OLIVIA
I looked at Kate and saw the smile on her face. It was the motivation I needed for such a delicate situation.
“How dare you talk back to me? Answer the damn question, Lydia. Who told Adrian about Rene?” Like a lion ready to devour its prey, Cyril roared at me just when I thought I had overcome him.
I suddenly became scared. I had already exhausted the strength inside of me. I could barely defeat a five-year-old in such a mood.
I wished for Adrian to come through for me. He was the only one I could depend on. The last time he came through for me, the burden inside of me was rolled away.
I winked at Adrian to come through for me, but he wasn’t looking in my direction. It became clear to me that I was alone in the situation.
I felt the pressure to apologize immediately and let everything slide. On second thought, I considered how shameful it would be if I let that happen. I had already proved to Cyril that I could withstand him.
“Cyril, let it go. You caused the poor lady trauma. How long do you want to keep hurting her?” Adrian cautioned Cyril. He touched Cyril and pulled him back.
Instantly, I became the happiest woman on Earth. The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived. Although it took a lot of time to happen.
“Get those flighty hands off me this minute. I didn’t come for you,” Cyril warned Adrian. It was about to get messier, and I was loving every bit of the drama.
With Adrian in the picture, I figured it would be difficult for Cyril to hurt me.
“Lay your hands on her, and you will spend the rest of your life behind bars.” Like a fearless warrior, Adrian spoke. He gave me a thousand reasons to regret why I should have married him instead of Cyril.
“Are you threatening me now? Do you realize that you are intruding in my affairs? She can’t possibly fold her arms and watch you get me arrested,” Cyril boasted. Despite how he treated me like a piece of shit, he was still confident that I wasn’t going to betray him.
I refused to get myself involved in their altercation because I was confident that Adrian was going to handle it perfectly.
“You wish. You must be the greatest fool on Earth if you think Lydia would support you after everything you did to her. If I were you, I would leave immediately,” Adrian threatened Cyril to leave. He took out his phone and started calling some numbers.
It wasn’t clear to me what he was doing. However, I was hoping it would be for my benefit.
“I am calling the cops right now. That should tell you that I wasn’t kidding when I spoke about you spending the rest of your life behind bars,” Adrian said. He flashed the phone across Cyril’s face to confirm the name showing on the screen.
Cyril sighed and placed both hands on his waistline. He knew for sure that the battle was over and there was nothing he could do about it anymore.
“You think this is over? You are joking because I will be back. And when I do, ensure the money you paid Rene is replaced,” Cyril issued the final warning to me before walking away.
A few minutes after his departure, I was still shivering like a kid. I imagined his presence around my office. The last few words he said to me were still stuck in my head like glue.
“Are you okay?” Kate hurriedly rushed to embrace me firmly. She consoled me as though I just lost someone dear to me.
“Nothing is wrong with me. I am doing perfectly fine,” I replied. While facing the ground in shame, I struggled to fight back my tears that were dropping into tiny particles.
“You are crying, yet claim to be doing fine? I don’t believe that. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?” Kate suggested.
It was a brilliant suggestion. Although, I feared that Cyril might show up again. That time, I would be alone, and he would definitely hurt me and get away with it.
“No, I don’t want to go home,” I tossed off my chair at full speed.
I looked at Adrian. “Do you still want to take us shopping? Or do you want to act like Kate?”
“Oh, me?” Adrian pointed to himself in shock. He didn’t see the question coming. It caught him unawares.
“But Kate just said,” he uttered, but I was quick to cut in. “Kate said what? Oh, you now take orders from her? The last time I checked, you were taking me shopping and not her. Why does he have to be the one to decide?”
I raised my voice at Adrian, even when I shouldn’t have. I was mad at the wrong person when the man who hurt me was walking freely outside.
“Fine! If that’s what you want, who am I to oppose it?” Adrian agreed to my command without further argument.
As we were about to leave, I called him back. “Adrian, please wait.”
He obeyed immediately and looked at me suspiciously. He couldn’t help but wonder what I wanted to speak to him about. It wasn’t too long ago that we nearly had a heated argument.
“Thank you for everything!” I appreciated Adrian and embraced him firmly. The embrace made me feel good. It took my pain away and made me feel like a human again.
Adrian couldn’t even reciprocate the same energy. He dropped his hands to his pocket in the utmost confusion. Different questions plagued his head, making it difficult for him to respond.
I spent minutes wrapping myself around Adrian, I forgot that we needed to step out.
Not until Adrian cleared his throat.
“We have shopping to do.”
“Sorry, that’s true. I got carried away,” I apologized, freed myself from him immediately.
That was the best five minutes of my life I was never getting back. I would pay a fortune to recreate the memory again.