Chapter 11: Chapter 11
The sweet melodies of the early chirping birds stroked the walls of my ears, disrupting my sound sleep. I stretch my muscles, jerking myself up from the comfort of the cozy bed. It’s morning already, and I peel my orbs to the unheralded fuzzy image of a female figure posing at the open window. I brush my eyes to get a clear vision of the woman whose back is on me, her long black hair cascading below her shoulders, some of it being blown away by the breeze coming through the window. Her high stilettos add more height to her seemingly already tall frame, and the extremely short blue dress hugs her flawless curves, exposing too much of the pale flesh of her lower body. Her lavender scent is irritating my insides, making me clear my throat, unintentionally summoning her attention.
She turns in style, like a real model, and I hold my breath as her beauty greets my vision. The familiar sensation of this face evokes a short nervous breakdown. I blink countless times after recouping from the shock, hoping and wishing that this is a bad dream, but it seems like fate has a peculiar way of intertwining my life as I find myself face to face with Liam’s wife—a familiar woman who had haunted my high school years—the freaking Mitchell Edwards! The vainglorious goddess was, and bitterly, seemingly still is, everything I was not, and still am not—popular, reeking-to-high heavens with luxury, charming, and effortlessly beautiful. Then on that list, add everything that horrible depicts: horrible attitude, horrible manners of crewing every guy that she set her eyes on, horrible ego, horrible superiority complex that demeaned the lesser beings like me into the dirty dirt she walked on... name them all. She was all that, to say the least.
Her presence alone evoked memories of painful insecurities, and now it seems our paths have collided once again? She is the one I am helping. She is the one Liam married. No! This better be a big, filthy joke! For God’s sake! Both heaven and hell know that this can never even be considered a joke, even on a lighter note! Hell! I know I said I was ready for whatever awaits me on this journey, and I also know how bold I was in saying that, but never in my wildest dreams would I have ever surmised this. This is an abominable turn of events!
My face conforms to real shock as I stamp my feet on the cold floor, ready to confront my nightmare, and I am greeted by Mitchell’s wickedly enamoured smile. Contrary to my disjointed jaw from the shock of her presence, she is all gravely imperturbable and cool like a raw cucumber. She doesn’t seem taken aback by my presence at all. Her signature bitchy glare and smirk hold the same demeanor as before, though I can sense a tension beneath her façade now. Flashbacks of her inexorable quizzical habits deluge my mind, erupting a jolt of malaise to course through my veins. I don’t even want to bang my head with qualms. Her devilish grin says it all—the loathing, the same old scorn, is still so raw in her eyes. She still holds the same disdain for me.
"Hi!" She greets me nonchalantly, her eyes flickering over me as if trying to piece together how hellish my life here will be and perhaps fathoming the kick of the euphoria she will have from torturing me like before.
"Hello, Mitchell!" I reply, mustering a confidence I don't feel at all, and I hope she doesn’t see how she is threatening my cool.
She sighs at something that only she and her demons know, and before this can get any more awkward and terrorizing, Liam walks in, my savior, and makes a hasty way between us. But at this point, I think he is more of my death than a savior! How can he be married to this witch of all the bitches in the world?
I swallowed hard, discharging the breath I had been holding for so long.
"Mitchell, this is—"
"Lynda Rose!" She interjects in a ‘know it all’ sarcastic tone with an arched eyebrow, drawing Liam into a state of utter bewilderment.
“You know her?” Liam asks in a tremor, glaring at his wife, who is in turn smirking like someone who just pulled a one over us.
"Yes. We know each other pretty well from way back in high school." Her smirk widens, blooming with some cloaked evil intent, according to my so-observant self. Then suddenly, the smile fades, and it is replaced with a look of pure disdain as she faces Liam, who is yet to recover from the shock. “Of all the people you could choose for this Liam, it had to be her? Seriously?” She suppresses her anger between her gritted teeth as she fumes the last word.
A moment of screaming silence!
Her words hung in the air, stirring up a whirlwind of uncomfortable memories that I tried hard to fight. And her last statements are stirring a mixture of all the bad feelings about her about this. I look at Liam, searching for support, only to find him staring at the floor, avoiding the tension that enveloped the room, perhaps thinking what I am thinking.
Our history! Does she know anything about our history? I suppose not. I suppose I am paranoid. There is no chance that she knows. I mean, Liam and I have never been in contact since our breakup. I am just getting paranoid, yeah?
Clearing my throat, I muster the strength to address the choking tension head-on.
“Listen, Mitchell. The past is all buried. I…”
She raises her hand to my face, cutting me off, skepticism etched upon her features. I shut up, a cold tinge of fear rushing down my spine.
"Buried, huh?!” She drops her hand, summoning her bemused anger at me. “You know, I've always wondered why Liam was so interested in reconnecting with you after all this time, and the fact that he always praised you like you were some kind of angel. Knowing you both and your history, this seems too coincidental!” She then turns to her husband, and I grab the chance to take a breath, but her next words leave me breathless again. “This is mockery to me, Liam! I don’t think I want to go through this with her!”
She knows? Hang on. What the heck does she mean by Liam wanting to reconnect with me? Why does it sound like I was a topic between them?
“We had an understanding, Mitch!” Liam speaks, facing his wife in a stance that is definitely not meant for couples. I mean, even the way his eyes are glaring at his wife is baffling. And the way she is glaring back with the same intensity is more baffling. What hell of a marriage are these two having?
“Yes! But I never thought you could disgrace me this much by bringing this rug into my house. We had a mutual understanding, but bringing your ex in our matrimonial home is pure disrespect and I will not let you.”
“Enough!” I almost leap from Liam’s outbursts that reverberate in this entire room, shutting his wife up. Gosh! What kind of hell have I gotten myself into? Liam adds, glaring at his wife. “There were no rules as to whom I should choose to bear me a child that you don’t want to give me, Mitch!”
“And you very well know why I can’t afford to deal with babies at this point in my life, Liam. It's not my fault that you are in such a hurry to be a father while I still want to enjoy my career and my youth!” Mitchel barks back. Well, she never backs down from any fights, as far as I know. But aren't her excuses so cynical? I mean, what kind of wife thinks about enjoying her youth when she is already married? Her career is more important than making her husband happy. Than building a beautiful home with a man like Liam?
“I perfectly understand your excuses, Mitch!” Liam starts, speaking with a forced calmness to his wife’s face. “That is why I stopped banging you with this. Now you can have all the fucking fun that you fucking want and model for the whole world if you fucking please, but leave me to take care of my problems the best way I see fit!”
A fleeting moment of pure lull passes, the two antagonistic lions before me strangling each other with deadly glares, and I keep completely out of their business after realizing how deep this shit is.
Finally, Mitchell breaks away, throwing a murderous glare of pure loathing and disgust my way. I swallow hard but refuse to look anywhere. She then shifts her gaze to her husband, planting a kiss on his lips that doesn’t seem so sweet.
“I hope you know what you are doing, love. Else, you will lose everything that you are trying to save with this absurdity!” With that, she clicks her stilettos on the floor, sways her hips out in a bitchy way, and leaves me choking because of that disgusting kiss she gave Liam.
How disgusting!
Liam has nothing to say but stare at space, or perhaps he has a zillion problems to pour out but doesn’t know how or to whom. Staring at him at this moment, I cannot help but wonder if this unexpected reunion, with all its complexities and challenges, would ultimately lead us towards a place of healing and growth—where the ghosts of the past would finally find solace and a new kind of harmony could be forged.