Mariely immediately rushed to Frank; she saw blood on his lips.
"Let me see that wound," she said to him.
"Don't touch me!" he snapped, pushing her away. She fell hard on the cemented road.
"Zean, Zean, I'm sorry for what my brother did to you. Let me treat your wound," she pleaded as she quickly stood up.
"I can take care of myself. Please go away—you're a nuisance to my sight!" he snapped at her.
She accepted his harsh words and just lowered her head in silence.
"What?! You jerk! She's the one helping you, and that's how you act?" Veron said sharply, her voice furious as she faced Frank.
"V—Veron, it's okay," Mariely said, trying to hold her back.
"No, that guy shouldn't treat you like that, Faith," Veron said, pointing at Frank.
Mariely grabbed a cold drink they had bought earlier. She wrapped it in a handkerchief.
"Zean, just this… I—I also have some medicine here. J—just drink it," she said with concern.
"Can't you understand anything? Maybe you won't even pass the board exam because of how stupid you are," he shot back.
"Just drink it! After that, we'll leave right away," she said again, tears starting to fall.
He took the medicine she gave and drank it in one go. "There. Now go. I don't need you anymore," he muttered.
Veron was about to slap him, but Mariely quickly pulled her back.
She simply nodded and gave him a faint smile. "Take care of yourself. And once you're home, put some ice on that—it'll help with the swelling," she told him.
After saying that, she pulled Veron back toward the car. Veron said nothing, just scowled and glared at Frank, who still hadn't left.
"You know, you shouldn't have stopped me—I really should've slapped him!" she said.
"It's fine. Come on, let's go," Mariely said. "I—I want a drink right now," she added with a sigh.
She was still hurting from the breakup with Frank. Her mind and heart couldn't seem to accept what had happened.
"Faith," Veron said, worried.
Mariely looked at her, sensing her concern. "I want to get drunk," she said.
"Alright, we'll drink at my condo," Veron agreed.
Mariely let out a weak laugh. She still couldn't focus on reviewing; she knew Veron was trying to help her recover from what happened. She kept telling herself to be strong—the board exam was fast approaching.
"Maybe Zean was right—maybe I will fail because I don't know how to understand things," she muttered.
Veron was already driving. "Don't take to heart what that jerk said. We'll pass. Just slap that license in his face when you do," she said.
Mariely chuckled at Veron's words. Despite the pain in her heart and mind, Veron was always by her side—sticking with her through all the foolishness of life.
I'm lucky when it comes to family and friends. But why am I so unlucky in love? she silently asked herself.
***
Meanwhile, Becca was shocked when she saw Frank—his lip was busted and his nose was bleeding. She furrowed her brows as she stared at her son.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Nothing. I just want to rest," he quickly replied.
She raised an eyebrow, noticing the off tone in his voice.
"Wait a minute, Frank, I'm asking you properly—what happened to you?" She asked again, this time more seriously.
He let out a sigh. "Nothing. I just got into a fight," he tried to brush it off.
"You got into a fight? At your age—twenty-three—and you still get into fights?" she repeated incredulously.
"Jeez, Mom, you're annoying. I just want to rest," he muttered.
"Annoying? I'm your mother—I have the right to know what happened to you," she said sternly.
"Fine, fine—someone punched me," he finally admitted.
Her brows furrowed even more. "And who punched you? Why?" she asked, one after another.
"Because I broke up with his youngest sister," he said.
It took her a moment to process what he meant, then she gasped as it hit her.
"Frank? You broke up with her?" she asked, stunned.
"Yeah. We just broke off that stupid relationship!" he said carelessly.
Her face turned serious. "Frank, seriously? You had to hurt Miss Celestial right when the exams are near? Are you crazy?"
"She caught me cheating, okay? With another woman," he said proudly.
"Frank! That girl was pure-hearted! 'Stupid relationship,' you say? You idiot—after introducing Miss Celestial to us and bringing her into this house?" she scolded, still in disbelief.
"It was all an act! An act!" he insisted.
"You know what? You deserved that punch," she pointed at him. "You really deserved it!" she said angrily.
He just smirked. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. That boring girl should even be thankful I gave her the time of day. At least now she'll remember why she was such a fool," he added.
"You little—"
She raised her hand to hit him, but someone held her back. She turned to see her husband.
"Frank, go back to your room. We need to talk," she heard him say.
Frank obeyed and walked away. She yanked her arm from her husband's grip.
"Just calm down," he said.
She raised an eyebrow. "Calm down? After that boy played around with a girl who was nothing but sincere with him? How can I calm down?"
He scratched his head. "Just let Frank be—he'll learn his lesson eventually."
"Yeah, right. If he ever learns at all," she muttered, heading upstairs.
She sighed heavily as she sat on the bed. She couldn't believe her son had hurt one of her former students.
Gosh, was all she could say in her head as she shook it. Her husband followed her upstairs, gently patting her shoulder.
"Let it go. I feel like Frank's feeling guilty about it already," he said.
"Guilt? That boy doesn't know what guilt is when it comes to playing around with girls. He definitely got that from you," she said, still shaking her head.
"Come on, let's forget the past. You're here now, and I know our son—he'll realize his big mistake eventually," he said.
She didn't reply. Now, all she could think about was Mariely.