We were arguing; it seemed like my lawyer’s office. I was angry; she was angry. I couldn’t remember the conversation, but I remembered the scene.
I pulled back from the kiss, my breathing uneven, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Nita’s eyes were wide, confused. "Richard?"
I stepped away from her quickly. "I’m sorry. I have a slight headache." I hurried away from her. What kind of relationship did we have? Were we always fighting?
I headed towards the garden, the cold night air losing the war with the sweat appearing on my brow. The memory was hurting, both physically and emotionally. How did Nerdy Benny become so angry? I used to tease her a lot, but she would always remain calm. Yeah, she lost her shit once when I put glue on her chair.
I clutched my head, hurrying to put some distance between the party and myself. Was our marriage full of fights and regrets? Was that why we made the contract? If that was it, why was she hiding it? Why wouldn’t she just tell me the truth?
That kiss though, oh my God... I closed my eyes and replayed it; I didn’t want it to end, but the battle between my brain and my heart was killing me. I shook my head in frustration and reached to pluck a flower when I spotted him. Victor. The asshole was always everywhere.
He was standing near the hedge, with a glass of champagne in his hand, watching me. I may have looked like a lunatic with the way I entered the garden, shaking my head and pulling at my hair, but I wasn’t prepared to give him the satisfaction of thinking he knew my weakness or found a weakness.
He raised his glass to me. "Congratulations, Mr. Numero. The one man who can eat his cake and have it."
"What? Are you jealous?"
"Actually, yes. Yes, I am, and I am mature enough to admit it. But that’s not the point here. You don’t see how much you are hurting her, do you?"
I took several steps towards him, my hands balling into fists. "You don’t know a damn thing about me or my marriage. Keep your observations to yourself."
"I think we can both agree that you don’t know a damn thing about your marriage either."
I stiffened. He was right.
"Tell me, when you look at her, are you just trying to use her to help you put the pieces of your puzzled brain together, or are you making an actual effort to unravel the woman you married?"
"You think you know her better than me?"
"As of this moment, I do." He smirked. "And I know that you don’t deserve her. Marrying you is a curse, but she doesn’t realize it. She hasn’t had one moment of peace or happiness as a Numero. Every bad thing that happened to her was because of you. Every time she has come through for you, you have run into the arms of your mistress. You can use your amnesia as an excuse, but even you can see how much of a rotten, spoiled jerk you are."
"I take it you are trying to say something. Like you said, you are man enough. Tell me, what’s the point of this speech?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.
"I’m saying, I plan on taking her away from you, Richard. Show her what a peaceful relationship is like."
"You are her ex for a reason. You tried once and failed. Do you think you have grown this time?"
"This time, she will love me."
Instinctively, I balled my hand into a fist and swung. He dodged, and my hand flew through the air past his face, and I lost my balance.
"You are never going to land a punch ever again, Numero. Never again." He stepped away from me out of the garden. I was furious.
I was on my way for a cup of coffee. Nothing else appealed to me, not the wine, not the food. Even the people outside still celebrating Chayara felt invasive. I stepped into the living room and found Nita and Gwen, facing off.
The moment Gwen turned to see me, she ran towards me, threw herself in my hands, and sobbed.
"Richard, please get her away from me. She is going to hurt Chayara."
"What?" I asked in surprise, my eyes flying to Nita’s.
"She threatened Chayara. Richard, she said horrible things! She says it’s Chayara’s fault you are not spending time with her."
I looked to Nita again for confirmation, but she only held my gaze. Like she was waiting for something, like she was waiting for a mistake?
But this was my daughter, for God’s sake. My baby girl. No one had the right, not even Gwen herself.
"Why...why would you say this?"
"You believe this?" Nita asked incredulously.
I tried to make sense of the scene before me once more. Gwen was still crying uncontrollably. And Nita was standing there with anger in her eyes.
"She’s obsessed with you, Richard." Gwen continued.
"Could you go check on Chayara and calm yourself down? Don’t let her see you ?"
Gwen nodded and let go of me, heading out of the living room.
"Tell me what happened." I turned to Nita.
"Does it matter? You have chosen a side."
"There are no sides here, Nita." I shouted.
"You once trusted me so much that you found Victor kissing me and knew instantly it wasn’t my fault."
"Richard, you are not listening." She took a deep breath. "You never needed to question me. You would take one look, just one look at me, and you would know. It was innate. It was love. I never had to defend myself."
"The last person I trusted, I am told, stabbed me in the back." I defended myself.
"She has always been the one you run to. I don’t blame you for choosing her."
"Nita, don’t turn this around. Don’t make yourself the victim!"
"Me? Victim? Never? I can never be a victim. I am Benita Williams. I am a phoenix. Leave the victim playing to your bimbo blonde over there." She spat and walked away.