Is he talking to her in his poison tongue version of a lovers’ prattle? 
Arya had the urge to laugh.
She likes it when he tells the truth and it makes her think he is sincere but she would not be intimidated like this. 
So she deliberately pulled a taut face and said.  “So, you just wanted to find someone to bully, someone who is easily ordered around, convenient and a weak woman who can tolerate you.”
“Is deliberating distorting my words to tease me your way of expressing your interest for me?”  Jack straight away could see through her.
Arya blushed and muttered.  “Is there distortion?  Your words are so annoying, so don’t think I’ll believe you.  Now I am trying to build up my character strength to kick you out of my house.”
“There is definitely a distortion.  You already know there is a second sweet version of this.”
“I want to hear it.”  She smiled at him and her eyes shone brightly.
Jack felt uncomfortable and stood up.  “It’s alright as long as you know what it is.  Why do you have to make yourself frustrated over this?”
“If you don’t say clearly who will know what you mean.”  She glared at him. 
After suffering her glare for a while, he finally compromised.  “Okay, please give me ten seconds to allow Mark’s acting skills to possess my body.”
He put his hand over his heart and said in an exaggerated tone.  “Arya, after experiencing thousands of sails, I finally realized that you are my harbor.  Listen, can you hear that?  That was the voice of God and he said that we are destined to be together…….a perfect match.”
Arya burst into fit of laughter.
“What are you laughing at?”  Jack was displeased and poked her head.
“When you clutched your heart, you were not as naturally dashing as Mark.”  She told him the truth.
“Hey, I’m your spouse.”
“Not yet.”
He glared at her and she glared back at him.  After a while, both of them could not help but smiled.
Jack asked again seriously.  “Arya, are you changing yourself and forcing yourself to be with me?”
She seriously thought about this……it seems not so.  She still seems to be herself, very natural and very comfortable.
“Arya, don’t change.  If you are going to be with me, you must not feel the need to change and at the same time, you should feel very comfortable.......then we will naturally be a pair.  This is what the saying means......the lid that matches the pot.”
“Listen, can you hear?  That was the voice of God.”  She imitated his exaggerated tone and smiled. “What about my ugly glasses?”
Jack also smiled.  “Upto you. I like you both ways. With or without your ugly glasses. Anyways You don’t look as dashing as me when you said that.”
“So, are you the pot or the lid?”  She could not help but want to tease him again.
“Of course, the lid…...” 
“Why?”
“Because the lid is on top.”
She pondered for a moment then only understood he had said indecent words to her again.  Her face was full of black lines and wanted to scold him again.
But Jack still had something to say.  “Arya, you are really a good woman who can suffer and endure hardships.  You have passed the test of suffering hardships and the test of endurance will come later.”
She finally could not help but punched him.  “Hey, don’t keep on saying indecent words to me.”
“What indecent words did I say?  ‘Suffering and enduring hardships’ are positive words and have very positive meanings.  You think too much.  Only people with indecent minds will be able to detect indecent meanings.  Or is it in actual fact, you already have fanciful thoughts about me?”
“Ah……thinking of this, now I remember.  Did you buy me a chocolates?”  Suddenly she thought of an important issue.
Jack was caught by surprise and his face darkened.  This cannot be…….were they not talking about?  Why had this topic suddenly changed to chocolates?
“Yes. Lots of.”
“Did you bring it?”  Her eyes shone brightly and full of expectations.  Although she had not seen it, she still refused to give up.  Perhaps, he had kept it in the trunk of his car and did not bring it up.
“You made me come over in a hurry.  It would not look cool or imposing, why should I bring it?”
She was disappointed.
Jack coughed twice and toned down his voice.  “In actual fact, that…….there is another reason.”
“What?”  She blinked and hoped he would say he purposely did not bring it with him and it was still in the trunk of his car.
In the end, Jack said.  “The chocolates were stolen.”
“What?!  The thief actually stole the chocolates?  Where was it stolen?  Was the car smashed?  Or was the house broken into?”
“Neither.  I didn’t keep it in the car all the time otherwise it would melt.  So I took it home, however I forgot the bag outside while answering a call and opening the door. When I went back, it was stolen.”
Arya’s chin nearly fell off.
Jack also added.  “Then when I went downstairs and passed by the trash bin, I saw ribbons, wrappers and empty bag of my chocolates.”
Arya was transfixed.  Her chocolates not only stolen but also eaten as well!
“Are you an idiot?  How can you forget it outside the door?”  This is really heart-breaking.  How can this brainless man do such a stupid thing?
“How do I know someone will steal it?”
Arya glared at him and he looked back at her with an innocent expression. 
Arya kicked Jack out of the house.
