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CRUEL- INTENTIONS
-Chapter Twenty Three-
Unedited
Monday morning, I wake up early and prepare myself for work.
I took time during the weekend to reflect on my marriage and life in general.
With so much going on I think it would be best if Jason and I take time away from each other so that we can both get help. I believe I have some issues that nee-d to be dealt with and he has his own issues too.
I am willing to give our marriage a second chance but first he nee-ds to work on himself.
Julia called yesterday and she told me that Jason agreed to seek help.
I feel better today and I am glad that Jason hasn’t called or texted in the last twenty four hours.
Once I finish getting dressed, I gr-ab my bag and walk out of the room.
‘’And where are you going too?’’ Nita asks
‘’Work.’’
‘’I thought the doctor said you should take some days off.’’
‘’I feel fine.’’
‘’Wendy?’’
‘’I am okay,’’ I respond.
‘’Should I make you something to eat?’’ she asks.
‘’I will gr-ab something at the office.’’
‘’Okay,’’ she responds.
I can tell she has a lot to say, I know my sister very well.
‘’Bye,’’ I say before I walk out of the house.
I get into my car and drive straight to the office.
When I arrive at the office I get myself come coffee and instantly start ma-king calls.
I am in the middle of a call with a client when my office door creaks open and Karen walks in.
She sits on the chair across from mine until I end my call.
‘’Morning,’’ I say.
‘’Morning, how are you?’’
‘’I am fine Kay.’’
‘’It’s Monday and still every early yet you are here alre-ady ma-king calls,’’ she shakes her head.
‘’I have a busy day ahead,’’ I respond.
‘’Okay, Auntie Vee wants to see you,’’ she says.
We call our boss auntie Vee because she is so cool and down to earth. When I first c@m£ here for my internsh!p, she welcomed me very well and she taught me everything I know now.
‘’Okay.’’
I walk out of my office and head to auntie Vee’s office, at her door I knock and wait.
‘’Come in,’’ she says.
I walk into the office and find her talking to her brother Mike.
‘’Hello,’’ I say.
‘’Hi,’’ he responds.
‘’Auntie Vee!’’
She shoots me serious look and then shakes her head.
‘’I thought I gave you some days off,’’ she says.
‘’Í couldn’t stay home, I was going crazy.’’
‘’You nee-d to take it easy with yourself,’’ she says.
‘’I will.’’
‘’And I hope you have not gone back to your husband’s house,’’ she says.
‘’No I haven’t.’’
‘’Great.’’
‘’So you are the famous Wendy?’’ Mike says
I smile shyly.
‘’My sister never gets tired of talking about you and what a great as-set you are to this company.’’
‘’Thank you.’’
‘’You are welcome, I am looking forward to working with you,’’ he says.
‘’What my brother means is that you will be helping him organize his best friend’s engagement dinner, I hope your schedule is not too busy this week,’’ Auntie Vee says.
‘’I could squee-ze him in,’’ I respond.
‘’Great, he will come to your office when he is done here so you can talk, treat him as a client and let him pay more even,’’ she laughs.
‘’I thought I will get a discount,’’ he pouts.
‘’Hell no bro, you are paying in full, there’s no friendsh!pwhen it comes to business,’’ she laughs.
‘’Whatever,’’ he shrugs.
‘’Can I go now?’’ I ask
‘’Yes, I will see you later,’’ Mike says.
‘’Okay.’’
I head back to my office and continue ma-king calls, after setting up all my appointments for the day I start working on the articles for our next issue.
True to his word, Mike comes to my office some thirty minutes later and we talk about the engagement p@rty. This is the first time that I am actually relating to him at a close range and I must admit he is funny and not as scary and rude as most people at the company label him.
‘’I have a few venues that I will s£nd to your whatsapp later in the evening that I think you will like,’’ I say.
‘’Thank you very much, I will be waiting for your message.’’
‘’You are welcome.’’
‘’And I will make payments first thing tomorrow morning.’’
‘’Sure.’’
We both stand up and shake hands before he leaves.
‘’That actually went better than I thought,’’ I say to myself before I continue working on my articles.
****
Lillie and I are sitting side by side on the couch, holding hands and watching television. Lillie got discharged from the hospital two days ago though she has refused to talk about what happened to her.
The doctor suggested that she seeks counseling but she refused, she actually denied trying to kill herself, she said she cut her wrist by mistake, like who does that.
