“I know your mother just left”. Carolyn said as she answered the phone.
“You should have given me a heads-up. I almost had a heart attack.” Vanessa queried her friend.
“I’m sorry about that. She caught me unexpectedly, and you know I’m not good at impromptu lies.”
“You even told her about Emmy.” Vanessa was disappointed that Carolyn had snitched on her.
“I had to. She has to stop pressuring you about marriage. Moreover, she needs to know your side of the story”. Carolyn explained frankly.
“My side of the story should be told by me, not anyone else.” Vanessa said angrily. “I have my reasons for keeping the truth away from her.”
“Calm down, Vani. You are getting worked up over something small.” Carolyn interrupted her.
“This is not something small, Carolyn. This is a subject that has damaged my love life, and my trust in people. I can’t decipher the truth from lies anymore. Everything has become confusing for me. ” Vanessa’s voice trembled as she rambled without a pause.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. You know I was just trying to help you ease your burden. I didn’t know it would turn out badly.” Carolyn said her apologies.
“I think Emmy is back in town.” Vanessa dropped the news.
The revelation met Carolyn unexpectedly. “What? How? She stuttered. “How did you know that?
“His picture is all over the city. He is the new face of his father’s company.” Vanessa revealed.
“What will you do about it? Carolyn inquired. She knew how traumatic it was for Vanessa after Emmy beat her out of his office. Definitely, facing Emmy won’t be an easy task.
“Are you ready to face him if you eventually meet him? Carolyn added
“I don’t want to think about it. I hope I will never have to meet him.” Vanessa answered.
With a sigh, Carolyn said “Vanessa, your happiness should be your priority. If you are happy on your own, you should stay happy. I will always support your decision.”
“Why are you bringing that up again? Are you not tired of saying the same thing? Vanessa queried.
“You can’t avoid it forever. I think Dawson is back. I will talk to you later.”
“Wife of the year, talk to you later.” Vanessa said goodbye before ending the call.
Avoiding a challenge doesn’t mean victory and, at the same time, doesn’t mean defeat. Vanessa knew that for sure. But she can not fight what she didn’t even understand. Truly, she caught Emmy cheating on her, but had Emmy been doing it before she caught him? Or, was that his first time he had done it? She didn’t get the chance to know because he had slapped her afterward.
Even as confused as Vanessa was, she was certain that she would never stay with any man who could raise his hands on her. No, she would never settle for that. At the same time, she wasn’t sure if she had reconciled with Emmy if he had apologized for cheating instead of hitting her.
She has categorized men as the same since then. If Emmy, who was as gentle as a lamb, could do such things to her, therefore, she thinks the right thing is to never expect much from them.
Her thoughts shifted to Dawson, Carolyn’s husband. It was no news that Dawson was a Casanova as a bachelor before his arranged marriage to Carolyn. She remembered the rumors she heard before Carolyn’s wedding that Dawson’s girlfriend then would try to create a scene on the wedding day. Thank goodness she didn’t do it, it would have added to Carolyn’s nightmares.
Vanessa really wanted to believe that Carolyn and Dawson are doing well because Carolyn only had testimony about Dawson turning out to be a good husband. The question on Vanessa’s mind was, if Dawson could change his ways, could Emmy have changed?
Was that even possible? She shakes off the hope building inside of her. As she engaged in her thoughts, her mind drifted to Darryl. Darryl, the recent pain in her ass. Even if everyone could change, she knew Darryl would never change. She remembered her first encounter with him. How could he be on a date with someone else and still follow her to the hotel room to flirt?
Darryl should be crowned king of flirts, KOF. Maybe that is what she would call him now. She really couldn’t tolerate Darryl’s lifestyle because it only brought back the memory of Emmy cheating on her. She only hoped Darryl didn’t have a serious relationship because she already felt sympathy for the woman even without knowing her.
Thinking about Darryl, he was in a foul mood today. What exactly would have happened to him? She wondered, thinking deeper than ever. She could not get a relatable answer to what might have happened to him. After so much thought, she gave up. Wait, why was she concerned about his foul mood? She asked herself.
Shaking off her worried thoughts, Darryl was not her business. If anyone ever deserved a foul mood, it should be Darryl hearts because he would have broken a number of hearts with his Casanova lifestyle. Oh, did someone break his heart? The question popped up in Vanessa’s mind. The thought alone made her laugh. If this could be true then she had to meet the elevator woman and thank her for breaking Darryl’s heart.
Enough about Darryl, enough about men, she told herself. She got up from the edge of the bed where she had sat down to think. She walked into her bathroom to prepare for the night. She did her usual routine of brushing her teeth, to her facial routine before washing her hair. She washes her hair every night, so she won’t do it in the morning. She took her time in the bathroom, with a towel around her chest and another one on her head, she walked out of the bathroom, feeling fresh as usual.
The chirping sound of her phone stopped her before she could change into her night dress. She took her phone from the dresser to see who sent her a message. Darryl?
Curiosity gnawed at her as she swiped up to read the contents of the message Darryl had sent to her.
‘Meet me now.’ with a location attached to the message. Maybe it was a mistake in his head because she had no reason to meet him. Before she could drop the phone to get changed, Darryl’s name flashed on her phone. He was calling her now, meaning he wanted to talk about the message he just sent.
“Meet me there in twenty minutes’ time. Don’t worry, it is strictly work related,” he said, and immediately he hung up.