When he said those irrelevant selfish words of love, she did not kick him out but when she learned the tragic end of the her chocolates, she kicked him out.  Jack was so angry that he said.  “Unless you take the initiative to contact me, otherwise I won’t come to look for you.” and other similar ruthless words.
Arya ignored him and when she thought of so many branded chocolates got stolen, her heart ached.  ….in the end, it was all ruined by the man’s IQ.
She punched the sofa madly…….when a man is stupid, he is not even comparable to a pig!
While she was observing a moment of silence her phone rang. She was startled.  If it is Jack who is calling, she will surely give him an earful again.  When she thought of her chocolates, her heart started to ache again.
The call was from Sophia.
Suddenly Arya remembered an important matter.
“Soph, let me tell you.  Today, a woman came to look for you and she said her name is Rene.”  She paused and was thinking how to tell Soph about this incident when unexpectedly, Soph said.  “I know.”
“You know?”
“Yes, she called me.”
Arya was a bit surprised.
Sophia said.  “She could not find me at home, so she called me.  I’m sorry that my problem had created trouble for you.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.  Are you alright?”
“I’m fine and I’m feeling good.  That man is my first love.  When I was in college, I met him while I was working part-time.  That time, I felt he was handsome and good-natured and he was also romantic.  He pursued me passionately and I was moved.  Strictly speaking, that was the most serious love affair that I ever had and that was the only one time that I had the intention of marrying.  Later, I discovered that he was having a love affair with another woman.  To put it plainly, he had his two feet on two boats.  He liked me for being beautiful and passionate and he also liked the other woman for being matured and wealthy.  After knowing about this, I went to look for that woman……..”
“Ah, you went to look for her?”
“Yes.  I had also done this kind of thing before.”  At the other end of the line, Sophia ridiculed herself.  “I was just like the Rene of today.  I wanted to have a look, to see what kind of woman that could make him unable to let go.  Is she better than me?  Is she more captivating than me?  When I went there, then only did I find out that she is his first love.  Arya, there are so many interesting things in this world.  The woman is two years older than Max and is his first love.  He is two years older than me and is my first love.”
Arya listened to her quietly.  She knew that Sophia had taken the call from Rene and she must have a lot of things that she wanted to say to vent out her feelings.
Sophia continued.  “The two of them had separated but later they met again and came back together again.  That woman told me that she knew who I was but Max was unable to let her go.  His affection for her was deeper than mine, so she was not worried and she said she would definitely win.  Then I went to look for Max and told him about our conversation.  I asked him what he actually felt in his heart.  He could not answer.  He admitted his mistake and repented.  He asked me to give him a bit more time to settle it.”
“And then?”
“Of course, I didn’t give him time!  Why should the man decide on my victory or defeat?  I dumped him and I won!”  Sophia said forcefully.  Arya who was listening felt her heart hurt.
“Arya, let me tell you.  You have to treat love as a game and you will feel more relaxed.  There is no winner or loser, just enjoyment.”
Arya did not know how to answer.  Is this the reason why Sophia had been frequently changing boyfriend after boyfriend?
“Love stories are very good.  They tell me every kind of love modes and feelings.  They talk about palpitating eagerness, passionate delight, sweet happiness, all of which I had enjoyed. Arya, I had told you before that what is written in the love novels are all true.  I totally believe it because I have experienced and enjoyed it.
“Um.”  Arya felt sourness in her nose and nodded.  She could already imagine on the other end of the line, Sophia’s appearance with her moist eye rims.
Enjoyed it……but never possessed it!
There is no winner or loser in the game but there is hurt!
Finally, Arya could hear muffled sounds of Sophia crying on the other end of the phone.  She did not disturb Soph and grabbed a few pieces of tissue to silently wipe the tears that flowed from her own eyes.
The two women held on to the phone for a long time and finally they calmed down.  Suddenly Sophia said.  “Arya, thank you.  I really like you.  You are completely different from me but I feel very comfortable with you.  During such times, you are the only one I can pour out the feelings in my heart.”
“The both of us crying like this make us look like we’re mental cases.”  Arya said.
Sophia burst into loud laughter.  “Arya, at this time, shouldn’t you be comforting me?  Instead, you are actually saying I am mentally sick.”
“I clearly said…… both of us.”
Sophia laughed again.  “Yes, normal women are mentally sick.”
“What about those not normal?”
“Those not normal don’t have any illnesses.”
Arya smiled.  “Soph, why do I think your words make sense when your words are illogical?”
“Because you are mentally sick!”
The two women laughed.
“Actually, what is so funny with those words?  However, I still think it’s funny.”  Arya pulled out some tissue paper and wiped the tears that flowed after laughing so much.
