Chapter 4

“WHY are you home this early? I thought you had a date.” Shari greeted Einille with a perplexed look.

Even Einille was dumbfounded to see her at home, too. She thought Shari had a twenty-four hour duty today.

“Hero didn’t arrive.” She didn’t hide her sadness. She put her handbag to the glass center table and slumped down to the couch.

Until now, her chest was still heavy in disappointment with Hero. She wanted to blame him and repeatedly cursed in his face, but she didn’t want to start a quarrel. All she wanted was peace of mind.

“You mean he does not show up?” Shari gaped in disbelief. She sat near her, “This is too much, Couz. What happened?” her voice softened.

She shrugged, “He said he was on in a way, but suddenly his stomach went upset.”

Shari rolled her eyes, “Just wow! I’m impressed with his reasons. He’s busy all the time, and every time you’ll meet, he is sick. Great! I’m excited to know the date of his burial, too.”

“He’ll drop by here tomorrow.” She didn’t mind Shari’s reaction.

Einille could not blame her cousin. She knew everything about them. Even though she advised her not to continue her relationship with Hero, she never listened.

 “When will you stop? Isn’t this enough? He is abusing you!” Shari gritted her teeth.

“I know. I just want peace of mind.”

“That is your problem, Einille. You are too kind. That guy is taking advantage of it.”

“I want to rest.” Einille stood up to end up their conversation. Shari would not stop lecturing her. She wanted to be alone.

She quietly went inside her room and slept with an agony of mind. Her cousin was right. She was too kind that sometimes she forgot to love herself.

Although, she wished to understand the situation. Maybe she was just too proud to admit that she chose the wrong guy. Perhaps this was the right time to let go of the things that made her cry.

“I’M SORRY …” Hero whispered over the phone.

Einille’s hands trembled as she put down her cellphone. She waited for him at home this morning before she went to work, but he didn’t come. Now he received a call, and his words slapped her hard.

She deeply inhaled to calm herself. Honestly, she didn’t know where she was getting the patience to restraint her emotions that would explode anytime. Everything was answered why Hero suddenly became insensitive to her feelings.

“Ein, I don’t know how to say this, but the truth is…I’m already married with two kids….”

Einille hardly shook her head. These words reverberated in her mind. She couldn’t believe it! At first, she thought it was a nasty prank. But he was serious, especially when she heard the other thing he had to say.

“Listen to me, my wife is back, and she got my phone, and I’m afraid she might read some of our conversations. But don’t worry, I made sure you won’t be involved. Just please, don’t do anything to ruin my family….”

Einille’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Unbelievable! He had the audacity to ask that from her? He made her his mistress! And it was so degrading on her part. Especially she had a reputation to maintain.

“Please, Ein. Have pity on me, don’t do anything stupid.” Hero pleaded.

If only it were legal to kill someone, she would probably pull the trigger and shoot him in the head. They were in a relationship for almost a year, and she was too dumb not to hint out his behavior?

Yes, it was solely her fault. She should have listened to her instinct before. But she chose to be blind because she was madly in love.

Einille wanted to throw a fit, but it was no use. She held herself to think rationally. She couldn’t cry either because she was in the office, and that would only catch attention.

How dare you! Her blood boiled. She had to massage her temple to put her emotions in place. That bastard! What the hell had he done? She trusted him, but why did he repay her this way?

Fuck you! Why did you drag me into this mess? She clenched her fist. This was the primary reason why he couldn’t make her a priority. He made her a homewrecker unknowingly!

Einille prayed that they would not cross paths. God knows what she was capable of doing. Especially now that everything was still sinking in her mind.

“Hey, Ein! Why you look like you want to kill?” Rab joked when they bumped into the hallway of the Crime Lab. He held a folder with thick pages of papers inside.

“If only that’s legal, I would.” Her jaw flexed.

“Seriously? Who made you this mad?” Rab appeared concerned. He paused from walking and studied her face.

“My boyfriend, I mean ex-boyfriend now.”

Rab’s brow raised, “I knew it, love life again. What happened?”

They slowly walked into the hallway and went out, going to the bench near the garden. She spilled everything to Rab without mentioning Hero’s name.

Rab appeared shocked, “What the fucking fuck! Let’s hunt him down. I won’t blink if you shoot him in the head thrice. These kinds of men shouldn’t be alive.”

“I would probably do that based on how furious I am. But on the other hand, I don’t want to stain my hand with the blood of a useless man. I believe in karma.”

“Let it go. You’re pretty and young. You deserve someone better.” Rab tapped her shoulder.

For a while, she looked around and felt the fresh air fill her lungs. Her chest would blow, carrying unnamed emotions of pain and betrayal. She couldn’t believe what just happened.

Thankfully, the day went well, and her duty was done. She hurriedly went to the parking area. Her forehead creased when she noticed the blue Audi parked next to hers.

Oh Lord, not now, please.

But her prayer didn’t reach its destination because Vale immediately materialized in her eyes.

“Hi Ein, I came here to see you. Are you okay now?” Vale asked cheerfully. He just went out of his car with a bouquet of white roses.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, not hiding her irritation. She was still trying to cool down her head, and dealing with another nuisance would not help.

“I guess I’ve got another bad timing.” Vale gestured his hand to lightly scratched his clean-cut hair.

“I’m not feeling well today. I’m sorry.” She looked down.

“I understand. Take a rest.” Vale smiled and handed her the flowers, “This is for you. I had an appointment with Sergeant Marquez for the shooting competition. I was just waiting for you to come out.”

“Thanks,” she tried to smile, holding the bouquet.

“See you around, Ein.” Vale nodded, and before she opened her car, she heard him said, “Please, be careful.”

She didn’t make an effort to look back. She went inside her car and drove fast.

Vale only shook his head to see the reckless driving of a red sedan.