Nicole waited for Rafael to call her for the next one week, but he didn’t call her, nothing, it was as if nothing happened between them that night, after one week of no call, she decided to call him, not like she wanted to do anything much, she just wanted to figure out if he remembered and pretended as if nothing happened or if he didn’t remember at all, she sat on her bed in her room holding her phone, if he hasn’t changed, he would be home from work already and this was the right time to call, she dialed his number, and waited patiently for him to pick up, if he doesn’t pick the first time, she didn’t know if she will call him again, thankfully, he picked up.
“Hello? Rafael?”
She called but there was no reply.
“Rafael, it’s Nicole, I wanted to check if you are fine, I am sorry I left before you woke up, that day,”
She said, she said those words because she wanted to find out if he remembered what happened.
“This is not Rafael, this is his girlfriend Josie, why are you calling my man so late at night?”
“Oh my God, I am sorry, I just wanted to speak to him, can you put him on the phone please?”
“Why? What do you want to tell him? You can tell me and I will give him your message, he stepped out to get something and I don’t want you disturbing us when he returns,”
The lady replied, Nicole bit hard on her lips before deciding to just say anything other than why she had called originally, she already established that she was rude from their encounter that day and the way she had talked to her as if they had passed beef.
“Can you tell him that I am going to open the hotel by the weekend after Christmas, I thought he should know since it’s his gift,”
“What? Rafael gifted you a hotel? When?”
“Huh, a long time ago, I want to start using it now,”
She responded, Rafael must not have told her about the hotel, she didn’t mind what his reasons were.
“Wow, I will give him your message just don’t call him like this again,”
“Wait, who are you to tell me what and what not to do?”
Nicole asked suddenly feeling offended, she didn’t have a right to talk her what to do, she met Rafael first, yes Rafael might be with her now but she was damn sure she had some much with Rafael than the new woman did, she wasn’t about to let her give her rules.
“I am in no mood to argue with someone I can’t see, let’s meet face to face and talk, I have been wanting to speak to you since our encounter the last time, so what do you say? Let’s meet up, I think we have a few things to clear up, for one has a lot to say to you and I know you might do too,”
“I wasn’t arguing with you,”
“Still I wanna meet with you, I have something to say, except you are scared.
Nicole had to resist the urge to laugh, she was scared? Why would she be? She didn’t have to agree to meet with her, she knew she could just say no and stay on her own but she felt like the woman was challenging her and she couldn’t just sit and do nothing.
“Okay fine, text me the address and time and I will be there,”
She said and ended the call, she threw her phone on her bed and laid down beside it, she didn’t let the lady Josie or whatever she was called get to her, she shouldn’t mind what her relationship was with her ex-husband.
“Yeah right, you know you are jealous,”
The voice in her head whispered.
“No, I am not, don’t have the time to be,”
She replied and closed her eyes, this is why she was doing so much at the same time, it keeps her mind away from thinking about useless stuff like right now, she was tired and was more ready to fall asleep than stay up thinking about what the lady said and she fell asleep a few moments later.
When she woke up it was already morning, she had a lot to do today and she didn’t have any energy, starting her day with a shoot for the brand she was representing, now she regrets signing that God damn deal, she hadnt been thinking straight when she did but she couldn’t back out either, she lazily got off the bed and sluggishly took herself to the bathroom to wash up after which she got dressed and left the house to go about her her new normal life, she couldn’t say she liked the attention she was getting, no that wasn’t it, she just didn’t want to be alone, maybe this was her way of coping, at least now she was busy almost twenty four hours of the day and didn’t have time to sit and pity herself, heck she didn’t even have time to think about the fact that Rafael’s new woman was now living with him, okay she thought about it a little but she knew it would have been worst if she had been locked up in her studio, of course she didn’t give art away, no, that was her baby and she wasn’t going to stop doing what she loves the most, she was just adding more.
“Hi, mom, dad,”
She greeted her parents whom she met in the sitting room when she got back.
“Nicole, you are all over the place that I am getting scared,”
Her mom said, she sounded genuinely worried but she didn’t have to be.
“Why would you be a scared mom? I am doing fine,”
“I know, but you have changed so much and in such a short time that I don’t know how to take all these,”
“Mom, I didn’t change,”
“Yes you did, first you didn’t have a problem with talking on camera, then you went ahead and signed a deal, now you are always busy, I feel like we have a hand in this,”
“Mom, I made these decisions, I spent Twenty-six years of my life hiding away, from nothing if I may add, right now, I am doing me if I feel I am in too deep trust me I can take a break, you guys don’t have to be worried about me, I am doing fine I promise,”
She assured her parents who didn’t look convinced.
“We don’t have a choice but to believe you,”
Her mom said, she thanked them and went up to her room, she had a tiring day today and she still had to write out the plans she had for the hotel tonight, she has been postponing it for too long and it was only a few days to Christmas and she planned to start operating after Christmas, it would still be the holiday season.
She laid tired on her bed, she hasn’t had a lot of time to rest in a while, after she opens the hotel, she would take a break, she got off the bed, took her bath and came to sit at her reading table with her laptop in front of her.
Nicole went ahead and wrote out the plans she had and just how many people she was thinking of employing, her budget was to start with about a hundred people, she was meeting up with her family legal adviser tomorrow and they would go over everything she had together, she already spoke to Gavin and he agreed to help her out, the funds were there too, Rafael left her much money than she thought, she was almost a billionaire without even knowing it.
“Nicole? Can we talk?”
Natalie said her head popping out of Nicole’s door, she was shocked to hear her sister’s voice, she knew she would be home for Christmas but she hasn’t been expecting her yet, this was the first time she was talking to her since, after the party, Nicole quickly dropped what she was doing.
“Sure, we can, come in,”
“Can we do it in my room? That’s where it all started from,”
“Okay,”
She answered getting following her sister to her room, she had wanted to have this talk for so long and was glad Natalie was the one that requested it.
“So, I don’t know where we should start from the bit you know this is long overdue, as much as I am in the wrong for what happened,”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Natalie, it was just an accident, no one saw it coming,”
She let out, she couldn’t let Natalie blame herself for what happened, she has spent too long doing just that.
“You said that before and I can tell you that you are wrong, I did push you that night, even though I had no intentions of what happened happening but I did push you,”
“Still doesn’t change the fact that it was an accident, I am fine and I am over it, I don’t hold what happened against you and you shouldn’t do that to yourself either,”
Nicole replied, she wanted to say more but at the same time felt it was right to give Natalie the space to voice out everything.
“Huh, how do we continue this?”
“Anyhow you want us to continue Natalie, it’s up to you,”
She encouraged, Natalie, looked at her, and looked away.
“I am sorry for everything Nicole,”
Her sister apologize, Nicole suddenly felt emotional, her eyes watered.
“It’s fine Natalie, I missed you so much, and I am so sorry too for not sticking to our plan and taking Rafael from you,”
She said moving closer to her sister.
“No, I was wrong Nicole, you didn’t steal him from him, I never had him to begin with, he as never been mine, I was just too stupid and too blinded by jealousy to see that but Rafael only cared about you, it was you who he saw the night we first met, you who he talked to first,”
Nicole didn’t know what Natalie was talking about, his would she meet Rafael without knowing she did,”
“I can see you don’t remember, let me refresh your memory,”
She voiced.
“No, I know what I am saying Nicole, you were the one that attended the party that night not me remember?”
“What party?”
Nicole asked, she couldn’t remember meeting Natalie until her sister showed him to her, she would have remembered.