"Hello," Joe greeted Rudy and Rebecca with a nod. Then, he looked at Lucy and patted her on the back, as though he was asking her to greet Rebecca and Rudy too.
Lucy hid behind Joe and glared at Rudy.
"Lucy…" Joe sighed and looked at Rudy with an awkward smile on his face. "Please forgive her behavior," he said. "She goes to an all-girl high school, so she is not familiar with talking with the boys around her age, except her brother."
'Yeah. I know…' Rudy uttered inwardly. 'The exact same thing happened in my past life, but the timing is too early.'
Rudy turned to Rebecca and said, "I will be right back."
"Where… are you… going?" Rebecca asked with an anxious look on her face.
"Washroom."
Rudy went to the washroom and locked himself in the cubicle.
Angelica came out from Rudy's body and stared at him without saying a word.
SIGH!
Rudy sighed and rubbed his hand on his face in frustration.
"Did this not happen in your past life?" Angelica asked hesitantly.
"No, it did." After a brief pause, Rudy said, "The exact same thing happened. Even the cafe and the timing are the same. But it didn't happen this soon."
"It was supposed to happen next month," he added.
"What are you going to do now?" Angelica asked.
"In my past life, mom got remarried after she caught me doing a part-time job. She didn't tell me the reason, but I am sure that was it." Rudy stated. "Do you know how she caught me?"
"How?"
"I got sick after working too much. My body couldn't take it." Rudy bit his lips and said, "Even at that time, I was trying to help mom, but I just ended up worrying her more. And my medical bills cost more than what I had earned."
"What now, though?" Angelica placed her hand on Rudy's shoulder and said, "Are you going to stop their marriage?"
"Of course not," Rudy scoffed bitterly. "I don't want to change the events more than I already have."
"But…" Angelica paused. "Are you okay with her getting married to someone?"
"Hmm?"
"I mean…" Angelica averted her gaze and muttered, "I told you, right? That I was awake when you were playing that game at Eric's house? I know what routes you chose to get all the heroines in the end."
"...!"
"So…" Angelica looked into Rudy's eyes and said, "This would be the exact opposite of what you chose in the game."
"I am genuinely glad that you are on my side," Rudy scoffed.
"Why are you laughing?!" Angelica shouted. "Go and stop her from getting remarried!"
"It's okay. Don't worry about it," Rudy said. "Joe is a good guy."
"That's not what I am talking about!" Angelica yelled. "If they got married then… they will…"
"Oh!" Rudy exclaimed in realization and shook his head before saying, "No need to worry about it."
"Why not?!"
"Joe is impotent. He has erectile dysfunction, and that's why his previous wife left him," Rudy stated. "And besides, this marriage doesn't mean anything."
"What do you mean?" Angelica asked with a confused look on her face.
"They both are marrying for their children." After a brief pause, Rudy said, "In my previous life, after they got married, they rarely talked with each other. Heck, they rarely met each other."
"How… If they live in the same house, then…" Angelica couldn't get more confused.
"Joe started working another daytime job. So he always left at around 8 AM in the morning and came back at night around 7-8 PM. While mom did the night shift at the nearby convenience store and worked from 8 PM to 8 AM," Rudy explained.
"I see…" Angelica nodded with her eyes closed.
"So it was only Lucy and me alone in the house most of the time," Rudy added.
"But is it okay?" Angelica wondered. "A marriage like that."
Rudy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Believe me. It's more normal than you think it is."
Angelica glanced at Rudy from the corners of her eyes and asked, "What would you do if their marriage didn't go as it did in your previous life?"
Rudy frowned his face and glared at her without saying anything.
Angelica went inside Rudy's body and said, "I am not scared of you."
"I wasn't trying to scare you," Rudy scoffed softly and walked out of the cubicle.
'Hey, Rudy…' Angelica called out to Rudy.
'I just realized something,' she said.
"What is it?" Rudy uttered in a low voice.
'Now that your mom is getting remarried, we are going to have less alone time together,' she asserted. 'And your sister will be living in the same room as you, so…'
"Well, well…" Rudy smirked inwardly and uttered, "Someone is getting desperate to get boned."
'Shut up!'
Rudy met up with Rebecca, Joe, And Lucy and ate lunch together with them.
They were eating cake while talking. Everything was going well until a certain something happened.
A man in his early twenties approached them and said, "I am here."
'Rudy?' Angelica called out to Rudy after sensing sudden anger from him.
The glasses on the table suddenly started shaking as though they were trembling.
The man was none other than Joe's son and Lucy's brother, who was going to be Rudy's step-brother once Rebecca got married to Joe. However, that wasn't the reason Rudy was angry.
"I will be right back." Rudy stood up and went to the washroom.
He stood in front of the mirror and glared at himself.
'Rudy?' Angelica called out to him again, but he didn't respond.
The mirror started cracking, and even the handwash and the wall had begun to show a crack.
Suddenly, Angelica came out of Rudy's body and slapped him on both cheeks.
"Rudy!" she yelled and brought Rudy back to his senses.
"What happened?!" She asked. "Why are you suddenly angry?"
"That man's name is Paul," Rudy uttered.
"And…?"
"In my past life, I accidentally killed him, but this time…" The mirror shattered as Rudy continued speaking: "This time, I will kill him on purpose."
He said in a solemn voice full of rage.
