Chapter 123

Chapter 123
Tricia folded her arms tightly across her chest, her brows furrowed in burning frustration as she stood facing Donald. The courtyard air suddenly felt heavier, more suffocating with tension than it had been just moments ago.

Donald stood still. He stared at us, at me, then back at her. His jaw clenched, his eyes hardened, and he let out a sharp exhale before speaking.
"I have nothing to say to you," he said coldly.

"What? Did you hear that? My goodness!" Tricia turned to me in disbelief, her voice rising in outrage.

I stepped forward quickly, trying to keep the situation from boiling over. "Tricia, calm down. I trust Donald completely."

Tricia snapped her gaze to me, hurt and desperation evident in her eyes. "No. Don't do that. Don't trust him yet, Mona. Please. Just look at the facts. Go ahead, Donald. Tell us. Why do you have two phones?"

Donald's eyes darkened, and his voice came out like ice. "I'm not saying anything. How dare you lay false accusations against me?"

"False?" Tricia scoffed, her voice trembling. "Then prove me wrong!"

Donald let out a half-laugh, the sound bitter and hollow. "It's the duty of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused... not the duty of the accused to prove his innocence."

"What?" Tricia blinked, startled by his words. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," he snapped.

I stepped in again. "Tricia, that's enough..."

"No, Monalisa!" Tricia raised her voice over mine, refusing to back down.

Donald's expression turned fierce, his voice rising as well. "Fine! Let's settle this once and for all. Yes, I've got two phones. But whose fault is that?! Huh?! Obviously you, Tricia! Seems like you've forgotten so soon. You bumped into me at the office and made me drop my phone down the damn stairs. The screen shattered! I had to get a new one, but I didn't throw the old one away because I needed some important information still stored in it. Is that a crime now? Is that the 'big secret' I was hiding? Happy now?!"

Tricia opened her mouth to respond, but Donald cut her off with a glare and a wave of his hand. "I'm sick of this bullshit. Excuse me."

And just like that, he turned and stormed off.

"But..." Tricia started, her voice small now.

"Tricia!" I turned to her sharply, my own voice breaking with disappointment. "What have you done?!"

"What?" she asked, her face twisting in confusion and guilt. "I know what I'm saying."

I shook my head. I could feel my heart squeezing inside my chest, not just from the drama, but from the realization that things had just taken a very wrong turn. "You're absolutely wrong. And you should've come to me first before creating this massive mess."

"But..."

"Tricia, listen to me." I stepped closer and looked her in the eyes. "Donald is innocent."

She blinked. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I figured it out. After our talk in the kitchen, I stayed up thinking. And everything just started making sense. Jayden couldn't have pulled all that off on his own. No way. And then I asked mysel...who hates me enough to do something like that? Who's still bitter? And all the answers pointed to one person."

Tricia stared at me, breath hitching. "Who?"

"Cynthia," I whispered. "It's her, Tricia. She brought Godfrey to Las Vegas. She teamed up with him to ruin my marriage. She wants to destroy any chance of me and Jayden ever getting back together. That video, that text-it's all her doing."

"No," Tricia whispered. "No, it can't be..."

"Yes, Tricia. It is. She feels threatened by my presence, scared that Jayden might still love me. And she's doing everything in her power to keep us apart."

Tricia's expression fell apart slowly, her defenses crashing one by one. "But... I really thought Donald..."

"You're one hundred percent wrong this time. And you should've trusted me. You don't know Donald like I do. He's been with me since childhood. He's kind, loyal, and gentle. He would never do anything that would hurt me."

Her voice cracked. "I... I messed up."

"You did. And you hurt him deeply. He was humiliated and insulted for no reason. He doesn't deserve that. Not from you. Not from anyone."

Tricia looked down at her feet, guilt crawling over her like a storm. "What do I do now?"

I crossed my arms, holding in my anger. "You already know. You have to apologize to him."

"But... will he forgive me?"

"I'm not Donald."

"But you said you know him..."

"I do. But even the kindest hearts can be wounded, Tricia. And you hurt him badly."

She wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry too... I'll go and apologize. But before I do..." She looked up. "What are you going to do now? Now that you know Cynthia is behind everything? I mean... what if she sends something else? And the video of Jayden's confession... what if it's fake too?"

My lips pressed into a thin line. "I've thought about that too. And yes, I believe it's fake. But we'll talk about that later."

I gently touched her arm and gave her a look. "Right now, you need to go apologize to Donald."

She nodded slowly. "Yes... I'm going."

Tricia left in search of Donald.
Then she noticed one of my cars gone. Donald in a fit of rage had drove off with the sport car.
Tricia ran back into the house feeling sacred and worried.

"What? Have you apologized ? I asked placing the fruits I had abandoned on the table, in the fridge.
"No"
"Why?
"Donald isn't home"
"What do you mean by Donald isn't home?
"I mean he isn't home, because your sports car isn't parked outside anymore "
"Wait what! Are you saying in a fit of rage... Donald drove off with a car? No, no, no, no. This isn't good. My phone. Get my phone "

Tricia scanned the kitchen and found my phone lying on the table. She grabbed my phone and handed it to me.
I quickly dialed Donald's number.
I panicked when he didn't pick up.
I redialed his number, pacing around the kitchen, hoping he would pick up.
No response.
I turned to Tricia, terror written all over my face

"What? Tricia asked
"Donald isn't picking any of my calls"
"Keep trying. We can't afford to be negative"
"Yes" I tried redialing his number, but my fingers trembled so badly.
Tricia held my hand and took my phone from me.
She redialed his number.
"It's ringing" she mouthed.
"Yes , it rings but no response"
"Hopefully he'll pick"
"Yes.
"Hello! Donald voice came across.
"He picked" Tricia quickly handed my phone back to me.
"Hello Donald, where in the world are you and why did you take my car out when you are boiling with so much rage?
"Oh, my bad. I'm with Joshua. We went for an evening drive to cool off and he's keeping me coming right here. Josh, say hi to mum"
"Hi mum!
Joshua? Oh my goodness. Come home this instance!
"Why?
"Just come home Donald. We need to talk. Please come home"
"If you insist. I'll drive back now."
"See you soon." I ended the call and exhaled softly. "Thank goodness he's safe
"He's safe? Thank goodness" Tricia folded her palms, shutting her eyes..I could feel the tension which had boiled in here leave.
"He'll be back soon. Get ready to apologize. Help me load these fruits in the fridge "
"Yes. Monalisa...I did something bad" she said in a soft tone
"What did you do? I turned to her, my hands on my waist.
"I called Donald by his name
"How bad could it be. Hold up...did you? No you didn't "
"I did and I'm sorry"
"Tricia!

Then I heard mum and I heard footsteps at the hallway.
Donald and Joshua has come back from the drive.
Seems like they were close by .

Donald stood at the door of the kitchen.
"I'm back.. happy? He groaned.
"Yes. You two...need to talk , talk things out. Come Joshua ".
Joshua and I walked out of kitchen , leaving Donald and Tricia alone.
Donald boiling in anger, and Tricia's heart racing as she was scared.