Chapter Two
My thoughts were a tangled web of suspicion and fear. As I retreated home, I knew in my gut that Isabella was the culprit. She had always been jealous of my relationship with Leo, and her motives were as obvious as her distaste for me. When I got home I remembered that I forgot my files in Leo's house. I tried reaching out to Leo, but his number was not reachable. The file was so important. With each passing minute, my need for the forgotten files grew stronger. I decided to leave my house and I left for Leo's house. I entered and I noticed the room was unlocked, I wondered why he had decided to open his door. “What? What's going on?” My heart sank as I met Leo and Isabella kissing each other passionately. I ran out with fear gripping me, I went to my house, tears streaming down gently. “What have I done to deserve this? What level of betrayal is this?” I said with tears flowing. Some minutes later, my door was opened, it was Leo who entered. He knelt down in front of me, begging. “I am sorry, I do not know what to say, nothing I can say can justify what you have seen, but I want you to realize that it's not my fault” “Please, I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear anything from you, I need you to leave my house now!” I yelled. “I understand how hurt you are, I knew I have hurt you but I still need you to forgive me, right now, there's nothing we can do than to embrace ourselves and forget the past” “Really? How dare you say this Leo? You gave in to Isabella? You know how much that lady hates me, you know she doesn't want to see me, you know how she would go around spreading rumors about me, yet” I stopped and continued, “what do you want that I didn't give you, what do I not deserve this from you? What?” “It's not my fault Rachel, ever since the engagement and ever since we have chosen a date for our official wedding, you have not been giving me attention, you focus more on the wedding preparation forgetting who you about who you wants to marry” “Really? It's fine, I know you will later blame me for everything, I knew I'll be the one you will blame after I caught you with her, it's fine” “Rachel please, everyone has known about our wedding coming up in less than a month. You have shared invitations to actors, politicians, singers, models and even my parents had invited big and top people, this can't be canceled, you know that, right?” I shook my head in dismay, “The effort I had put, we saw each other today right? Regardless of how busy I am with work and wedding preparations, I still make sure to have time for you, well it's fine, but, I am giving you one hundred points, but anytime you offend me, I'll deduct one, and once it's finished, we are breaking up, break-up is still much better than divorce after all” “Hundred points? Anytime I offend you, you deduct one? Then it's fine, how will I offend you 100 times? That's not possible” “It's fine, you can go, I just want to be alone for now” “Really? Are you still angry?” “Angry? No” ***** My finacé and I have decided to go for a photoshoot, for pre-wedding pictures. As a model and the celebrity I am, I was supposed to be posting pictures but my fiancé is not really a social media type, so I decided not to. But this time, he gave me the go ahead to upload our pictures in every social media. He came to my house to pick me up. “Good Morning darling” I hugged him. “Good Morning, have you called the man to inform him about our coming?” “Of course” I said, as I entered his car. “You look handsome more today, your hairstylist deserves accolades” I said, touching him around his arm while he was driving. “I forgot to say, yours too deserve accolades because you look very beautiful” “Do you mean I am not beautiful” “No, I just returned…” they both laughed harder. Just then, the sound of notification buzzed on Leo's phone. Leo brought out his phone and checked. I don't know what the message is all about but his mood changed. Some minutes later, he stopped the car. “I am sorry Rachel, I will have to turn back” “What happened?” I was curious. “You know what?” He took his bag and left the wheel “What's going on?” “I won't be going today again, just use the car, I need to be somewhere urgently, be safe” “Is it that urgent that you can't tell what it is, Leo?” I was worried “I will tell you about it when I get back” I watched him leave without uttering any further words. I slid behind the wheel of the car, and I drove to the office. “I thought you wouldn't be coming to the office” My personal assistant said. “Why do you think so?” “It's less than a month to your wedding, I think you should be preparing” “I thought about that too, do you think I should be heading home?” “Of course, I'll take care of everything, this is once, and you