81

OLIVIA
“Why does it have to be today of all days? What the heck is going on in my life?” I bemoaned and kept Kate in suspense.
She couldn’t help but rack her head to find out why I was unsettled. All her efforts to get the truth from me proved abortive.
And me? I was too shocked to move my lips, let alone explain to Kate the reason for my unstableness…
“So, I just got a text from Adrian,” I managed to say a few words and then fell into silence again.
“And? Please don’t stop talking,” Kate begged.
She paid attention to what I wanted to say and forgot why she had even stopped by my office.
Just as I was about to conclude, Cyril angrily walked inside my office. He nearly destroyed the door with the way he slammed it.
“Kate, I guess your answer is here,” I told Kate, referring to Cyril.
“I want to have a word with you, and I need Kate to leave now,” Cyril slammed the desk in full rage.
“I guess I have to return,” Kate mumbled and stormed out of the office. She had already witnessed everything with her eyes; there was no point in asking her to leave.
“You might want to be careful how you walk inside my office, Cyril. What if I was with a client?” I confronted Cyril, but with a calm tone.
It would be difficult to tell that a confrontation was happening inside my office due to how I spoke to Cyril.
He got closer and nearly spat in my face. “I don’t bloody care. Have you forgotten so soon? This is my company. I do whatever I want. I show up whenever, however I want. And there’s nothing you or anyone can do about it.”
“Wow! Bravo!” I applauded Cyril and went a few meters away from him.
I picked up an apple from my desk and chewed on it. I never thought I would be that courageous to confront Cyril without being scared. When I got the text from Adrian that Cyril was heading to the company, my heart left my body due to fear. A few minutes later, I was inside the same space with Cyril and still breathing fine.
“The way you always brag about the company, one might think that you contribute a lot. The last time I checked, I’ve been the one running this company successfully since we got married. Without me, it would have crashed. That’s not all. Do I need to remind you that the staff recognizes me as the CEO more than you?” I clapped back at Cyril.
It was the bravest moment of my life. I would pay any amount to see that happen again.
“Watch your tongue, woman. Without me, you are nothing. I practically made you who you are today,” Cyril looked me in the eyes and said.
I scoffed. “What a fallacy.”
“You said you wanted to see me, didn’t you? Go straight to the point immediately. I was doing something critical before you showed up,” I returned to my seat.
Seeing how problematic Cyril was, I knew I needed to quit the argument. With the energy he came in with, it didn’t seem like he would be ready to back out soon. We might as well spend the entire day arguing over nothing.
“What was Adrian doing here? Don’t you dare pretend as though you don’t know what I am talking about because I saw him stepping out of this company. I am pretty sure he came to see you, didn’t he?” Cyril questioned me.
I didn’t feel a shock. I had been patiently waiting for him to ask, but he decided to begin with violence to weaken my mind.
Too bad, it didn’t work for him.
It would have been a different story if Adrian had never texted me that Cyril was coming. That text alone prepared my mind for what was about to come.
“Yes, he came to see me. Do you have a problem with that?” I admitted.
There was no need to deny it when they had already seen each other outside. I could only imagine the altercation that might have occurred between them.
“Unbelievable! She’s not even afraid to admit it. What the fuck just happened?” Cyril mumbled.
“Hold on a second. Was I supposed to deny it? Hell no! Of course, he was here. And the last time I checked, we have a deal with his uncle, which makes Adrian the representative. For that reason, he is entitled to visit anytime he wants. You don’t expect me to stop him from coming, do you?” I defended myself.
I didn’t give Cyril the impression that something else aside from business was going on between Adrian and me.
“I see,” Cyril nodded.
“Is that why you’re fucking him?” he alleged.
“Excuse me?” I got up in frustration. “I will tolerate everything from you, but what I can’t stand is seeing you refer to me as a whore. Do you think everyone is like you, going around having sex with everything under a skirt?”
“Of course, you are excused. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you both haven’t had sex with each other,” Cyril dared me.
I was cold. He somehow got me on that one.
I was calm for a second. Not because I didn’t know what to say, but because I feared that speaking in a way that showed weakness would make him believe that he was right.
“Oh, you are not speaking anymore? What happened to your tongue? You suddenly lost it?” Cyril mocked me.
The son of a bitch made me vulnerable.
It was at that moment I knew it was time to act fast. I couldn’t rely on my confidence anymore.
I had no idea how long I intended to hold on. A little pressure from Cyril, and I might start spewing things that never happened.
To prevent that from happening, I quickly went to the door and pointed toward the outside. “Now, I want you to leave immediately. I can see that you haven’t moved on. You’re still obsessed with me.”
“Not so fast, my dear. You have to see this,” he said.
Slowly, he brought out his phone from his pocket and gave it to me.
I relented. “What should I do with this shit?” I didn’t even bother looking at the phone.
“Just take a look at what’s showing on the screen. After that, I promise to leave,” he said.
I didn’t want to check the phone at first, but when I heard that he was going to leave, I was tempted to.
Behold, I saw something that nearly had my eyes plucked out.
My hands were literally shaking. He had to snatch the phone from me immediately.
“Where did you get those pictures from?” I stuttered.
It was some photos of myself with Adrian inside the car in a different romantic position. We were almost captured kissing.
“It’s none of your business how I got the photos. Do you now admit that you are cheating on me?” Cyril asked again.
I sighed.
I couldn’t lie further.
I just went back to get seated. I exhausted every bit of strength inside of me.
“I am going to ask you again. Are you going to admit that you had sex with Adrian?”
“Yes, I did,” I confessed.
I didn’t even know when the words came out of my mouth.
“I had sex with Adrian, and guess what? I’ve got no regrets whatsoever. Why are you so bothered as though you cared? You are not a saint either.”
“Excellent! What a performance that is,” he applauded me.
I was expecting him to be mad at me, but he wasn’t.
“Hold on a second! I just told you I had sex with Adrian. Aren’t you going to be mad at me?” I felt the need to ask. It was quite unlike Cyril.
“Mad at you? Of course not. Why should I be?” He made wicked laughter, leaving me guessing what he was plotting.
He took out his phone and played the voice recording of our conversation.
“I believe you heard that, didn’t you? That’s going to be evidence against you in court. Get ready to hear from my lawyer soon because I am finalizing the divorce process.”
He left after that performance.
He didn’t wait for me to speak.
Once again, I was outplayed in my half like an amateur.
What a shame!