Chapter 19: Nineteen

BETTY

Ten years ago, I flung Adam’s engagement ring at his face yelling at him to go to hell.

With anger, I loaded every last one of my belongings into an oversized suitcase and walked out of his apartment, my face stained with tears and mascara. But I had no regrets. Even though it hurt, I swore, no, I cursed never to return.

Sometimes I wished this were all a terrible dream I could wake up from. But it wasn’t, that was my love story.

Two weeks later I saw him again.

I had just finished lectures and was sipping coffee at the café when my gaze landed on him. He was walking out of a building alone grinning to himself and I thought that was odd.

I tried to keep my head down but my silly heart still ached when I saw him, that face, damn, I missed kissing them, and those dreamy eyes, the same ones that made me forget my worries, he sure had a way of leaving his prints in my life, one that was so hard to erase.

When I finally dared to look up, he was chatting with a girl, no, a lady, she was not a colleague, infact, I had never seen her around the block, she twirled a strand of hair around her finger , her grin stretching from ear to ear and her face was flushed as well.

I knew that look; Son of a bitch! He was flirting with her, saying false sweet things to her and that made me even more annoyed because I fell for it once. My stomach churned in anger.

With time I got to know her name, Natalie Grey. She was quite popular.

They say when you are interested in knowing about a person you begin to hear about them everywhere.

“Natalie is so hot, I heard she’s a senior,” a nerdy guy who looked like he was a fresh man said to his fellow friends as they walked past my office, I was about to step out for another cup of coffee, anything to keep me awake, these past days have turned me into a full blown workaholic at least it helps me distract myself from thinking about Adam.

From the nerds' conversation, I learned she was the new ‘Editor-in-Chief of the campus magazine.”

Editor?

I guess Adam had a thing for writers.

But Anika wasn’t one. She was just a rich man’s daughter who loved to club which was before Adam trapped her with kids.

I did my research on Natalie, she was of Spanish descent, a beauty with brains with long dark wavy hair that caught the sun like a strand of silk. She was the kind of woman who made people turn due to her elegance and curvy shape. I used to think I was confident enough not to compare myself to another woman but I guess I was wrong.

Adam caused this!

She wasn’t just an editor, she was also known for hosting fundraisers, I had expected her to be awful but she wasn’t n, she was not only pretty but smart and compassionate and that terrified me.

At first, I thought they were just friends, it’s nothing, I told myself, maybe she was just consulting him for an article since he was in the literature department, maybe… maybe maybe.

But maybe it only works for about a month, because soon I started seeing more of them together, seated at the cafeteria, attending student union parties, even grinning at the back row of the library where I thought I could escape them.

Once, I caught her walking out of his office adjusting her skirt and fastening the last button on her flowery blouse, her gaze landed on me but they slid away as she rounded the corner.

It reminded me of myself at the dinner stroke engagement party only that I’d been sensible enough to notice the red flags.

Then I did the craziest thing; I tried to warn her thinking she needing saving but it was late she had already been brainwashed byAdam, she called me crazy and pained ,reporting me to Adam and the school authorities for harassment, and just like that he spiraled, I spiraled, and before I knew it we were both spinning out of control.

This incident left me destabilized for weeks. It kept me awake most nights so I had to stop taking coffee and rely on antidepressants and sleeping medicine. I cried myself to sleep almost every night soaking my pillows in tears while he was out there living like we’d never happened. Maybe Natalie was right, I was crazy and consumed with a pain so deep that I couldn't bear to see Adam happy with anyone.

I was almost at the verge of losing it when Dwight found me lying unconscious on my carpet one night. He had dialed my phone but it went straight to voicemail. I had overdosed on the antidepressant, he rushed me to the hospital, and insisted I stay at his place for a while till I was strong enough to get back on my feet. His partner, Mathew welcomed me too but I knew I couldn’t continue to dump my emotional baggage on them forever. One month passed and I was still a ghost wafting through the night on their couch.

