Treat her special
Karl's mind was absent more than half of the time he was at the party. He couldn't fathom why he felt the way he did with Isime's cousin. As much as he tried to ignore the thought, it won't just let him be. It felt like he had found a piece of himself that had been missing, but what does that even mean? Karl questioned his own thoughts.
He unconsciously shook his head and sighed at the same time. His heart was occupied by the event that took place at Isime's house that he didn't notice; he was acting strangely no matter how much he tried to suppress his thoughts. "Karl, you don't look good. What is going on?" Kelvin could no longer bear to watch him even though he had told himself to respect Karl's privacy. He knew something was eating him up and genuinely cared about him. They had been friends for a long time, and he knew it must be something very serious for Karl to be in such a mood.
"Nothing", Karl lied. He tried to smile, but Kelvin wasn't fooled. He was insistent. He wanted to be sure that his friend was okay. "Karl, remember, a problem shared is a problem half solved" Kelvin paused what he was doing and faced Karl after saying those words but Karl shied away from talking about his problems. He had gone to the party to celebrate with his friend and not to talk about his issues. Besides, there were other people there, so the last thing he wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to himself. Karl looked at his watch. It was past seven ' already. "I should hit the road soon," he said to himself. He wanted a good time to process what had happened at Isime's house. As he raised his head, he noticed Kevin's gaze was shifted from him and focused on a particular direction. He couldn't ignore his look, so he turned to see what Kelvin was staring at. "Irene?" Karl paused his lips. He did not expect Irene to have come to the party, so he was surprised to see her. Irene walked elegantly towards the two men. Karl saw how Kelvin looked at her.
"Hello, guys," Irene said, her gaze on Karl even if she appeared to be talking to the two of them.
It had been a while since Karl saw Irene. Ever since their so-called date, he could count the other times on one hand. Irene had refused to believe him when he told her he liked another woman. Instead, she said to him that she also wanted him and would not give up.
Seeing her so stubborn, Karl had avoided her like a plague; although he only ran into her a few times, what he did not expect was for her to show up at Kevin's party. "Hello, I am happy you made it," Kelvin said. When Karl heard him, he was surprised: after all, he thought that Irene was at the party because of him, he never would have thought that his best friend had invited her. "Of course, happy birthday," Irene said, passing a gift to him. Although she was talking to Kevin, her gaze remained fixed on Karl. He was right; the only reason she had attended this party was that she was sure that Karl would be present. "Karl, long time no see," Irene said as she sat between the two men. Kevin was not happy to get ignored; he thought that after many months and Karl's cold treatments, she would have given up. When he saw her a moment ago, he even lied to himself that perhaps she was finally considering him; it was only now that he realised that she had come to his party because of Karl. "Yeah," Karl nodded; no matter what, he did not want to be rude to her. It was just a short party. There was no need for him to act so cold. When Irene heard his one word answer, she was angry but decided to swallow it. She remembered that Karl's cousin 'Henry had come to her. He said he liked her, but she rejected him. She had been paying attention to Karl and knew that he was having a relationship with Isime. This is what made it even more difficult for her to accept.
Irene could not believe that Karl would stoop so low to choose Isime over her; in her heart, she was a thousand times better than Isime, So if Karl could date Isime, she did not believe that she could not win his heart. But his cold answer made her a bit upset. He brought the conversation to an end with his 'yeah'. For a moment, Irene did not know what to say next. "What would you like to drink," Kelvin asked. Although he felt bad that Irene had ignored him, he still had to play the host. Since it was a small party, everyone served themselves, but Irene was special to him, so he was willing to help her.
When Karl saw the way Kevin was paying attention to Irene, he frowned. They were best friends, but Kelvin did not bother to serve him. "Which drinks are available, I am having such a bad day; I want to drink my stress away," Irene said. When Kelvin heard this, he smiled; while don't we go to my bar? I have a few collections of good wine, " he said. He was willing to leave his guest to have alone time with Irene. "That makes sense, Karl you look stressed; do you want to have something to drink?" Irene invited him. This was her opportunity; she did not dare ignore it. Karl wanted to reject it, but the incident at Isime's house was stressing him out. "sure," he got up. It was weekend, and he did not have to bother about going to work. Moreover, if he gets too drunk, he could sleep over at Kelvin's place.
When Kevin heard this answer, he was angry; he thought that as a good brother, Karl should have realised that he wanted to spend alone time with Irene.