Meeting Him Again - Part 2

Why now? Was the only question running through Liza's mind. She had successfully avoided Jonathan throughout the day but just when the day was about to end and she was finally going to be out of reach, she ended being trapped in an elevator with Jonathan. How cliche, Liza thought to herself, the ex-wife being trapped in an elevator with the man who broke her heart and is also her boss now. It was a scene that she had read in countless manuscripts and an event she wanted to avoid at all costs. She wasn't running away from him, she just didn't have the energy to deal with him right now. The elevator ride that only took few minutes seemed to be taking hours. None of them broke the silence. "Liza..." Jonathan started but Liza stopped him before he could continue. "Don't talk to me unless it is related to office, don't even look at me unless you need me to do something related to work" she said in a calm and cool voice. Jonathan couldn't help but flinch back as the coldness of Liza's voice sliced through him. As if on cue the elevator doors opened and Liza stepped out leaving, Jonathan behind.

Jonathan stood inside the elevator for a few seconds before noticing that the elevator doors were beginning to close. "Shit, Shit Shit "he nearly shouted as he hit the button to open the doors and quickly stepped out to follow Liza. He saw Liza going towards a grey beetle. "Didn't you say that you had forgiven me? Have you truly forgiven me Liza or do you still hate me for what I did to you?" Jonathan shouted making Liza stop in her tracks. Liza had been controlling her anger all day. Even in the elevator, she had somehow managed to maintain her cool but now Jonathan had crossed a line. How dare he bring that up now thought Liza as her temper flared up. She turned around to face Jonathan and Jonathan once again had to catch himself before flinching back at the fury he had seen in her eyes.

A few moments earlier Liza had been colder than the ice queen and he had not flinched back because of the coldness but he had flinched back because he had realized the extent of the damage he had done to their relationship. He could handle an angry Liza but not a cold Liza who remained emotionless when it came to him. But now on seeing Liza's anger he realized that he didn't want just any reaction from her, his words could be damaging what was left of their relationship even more but before he could apologize to her, Liza had marched up to him and had slapped right across his face. Jonathan touched his throbbing cheek, still stunned at the pace at which everything had gone down. One moment she was standing few meters away from him and the next she had slapped him across his cheek and was breathing heavily not even an arm's length away from him. The funny thing was that despite his throbbing cheek, all he wanted to do was to take Liza in his arms and hold her before she once again became out of reach. She had avoided him all day, she asked her secretary to act as a messenger between them, communicating with him only through her. It had driven Jonathan crazy but now that she was so close, he just wanted to hold her, even if her face was an angry red color probably matching the color of his cheek.

Liza had no idea what had possessed her to hit him but in that moment she had lost her temper. She hated that he had brought up the past now. She was already having a hard time dealing with the fact that she had to endure his presence every day and when Jonathan brought up their past she snapped. Liza continued to breathe heavily in and out trying to control her anger while Jonathan simply stood in front of her holding his throbbing cheek and disbelief clear on his face. The white lights of the parking lot flickered around them as if sensing the tension in the air. After a few tense moments, Liza spoke "Don't even dare to talk to me about it. You have no idea what you did to me. You destroyed my trust. You were the first man I had completely trusted and given myself to and what did you do? You cheated on me and the worst part is that even after you cheated on me, you had the nerve to say that you still loved me. Maybe what you did was a mistake and maybe what you did was a result of weak foundations of our relationship but it still doesn't change the fact that you cheated and when you saw me hugging someone or saw someone kiss my forehead you didn't stop to think that maybe it was a brotherly gesture, that maybe he is an old friend of Liza's, no you just jumped at the idea of me being the cheater, of somehow blaming our failed relationship on me. I- " Liza broke off, her eyes glazing over with tears.

She quickly wiped them with her sleeve and continued "I stayed with you even when I knew that you were cheating, thinking that you will come back to me but you, you didn't stop for a moment before throwing divorce papers on my face and kicking me out of the house. You say that I have trust issues that I would have freaked out if you had told me about your kiss with Stacey but it isn't me who has problems, it is you. And even though I have forgiven you for being a cheating ass and or destroying the one good thing in our life, I will never accept you back. Not even as a friend." She said. Liza's face was flushed with anger, her voice rising with every word she said, her fists clenching harder, and with every word she spoke Jonathan broke more and more.

Jonathan crashed Liza to him, as he mumbled "I am sorry, I am so sorry" in her hair. All the memories came rushing back to him. They weren't the memories that he wanted to remember but nonetheless, they had etched themselves in his mind. Every beautiful memory he had with Liza was now permanently tainted by his betrayal. Liza was rigid in his arms, she was holding her breath not moving at all. She was startled at his sudden reaction. She let him hold her for a few moments as he mumbled something in her hair and then pushed back, breaking herself free from his arms. Liza's fury receded and her frosty demeanor took over. Once again before Jonathan could say anything she said in an unfeeling voice "I hope you understand that I don't want to talk about anything related to our past. I don't want to be related to you in any way, please keep to yourself. You have caused me enough pain to last for a lifetime, don't interfere with my life again."

"How can I not want anything to do with you, Liza? I loved you then and I love you now and I will be damned before I stop loving you. I will show you I am different. I will find a way to earn your trust back and I will find a way to make a place for me in your heart" Jonathan said steadily being careful of not showing any reaction to her detached formal voice. "You won't succeed Jonathan because my life is already full of people who love me. There is no place for you I have made a happy and warm life for myself and I won't let you destroy this. I have worked hard to pick myself up and Jonathan this time my walls are stronger than they were back then. You won't be able to break them, in fact, no one can. I was naïve, I believed in you but not this time around so don't waste your time on me and find someone else." Liza said before turning around and getting into her car.

"I will break down your walls Liza and I will become the reason behind your smile again. I can't find someone else because you are it for me. I won't let you go, I will fight for you" Jonathan said marching over to Liza's car and stopping her from closing the door. "There is nothing left to fight for Jonathan" was all Liza said her voice slightly cracking before she closed the door and drove off.

The day hadn't gone as Jonathan had planned. He had prepared himself for Liza's reactions and her harsh words but witnessing them and hearing them was an entirely different thing. He had caused greater damage than he thought he had and somehow he knew that what he was feeling was only a scratch of what he had put Liza through but now it was time to fix everything back together, fix Liza back together. He could see that she had changed and was not the same woman who had left him, she had grown stronger and he was proud of how she held herself, how she stood her ground. Liza built stronger walls around him, she had put distances greater than the sea in between them but he would somehow cross them, he would prove it to Liza he was worthy of her again.