Chapter 5: He doesn’t know my name

And there she was, loving him with every pour of her being, and he had become the continuum of unanswered prayers who didn’t know her name.

~ARLET~

````````````````````````````````````````

Aghast, my senses benumbed, looking at the people. It didn’t take time for me to realize the reason behind his placidity. His parents seem delighted with happy tears. And the little girl clapped when she beamed towards me with expected eyes. They hadn’t seen Reile, and for them, I was the face of Ruben’s life partner. Momentarily, the paparazzi sealed the deal, exposing my face to this world as Ruben’s better half.

But the way his friends read me with anxiousness, I knew I was heading

towards the unstoppable storm.

We stepped down from the stage, and I quietly followed him. There was no smile on his face, just pure anger. We walked towards the car, and it was hard for me to pace his long strides with my sloppy wedges and ill-equipped dress, but I tried and stumbled when Milo grabbed me.

“Arlet... what.. is.. this...” trust me, Milo, I asked this question a thousand times in the last ten minutes. I swallowed with weeping soul and teary eyes and tried to gift him a smile, but it didn’t come. I know he could read my eyes more than anyone else. But today, he seems hurt to me.

“What the hell did they do to you?” He asserted, and the rage for William and Debbie surfaced. I grabbed his hand and shook my head, and with silence, I told him not to create any scene, not now when I was responsible for Ruben’s reputation. He cupped my face, keen to caress my tears, but before I could feel the warmth, I was pulled away harshly by someone.

I was taken away from Milo. The pain shoots in my forearm were given by none other than Ruben. He dragged me towards the car like he was desperate enough to escape the chaos we had found ourselves in.

He opened the back door and pushed me inside as if I was the one who could deem the disgust in that stare and his touch, while other people saw the desperation to have his wife for the wedding night.

Gratingly, he slammed the door, hinting he hated me with all his guts.

My eyes served the unknowing crowd. My gaze stuck on the face of crinkles of bewilderment; Oliver and Milo looked at me. I cursed myself for everything today. Why couldn’t I speak when I could have told Milo this was not the way I wanted to go with the man I was in love with?

“Take home.” That was the first time I heard Ruben so close enough to me. As much as I want to listen to him, he seems upset with everything surrounding him, including me.

“But boss, what about the cake ceremony and....” Driver utters the word but cuts down midway when Ruben yells at him.

“Shut the fuck up, Trevor. D..R..I..V..E.”

Trevor, the man, didn’t dare to look into the mirror and silently took us from the place where it all started. Should I tell him how sorry I am for being involved involuntarily? I shifted, keeping my peer down at my feet, swallowing hard.

The journey was quick in the distance, but it seems every minute turns into years. His heavy breath made my heart churn with fear. He huffed and didn’t bother to turn his face in my direction. The vehicle rests in an open space in front of the fountain. Before I could scan the sight, Ruben got out and slammed the door.

Trevor gave me a questionable look in the rear mirror.

“Hello, Mrs. Rodriguez. I am Trevor.” I blew a half breath and mustered a nervous smile with a nod.

He came from his door towards my side and opened the door for me.

“Welcome to your new home.”

My chest sank, and my heart painted in pain. What am I supposed to say or do? Is this my new home? How could it be when the owner of this house didn’t want to see me?

“You must be tired. Call me whenever you want. I am here at your service.” Trevor seemed nice, but this poor guy didn’t know; I was not acting like a proud bitch whose attitude change as they sniff richness in the air, but a mute woman. Before he adds my name to this list, I point toward his pocket.

“Do you need a pen?”

I nodded as he handed it over to me.

“Wait, let me grab a paper.” He fished out a paper from the front pocket and handed it over to me with a confused face.

Hello Trevor,

I am Arlet.

Nice to meet you. Please don’t consider me an arrogant person. It’s just that I can't talk.

I am mute. ;)

As I handed over the paper to him, his expression turned blank.

“I am sorry, I didn’t know that.”

I smiled at him to settle everything. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Rodriguez.” “I will bring your stuff.”

I stood there silently and watched the mansion. A beautiful garden, fountain, and a gazebo. The mansion was embellishments with the flower of red and white. The path was filled with red petals, showing how passionately he had planned his perfect day with Reile.

Taking small steps consciously, knowing I was not the one he wanted to welcome over these delicate petals. I took out my wedges and held them in my hand. As I reached the door, I was greeted by a lady in her late fifties.

“Hello, mam. Welcome home.” She hugged me with all the motherly warmth.

“I am Magda, the housekeeper,” I smiled and left my wedges aside.

Before she could express more, we heard a smash from the inside.

Trevor left my duffle bag, and Magda and I sprinted inside to check what had caused it. It turns out Ruben has smashed a vase on the floor.

The time has come for me to add insult to injury.

“Boss...” Magda whispered.

Ruben turned over his heels and waved his hand toward Trevor and Magda.

“Leave.”

“Take a day off.”

She gave me an uptight look and nodded in agreement as the command marched into the air. Trevor pressed his lips together and joined Magda with a concerned look at me. They left me alone while he was pacing here and there.

I stood there waiting for him to settle the score my family had dragged him into. He lifted another vase and smashed it next to my feet, making me jump into my place.

“Answer me.” The voice at his highest pitch echoed in the room, making me scared to my soul.

I raised my peer, watching him getting close with the disgust carrying in his eyes only for me. He pulled my forearm heatedly. I couldn’t understand where the pain started. My feet or my arms.

“Answer me. Who the fuck are you?”

His venom-laced words bruised not just my heart, but my soul as well. He was my world, the continuum of my prayers, and he doesn’t even know my name.

He shook me at my place, wanting me to utter the word which was hard to form in my punctured throat, but the impact was settling on my feet when the broken pieces of the vase skewered slowly at my feet.

“Where the heck is Reile?” He pushed me to the floor, and I fell like a dead leaf.

The bitterness was not the one I wished to see in his eyes. He grabbed his coat and walked out, leaving me all alone in this mansion.

I pulled my feet close and took out the piece engulfed in the scarlet liquid of my body. I ripped a part of my bridal dress and wrapped the bleeding wound. Your freedom is my suffering, Reile.

With those, I busted into tears of pain; nobody was there to look at my vulnerability, and nobody was there to listen to my unheard screams.

I was that Rapunzel, whose prince, took her out of the tower and left her alone in her misery. This was my wedding’s first day, blood on my dress, and the suffering of being a replacement.

I looked around to cover myself in this cold weather but found nothing; keeping the pain, I rolled myself onto the rug and slept, wishing tomorrow never comes for me.