Thankfully, Alyssa was away when she went home. Not in the mood to face her questions, Eva went to her room and quickly changed for bed. She lay down, but the tears wouldn’t stop. Alexander’s sudden announcement had her broken. She didn’t know what to think of Beatrix’s pregnancy. Why would Alexander lie to her if he had enjoyed physical intimacy with Beatrix? She was sure there was an explanation because, as far as she knew Alexander, he never lied. He would have told her if he had any physical intimacy with Beatrix even once. He would rather face her wrath than lie to her!
Eva wiped her eyes dry, feeling determined to move out before Alexander came over to his apartment. She wouldn’t ask him for an explanation or remind him of his promise to her. Even if she died of heartbreak, she would never beg him to accept her in his life, to love her. She would go away to her own little apartment forever, far away from their lives.
The next day, Eva completed all the formalities and received the keys to her apartment. It was Saturday, and she visited her new home after work to check if she could move in immediately. Thankfully, the owner had it cleaned and she could move in the next day, but the biggest hurdle was announcing her decision to Alyssa. She would be very hurt!
Eva returned to Alyssa’s apartment, feeling relaxed and quite pleased with herself. She saw Alyssa sitting in the living room and watching television.
“Guess what? I’ve bought a one-bedroom apartment for myself. I’m moving in tomorrow,” she announced to her friend, who sat with her jaws dropped to the floor.
“Why did you use up the inheritance money, Eva? We were managing fine here, weren’t we?” Eva shook her head slowly and before she could say a word, Alyssa understood why she did it.
“That makes two of us, then. I’ll move in with you. I can sleep in the living room, but I need to get out of here,” said Alyssa, while Eva looked at her friend with surprise.
“It isn’t as posh as this one, Alyssa. The neighborhood also isn’t good enough for you. I don’t think you can live there. I’m broke now and don’t have the means to furnish the house. I’ll do it slowly, so there aren’t any amenities or anything,” she said, but it hardly affected Alyssa.
“I can do without them, but I need my freedom. I’m going crazy staying locked up like this. I need to go as far away from Alexander as possible.” Eva sighed and nodded at her friend, who soon rushed ahead to start her packing. They packed up and, by the next morning, were ready to leave.
The packers and movers they called arrived on time and picked up their stuff while they followed the vehicle in their respective cars.
“I’m sorry, the apartment doesn’t have parking for two. We have to talk to the owner about renting a nearby garage for your car,” said Eva apologetically. “Till then you can use my parking space since your car is expensive. I’ll use the open guest parking.”
“Thanks, Eva.” With the parking problem solved, they went up to the apartment to inspect.
“It’s cute. We only would need living room furniture, but we can buy that later when I get a job,” said Alyssa.
“Do you like it?” asked Eva. Having lived at Alyssa’s apartment for nearly all her growing-up years, this meant the world to her. She wanted Alyssa to like her apartment and share it with her. Over the years, living together with one another had made them inseparable, almost like siblings.
“I love it. We will share the bed, the room, everything,” said Alyssa excitedly while Eva smiled with relief. The packers and movers delivered their stuff and left. The rest of the time, they just arranged their new home.
After a hectic day, they were too exhausted and hungry, with nothing at home to cook.
“I’m totally broke. Maybe we can have some milk and cereal for dinner,” suggested Eva.
“What? No way. I packed all the grocery and food items we had at my apartment and brought them here. It’s all in the refrigerator and pantry. Didn’t you notice?” asked Alyssa, while Eva grinned happily.
“Great, that would suffice till I get my next month’s pay,” said Eva.
“I have money in my account. I’ll pitch in, don’t worry,” said Alyssa, but Eva shook her head.
“No, Alyssa. I won’t accept your dad’s money. If you get a job, you can pitch in from your own salary,” said Eva.
“I understand. Maxwell has cleared my three weeks’ pay and we can use that to survive,” she offered. Eva nodded and the two friends sighed, knowing that they had difficult times ahead of them.
They sat down, sprawled over a rug on the floor of the living room when the doorbell rang. Alyssa looked at Eva quizzically, wondering who it could be. “Did you give your new address to anyone?” she asked, looking at Eva worriedly.
“No, I haven’t. I wonder who it is,” she said, getting up to open the door. To her immense surprise, there stood Maxwell at her doorstep with food packets in his hands. Eva gaped at him, wondering how he knew where she had moved into. Alyssa got up nervously, seeing her ex-boss right in front of her. Did Nicholas accompany him?
“Hello, how are you doing, Eva? I thought you would be too tired to make dinner. So I brought some food over,” he said with a smile. Eva moved away to allow him inside.
“Thanks, Maxwell, but how did you know where I live? I don’t remember telling you,” she asked, looking lost. Maxwell looked ill at ease and glanced at a curious Alyssa briefly.
“Nicholas told me actually,” he admitted, making both their jaws drop in shock.
“What? How the hell does Nicholas know about this place?” demanded Alyssa angrily.
“I think you should ask him instead,” said Maxwell while Eva took the food packets from him and placed them on the floor in front of the rug where they would eat. She then went into the kitchen to get the plates and cutlery.
“I’m not interested in talking to him, thanks,” grumbled Alyssa, while Maxwell shrugged.
“Why have you moved out? Is it because of Nicholas or your brother?” asked Maxwell curiously.
“Neither. I have moved out because I want my freedom. I want to work wherever I want to instead of having my stepdad’s business dumped on me,” she said in defiance. Maxwell nodded and sat down on the rug.
“You could give your stepdad’s business a try. Why judge it before even trying? You can always leave if you don’t enjoy handling it,” suggested Maxwell, but Alyssa shook her head vigorously.
“No, I hate him as well as his business. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. Can you give me a work experience certificate?” she asked with a sigh, thinking about the task that lay ahead of her. She would have to look for a job all over again.
“I will give you that, but I have a better idea. A friend of mine needs a PA with a finance background. Would you be interested?” asked Maxwell, but Alyssa was immediately on her guard.
“Friend? Who? Nicholas?” she asked Maxwell, who chuckled without answering her.
Eva came out and handed them their plates. They served the food and ate hungrily nearly after a whole day, having skipped their lunch earlier. Maxwell cleverly diverted Alyssa’s mind away from the discussion and instead started narrating his experience about the first day he shifted out of his parents’ house. He gave them tips on how to save up, and how to fix themselves quick meals before and after work.
The food was delicious, but then everything tasted heavenly on an empty stomach. Maxwell was very down-to-earth and helped clear their dinner as well. They sipped the wine Maxwell brought to celebrate their first day in Eva’s new apartment. Eva seemed impressed by his thoughtfulness and thanked him again and again. She didn’t have many people in her life who cared about her. However, Alyssa noted she was rather sad than happy in her new surroundings, as if she had left her heart back somewhere. Her forced laughter and stressed face broke her heart, knowing that her heart wanted Alexander here rather than Maxwell.
Maxwell got up to leave but stopped at the door as if remembering something important. “Alyssa, if you want the job, you can come down to my office tomorrow at 8 o’clock in the morning. The pay is four times what you used to get at my company. Think about it,” he said, while Alyssa looked at him in disbelief. He left without waiting for her reply, closing the door shut after him.
“What job was he talking about? The pay is too good, Alyssa. Please take it up,” said Eva, clasping her hands earnestly.
“I’ll think about it,” said Alyssa.