Chapter 40: Chapter 40

I flex my body after I got out of bed. It was still eight in the morning and the sun was shining brightly. I opened the window to let the fresh air in as well as the rays of the sun. I was about to go to the bathroom and do my usual morning routine when I took a better glimpse of the pool. Last night, it was a bit dark so I didn't really take a good look at it but now that I can clearly see it, I was in awe. It was beautiful and very inviting. I went out of the veranda and took a better view of it and then an idea came to my mind. I immediately went to my closet and looked for my swimsuits. I am going to take a dip this very morning. I saw a black two-piece bikini and thought that it would look good on me. It was a brand new one and I planned on wearing it on a vacation with Wade but things happened so I guess, I won't be able to do it anymore with him. I also took with me my phone, a towel, and a white cover-up which I put on before I went out of the room. I wonder where Erin's room is and if she is awake already but then this house is huge; I might get lost while looking for her so I'll just let her find me but I think she isn't awake already. I went directly to the stairs and straight to the main door. I made my way to the pool as I kept on looking around and appreciating the beauty of the whole place. I saw a pool lounge and put my cellphone as well as my towel there. I took off my cover-up and slowly went to the pool. I put my feet on the water and felt the coldness of it. It was cold but it was very calming and it makes me feel good. I slowly went down until my feet reached the bottom of the pool and it only took a few seconds for my body to adjust to the coldness of the water and not long after, I found myself enjoying it. I was swimming back and forth and only stopped when I heard someone spoke.

"Isn't it a little too early for a swim?" Erin said as she sat at the lounge beside my towel.

"I'm sorry; I thought of looking for you but I didn't know where was your room so-" I said but she cut me off.

It's fine; really," She said. "I just thought that you know, you might get a cold or something."

"Nah, it's fine," I said as I got out of the pool and went near her. She handed me my towel and I accepted it. I wiped my face and sat down beside her. "Were you up early?"

"Nah, I just did," She said. "I went to your room but didn't saw you there so I thought you might be wandering around. I never thought you'd be here."

"Yeah, I liked the pool and it looked so inviting so I couldn't help myself," I said.

"So, why are you up so early? Can't sleep?" She said.

"Yeah," I said. "Sort of,"

"Now, tell me," She said. "What happened?"

"Can I change first?" I said. "As you said, it's kinda cold here."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," She said. "Maybe we can talk about it over breakfast. I'll just cook something for us."

"Uhmm, do you want me to cook instead?" I said.

"No, no," She said. "I can do it for now; you can cook all you want when I'm gone from here."

"Oh, okay," I said. "I'll just change and join you in a while."

"Alright," I said.

"Hey," She called me when I was about to go.

"Hmm?" I said and waited for him to respond.

"You know you can tell me everything, right? You can trust me." She said.

"Of course," I said and nodded. I do trust her; I have always.

~~~

"So, what are you cooking?" I said when I entered the kitchen and saw her cooking something.

"Hmm, just the usual breakfast," She said as she faced me. "Eggs and hotdogs,"

"Hmm," I said. "Smells good,"

"Come on; sit down and settle. It'll be ready in a few." She said.

I took two plates with a spoon and fork and placed them on the table before I sat down. She started taking off whatever she cooked from the pan and placed them on the plate and put it on the table.

"Come on; dig in." She said. "And while you're at it, why don't you tell me what exactly happened? That way, I can understand you better."

I nodded and started putting food on my plate. She joined me and we eat together.

I drink the juice she prepared for me and decided to tell her everything. I know I can always trust her.

I told her everything from the very beginning when I went to Wade's office, about the revenge and most of all about our fake marriage. I didn't miss even a slight detail of whatever happened.

"Then? Did he text you? Oh, I'm sure he did. What did he say?" She said.

"He did, yes," I said. "But I never read them. I'm sure he'll just feed me up with his lies and I am no longer in the mood for that."

"Well, what if he can explain things to you if you could just let him?" She said.

"Were you even listening to me?" I said. "He said it himself; making me fall in love with him was just a part of their plan."

"God, that is really so sick of him," She said. "So, all those times that you were together, he was just pretending to be in love with you?"

"Definitely, yes," I said. "I mean, what is else could it be, right? He made me a fool, E."

"Wow, that was intense!" She said. "I can't believe he did that to you. It's really so unpredictable. So, what's your plan now? Are you going to talk to your dad about it?"

"Maybe soon," I said. "But for now, I just want to think first. I don't want to see them yet; especially Wade. I never want to see him again."

"So you'll be staring here for the meantime until you can think of a better thing to do?" She said.

"Yeah, I think so," I said.

"Are you afraid that if you see him you'll come running back to him?" She said.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"You still love him, right? It's not something that goes away easily." She said. "What do you think will happen if you see him?"

"I don't know yet," I said. "All I know is that I am mad at him and I don't want to see him for now."

"What about your marriage? Have you checked it? Is it true that it was a fake one?" She said.

"Yeah, I paid someone to check it for me and it was true. Our marriage wasn't registered." I said.

"My goodness!" She said. "They really had this planned out already."

"Yeah, they did and all this time I was in the dark looking like a fool," I said.

"Don't say that, okay?" She said. "Don't feel bad about yourself. It wasn't your fault that they have narrow minds. They hurt you because of their bullshit revenge and none of that is your fault. Okay?"

"You don't understand, E. It was my fault too. I married him without knowing the real reason behind it. It was so reckless of me." I said and cried.

"Sssh, stop it," She said. "You were just caught off guard at that time, okay? You have no other option and he offered you one."

"Even though that's the case, E, I should have checked. Now, look at what happened?" I said.

"Don't worry, okay?" She said. "I won't leave you. We'll deal with this together."

"Thanks, E. I really owe you a lot." I said and hugged her.

"Don't mention it, Cam. I'll always have your back no matter what." She said as she hugged me too. "So, what do you say we explore this place a little more? You know, just to get your mind off things."

"Sure!" I said as I wiped off my tears.

"Stop crying now, crybaby." She said as she laughed. "Just eat some more and when we're done here, I can show you around."

I nodded and continued eating. I didn't really have that much appetite but she was persistent so I didn't have a choice.