Chapter 2: Breakup

Eliza stayed in the kitchen to have a word with Noah, giving them both some privacy to get dressed.

She couldn't believe what she just saw. All these months, Eliza had done nothing but taken care of Noah, who had been relying on Eliza for his rent and to even pay the bills.

She did all that for him and this is how he repaid her. Eliza's strong demeanor has shattered, it was hard to stay strong and act like nothing hurt, it hurt like hell.

She hugged herself to gather some courage as tears after tears made their way down her cheeks.

"Yeah? What is it?" she was startled by the voice from behind her, it was Noah. He was still in the process of buttoning up his shirt while behind him stood Taylor in her shorts and wearing one of Noah's shirts.

"Why is she here Noah?" Eliza couldn't hold back the shock she had received. Her eyes were scanning the two in desperate need of finding guilt in them. 

"Who are you to ask me that?" Taylor tried to come forward but Noah's gentle grasped around her wrist ceased her steps. 

Eliza vaguely watched their skins coming in contact and then smiled weakly, "So, you did have feelings for her." a tear made its way down her cheek, an indication of her withering hopes. 

"You never told her?" This time, Taylor didn't speak to Eliza, her question was directed to Noah, who stood in front of Eliza like a shameless person with no guilt in his eyes. 

"Told me what?" Eliza felt her heart missing a beat, Noah didn't look like he was ashamed of getting caught with Taylor, he looked relieved as if what he couldn't tell Eliza, she found it out herself.

"You did not break up with her?" Taylor, who totally ignored Eliza, continued to glare at Noah. Oh! So, it was him who kept the secrets.

Wait! 

The shock hit Eliza so bad that her words got stuck in her throat. He wanted to break up with her? Eliza watched Noah's face for an answer, how could he do that to her?

"Answer me dammit!" Taylor was in command now; he lowered his head before her and both Eliza and Taylor got the answers. 

"Listen, I couldn't okay? But trust me, I did not even touch her in months." Noah didn't even care Eliza was the victim here, his whole attention was only fixated on Taylor.

"Is that why you were distant from me?" Eliza inquired; it was killing her inside that none of those were considering her emotions. She was there, right in front of them and they weren't paying her any attention. 

"You stuck around because I was paying your bills?" Eliza raised her voice to get them to look at her, she was shivering in anger. Sadly, she had not learned to stand up for her rights. Everybody else mattered before her own desires and that's where she had messed up. 

"And why else would have I dated you?" Noah gave her what she craved, attention and answers, "Look at yourself, always working and doing things, earning more than I ever was." He shook his head, confusing Eliza at her own existence, "Because of you when I lost my job, I never gained the confidence to apply anywhere else, you spoilt me with unnecessary gifts, by paying my bills." that was Noah for her, he had never truly cared for her. Noah was facing Eliza in pride, his posture was intact like he had nothing wrong, his eyes glaring right in Eliza's eyes with no guilt or shame. 

"But after Taylor came back into my life, she made me realize that I need to work, I can't rely on someone. She gave me motivation---" Noah was going on and on about Taylor when a broken Whisper from Eliza cut him in the middle of his words. 

"I did that too," she was caught watching his face with streams of tears flowing down her eyes, "I did more for you. I helped you with your CV, I found jobs for - - y," she hiccupped on her words as the tears made it hard for her to finish a sentence, "I did so much for you bu--" Poor Eliza, all she wanted was him to listen to her broken heart's cries, but was intervened abruptly by Taylor. 

"Because you did it to make him feel cut below you. You wanted to show your power on him, to control him." Taylor had her body leaned forward, almost ready to attack Eliza with her spiteful words, "And if you have a little shame left, you will leave this place and stop contacting my boyfriend." she finished, coming forward and holding Noah's hand. 

There was so much Eliza wanted to say but as said earlier, she had never learned to listen to her heart. 

"Noa---!" Eliza couldn't speak, her tears were choking her up. 

