Chapter 135: Chapter 135

(Avery’s Thoughts)

Our El Nido, Palawan experience was splendid. And of course, I still can’t believe it. I came there single, “And now, I am officially Avery Tales. I am now married,” I murmur as I stare at both my and his wedding ring while he’s holding my hand in his sleep.

It’s been a week since we came back here in America. Of course, the honeymoon stage has just begun and Jeff wants to make love to me almost every time. And me, being a good wife, always give him what he wants.

Although, right now, I think I am still a little swollen down there. I go to the bathroom to clean myself up and wash my face as I promised Kendra I’ll be meeting her so we can talk about our new business venture.

After brushing my teeth, I wake Jeff up, “Hey, babe. Didn’t you say you have an interview at Kirkland’s Best?”

He groans and instead of getting up, he pulls me in the bed and shower me with morning kisses.

I giggle as his kisses tickle me, “Babe, stop it. We have a lot of things to do today, okay?”

“Can’t we just stay here? I just want to kiss and make love to you all day and night,” he jokes.

“No can do. We have a goal right, and one more thing, living here in Kirkland is no different living Seattle or new York, it is darn expensive. So we need to work our ass up, come on.”

I spank his butt and free myself from his embrace.

“Fine,” he says with a frown face, “Shall we have breakfast downstairs?”

I nod, “Yes please, I am sorry I didn’t have much time to prepare something for today. Later, let’s buy some goodies, okay, babe?”

***

Jeff and I part ways with a kiss. For now, we decided to live here in Kirkland, just next to Seattle. It is peaceful, and the food industry here is great, so Jeff has a great chance.

On the other hand, it is just a train away from Seattle where Kendra and I will rebuild our business. We don’t have cars, because both of us really don’t like driving, and we are trying to live a low-key and low maintenance life here.

Now, I am inside a train, waiting for the next stop. I plug in my AirPods and pacify myself with some music. But around fifteen minutes pass, I hear the announcement from their intercom speakers, “Seattle, 5th Street Station coming up, please get ready and mind your belongings. Thank you for riding with us.”

So I get ready and stand nearby the door, and once the train comes to a full stop, people, including me, rush our way outside the train.

Commuting may be stressful, but I like it better than driving.

I ride a taxi going to our old office, and there I find Kendra and Nik getting off the car.

I tap my card to send the payment to the driver, and then get off the taxi. I greet them with a wide smile, “Hey, Nik. Hey, K,” with a blissful smile, I hug her.

“Woah, you miss me a lot, don’t you?” K teases me. Then he observes my face, and thinks for a second, “Hmm… after-sex glow? Very nice, very nice!” she says abruptly.

So I cover her mouth and I feel my cheeks blush, “What the! Kendra, why are you so mean to me? Nik is here, weirdo!”

But Nik shrugs his shoulders and smiles at me, “Didn’t hear anything, did I, love?” and there they go, scheming against the lonely me.

Kendra then chortles, “Hey, don’t be mad. I am just glad things are going well with you and Jeff.”

“Shut up, now, will you?” and then I march inside the office, and I am surprised with the changes Kendra made these past few years.

I look around, and then Kendra follows me inside while Nik takes his leave, “So, I hope you don’t mind the changes. I have to make a few new arrangement when you left. But unfortunately after a year, it falls off. So I needed to shut it down, still I try to maintain it.”

I hug her as she explains, “I will never leave you again, ever. I am sorry for putting you all through this. Sorry you had to go through it without me,” I cry on her shoulders.

“You are forgiven, I am just glad you are back. So come on now, our new investor will be here for a minute,” Kendra says.

So we finish cleaning up the receiving area for our investors. At exactly ten in the morning, two tall and distinct figures appear in the front door of our office.

One of them clear his throat so we quickly notice them. But as soon as we see their faces, both Kendra and I are stunned and couldn’t even move from where we are standing.

However, Kendra, being protective of me is fast to recover, “You!” she points them, “What gives you the right to step in our office, huh?”

I begin to wonder, I never told anything about them, so why does she seem so affected especially with that guy Dmitri is with?

Then the tall guy steps forward, “Luke Burmes, I e-mailed you last week about the possible partnership with–”

But even before he finishes, Kendra’s defense mechanism kicks in and says, “Get the hell out of here, we don’t do business with you.”

But I halt her midway, “Kendra, they came here as professionals, at least let us hear them.”

“Please sit down, Mr. Burmes, Mr. Sullivan,” I direct my sentence to them. And they listen to my voice.

“Avery!” Kendra shouts at me, but I tame her down. “Please, I need to speak with Mr. Sullivan regarding our apartment deal, too.”

Dmitri isn’t saying anything, but as soon as he sits down, his feminine side appears again, he grabs my hand and yells surprisingly while holding and checking the rings in my hand, “Oh my god!” yells he while in a panic mode.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Avery, did you already get married? How? When? Why?” he continuously screams hysterically and tears flow from his eyes.