I had to take matters into my hands, hence, therapy. I searched for the best in the city and found Rose; from the very first session with her, I knew she was the one I could trust with all my sorrows.

She helped me heal slowly yet painfully, there were days I wanted to end it all but I’m glad I didn’t. I thrived.

And I swore to never let Adam Bolton crawl into my life but I was wrong, Adam wasn’t done with me yet.

Ten years later I stared at his name in an email from the principal, my blood running cold immediately.

“This can’t be!” I gasp in shock.

As soon as my Monday lecture ended I stormed into the principal Charles office without even knocking. He looked up from the stacks of books in front of him, puzzled, probably because I wasn’t even trying to hide the rage boiling inside of me.

I’ve had enough of this bullshit!

My jaw tightened as I moved forward “Why would you do this?” I asked.

He straightened in his seat adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose with casualness, “Professor Betty! I was just about to call for a meeting with you later.” He said nonchalantly.

A fleeting smile crossed my face as I folded my arms across my chest, “I thought I’d save you the trouble, I’m here because I got your email. About Adam sharing a class with me.”

He gasped. “I know how hard that is for you.”

“Exactly! Which is why I was shocked that you authorized this.” I retorted sharply

“Whether I authorized it or not isn’t important. You need to learn to work with him, Professor.”

I scoffed, “This is ridiculous, oh, it’s outrageous and disgusting, I’m not working hand in hand with a man that almost ruined my life.

“Betty….”

“No… with all due respect, I’m capable of handling my class. I don’t need any assistance, especially not from him, you know this Mr Charles.”

He leaned back against his seat rubbing his temples with both hands. “I understand your frustration, I was shocked too when I received this instruction but I need you to know that this is not my doing, it came from higher authorities, I don’t have a say in this.”

“There has to be something we can do…”

“I’m afraid there is little we can do.” He said gazing right into my eyes. “This has to do with Mr Bolton, he pulled some strings and made this happen.”

I squinted my eyes going silent immediately, faking obliviousness. “Mr Bolton? Do you mean Adam’s father?”

“Exactly! I don’t know the details but they specifically requested Mr. Adam to be the new head of the literature department, the order was explicit, he’s also going to assist you for the entire semester, if not longer .”

I almost choked on my spittle. “You realize what you’re saying right? You are putting me in the same room with him, week after week, month after…” my voice trailed off weakly.

There was a moment of silence before he cleared his throat.

“Like I said, I understand how you must be feeling, but I’d advise you not to make this more complicated than it already is. You should be lucky you still have a job. If Mr Bolton had pressed harder we could both be jobless.”

I bit on my lower lip, “Are you trying to guilt-trip me?”

“Of course not, I’m only trying to be logical.”

I stifled the urge to tell him ‘fuck you’ instead I just nodded and forced a smile. “ Funny…. It doesn’t sound like it.”

Without waiting for his response I stormed out, her heels thudding against the tiled ground. My heart racing at the same time and the flood of feeling I’d experienced yesterday at the café came rushing pack, the panic attacks gnawing inside of me but I forced myself to stay calm and composed; he could be anywhere close, and I can’t afford to let him see me break after all these years, there was no way in hell I’d let him see that weak side of me again.

I swallowed hard, clutching my bag tightly as it hung from my shoulders.

I still can’t erase the fact that he was back, not just in the university but in my space. In my mother - fucking life.

Deep down I wished Michael would show up with a cup of coffee because the hallways were already starting to blur around me but I wanted nothing else from the Boltons. Students bustled chattering about things I couldn’t comprehend. It would be terrible to collapse right here with too many eyes and chances for him to notice me.

My phone buzzed and I reached out for it on purpose.

One new message.

From an unknown number.

I froze staring at the screen, it said; We should talk, you would want to hear this.

Wei should talk. You would w

I already knew who it was, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to listen to any damn thing he had to say.