Sophia said.  “I want to tell you something that is even funnier.”
“What is it?”
“In the end, that Max married his first love, the woman who told me she would win.”
“And then?”  Then how come this Rene appeared?
“Then they divorced…...”
Arya gaped in surprise and heard Sophia choking on her loud laughter on the other side.
“When I heard this news, I really wanted to go and tell that woman ~ you really make me feel so invigorated.”
Arya imagined the scene and could not help but curved her mouth.  She was sure Sophia could really do it. 
“How is Rene now?”  She asked.
“She?  Most probably after reaching your place, her courage had run out.  When she called me, she was crying all the time.  She said she found the wrong person and also said you shut the door and left her standing outside.  Later, a man came and gave her a scolding.”
Arya let out a laugh.  If that was her, she would have cried as well.
“What did you say to her?”  Arya asked.
“I told her I had received the ring.  I also told her all about his betrayal in the past and asked her whether she would still want this kind of man.”
Arya felt a little tensed as she listened.  As expected, Sophia was very sharp and she was able to grasp the point.
“She cried as she spoke.  She said she still wants him because she loves him very much.”
“Then what did you say?”  Arya thought of the young face she saw today.  In fact, Rene did not look like someone who is ferocious.
“I told her that I had also once loved him…..loved him very much as well but in the end, everyone had such an ending.  I told her that a good horse will not return to graze on old pastures, and it is true.  Recently, he really likes to return to old pastures or is it he is infatuated with the taste of the old pastures that still lingered in his mind?   Things that are unobtainable are always the best but not really the best.  It is just because of the discontented feeling a person has when one is not able to obtain something and so I told her to think clearly.”
Sophia paused and said.  “She still said she loves him and she feels that he also loves her.”
Arya sighed.
Sophia said.  “I don’t how to convince her anymore, so I told her, while this man is having a relationship with her, he is also with another woman and he had also sent expensive gifts to the other woman.  If she still thinks that this man still loves her very much, then I have nothing to say.  Anyway, this man is not mine, so it is up to her.”
“And the ring which cost nine hundred dollars was actually sent via express delivery.  There is really no sense of security.  What if it is lost or it is stolen?”  Arya commented and expressed her opinion.
“Arya, is this the point?”  Sophia could not help but reprimanded her.
“Okay.”  Arya quickly changed the topic.  “Since you have told her, how did Rene answer?”  Without waiting for Sophia to answer, she added another sentence.  
“Anyhow, I still think that using express delivery to send the ring is really very upstart, in poor taste and disgusting.”
“Arya…..”
“Okay, I won’t comment on it.  You can continue.”  Her gossip soul was burning with curiosity and she really wanted to listen.
“I told Rene if she is able to figure this out that this man is not worthy of her love, then both of us can sell off the ring and divide the money.  If she feels that this man is worthy of her love and is hell-bent on loving him unconditionally, then I will take all the money for myself and I also told her to help me convey this message to Max.  Of course, later when she divorces him, she must work harder and securing a bit more share of their family property will also be better for her.”
Arya collapsed in laughter.  Soph is truly an awesome woman!
“Oh yes, Rene had said there was a man who claimed to be your boyfriend and gave her a good scolding……was that Dr. Jack?”
“Ah, this……”  Arya felt a little embarrassed and said softly.  “He……suddenly he said he likes me.  We…..we’re now……uh, we’ve discussed everything clearly but it’s a bit confusing.”
“what is so confusing?  Didn’t I tell earlier that if he is not interested in you, he will not provoke you?”
“But didn’t you say you also wanted to pursue him?”
“I tested him to see if he is reliable.  If he just wants to play around, of course, I will advise you to kick him away.  But he doesn’t care about me and even if we were having a meal together, he only wanted to inquire about you.  So he had passed my test.  It’s just that I can’t control how your relationship with him will develop.”
“Ah?  So, that’s actually the case.”
“What do you mean by ‘actually’?  You’re so stupid, and if I tell you too much, you’ll definitely be in a mess.”
“Oh.”
“You’ve already said all the ‘Ahs’ and ‘Ohs’.  Quickly, tell me how are you getting along now?”
“That is…….we’ll see after getting along, and let nature takes its course.  Today, he told me that both of us need not force ourselves to change for each other.  It’s alright as long as we are comfortable and happy with each other.”
“That’s shit talk.  Who will not change when they fall in love?  Don’t you realize that you’ve changed a lot?”
“Ah?  Really?”  She did not feel at all.  She had thought his words made sense.
“However…….”  Sophia laughed on the other side.  “Arya, you can observe him carefully.  If he feels that he had not changed then you can rest assured.  That kind of feeling that slips into your radius without you being aware of it…..is true love.”