you were with me, and no Ryzel in the picture. And if he was there, you always made sure to stay sober... because you didn't trust him. Even when I was around, and he'd insist that he could take care of you, you never trusted him enough to accept that."
Ceres opened her mouth to argue, but Diana raised a brow, daring her to challenge the truth.
And she couldn't.
"But with Zeus?" Diana smirked. "It's different. Even before you two were together, you had no problem getting drunk around him. Even when Ryzel was with you, as long as Zeus was there, you'd let yourself drink because you knew... even if Ryzel threw a fit and insisted that he was your boyfriend... Zeus would never leave you alone with him."
Ceres's grip on her coffee cup loosened slightly.
She hated to admit it, but Diana had a point.
Diana leaned forward, resting her elbow on the table as she continued.
"Look, I'm not questioning your reason for entertaining other men when you were still with Ryzel," she said. "I believe you when you say you were doing it to push him to step up... to prove himself. But you know what they say, right? Sometimes, there are things about our own personalities that we don't notice, but the people observing us do."
Ceres eyed her carefully, intrigued. "And what exactly do you think I don't know about myself?"
Diana's lips curled into a knowing smirk.
"You're fucking loyal to a fault," she said matter-of-factly.
Ceres raised a brow, and Diana continued before she could respond.
"If someone important to you is being dragged through the mud, you will defend them," she said. "You'd go to war for the people you care about. Remember high school? That time my asshole of an ex-boyfriend started bragging to his friends that he'd already taken my virginity... and that I'd just say yes to whatever he wanted?"
Ceres let out a small snort, remembering exactly what happened next.
Diana grinned.
"You smashed his brand-new car... his parents' gift to him... with a baseball bat," she reminded her. "And you personally threatened him that if you ever heard him talk shit about me again, it wouldn't be his car you'd be breaking next... it would be his skull."
Both of them burst into laughter at the memory.
Ceres smirked, shaking her head. "Well, he deserved it," she muttered.
Diana wiped away a tear from laughing before her expression turned serious again.
"I wasn't even there when it happened. I didn't even have to ask for your help. You just did it. Because that's who you are." She studied Ceres carefully. "That was when I knew... You didn't really love Ryzel. Because you never defended him the way you defended me."
Ceres's smirk faded slightly, and Diana leaned in.
"You thought you were testing him... waiting for him to prove himself. But from an outsider's perspective? You were actually looking for a reason to let him go," she said. "And when he finally did what you secretly wanted, when he finally gave you the excuse you needed, you accepted it easily. Maybe it hurt your pride, but it didn't break you. Because deep down, you never truly needed him."
Ceres didn't say anything. She simply stared at Diana.
Diana took a sip of her drink before continuing, her tone casual... but her eyes sharp. "And if you still need more proof that what you felt for Ryzel was nothing compared to what you feel for Zeus, then let me ask you something... have you ever been territorial with Ryzel?"
Ceres frowned slightly.
"He paraded women in front of you," Diana pointed out. "You knew he was sleeping with some of them. And what did you do? Nothing. And I already know what you're going to say... you knew your worth. You weren't threatened by lesser women like them. They didn't deserve your jealousy."
Diana paused for a second.
"But have you forgotten about Natalie?"
Ceres's entire body stiffened.
Diana's smirk widened, enjoying the moment.
"That woman who had the audacity to offer Zeus a drink at the club? The one you threatened... told her you'd scratch her damn face off if she didn't back off?"
Ceres opened her mouth, but Diana lifted a finger.
"Don't even try to say you were just drunk." She raised a brow knowingly. "Because, girlfriend, we both know alcohol doesn't just give you a hangover... it amplifies the emotions you're already feeling."
Ceres stayed quiet.
"And let's be honest here," Diana went on. "Even if you weren't drunk that night, you still would've done the same thing."
The realization hit Ceres harder than she expected.
Diana smirked, watching the flicker of understanding cross her best friend's face.