Chapter 70: Chapter 70

(Dmitri’s Thoughts)

“So, what happened to your little detour, huh?” a little deep but feminine voice is heard from my phone.

“What do you want to know? I’m not in the mood,” I hiss, while chugging the beer in his hand.

“Oh, goodness, Dee. You’ve come all the way there, don’t tell me you didn’t get your girl back? That’s not like you,” the voice teases me in an annoying way.

“Shut up! What do you need, huh? Mocking me?” I angrily say.

“I am worried about you, idiot! Now tell me, what happened?” the voice gets a little louder.

“I lost her. It’s over. I can’t bring her back,” I feel something dripping from my nose and my eyes. I sniff trying to hold it in. But eventually, I cry as I progress with my story.

“What the-! Didn’t you tell her? Did you even try to win her over? Apologize, perhaps? Or maybe tell her what you did about the scandal, huh?” the voice continues to interrogates me. But those questions are just as irrelevant as my feelings right now.

I let my true feelings out. The melancholy I conceive is now heard inside this room of mine, a pain that I could no longer bear. Losing her for the second time around is just as devastating as it was the first time. But this time, I knew it is truly over.

The pain of just thinking of her leaving me behind, the suffering of her being on another mann’s side, the thought of her getting married to anyone but me is excruciatingly suffocating.

And so I answer the ones I’m talking to, “She’s getting married to Jeff. What do you want me to do? I witnessed her saying yes. It hurts. It hurts so much,” I cry over cans of beers while talking to this very person on the phone, until I fall asleep.

***

(TWO YEARS AGO)

When I reached the hotel, it was Seid, her ex-boyfriend who was standing in front of the hotel room.

He gave me a few punches and later on confessed that he was the one who brought her to the airport. Apparently, he didn’t tell me where he was going, he said it was his punishment to me for taking away her girl and then letting her go.

I also suffered the wrath of Kendra, her bestfriend. For months she’s been bugging me and pleading me to look for her immediately. They closed down their business for a while and Nikolai, well, he stayed by Kendra’s side much more often, causing my sister Heather to rant.

Our connections are complicated. Everyone thinks of their own pain when Avery left, but how about my pain. I don’t even know how to deal with it.

***

A month after Avery’s departure Nikolai and I bonded together. He was the only one who bothered to tell me how I was coping up, and at that time, I felt a friend in him, or should I say, a brother.

I waved at Nikolai who was at the entrance of the bar, while I was here sitting at the VVIP room. He easily saw me and made his way up here.

“Sorry, I had to escape from Kendra’s,” he explained and sat beside me.

I raised the can of beer I was holding and greeted him, “Well, you are here now. How’s she holding up?”

He sighs deeply, “She’s been having nightmares. She breaks down, man, she’s as broken-hearted as you are,” then he ordered his drinks. Then chugged it after the bartender had given it to him.

“And you? Did you already find that woman who did this to Avery?” he inquired about that stupid Jen.

I frowned still cursing that woman who ruined my life. I wanted to ruin hers as much as I did but she went into hiding, the only lead we had was that stupid security personnel she bewitched.

“We only have one lead, that personnel who was obsessed with her happened to give the copy of the video willingly for just a little peck and sex,” I clicked my tongue in disgust.

“Stupid personnel indeed,” Nik seconded. “Do you have plans to go there yourself? I can help you out if you want. I aslo have some private investigators that could help you finding anyone, let’s say a gorgeous woman on the run?” he teased.

I chuckled and drank again, “You can’t find someone who’s hiding. And hey, your son’s birthday party is just a month ahead. I wouldn’t want my sister yelling at me about stealing you away.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, right?” he sounded disheartened.

“I get you, man. You hated those social gatherings as much as I do, but just do it for your son,” I convinced him.

“And you know, I idon’t want my sister again calling me in the middle of the night accusing me about how I supported your infidelity romance,” he looked at me with a sad expression.

“Hey, I get it. You are in love with another woman. Sorry bout that!” I added.

He drank another one and he looked at me, “Dmitri, I… I have no excuse. I love my kids. And I tried loving your sister, but I. I just couldn’t. No matter how hard I try. It’s just always-” he stopped and put his palms on his face.

“-Her, right?” I finished his sentence.

“Yes, her. I couldn’t teach my heart, nor force it, can I?” he answered back.

“Cheers to that, man!” That’s the last thing I said to him and then we both kept drinking in silence, sorrow and agony.

***

I got off my private jet and went straight to the port where I could travel going around Key Largo. After almost two months of talking to people, our hard work finally paid off.

“At last, I could finally set things right. Whatever you took from us,  I’ll get back at you twice of it,” I cursed while I am in the car.

Just thinking on what I might do to that woman named Jen boiled the blood inside me.

“How much longer?” I impatiently asked my driver, itching to punch that woman in the face. I don’t normally hurt women, but what she did to Avery, and me, is utterly unforgivable.

“She would be lucky to go out unscathed,” I told myself and scoffed.

A few more minutes after, we arrived at our final destination.

“Sir, this is it,” said the driver pointing to a building that’s older than god-knows-how. I rolled down the car window on my side and scouted it.

“So, this is where you’ve been hiding, huh?” I mumbled.

“Sir, I would be here, just call me when you need me,” the driver said.

I got off the car and went in. The investigator I hired gave me the apartment unit number and as well as the key. All I needed to do is execute my plan, or better say my revenge.

There wasn’t an elevator in this rotten building. The wooden floor was creaking, and so do the wooden stairs. Molds were everywhere.

I covered my mouth “You chose a filthy place to hide, Jen. It is as filthy as your dirty mouth.”

I continued to climb up until I was in front of her door. I held the key I had been juggling on my way here. I put it in the key hole and turned the knob clockwise. I went inside and a chaotic place appeared in front of me.

“What the-”, I almost screamed when I stepped on something slimy, and one thing over another. Things were scattered on the floor.

“Not only your mouth, but your whole being is so disgusting,” I said. “What kind of woman can live here?”

I closed the door and waited for a lesser cramped spot so I could wait for her arrival.

I searched the place a bit and tried to find something I could use against her, but she didn’t keep any pictures. The only thing I could see were unpaid dues and countless notice from the banks.

My heart almost this girl, but when I remembered how Avery lost her job she had worked hard for, no pity should be given to this indecent woman.

It didn’t take long when I got the call from my driver, I instantly picked it up, “Sir, she’s on her way to the building.”

I peeped through the window and saw her joyfully walking with lots of things on her hands.

“There you are Jen. It’s really nice to finally see you again,” I thought and an evil grin appeared on my face.

After sometime, I heard her footsteps and her blissful humming of a song over this thin wall of the apartment. Then she tried to get the key into the hole. I heard the lock tick and now the door opened.

She swung the door wide open and entered the room backward to prevent things from falling. But as soon as she turned to my side and saw me standing by the window.

Her face was covered with a grimace, a grimace as if she had seen a ghost. One by one, the things she was holding fell to the ground. The sound of bouncing things on the floor was heard all over the place.

Her blissful humming now turned into mostly stuttering and groaning. Her jolly walks now turned to trembling knees and legs before me.

It took her full two minutes to recover. Her jaw dropped and her eyes were filled with tears.

Then her trembling parted lips began to move, “S-sir D-D-mitri S-S-Sullivan?” I heard her voice with the biggest question in her life.

“The one and only,” I responded disdainfully.