“Oh goodness! No, no! My poor brother! No!” he says, and as soon as he mentions it, my heart races. Kendra springs into action pushing them away, “Get out! Both of you! Now!”

Why is Kendra reacting aggressively? Is she hiding something? And what does Dmitri mean by brother.

With my voice quivering, “D-Dmitri, what do you mean by brother?”

Luke is able to get hold of Kendra, while Dmitri runs towards me, “That’s what I’ve been wanting to tell you ever since you… uh, saw me and my boyfriend Luke, you know…”

“Say what?” My eyebrows furrow as he holds my hand tighter.

“Avery, why did you get married? I’ve been wanting to tell you. My name is DeAndre, I am Dmitri’s twin brother. And yes, I am totally fucked-up gay, but he is not!” then he cries to me and kneels down begging.

“So please, get back with my brother. You know he loves you a lot, he love you dearly.”

But I couldn’t hear anything anymore. All I could hear are the words, twin brother, not gay, and Dmitri loves me.

Constriction begins around my heart muscles. I want to scream but I couldn’t. I need to be strong. No matter what I discovered from today onwards, I am a married woman who swore to love Jeff and Jeff alone.

Despite my feeling wants to burst out from my eyes, I hold my tears back and gulp as many as I can.

I sit down and pull him gently, “DeAndre, right? Calm down and sit down, please?”

“C-could you explain further?”

He tries to control his tears and stops his sobs, and he wipes his tears in a girlie way.

“How foolish of me to conclude? Why did it never occur to my mind? Why did I never listen to your explanation?” I curse myself silently.

Kendra’s anger is now pacified and she goes to the back to get her heat off of her.

Luke finally sits down beside DeAndre and they hold hands.

I look at them, and yes, if you look closely, he and Dmitri, despite being twins, still have distinct difference.

I scoff unknowingly, so DeAndre talks to me, “A-Avery?”

“Please tell me more about you, by the way, I am Avery An… No, I am Avery Tales,” and I extend my hand and he hesitantly reaches for it.

***

(Dmitri’s Thoughts)

“I am Avery Tales,” I am about to go inside but this is what I heard. It automatically halts me and glues my feet to the doorway. I hide my body and slightly lean on my side so I can see and hear her clearly.

I can see the shimmering things from her hand, one from the diamond of her engagement ring, and the other is from her golden wedding ring.

She is indeed married, and she didn’t do it here. That sly Jeff, did he corner her just to marry her? I clench my fist.

I hear my brother explaining to her about the situation, and she listens well, with pleasantry on her face. For some unknown reason, she seems calm, and it breaks my heart.

Does it mean she has moved on? Does it mean she doesn’t care at all? Or does she know all along?

I listen to how their conversation goes, but my brother is still blaming himself for what happened and now he’s begging her to take me back.

“When did I ever tell you to care about me DeAndre? At least one of us gets to be happy, that’s all I care about,” I talk to myself.

I look at the sky for a while, take courage and step in with a straight face.

She looks at me puzzled, but she says nothing. She only follows me with her eyes until I sit on the couch across from her.

I see her gulp and somehow see her clench her fists, for the rings not to get noticeable.

“Avery… Congratulations on your marriage. I am sorry I couldn’t send any gift,” I try to open the conversation a little lighter between us.

I see her fake a smile, and then she looks down, “T-thank you, Dmitri,” she says.

“So, you already met my busybody twin brother, huh? Sorry I couldn’t tell you about him earlier. It’s on me,” and then I chuckle.

But my brother stands up and hits me, “Why are you smiling? Can’t you see, she’s already married, Dee? How about you? How about you?” DeAndre cries as Luke tries to tame him down.

“DeAndre, enough. It’s over for us. Right, Avery Tales?” I announce, though every word strikes my heart like thorn, it’s time to have some closure. So we can both live happily. Well, at least she can.

She nods,

“Yes, Dmitri. It’s time to say goodbye, this time, for good. Thank you for loving me, for making me feel special, for being the first man I’ve ever slept with, for chasing me, and for choosing me over and over. Maybe not in this lifetime, but I just want you to know, you are the biggest regret I’ll ever have, not being with you for as long as I live, that is.”

She’s smiling but tears are flowing like river from her eyes. The melancholic chill is sent deep into my nerves, feeling every pain she has as she utters and bids her goodbye.

Then she continues, “I will remember you as my greatest love in my life, but you see, I am a married woman now, and to make my parents proud, I need to be with the man I am married to. But I just want you to know, you will always have a spot in my heart, and that will never ever change. I love you, Dmitri, my one true love.”

Without even knowing, tears are flowing from my eyes, her image gets blurry as tears accumulate in my eyes. I cry in front of her. Yes, I cry in front of her, revealing how hurt and devastated I am, not even caring about how mess up I look now.

And with one sentence, every connection we have is cut like a thread being torn, “I am sorry I couldn’t protect you, be happy, my Avery.”

And my feet move on their own, taking every step further and further away from her. But I never look back, because if I did, I might commit a sin that she’ll never ever forgive. So I walk like there’s no tomorrow and drift furthery away from the reality.