Flames and thick smoke shot into the sky, almost suffocating me. A burning beam fell heavily onto my right arm. Sparks sizzled as they shot into my clothes, scorching my skin. That place felt like the hell itself. In the midst of the smoke and despair, I called out for Bart. He glanced back at me, just once, before picking up Karen without hesitation. He left me with nothing but his retreating figure.
Perhaps the vacant expression on my face had triggered some guilt in Bart's heart. The man stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. "Nora, I know I was wrong before. Let’s leave the past in the past, okay? Don’t make things difficult for Karen. I’ve reserved a spot at your favorite Japanese restaurant. Since you’ve been working out, we can order some sashimi and lighter options."
"I don’t like Japanese food," I stated flatly.
"Nora, you’re being unreasonable. That Japanese restaurant is really famous! Bart had to reserve the spot two days in advance. Even if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t waste his effort, right?" Karen said softly.
Bart's face darkened. "Nora, I'm giving you an olive branch here. Why are you always so ungrateful? Can’t you just be reasonable for once?"
"So, going to dinner with you two makes me reasonable?" I was too tired to argue anymore. An overwhelming sense of irritation began to rise.
Bart and Karen exchanged a wordless glance of exasperation.
"Fine, let's go! However, after dinner, I need to get home early to study my lines." I finally gave in.
The moonlight was beautiful that night and I practiced my character’s graceful walk on the way.
Karen kept staring at me and suddenly burst into laughter. "You were right, Bart. Nora really does think she’s going to be a star!"
"Enough, show some respect to Nora!" Surprisingly, Bart stopped Karen from mocking me for the first time. He stared at me for a long moment. There was a strange, unreadable look in his eyes.
However, my heart remained still as water.
When we reached the parking lot, I instinctively got into the back seat, leaving the front seat for Karen.
I used to get upset that Bart always let her sit in the front, but now I realize it’s just a seat. His heart was never with me anyway, so what was the point of fighting over the passenger seat?