"Didn't you hear her? She said leave," Noah, who saw Eliza struggling to speak his name, yelled at her. Making Eliza step away in fear of his anger and almost hitting her back with the washbasin.

"And take that bouquet and everything," He stepped aside for Eliza to walk past them. 

The special day for Eliza turned out to be the worst day of her life. The humiliation she felt was unbearable, but it's not like she could go back home and cry in her bed like normal girls. She had responsibilities to take care of. 

"We should have asked her to clean the mess she had made on the floor," Eliza heard Taylor's whisper to Noah. 

She picked up the bouquet and left his house in misery. No matter how much she tried to get the disgusting image out of her sight, her mind ended up flashing it before her eyes. 

"I told you! He wasn't loyal. Had you slept with me I'd never cheated on you." she heard a shout from behind her and her brain instantly knew it was the old creepy neighbor.

"Ma'am are you okay?" the driver must have seen the tears on her cheeks that he rolled out of the car to help her get inside.

"I'm fine, thank you," she nodded, taking the back seat and swiftly looking for the makeup wipes. She must have forgot them in the office because she couldn't find them. 

Her hands were shivering in a weird feeling of hopelessness and getting rejected. 

The show must go on! 

With her smeared mascara on her cheeks and a shattered heart, she forced a smile, getting prepared for the rest of the day.

Eliza entered the office building, trying her best to fix up her ruined makeup. The teared-up mascara was the most difficult to get out from her cheeks. In order to cover up the black colour, left behind by the mascara, she applied a bit of powder and concealer before stepping into the elevator. 

As she reached the top floor, she was greeted by her father who was happy to see her. She walked right into his arms as he gave her a tight hug. She needed that comfort the most after a horrible time. 

“Thank you, dad!” she exclaimed as got out of the hug. She put up a smile on her face to cover up the sorrow she was battling with it, internally. She knew she had to behave professionally during work and not let her personal life interfere but it was truly easier said than done.

The breakup hit her hard as she saw the time she spent with Noah, disappear into nothingness. Everything felt like a lie to her. It felt like a disaster. 

“Eliza, are you ok? Her dad asked her as he forced her lowered head to rise, making eye contact with him. She was unable to think straight. Noah’s words kept flashing in her mind. Despite being a strong person in life, she was greatly affected by the breakup. She never thought her year of dating him would lead to this. 

In order to show that everything was ok, she put up a smile on her face in front of her dad, even though it was difficult to maintain it. 

“Yeah... I am great!” she said with a sigh. She was fidgeting with her fingers simultaneously. 

Her dad looked skeptical. He was not able to buy his daughter’s happy smile. It seemed quite forced to him. He knew his daughter well so it was not easy for Eliza to hide her sorrow from him. 

“Are you sure?” he asked her to try and get her to speak the truth. 

Once she heard those words of her dad, she could not take it anymore. Eliza was unable to keep her smile intact anymore. In a matter of seconds, her smile broke and droplets of tears started to fall out of her eyes. 

She shook her head from side to side vigorously as a response to her dad’s question before placing her head against his shoulder. Her tears soaked into her dad’s expensive suit but he did not worry about it. His daughter valued more to him than his suit, no matter how expensive it could be. 

He began to gently caress her dark chestnut coloured hair to comfort her. It was a challenge to get her to stop but as a father, he knew his ways. 

“It’s going to be fine. You did not need that loser anyways. You were too good for him!” he complimented her to get her spirits high. Unlike any other parent, what Tom said to her was not a lie. He genuinely meant it.

“I know... I know” she choked on her words a bit as memories of her and Noah came into her head. Even though she was deep in her emotions, she managed to compose herself.

Eliza carried her head out of her dad’s shoulder and lowered her head, making her hair cover her face. She began to fix her face by wiping out her tears. Her dad handed her a handkerchief from his pant pocket to help her blow her nose. 

After she was done cleaning up her face, she took a look at her watch and realized that it was time for the meeting.