My Ex Next Door

A warm hand pulled her spirit back from the past, she looked at its owner and saw the soft expression of Bea, Ken's mother.

She sighed and pulled her hands, "I am leaving now" She walks towards the door but before she left, she heard Bea talking.

"Don't worry Anna, she will not come back" Bea assure to her, she told her about their conversation after the dinner and Bea praised her for making the deal.

She nodded and left their house.

–

McSalter Residence.

Novie was sitting on the roof watching the night sky. Every night, she will either climb in the rooftop or sit outside while writing in her diary. It became her hobby to write her feelings in the square notebook she bought in the airport, but right now, there's only one page left.

She saw the news earlier about the supermodel Anna Tang and her upcoming wedding with Ken Chu. She could not believe that even after five years she still cares for him.

Her finger lifts the pen and starts writing.

Dear Diary,

He's getting married.

Before she continues, a tear drops on the notebook, making the page wet, then she continued.

I am so happy for his success, I thought I could see him again but since he's getting married I can't anymore. I was thinking of seeing him and see if he still has feelings for me but now that he's with someone else, I guess he had moved on. I can't blame him, I left him without explanation. I never asked him to wait for me so this news should not bother me but I am hurting so bad. It's worse than the time I left him.

It pains me to know that he no longer loves me because I still do. I still love him.

She flips the page and saw the back cover, she thought that maybe this is the sign that she should move on too, stops writing in her diary about how much she misses him and continue in her life without thinking of him.

She lay down on the roof and stares at the sky, she could her pain transforming into tears. She sniffed and got up.

(I can't be like this anymore. I need to move on. I have too) she thought with determination.

She crawls her way to the ladder she used earlier to climb but it's no longer there, instead, it was laying on the ground beside a man whom she knows so much.

"Brent!!! the ladder!!!" she yelled at her brother who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Why do you keep climbing in the roof, you're even sitting on the roof of my room now there's some water leaking every time there's rain" he yelled back and walks back inside the house.

Novie gnashed her teeth with anger, she was not aware that she made a hole in their roof, but her bigger problem was how to go down.

"Papa! Brent took the ladder, I can't go down!!!" she yelled once again, seconds later, her father came and picks up the ladder.

"be careful Novie," he stated in a low voice and held the ladder to balance it.

After she felt the ground, her body immediately runs inside the house to look after her brother.

Novie was raging while looking for her brother when she hears music from upstairs, she ran and slammed his door open.

All the rage in her body disappeared after seeing the surprise inside.

His room was full of colourful balloons and a banner saying "Happy 30th birthday" she gasped and entered his room.

Her brother picks up the cake from the table and walks to her direction, her parents also entered the room.

"Happy birthday Novie" her parents greeted her.

She was in tears; she knows that it's her birthday, but she was not expecting them to celebrate it.

"Gosh! What is this?" she asked as she wipes her tears.

"Blow the candle now," her brother asked, she happily blows the candle and smiled at them.

"Thank you so much, this is so wonderful" she spoke in tears.

Meanwhile, after Novie blow the candle, Brent removed the candle from the cake while his lips curved up. He bakes the cake by himself in his apartment and his sister was not aware of it. When he saw his parents leaving the room, he grabbed his sister's arms to face him.

He knows Novie; they have a birthday tradition and it is to let the birthday person finish half of the cake in less than 10 minutes or else one will be a slave to another.

They proceed to the living room, Brent put the cake on the centre table and took his phone out to set the timer, their mother was busy taking a video while his father turned the television on and watch the news.

Novie prepared herself and picks up the big spoon that her mother gave.

"ready.. start" Brent signalled and at that moment, Novie took a big slice and devour it.

The cake is a strawberry flavour, but it's too big that she could not finish the quart.

Her mother handed her the water and after drinking, she took the spoon and took a big slice.

Her eyebrow creased after she finished half of the cake, she stops and noticed the box in the middle.

When she turned to her brother, a big smile plastered on his lips.

"What is this?" she asked, suspicious.

"Open it" Brent replied and handed her the small rectangular box.

Slowly, her hand opened it, her eyes widened after seeing a key inside.

"Whoa!, this is either a key for a car or house, so which one?" she switched her round eyes to her family.

"Why don't you go outside?" her brother asked. Her lips parted with excitement.

"Oh god! I am getting a car?" she said with excitement but no one replied, they went outside but she didn't see a car anywhere, then her brother opened the gate, she gulped and walked side by him but before she could see the surprise her brother asked him to close her eyes.

(Oh my god car! Car! Car!) she keeps yelling inside.