57

OLIVIA
I got to my car with a wounded soul. I was too heartbroken to drive.
The hot tears gushing down my eyes succeeded in ruining my makeup. What was left of me was my natural face that had been dented.
I tried to drive out but couldn’t. I find myself being laid back a couple of times already.
A voice said to me, “You’re not going to sit back and watch your life get destroyed, would you? Call Cyril and put an end to this madness.” I wasn’t sure what voice that was or if it meant well to me.
Somehow, I was forced to believe the voice as I picked up my phone to call Cyril over the phone.
Twice I called, and not for once did he respond. I didn’t feel bad because I knew he wasn’t going to answer the phone immediately after what had happened between us in recent times.
Just when I thought he was going to snub me for eternity, my phone rang. Who else would it be if not Cyril?
I took a deep breath to assure myself, “Olivia, you can do this. Don’t give him the slightest idea that you’re down,” I muttered succinctly before going ahead to answer the phone.
“Hi,” I feigned a baritone voice to act like I didn’t care, but deep down, I cared the most.
“That’s it? Are you just going to say hi to me? Have I suddenly become a stranger that you would address me in such a manner? The last I checked, you called me first. I tried to return the call and hear what you have to say, and that was the first thing you could say?” Cyril screwed me up and threatened to end the call if I didn’t speak up.
“Your mistress was here earlier. Don’t act like you don’t know what I am talking about,” I hurriedly spoke under immense pressure. I couldn’t handle Cyril’s heat.
“Mistress? Who are you talking about? I’ve got no idea who you’re talking about. If you’re not going to speak in the language I understand, I will end this call, and trust me, this would be the last time you will ever hear from me,” Cyril denied who I was talking to. He was so good at it, and it makes me want to start a comparison between him and the devil.
I salivated. “I was talking about Rene, you son of a bitch. She showed up at the house, threatening me to give up our marriage. Did you put her into this?”
“Excuse me? I did nothing. I’m sure she came on her terms,” he denied without even thinking about it. It’s as though he knew I was going to come up with the question.
“And you expect me to believe you? I’d rather dine with the devil than believe anything from you. I don’t know what she’s up to. However, you must warn her to stop messing with me because I am not going to take it easy on her the next time she tries that,” I warned Cyril on Rene’s behalf. Hopefully, it would be enough to stop Rene from pulling up that stunt on me ever again.
“Is this why you called? I thought you were smarter than this. If you have issues with Rene, go sort it out with her and leave me the heck alone. I’ve moved on. I suggest you do the same,” Cyril cursed me and ended the phone before I could speak further.
I kept glaring at my phone, wondering if I was hallucinating.
I glared at the phone multiple times to confirm if Cyril was still on the phone.
It took me a while to realize that he was off the phone.
As I drove to the company, I kept thinking of how I found myself in the dilemma called marriage.
“Ten years of marriage, and this is how he chose to repay me? I should have left him to die in the hospital. Why did I save him?” I said to myself. I hated myself for sacrificing my happiness just to be the perfect wife he’d always wanted.
Most especially, Kate for making me do this. She forced me to stay back in the hospital to look after Cyril.
I already had plans to go on vacation in Singapore until she showed up with her crazy idea and ruined everything.
I lost both my marriage and my trip to Singapore. That would have been a perfect time to cool off from the stress and trauma I’ve been plagued with lately.
I finally arrived at the company after pulling over by the roadside multiple times to calm my nerves. I was close to colliding with a vehicle approaching from a distance because I was lost in deep thought.
I stayed back inside the car to summon the courage needed to step down and go speak with some of the staff.
It’s been a few days away from the office. Surely, the staff would be so excited to see me. But how do I welcome them in my pathetic situation?
Perhaps I may need to head to a conference meeting, and Cyril shows up from nowhere and starts glaring at me awkwardly.
The minute I stepped foot outside, the first person who welcomed me back to the office was Brendan Fraser, the company’s auditor. I tried my best to hide from her, but she saw me first, making it difficult for me to run.
“Good morning, ma’am. It had been a while without you. We are so thrilled to have you back,” she smiled at me.
“It feels good to be back, too. I can’t wait to get back to work. I’ve missed my office,” I teased her with a fake smile.
To keep up with the plan, I kept tossing countless jokes at her to stop any form of suspicion from me.
I thought she was going to be the last person I would speak to, but I was wrong.
The number of staff that welcomed me back made me so uncomfortable. I was starting to think that I had gone missing for years.
“Kate gotta explain to me what’s going on. Are these people aware of what happened in my marriage?” I asked myself. That best describes my situation better.
It’s weird to believe that I’ve suddenly become the most loved among my staff.
I arrived at the reception only to meet Rene seated comfortably with her legs crossed.
I stopped to imagine what was going on.
I wiped the dirt off my eyes to be certain I wasn’t dreaming.
“But she was home with me before. How did she end up here?” I thought. Nothing ever made sense to me.