Lillie’s behavior is a bit weird sometimes, one minute she is acting happy the next she is supper mad.
I don’t even know what makes her mad but I suspect something happened to her in the past that she hasn’t gotten over. I wish she could be more open with me so I can help her.
I love a woman who is open and totally transparent with me.
Well maybe I am just thinking too much, I like Lillie a lot and I am hoping that things will work out between us in the end.
‘’Babe!’’ she taps my shoulder.
‘’Yes,’’ I look up at her.
‘’We nee-d to talk,’’ she says.
‘’Okay.’’
She picks up the remote and turns off the TV, I look at her quizzically wondering what she wants to say that she had to switch off the TV in the process.
‘’I have been thinking,’’ she says.
‘’About?’’
She clears her throat, ‘’us.’’
‘’What about us?’’
‘’I think I am re-ady to take the next step in our relationsh!p,’’ she says.
I give her a puzzled look wondering where she is driving to with this conversation.
‘’I don’t un-derstand,’’ I say.
She smiles, ‘’I want us to move in together,’’ she finally says.
‘’What? No!” I exclaim.
‘’What do you mean no.’’
‘’You want us to move in together without getting married?’’ I ask.
‘’Yes.’’
I shake my head, ‘’I don’t think that’s possible, I am not a fan of cohab!tt!g, I love to do things the right way.’’
She pu-lls her hand away from mine and in that moment I notice that her face is drained of colour.
‘’Don’t you love me? Don’t you see me in your future?”’ she asks.
‘’You know I like you and I would love to spend eternity with you.’’
‘’Then let’s move in together,’’ she says.
‘’I want us to do things the right way.’’
‘’fv¢k the right way!’’ she curses before she stands. ‘’This is the twenty first century we can make our own rules.’’
‘’We ba-rely know each other Lillie, we can’t take such a big step.’’
‘’What?’’ she shoots me a confusing look.
‘’I thought we are past that stage.’’
I am about to respond when my phone rings and I pu-ll it out of my pocket.
‘’And who is calling you?’’ she asks
‘’My sister.’’
She gr-abs my phone from my hand and cuts the call.
‘’What the hell?’’
‘’Why is your sister always calling when we are together?’’
‘’Are you serious?’’
‘’This is my time with you, I don’t like it when she interferes.’’
‘’What the hell is wrong with you?’’ I ask.
‘’I want us to move in together.’’
‘’No,’’ I respond.
My phone rings again and that seems to make her angrier, she glances at it for a second before she throws it against the wall so ha-rd that it breaks into tiny pieces. I look at her unable to believe she just did that, I open my mouth to say something but quic-kly shut it, what could I possibly say to her.
‘’I am sorry,’’ she says.
I stand up, gr-ab my car keys and head for the door.
‘’You are running away!’’ she yells and I ignore her, this woman is crazy
-Chapter Twenty Four-
The next morning, I walked into my office and sat down in my chair, placing my bag on t©p of the table. I turned my computer on and while it bolted up, I walked out and went to gr-ab myself some coffee.
Then I walked back into my office and like any morning, I checked my emails and responded to important ones. Then I checked my schedule for the day, I didn’t have a lot of things planned for that day.
I decided I would leave early so I could have time to do my hair and get myself some clothes.
I don’t remember when last I bought something for myself, Jason always made sure he bought most of the clothes I wore. And speaking about Jason, he called me last night and told me about his first counseling session then he also told me he misses me and that he is sorry for causing my miscarriage.
I miss him too but I am still trying to get over what he did, I hope he gets the help he nee-ds so that we can talk and see how best to resolve our marital issues.
Wynita wants me to file for a divorce but I don’t think that’s the right thing to do, I think everyone deserves a second chance especially if they admit they are wrong and they are willing to change.
I was in lost in my thoughts when a knock c@m£ to my door.
‘’Come in,’’ I said looking up so I could see who it was.
‘’Hey!’’ Mike said.
‘’Mike!’’ I gave him an ironic glance.
He was the last person I was expecting to see this early.
‘’Am I welcome here?’’ he asked
I smiled, ‘’Of course you are, you are my client after all,’’ I said.
He smiled and closed the door behind him before he walked towards me, sitting on the empty chair across from mine.
‘’I wasn’t expecting you here today,’’ I said.
‘’For starters I got you some breakfast,’’ he said handing me a bag from burger king.
