Chapter – 19

When I woke up the next morning, Orlando wasn’t in the bed. The clock showed 10:15 a.m. The delicious aroma of crispy bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs wafted to my nostrils. I turned to look at the hearty meal as a smile graced my lips.

An orchid with a note rested on top of a glass of water.

Arianna,

I’m leaving early for work. I’ll call once I’m done here.

Orlando.

The note was simple. I appreciated his responsibility as warmth coated my insides. After the heart-warming breakfast and a quick shower, I was just pulling on my dress when it came to my mind that we had to leave today. Crap. I didn’t want to leave yet.

Remembering I left my slippers in my room last night, I hurried to pack.

“I won!”

I was greeted by Rosie’s squeal when I opened the door. The entire girls’ group was here, including Chiara. The girls chuckled under their breath as I made my way toward them. They were packing my clothes.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Chiara. “I thought you wouldn’t surface for another week or two.”

Chiara rolled her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Besides, Enrique is arranging a ride for you guys. Orlando had to leave early and took the chopper.”

“Oh.”

“We knew you wouldn’t be here, so we came to pack for you. But, man, was it worth it? Never in my nine lives have I thought I’d get to see you walking bow-legged. And that’s how it feels to have a hot man in your bed.” Rosie held her stomach, laughing hard.

“Shh…quiet, bish.” I felt the familiar heat rush to my cheeks. “I’ll give you a hundred dollars when we get home.”

Rosalinda winked. “I’m so happy for you, Ari. But I don’t want your money. In fact, I changed my mind. Make me the godmother of your baby with Orlando.”

“What?” My eyes almost popped out of their sockets while Skyler and Chiara boomed with laughter.

“If that’s the case, I’m calling dibs for the second kid.” Skyler raised her arm.

“Hey, that’s not fair. I’ll get the third, then,” Chiara said, pulling Skyler’s arm down.

“In fact, I think we should all try for a baby at the same time. If we succeed, then our babies will grow up together and be best friends, just like us,” Rosie said in a dreamy voice.

“Girls!” I yelped. “It was just one night.”

“Yeah, first of the many to come.” Chiara wiggled her brows.

“I don’t even know if I’ll see him again. He’s leaving for his business trip this week.” I could hear the complaint in my voice.

“So what? You can always talk to him.”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. That nagging doubt was back again. What if Orlando didn’t want to see me after this? What if it was nothing more than a fling for him? It’s not true.

“Hmm…let’s see, did he hold you after you did the deed?” Chiara asked.

“Um…yes.”

“Did he say you felt good? I mean, was he vocal about his desire for you?” Skyler asked.

“Yes.” I bit my lower lip, wondering what they were getting at.

“Was it a one-night thing, or did you have a repeat this morning?” Rosie sounded like a detective, and it made me laugh.

“We had a repeat.” Now I was blushing. He made love to me again in the early hours of the morning.

“Did he kiss you after each time? Or did he do anything else that felt intimate?” Skyler asked.

I thought for a moment. “He kissed me a few times and rested his forehead on mine the other times, staying like that for a bit.”

“This is an intimate question,” Rosie drawled. “Did he pull out immediately, or did he stay in you while he held you?”

“Um…” That was very intimate, but there were no secrets between us. It had been that way for many years. “He stayed in.” If you didn’t count the first time.

“You got yourself a keeper, Ari. Cheers!” Rosie declared, and the others beamed.

“How do you know all this?”

“Experience and information we gained by talking to other women.” Chiara shrugged.

I hoped they were right. Now, if only Orlando would see it that way.

***

At first glance, nothing much had changed since I last left this place. But on close observation, I noticed the new additions. The lawns were mowed, and new decorative plants had occupied the place of the old ones. It wasn’t a surprise. How easily they replaced things. The artificial fountain now held a brand-new statue of Venus.

The taxi drove past the garden that now sported new flowers and ornamental plants. A team of professionals were buzzing with their equipment.

Regret filled me when I stepped into my parents’ home. Coming here was a mistake. But I needed someplace to stay while planning my next move. I wasn’t eager to meet anyone. However, when I stepped inside, I bumped into someone, and my eyes almost bulged out, seeing my mirror image.

That bitch. Anger flared in my veins. What the fuck was wrong with her? I wanted to blast and push at her, but I knew how she’d react. She’d stagger back with crocodile tears in her eyes. My good-for-nothing parents would support her, saying she was just trying to mend her relationship with me.

When I changed my hair color to not resemble her anymore, she now stood before me with a new hair color that matched mine. Brian hovered behind her, and when our eyes met, they held. It was as if he was apologizing for her behavior. The crestfallen look on his face caught me by surprise.

With a shake of my head, I steered clear of her and climbed the stairs to my room.

“Miss Swanson!”

My feet stopped out of habit, and I turned to see the wedding planner.

“We were waiting for you, actually.” She laughed nervously. The planner, in her late twenties, had a friendly demeanor that stopped me from snapping at her. “Your bridesmaid gown is here. If you could—”

“She is not a bridesmaid.” Andrea, one of her bitches, came forward. My sister just stood there, silent. Her friends always did the dirty work for her.

Oh, so they were stationed here forever now. Didn’t they have homes? As for the bridesmaid part, I rolled my eyes. I never would’ve played the role, anyway. Why bother when it held no meaning to you or the bride?

