OLIVIA
I called Cyril multiple times and he wasn’t taking my calls. I was mad at myself for agreeing to call him, knowing that he was most likely not to respond.
Despite the snub, I was excited that Adrian was there to witness everything, to avoid making it seem like I was telling a lie.
“I do hope you can witness what’s happening. I don’t want to believe that I am seeing things that aren’t real. This is the third time I am going to call him. If he refuses to take my call, I’m going to block him for good. He won’t dare reach me on other social media platforms, too,” I told Adrian. I also warned him not to dare change my mind because I would never listen to him.
“Take a chill pill. It’s too early to conclude. Has it gotten to that extent? I don’t know you to be this harsh. Perhaps, he wasn’t next to his phone; hence he didn’t pick up,”
Adrian defended Cyril for the second time. I terminated the call to focus my attention on him.
“What did you just say? Whose side are you on? Did Cyril pay you to come blackmail me?”
“Of course not.
I am on the side of truth and you know. I love seeing young people in love. I believe you and Cyril would fix whatever issues you are having now,” Adrian added. I suddenly became too weak to respond to him.
“I would rather not listen to this anymore. I’m not calling Cyril anymore and that’s it. There’s nothing you or anyone would do to make me change my mind,” I made the decision and returned the phone to my bag.
“Of course, you can’t reach out to me. I intentionally decided not to speak to you the moment you decided to snub my calls for some stupid reason best known to you.” Cyril walked inside to the shock of everyone.
“How did you even,” I paused to catch a deep breath before I lost my sanity.
I suddenly lost my vocal cords. I wasn’t thinking in the right direction anymore.
I salivated and found my rhythm again. “How long have you been standing there listening to our conversation? Why didn’t you notify me of your arrival?”
“Long enough to know that you are an evil bitch. Why should I notify you of my arrival? You are afraid I will find out about your dirty little secret?”
He responded harshly. He paid no attention to Adrian who was trying to exchange pleasantries with him.
My happiness was not discussing the one-night stand I had with Adrian. If Cyril heard that, all hell would let loose.
“That’s enough. What has gotten into your head? Cyril, I won’t stand here and watch you insult me. If he has anything against me, why not wait until I’m home? This is a reputable organization for crying out loud,” I lashed back at Cyril.
That was the perfect opportunity to pour out my heart to him, knowing he wouldn’t dare to hit me in the presence of Adrian.
“What house are you talking about? Snap out of that illusion, dear Olivia. I made it clear to you that I’ve moved on with my life for good. I’m onto greater heights. Unfortunately, you are stuck in the past. Poor you!” He won’t stop insulting me.
Just when I thought he was done humiliating me, he went to his closest and unleashed the bombshell when he asked me about the check I issued to Rene.
I knew he was going to find out eventually. There’s no way Rene was going to hide it away from him. She never liked me anyway.
But what I never expected was that Rene was going to tell Cyril immediately for him to walk inside my office to embarrass me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can’t you see that Rene is lying? She’s just seeking means to get you closer to her. Don’t believe anything she tells you,” I lied. Even though it was damn obvious that I issued the check to Rene.
“Hold on a second.
In a matter of seconds, we are going to find out who the real liar is,” Cyril dared me. He took out his phone and played a voice recording between me and Rene. It had all the evidence to prove that I was guilty as charged.
“Who’s the liar now?
You could have saved yourself the embarrassment by just admitting to what you did. But no, the stupid ego inside of you decided to act tough,” he taunted me.
I ought to be ashamed of what I did, but the presence of Adrian and Kate assured me that I had nothing to be ashamed of. They already knew about the check.
“That bitch had me on record. I should have known she was a snitch. I am going to strangle her to death when I set my eyes on her,” I prepared my fist, ready to land a heavy punch on Rene’s pink face.
“How do you intend to pay back the money? I made it clear when I warned you not to tamper with the company’s funds?”
“Return what money?
I paid her from personal funds. This has nothing to do with the company. If you still doubt me, I got enough proof to back off my claims,”
I spoke with confidence, yet inside of me was struggling to find its balance.
“Lucky you!
I already planned the nasty things I was going to do to you,” Cyril believed my lies undoubtedly. He didn’t even try to question me to find out if I was telling the truth.
As he made plans to leave, his eyes stumbled on the flower bouquet Adrian brought for me
That was my fear.
I wasn’t bothered about the check.
Silently, I prayed that he was never going to set his eyes on the flower bouquet and he did.
My legs were shaking, yet I tried my best to stay composed to avoid showing any sign of weakness.
“Quite fascinating enough,” he picked up the flower bouquet and showed it to me.
“Who brought you this? Are you having a secret relationship?” He asked enthusiastically. I could see envy in his eyes.
“I don’t understand what’s going on here. Can you explain to me?” I shunned the question to throw shades at him.
“Has it gotten to this?
You now go around town spreading your legs so damn wide for any man you see? Where’s your dignity as a woman?”
“Shut the fuck up, Cyril,”
I silenced him with a thunderous voice. I had no idea what spirit motivated me to speak to him in that tone of voice. Nonetheless, I was grateful it did. It was precisely what I needed at that point.
I just couldn’t stand him humiliating me and getting away with it every damn time.
“It’s okay for you to have a relationship with Rene, yet you don’t want me doing the same? What kind of beast are you?” I clapped back at Cyril and defended my actions even though I wasn’t cheating on him.
“Say that to my face one more time and you will wake up on a sick bed,” he threatened me. I narrowed my gaze down his hand and saw how prepared he was to hurt me.
“You will do no such thing, Cyril,”
Adrian stepped forward to my rescue. I was starting to think he didn’t even exist anymore when he decided to shut his mouth. His involvement played a significant role in removing the pressure on me.