‘’Thank you,’’ I smiled.
So the previous night, after I s£nt Mike the ph0tos of the different venues, we got talking.
I don’t even know how the conversation moved from work to personal stuff, he told me a lot about him and I did too. I haven’t opened up to someone in ages like I did last night.
It actually felt good to talk to someone about life and stuff.
I sle-pt better last night and I feel light today like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
‘’I am sorry for barging in on you this early, I am not even staying long, I drove my sister here because she didn’t feel like driving today and while we were having breakfast at the café I thought of you and bought you this.’’
‘’Thank you! That’s so thoughtful of you,’’ she said.
‘’You are welcome.’’
‘’So, I s£nt my friend the ph0tos and he like Lush gardens.’’
‘’That’s good.’’
‘’Yes, I will be ma-king payments when I leave your office.’’
‘’Thank you so much for being a reliable client,’’ I said.
‘’You are welcome,’’ he says before he stands up.
‘’And thanks for breakfast once more.’’
‘’Sure,’’ he says before he walks out.
After he leaves I stare at the food he bought me, some men sure are considerate.
Karen walks into my office a minute later, she catches me smiling and she sh0ts me as serious look.
‘’Why do you always get the handsome clients?’’ she whines.
‘’I don’t know,’’ I laughed
‘’And he bought you that?’’ she asked.
‘’Yes.’’
‘’Lucky bit-ch,’’ she rolled her eyes.
‘’What?’’
‘’Oh lord I like that man, you don’t know what I would do to him,’’ she said
‘’How many men are you currently crushing on?’’
‘’The list is endless,’’ she laughed.
‘’I see.’’
‘’Did he have to buy you breakfast?’’ she asked
‘’I don’t know.’’
She shoots me another curious look.
‘’Don’t start ma-king as-sumptions, we are working together on a project and I am a married woman who is de-eply in love with her husband,’’ I wave my ring in her face.
‘’So hook me up.’’
‘’Okay.’’
‘’Are you serious?’’ she squeals with excitement.
‘’No, this is not tinder.’’
‘’Mxxm,’’ she cli-cks her ton-gue.
‘’Madam it’s time to work.’’
‘’Fine but can I have some food.’’
‘’I knew it.’’
****
After I left my sister’s work place I headed straight to the office.
I don’t know why I decided to get Wendy breakfast, I just felt like doing something for her. I hope she doesn’t think am a creep. Last night we talked more than we should have because I ended up asking her some personal questions. You know when I saw Wendy for the first time I could have sworn she was related to Sarah in some way, they look so much alike. And she talks a lot like Sarah- soft and calm.
I guess that’s why my sister likes her and she has always bugged me to meet her.
It’s a pity she is married to such an abusive man, women like Wendy nee-d to be treated with so much love and care, she is such a vulnerable and fragile being.
Anyway, i spent the whole day at work moving from one meeting to the next, by the time I was leaving, I was exhausted and I just wanted to rest. So I drove straight home after work.
Vee told me she would catch a ride with a friend, they were heading for the movies.
When I got home I was surprised to find Liilie’s car parked in my driveway.
I parked my car and stepped out wondering what she was doing here, Lillie and I haven’t talked since she broke my phone, I am currently using one of my sister’s phones I will get a new one over the weekend.
I told Vee about what happened at Lillie’s house and she advised me to end my relationsh!pwith her.
Lillie seems to be unstable that’s not the kind of woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.
I walk towards the front door to find it opened.
I didn’t give Lillie any keys so it’s strange that she is in the house right now.
I walked into the house to find that everything has changed, there are new curtains on the windows and the living room has been redecorated.
‘’What the hell is going on?’’ I wondered as I headed for the be-droom.
I walked into the be-droom to find her folding her clothes.
‘’What is going on here?’’ I asked.
‘’Babe,’’ she smiled.
‘’What are you doing here?’’
‘’I have moved in,’’ she said.
‘’What?’’
‘’I want to live with you I thought I told you.’’
‘’And I told you we couldn’t move in together.’’
‘’I am sorry for breaking your phone, I will get you a new one.’’
‘’This isn’t about the phone.’’
‘’I don’t want to stay alone,’’ she started crying.
‘’Are you serious right now?’’
‘’Yes.’’
‘’You have to pack your things and leave.’’
‘’No,’’ she responded before she sank to the ground and started weeping.
Tbc…