need to celebrate it very well” “Alright, it's fine, help me pack all the files that you think I will be needing while in my honeymoon” My personal assistant smiled on hearing the word ‘honeymoon’ She helped me pack all the files to the car. “This is your fiancé's car right?” She teased. I smiled, “Of Course” “Aww…. I love it, less than a month to the wedding, you are already driving his car, you two are both in love, I am wishing you the best in your marriage” “Thank you dear, keep giving me feedback on everything dear” “Yes, and are you taking all these to your house?” “Yes, I am, any problem?” “I am thinking you should take it to the house you will be staying in when you get married straight, taking it to your house when you would soon be vacating there?” “Whoa! That's a good idea” I said as I sat behind the wheel of the car. “Bye, take care” I said. “I think I would be grabbing her idea, she's sensitive, that's why she's my P. A” I said as I drove towards the bridal suite. I sped towards the bridal suite, with a screech, I parked my car and raced inside. As I stepped in, I was shocked to see the sight of my step sister and my fiancé rolling around the bed. “What?” I said, with my mouth wide open. Without Leo panicking, he stood up from the bed. “I am sorry Rachel, but you need to cope with seeing me with women if you want the wedding to hold” “What?” “If you are done you can step out” Isabella, my step sister said. “Don't you two feel remorse? Like, what have I done to deserve this, Leo? You didn't feel any remorse about what you have done?” “I just said something, I said you need to cope with seeing me with women, Rachel, we aren't married yet, we are engaged, fine, our official wedding is coming in days, fine, can't we do what we want? Even when we get married, you need to see coping me with women” “Don't you have a conscience at all?” I shouted. “Yes, I lost it since, at least out of 100 points, a point deducted, 99 remaining” “Just shut up” “Do you remember tomorrow is the family gathering, this is unfair Leo” “And what does this have to do with the family gathering?” “Don't you two have shame at all?” Isabella laughed bitterly, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Why would I be ashamed? Leo was the one who came to me, not the other way around. I’m not the one who forced him to cheat on you, please spare me and do not involve me in your matter” “It's fine, I am going to leave the both of you to do whatever you think is right, it's my fault for believing in love thank you” I ripped the engagement ring from my finger, casting the once-cherished symbol of love to the floor with a contemptuous flick of my wrist. I was expecting Leo to stop me from breaking it, but it was the other way round. He watched me break it. I couldn't keep the tears from flowing, tears flowing down to my cheeks. “And you Rachel, do not beg me to get you another ring, you will pay for the consequences” “I won't, is that what you want? I will stay away from you, so you two can enjoy yourself, thank you for staying by my side all this while, and thanks for betraying me at the end, I appreciate” “You sound like you want to stop the wedding from holding, but we both knew that's Impossible, you just want me to say ‘Rachel please’ we both know the effort you had thrown to the wedding, so now you need to excuse us Rachel” “If that's what you want, I had to excuse you” “Why is she talking like she wants to end the wedding when we knew what she had done, she did it like her future depends on it” I can hear Isabella's voice while leaving.Chapter Ninety Six: PeaceThe room was quiet, the hum of the evening outside barely heard through the windows. Rachel sat on the bed, pulled her knees up close to her chest, and looked down at her hands. It had been an emotional day in surges which would leave one drained and still feel lighter than it had in weeks. She had heard Noah's words, taken the weight of his forgiveness, and finally-finally-allowed herself to believe that moving on was possible.But it was not only the past that weighed upon her with Noah. It was something deeper, far deeper, which she carried with her for much longer: the weight of decisions taken and actions she had led herself into in this position she is in presently. And none of these would have been possible without Vanessa.That made Rachel stop and think. Her friend, her confidante-her best friend-had always been there for her. In the maelstrom of their pain together, however, there was a part inside Rachel that wondered whether those choices had been
