Chapter 5 ***

Avery Rose

My savior and I finally came to a stop and I removed the clothing article from my face. The man, dressed in a simple suit, was oddly familiar, and I tried to picture where I had seen him before. It couldn’t be at the office because I only came in contact with VIP clients.

“Who are you?” I asked but he was barely looking at me. He just bowed his head towards the car parked in front of us. 

“Here she is sir.” 

My eyes followed him and I watched as the window of the backseat wound down. At first, my memory was a bit fuzzy as I stared at the man in sunglasses but as soon as he took them off, the memory of that night hit me like a train.

The kiss!

I realized I never really apologized for it. Was that why he was here?

“I’m.. I..”

“Get in.” 

Just two words and I found myself inside the car in seconds. The car ride was deathly quiet. I decided to use the opportunity to get the apology out of the way. 

“I’m really sorry about that night. I didn’t mean to.” I quickly said. “I’m not usually like that I..”

Realization dawned on me. The news of the affair was all over the news. My face was in the tabloids—the home wrecker.

“I.. I didn’t do it.” My voice choked. The man beside me finally turned and looked at me. His facial expression was blank so I couldn’t even know if he was judging me or not.

Tears welled up in my eyes when I realized no one would believe my word. “I swear.. I.. can’t. I’m sorry I kissed you that night. The news.. someone is trying to frame me.”

“Malcom, park the car.” The man ordered and in seconds, the car was parked and Malcom left the car. 

“I understand if you are really angry about that night plus the news doesn't make it any better. I’m not that kind of woman, I..” 

“Are you okay?”

The question alone made me pause and rethink the last 24 hours. How my life has spiraled downwards.

My phone vibrated in my hands and this time it was my mother. It was the hundredth time she was calling. I didn’t need a fortune teller to tell me what exactly she would say so I switched off my phone.

“I’m fine.. I’m fine.” I repeated like a broken record till I broke out in a loud sob.

“What did I do so wrong? First, it was Caleb and Melody, and this..? All I want is a quiet life and stable income but everyone seems to be against it.”

I felt arms wrap around me and the source of comfort made me sob even more. No one had asked me how I was since last night.

Zizi was being cautious around me and my mother was probably going to make me feel even worse. But here I was, in the arms of a stranger and I was really grateful that a stranger understood me.

A few minutes later, I cried my eyes out. I was so sure they were puffy and my eyes were red but for some odd reason, I didn't feel embarrassed.

This stranger's arm was still tightly wrapped around me, sending a sense of security in me. The silence was broken by the sound of his phone ringing.

His arms slowly left my body and I felt cold. He stepped out of the car but I heard him barking into the phone. I also stepped out of the car and saw that we were in a park. A kids’ park.

I watched as the stranger walked further out of the park and Malcom was nowhere in sight. I sat on a bench beside a little girl who was writing in what looked like a diary. She probably felt my gaze on her as she looked up and adjusted her glasses.

“Have you been crying?” She asked.

I guess it was obvious that I almost cried myself to death a few minutes ago. I nodded my head. She sighed while shaking her head. Then she dipped her hand into her pocket and took out a piece of candy.

“Here you go.” She said and I thanked her before unwrapping the candy.

My eyes went back to the stranger who saved me. He was still engrossed in the call. I shouldn’t be here. After all, he was another person I messed with. One more person in the line of people who would want to have my head on a platter. 

“Can I have a pen and paper?” I asked the girl beside me. As soon as she gave me the paper, I scribbled down an apology/thank-you note.

I stuck it on the driver’s side of the car before leaving. I switched my phone back on and my mother’s threatening messages filled my phone. I found a taxi and decided to get it over with.

The taxi driver kept looking at me funny and I figured he must have recognized me from the news. A tinge of guilt filled me a little when I recalled the note I left. I didn’t know if after everything he would let me go freely so it was better I left on my own.

“Um.. where to miss?” The driver asked and I realized I never really told him where I was going. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I couldn’t live on Zizi any longer and obviously, my shared apartment with Caleb was out of the question. There was only one other place I could go to where I had a room and my clothes.

I finally arrived at my mother’s house. I prayed to everyone above that she wasn’t at home at the moment so I could have some peace. But obviously nobody there was on my side as I saw her car parked outside and the woman I knew would never ever go anywhere without her car.

I took out my keys and unlocked the door. There she was sitting on the couch watching a telenovela. She turned around and saw me. I held my breath for a second. She slowly walked towards me and for a minute I thought she would actually hug me and tell me everything would be fine.

In a flash, her palm came in contact with my face and I staggered backwards. 

Once again, I had let my hopes go high.