“Oh, but here…”

“Maria, as I said, she doesn’t want to be a bridesmaid. Her schedule is too busy fucking elite bachelors to attend her sister’s wedding.”

Fucking bitch!

“And what about you, Andrea? When will you ever grow tired of being my sister’s bitch?”

Her face distorted, and I noticed my parents entering the scene. Very well.

“You—”

“Does Alana know that you used to fuck her high school sweetheart while they were dating? Oh, she wouldn’t know that since she was too busy keeping up with her grades.” I continued, enjoying the shocked expression on her face. Her mouth gaped like a fish out of water. “What I do and who I date is none of your business.” My eyes narrowed at her. “Stay out of it. And that goes to everyone here.” With that said, I turned and left without a second look.

Coming here was a mistake. Once again, the insecurities and worry were beginning to crawl their way back into my mind. Being in the same room with them was the last thing on my planner. I didn’t bother going down for dinner. Instead, I munched on a granola bar while browsing through my I*******m page, blocking her, him, and their friends.

I was about to block his number from my phone contacts when the message came in.

Brian: We need to talk.

I ignored it.

Brian: Please…It’s urgent.

My fingers hovered over the keypad for a moment.

Arianna: There is nothing to talk about.

His reply was instant.

Brian: Meet me at the park. Our usual place at 12 a.m.

I blocked his contact and tossed the phone aside. The nerve of him. What did he want to talk about? It was over. He was getting married in less than a week.

My mind drifted to Orlando. He hadn’t called yet, and he didn’t respond to my calls or messages. Maybe he’s still busy.

I missed him already. The two weeks in New Ikandas changed my life forever. It made me realize many things I hadn’t given a thought about before. The first thing I learned was to love myself more.

Mike and Skyler invited me to stay at their place until the wedding, but I politely declined, saying I wanted some time for myself, which was true. I looked around the room I’d had since childhood. Alana was never willing to share her space with me, so we were given separate rooms when we turned two.

Growing up, I never understood why she wanted first place in everything she did. We never were the sisters we should’ve been. She’d proven that on our fourth birthday by pushing me into the pool. The memory has been etched in my mind forever. I approached her group and asked to be included in the game they were playing.

She’d called me mean names my childish brain couldn’t comprehend and pushed me into the pool, ruining my dress. The only words I understood then were, “I hate you. I wish I never had a sister.” Still, no one scolded her that day.

A lone tear escaped my eyes. Whoa, there…aren’t we supposed to get past this? You decided to cut ties with them and move on, remember? Yes. I swore never to shed a tear over them again, and now I was going back to square one. With a determined sigh, I took the phone and called Rosie.

“Hey, bish, what are you doing?” she greeted. I could feel the laughter in her voice. She was happy.

“Nothing. What about you?”

“We’re shopping.” That explained the loud noises from her line.

“Okay. Carry on, then. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just bored. That’s all.”

“I’m in the Linnesse City Mall. Why don’t you join us?”

I contemplated that for a moment. “Nah. I’d like to stay in.”

“Okay, then. Call me if you need to talk, okay?”

“Okay.”

Getting up from the bed, I went to the closet and decided to pack my things. A few minutes into the job, I realized I had many things that reminded me of him. Without another thought, I began tossing his gifts and cards into a box. My heart dropped, and my hand itched to open them. See them one last time. No. It won’t bring any good. I kept the dresses and jewelry he bought for me and packed them in a separate bag to put it in a charity box.

A few hours later, I stopped when my back ached. There were so many things left to be sorted. I had a habit of keeping everything, and the boxes I had were now overflowing with items I never had any use for.

My back groaned in protest. I checked the time, and it was past one a.m. After thinking for a moment, I decided to take the garbage out and then take a shower before bed. A quick glance at my cell phone told me there were no calls or messages from Orlando yet.

It shouldn’t bother me. He was a busy man, and it wasn’t like I was his priority. That thought hurt. No expectations. But didn’t I cross that line already? Over the two weeks, I had not only moved on from my ex but also had fallen head over heels for my crush.

When I exited the room with two garbage bags, there was no one outside. It was a ten-minute walk to the main gate and then another five to the dumpster. Usually, the servants did the job. A grunt left my mouth when I ran into someone.

“Arianna, I thought you’d never come.” His voice was relieved.

“I’m taking the garbage out.” My legs didn’t stop their march, and a strong hand took one of the bags from mine. I continued toward my destination, with him following close behind.

“There’s a lot I need to tell you, starting with how sorry I am.”

His words fell on deaf ears. The warm breeze fiddled with my hair where it had escaped from the band. I clutched the bag tighter in my arms, half dragging and half carrying it.

“A sorry won’t rectify what I’ve done to you. I was forced to choose her, and my parents would’ve never accepted you.”

My eyes rolled. He would get no response from me. Did he realize he was helping me to remove himself from my life? The bags he carried contained the worthless gifts among the other things he’d bought for me.

“I should’ve fought harder for us. And I should’ve—”

“Do you need any help, sir?” one of the security guards volunteered.

“Sure. Can you carry this one out, please?” I handed him my bag.

“Certainly, ma’am.”

“Ari—”

“Thanks for helping, Brian. My sister must be waiting for you.” I turned and walked away without another look.