Chapter 43: Chapter 43
“I am not jealous,” he clears his throat and answers defensively, like a male species who don’t want to be a laughing stock.
“Oh, really, then, you don’t have the right to question me about anything, do you agree?” I rebut sarcastically. “At least Seid and I had closure because we used to have a beginning. What about us? We can’t close something, because we never started anything at all. If you like open relationships with no label, please, not me. Because I can’t tolerate that,” I continue while shaking my head, still eyes intact to him.
“Why are you so fixated on being in a relationship when you’ve seen how worse it can be? Cheating husband? Busy boyfriend? Mistress? Huh?”, he pounds the wall behind him.
“Are you talking about Nik and K? Siegfried and I? How about you, you’ve never been in a relationship with someone you love dearly, have you?” I confront him.
“Exactly, why would I if I’ve seen relationships are fake, always crumbling and falling, giving heartaches?” he fights for what he thinks is right.
I sigh, knowing that Dee and I have a different perspective on love, something that I can’t compromise, and I weakly say, “Because, after all that, they still have something to hold on to, a reason to go back, a reason to choose the same person over and over again, something you can’t do in an open relationship, since you don’t have an agreement between each other. You are free to leave, you are free to stay, and the other person, can’t ever question your choice.”
“But Avery, you are dear to me, isn’t that enough?” he almost confesses.
“Can you say that you love me? Can I force you to say it?” I ask him calmly.
But his answer is only silent. So I look him in the eye for one last look, “Exactly what I’m talking about.”
I turn my back at him, tap my keycard and enter my passcode again, and hesitantly open the door, “So please, don’t ever show up in front of me unless it is work-related, or if you already figure out what you truly feel.”
And then I enter and close the door at his face.
I run straight to my bed and cry myself out until I fall asleep.
***
This is the third of the month, and I am feeling, oh, so damn, nervous. Because today is the day when my company will hold our biggest event by far, and I worked so hard to get this pitch in my hands.
I am scrubbing my hands together and calming myself up when a pat on my back sends a relieving feeling, “Hey, relax A, everything will be alright.”
I look at her, grateful that she helps and believes in me and invested her hard-earned money in my business, “Thank you, K. This is it!”
She nods and we walk towards the man-of-the-hour, Jodie. We gallantly greet her,
“Good morning, Jodie, we meet again,” I start while extending my hand. She reaches my hand and does the same with K. So I introduce her, “This is my partner, Kendra Higgins, we just want to let you know how grateful and ecstatic we are because you chose us.”
She warmly smiles and responds, “Well, if not for Ms. Anderson, I would still be in a street, trying to draw strangers and random portraits for cents. Because of her, my art reaches a lot of people. And of course, I would like to thank those people who supported and funded this exhibit.”
“Oh, are they here? They finally decide to reveal their anonymity,” I excitingly giggle.
Jodie looks behind and searched for them, and in just a few seconds, I see a familiar head Jodie is waving at. Deep inside, I say a little prayer, “Please don’t be him. Please, please.”
My heart tightens and I hold K’s hand. She knew right away something’s wrong, “Are you in a fight with Dmitri?” So I nod.
But then, I see other figures beside Dmitri, two figures exactly, one is Nik, and the other one is an unfamiliar gorgeous woman, at the same time, Kendra’s grip tightens and with a very soft voice she whispers, “S-she’s here.”
I gulp big time, I feel extremely nauseous not for me, but for my best friend, how terrible it would be to see the love of your life with his wife.
I see her trying to control her breath, acting professionally as she could. She avoids Nik’s gaze at all cost, but Dmitri’s gaze is locked at us, specifically to me.
Jodie gets excited and runs toward them, she bows to them and shows her respect. Then, it is official, they are the generous donor of Jodie’s exhibit.
“How come I didn’t see it coming?”, I blame myself inwardly.
They are now just a few steps ahead of us. Nik’s wife seems like a politician who waves at whoever smiles or greets her. I frown at the sight of her, probably because I am biased.
Nik’s now looking at Kendra, with a solemn expression and sweat all over his face, while Dmitri’s face is far more serious than ever.
Jodie, then, finally introduces them to us, her eyes sparkle like crazy, “Ms. Anderson, Ms. Higgins, these are the generous people I’ve been talking about. They are the ones who made this happen.”
“This is Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. & Mrs. Murrow,” she gestures them to us.
I casually extend my hand pretending not to know any of them, “A pleasure to meet all of you, and thank you for joining us here.”
As I introduce myself, I could see Dmitri’s face go to rage. He couldn’t accept the fact that I deny my relationship, oh, no we don’t have that, right?
But being a gentleman as he is, he keeps quiet and answers my greeting, “The pleasure is ours,” with his cold authoritative voice.
I do the same for both Nikolai and his wife, I let out and fake a small smile, “Mr. & Mrs. Murow.”
When Kendra’s about to introduce herself, I could see her body trembling, and her face pale. Good thing that Seid is to the rescue, he calls her on the phone, “Hello Seigfried, are you already here?”
So Kendra takes this opportunity to dash off.
I observe Mrs. Murrow’s reaction. Her face is one of the pokers, and even though she didn’t react at all, I could see in her fierce eyes that she exactly knows who Kendra is.
At some point, I am thankful that I invited Seid, even before we break up.
In the midst of it, I collect myself, and say, “Jodie, are you ready? It’s time to introduce you and your magical hands to the world.”