-Episode Twenty one
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“People don’t abandon people they love. People abandon people they were using.”
Today is absolutely the worst day of my life. I am lying on the floor looking up at the ceiling unable to move. My head is spinning and my heart is sad.
I have been crying so hard, I can’t seem to control my emotions.
I woke up this morning to photos of Wesley’s engagement, apparently he asked Lulu to marry him last night. People have been tagging me on facebook, some have been calling and texting me.
My phone is flooded with photos of Wes and his fiancé.
The reality is finally sinking in, he has officially moved forward. For five good years I waited for that ring and she just popped up from nowhere and grabbed it, this should have been me.
I should have been the one at the dinner last night I should have been the one receiving those congratulatory messages. I have been going through Lulu’s photos because I am trying to understand why her?
What does she have that don’t? Ten months down the line and he has already proposed? Lord you need to give me strength because it feels like my heart is breaking all over again. I didn’t think he would propose this soon.
Amidst my thoughts, my phone suddenly rings and I almost shriek.
When I answer, I hear a familiar voice laughing loudly on the other end of the line.
‘Zaria Nel.’
‘Who am I talking to?’
‘I am your worst nightmare.’
I roll my eyes, ‘I seriously don’t have time to waste this morning.’
‘How does it feel to emotionally, physically and financially invest in man only for him to walk away and marry another?’ she sarcastically asks. I finally realise who is on the other end of the line, it’s Lulu.
‘You won, you had the last laugh did you have to call me to torment me more?’
‘No darling, I just wanted to say thank you for building this man for me, my children and I will forever be indebted to you,’ she laughs
‘You are welcome.’
‘Wesley and I will be getting married in three months time I will not forget to send you an invitation card my darling. Or maybe you would like to be part of my wedding committee?’
I abruptly end hung up the phone and dissolve in tears.
‘Zaria, I just..’ Melanie walks into the room and stops in her tracks when she sees me.
‘I just saw photos on facebook,’ she says.
She sits down on the floor next to me and holds my hand. My crying is so intense that for a while, I am unable to talk. ‘It’s going to be okay.’
Finally I blurter out amid my thoughts, ‘He is marrying her, my Wes is marrying another woman.’ ‘I know darling, I am sorry please stop crying,’ she says holding me close, soothing me.
‘You don’t have the slightest idea how I felt listening to Lulu brag about being the one who got the ring,’ I say sobbing softly.
‘Lulu called you?’
‘Yes.’
‘That bastard, I will deal with her.’
‘Melanie just let it go.’
‘No!’ she says louder than before, ‘As if it’s not enough that she got the ring, alekutumina phone for what?’
‘Melanie!’ I hold her hand.
She wipes my tears ’just stop crying and leave Lulu to me.’ ‘Melanie.’
‘Its fine, she says. ‘Go and take a bath while I make you a cup of tea.’
‘Please don’t do anything stupid.’
‘I won’t.’
She walks out of the room slamming the door behind her back, she is angry.
Stripping off my clothes, I walk into the bathroom and I step into the shower. I turn the tap on full and stand under the water with my eyes closed.
I can’t seem to block out the image of Wesley, down on one knee asking her to marry him.
‘Why would he do this to me?’ my mind screams.
For a moment there I thought he would come to me, I thought he would realise he made a mistake choosing her.
The tears start to fall from my eyes again, I fall down to my knees completely broken and defeated.
Will I ever heal from this? It’s too painful. I can’t even begin to explain how I feel in words. Being heartbroken is the worst feeling ever, I can never wish this kind of pain on another.
I slowly stagger to my feet after several minutes of crying, turning of the tap I step out of the shower.
I pull a white towel from the rail I wrap it around my body. I catch a glimpse of my face on the mirror-my eyes are red and puffy from all the crying.
I quickly get dressed then I slip my feet into soft leather slippers and walk out of my room.
Melanie hands me a cup of coffee and I sit down on the couch.
A knock sounds at the door as I sip my tea. Melanie walks to the door and opens it.
Shortly after Zach walks in, he is carrying a banquet of flowers in one hand, a huge pink teddy bear and a plastic in another.
‘Hey,’ he says
‘Hey,’ I smile
‘I didn’t want to get you to make you feel better so I got a bit of everything.’
‘Thank you,’ I say with a smirk.
He hands me the teddy bear and I hold it close to me, ‘I love it.’
Melanie gets the flowers which she walks with to the kitchen to put in a vase.
He hands me the plastic before he sits next to me. There is a bow of ice cream and chocolate in the plastic.
‘Oh Zach, thank you so much.’
‘You are welcome.’
‘I am really sorry you are such a nice a person and you don’t deserve to go through such.’
I sniff, ‘I just feel so sad and empty.’
‘You don’t have to, you have me and you have the girls.’
‘Thanks once again,’ I smile.
*****
My mother and Trish’s mother are best of friends, the two of us grew up like siblings, I have always loved Trish but not the way she wants me to love her, I love her like a sister.
There was a time when we were very close she was my go to person and vice-versa. Then she confessed her love for me and ruined what we shared. At that time I was deeply in love in with my first girlfriend so I distanced myself from her. She was angry she would show up at my house, call me names and so forth.
Trish is temperamental, her anger snaps in the blink of an eye. When she gets angry she is capable of hitting someone with anything close by.
She has been undergoing therapy for anger prevention and control but from the look for things it is not working.
‘It’s clear she is not stable she needs to be locked up,’ Yedda angrily says
‘I will make sure she doesn’t come close you.’
‘Don’t worry about me because I am not a normal person too and I can handle her very well.’
‘I care about you Yedda I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. Trish is dangerous.’
‘I am equally dangerous,’ she smiles, ‘And I am not gonna allow her to take you away from me, I like you a lot too.’
‘Come here,’ I extend my hand towards her she walks to me and takes my hand.
****
He pulls me close to him and we stand chest to chest. I enthralled. I feel faint. He wraps his hand around me, my body relaxes.
We stay in that position for a few minutes neither of us is speaking.
‘Is it wrong that I really want to kiss you right now?’ he asks breaking the silence.
His words get my attention I pull my head up and gaze at him.
‘It’s not wrong.’
He leans in and kisses me gently on my lips. The kiss is magical and everything I have imagined it would be.
When we pull apart, I take a deep breath.
‘Will you be my girlfriend?’ He asks
I get butterflies in my tummy, ‘Yes.’
*****
A gambling Heart