Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Maya, please don't scream, was the sound of Marks's voice in my ears. I quickly wiggled myself out of his arms and slapped him hard on the face.

Don't ever touch me again. I warned him sternly.

"Please you have to hear me out. I know you are hurting but I am hurt ing, even more, Maya, you have to believe me." He said regretfully.

Well, it doesn't look so to me. You seem to be enjoying every bit of it. I turned to leave but he quickly grabbed my hand and pinned me to the wall. I could feel his breathing so close. I started to have those flutters in my stomach again.

No way. I can't be his side chick. Leave me alone Mark. You made your decision to stay away, I yelled, trying to get out of his grip.

Okay. Just listen to what I have to say. Whatever you decide to do afterward, I will respect it. What could he want to tell me? I am trying my best to move on and I just have a feeling he might say something to get me all confused again, and then raise my hopes before finally crushing them. I won't let that happen.

I am sorry. Whatever you wanted to tell me, you should have said it before the engagement but for now. I don't want to hear another word. Go and take care of your bride. She should be noticing your absence now.

"Maya", He wanted to say something but the door burst open and Tom stood there staring at Mark with an angry look but Mark continued to speak when I made my way to Tom.

Maya, just to let you know, I don't love Tilda. You are the only woman I have ever loved.

"Good one Mark, tell that to the dogs," Tom said sarcastically. Instantly, I evil plan came into my head and I wanted to exert revenge. So I turned around and looked at him.

One more thing Mark, Tom, and I are getting engaged, I winked before holding Tom's hand. The look on Mark's face when I said that was priceless. I know that I succeeded with my plan. I was happy beyond measure.

But the confused look on Tom's face as we went to look for Tracy brought me back to the reality of what I have done. How could I do this to him? I was playing with his emotions because deep down, he truly loves me.

Stupid Maya. I have to make this right.

Tom, I began

"Don't worry Maya, I know you just want to make him jealous but I was just confused because I didn't know you had it in you." He smirked.

I was so relieved by his words. Thank you so much, Tom, I said pulling him into a tight hug.

"But you don't have to worry about me falling head over heels in love again because I kind of moved on but I will need your help." He said with a mischievous smile.

I couldn't help but feel happy Tom wouldn't take my stupidity seriously but when he said he needed my help, I didn't know what it could be.

"Shoot". I said, eager to hear his proposition.

I'm in love with Tracy but I haven't told her yet so I was wondering that, after I help you execute your jealousy plan, you also help me with making Tracy mine and you also have to keep men away from her in the process so she doesn't end up falling in love with someone else, he said.

"Consider it done," I said emphatically because I knew that wasn't a problem at all. I know Tracy loves him so dearly so it won't be a big deal. Now I had to find a way of keeping away from Mark.

So we found Tracy and I wanted to find out if she still had any love for Tom so I told her Tom and I was getting married. The look on her face told it all. Her face practically turned beet red with jealousy. I knew I wouldn't have a hard time doing what I had promised Tom. I proceeded to tell her about the plan to make Mark jealous and to also make him stay away from me. She was instantly relieved by my final confession.

So weeks passed after Tom's wedding and I had my graduation too but things were not going as planned since Mark kept harassing me every chance he gets. He even made it to my graduation without invitation. He also came to my house a couple of times so Tracy agreed we move out faster than we had planned.

We moved into my dream condo and I started my consultancy firm as well. I got a lot busy with the registration and all and  I didn't know starting a company was this difficult. But I couldn't give up. This was my future. Tom invested and also agreed to be a partner. I wanted to get a few staff on board after the registration process was completed. Aside from that, I had to work on the clientele as well.

Since we told Mark about our engagement, it's been almost three months and we hadn't made any progress so he started suspecting it was a prank and kept finding ways to talk to me. We decided to have a formal engagement to keep Mark off my back and set the date to two weeks but that could not be possible because something happened.

Mark had kept track of my movements unknown to me so it wasn't difficult for him to locate our new home. He got there and saw Tracy and Mark in a passionate kiss. So I have to pretend to be offended and postpone events a bit. It gave him the upper hand to keep trying for us to get back together but what future is there for us? One day, I decided to hear him out once and for all so we decided to meet at the garden where he proposed to me and talk once and for all.

He requested to pick me up but I refused because I didn't want anyone to see me hanging out with a married man. Thankfully, I also took Tom's advice and got myself a car. I didn't want to keep being at anyone's mercy when it comes to transportation.

Though Tom wanted to come with me, I strongly advised against it and decided to end things with Mark once and for all. I have never given him the chance to explain himself but I think this was the right time. We needed to have this last talk like two civilized people.

I got to the venue at 7 pm just as we agreed but seeing What was waiting for me, I immediately decided to change my decision. I hope this isn't too late.