Chapter Ninety Five: The Unannounced VisitThe air was cool that evening, with that certain sting that made one clinch the jacket tighter and quicken the steps. Noah and Stephanie just stepped out of the restaurant, with the silence between them thick with dinner. Noah's mind had raced since their conversation, but his resolve had only been strengthened. He had to do this. He needed to see Rachel, to tell her he had forgiven her and wanted nothing other than for the two of them to be free to move on in life and find peace.Stephanie walked beside him, her hand clasped in his. She knew what he was doing, and as much as the wiser part of her still harbored her own reservations about the situation, she did understand that Noah needed this for his healing. She couldn't deny that a part of her was nervous, too-this wasn't going to be an easy conversation. But they couldn't ignore the past forever. Sometimes, closure was the only way forward.They turned to the building that housed Rachel's
Chapter Ninety Four: A Dinner Between HeartsEvening had worn into the comfortable silence; Noah sat opposite Stephanie, watching as she carefully placed the settings of the dishes she prepared for the better part of the afternoon. The hum of the kitchen at the restaurant behind him was accompanied by clinking of fine china and silverware, with wafting smells of fresh vegetables and herbs that reminded him of how much he had missed homely comforts.With a quiet contentedness that only can come from cooking for somebody dear, Stephanie smiled brightly at him across the table. She had always been a fantastic cook, and tonight wasn't going to be an exception. There was such delicacy in the balance of tastes and flavors on his plate to confirm her genius, but more important than anything was the fire that lit with her presence there, and her laughter that danced around the room in its voice.You know, she said, sipping her wine, I think this might be the best meal I've made in weeks. Mayb
Chapter Ninety Three: Rachel's Inner StruggleRachel sat alone in the darkened room of her apartment, hands clasped tightly around a mug of tea that she hadn't sipped. The warmth from the cup seeped into her palms but did nothing to quell the chill gnawing at her chest. She hadn't been able to get out of bed for the past few days, but today, her mind couldn't afford the luxury of lingering in self-pity any longer.She knew no longer what to do with herself as the world kept blurring into one big confusion of pain. The weight of her actions weighed heavily upon her, at times insurmountable. She quit her job, the one thing that anchored her into some kind of routine, just to get away from the tension slowly choking her. The thought of facing Noah after everything that had happened-after having betrayed him and watched him move on with Stephanie-was just too much to bear. Her guilt was eating her from the inside out, spiraling further down each passing day.The betrayal nipped at her con
Chapter Ninety Two: The fight of Rachel and Vanessa's Growing PressureShe sat on the edge of her bed and stared into the quiet night out her window. The city glowed alive, but every one of its lights, so it seemed, was farther away from the storm brewing in her heart. An ache inside her chest made her feel the air thicken enough to suffocate her with every desperate attempt to get more air in. It wasn't the night that was heavy, but the torment inside of her, her guilt, the betrayal, and all her wrong choices.Each time her mind drifted to Noah and the days with him, she remembered how he loved her, took care of her, and was there for her during the days when she needed it most. It now felt like the memories had been poisoned. Every touch he had given her, every word of love, every gesture was clouded in the knowledge that she had betrayed him. Not just once but twice-first by dating James, then by her part in Stephanie's kidnapping. She had crossed lines she could never uncross.Tea
Chapter Ninety One: GuiltThe soft, rhythmic sound of the rain tapping against the windowpane provided almost a melancholic soundtrack to Rachel's thoughts. She sat alone in her small apartment, the dim light from the lamp casting long shadows on the walls. She stood stiff, her hands curled into fists where her nails had dug deep into her palms to steady some unevenly escaping breaths from her chest. The whirlwind of turmoil, guilt, and regret all swirled within her mind.Rachel had sat here for hours without the slightest idea how much time had actually elapsed since she last checked her watch. Outside, the world had dulled to a gray haze, rain diffusing reality and fantasy. Her head was filled with visions of what had taken place during the last days. The look on Stephanie's terrified face when they took her away-when she and Vanessa dragged her away-stayed in her mind, awake or asleep. It was a memory that she could not shake, no matter how hard she tried.She thought of Noah and h