Reyona disconnected the call and looked out of the window of her office.
The picturesque view outside the building didn't penetrate her consciousness at all. No, she was unable to enjoy the view as always, nor could the faraway sound of the traffic mingled with the voices of her employees thrill her the way it normally did.
Not when her heart was filled with so much betrayal that she had no idea how she could stand it.
Not when her mind's eye was focused on the laughing picture of the man who had promised to love her for better or worse.
Not when she could still see herself as the blushing bride who had been so happy to marry the love of her life, the man she intended to make a life with. The man she vowed to raise a beautiful family with.
The man who promised to always be there for her.
She could see the girl she had been then-one who thought she was mature. One who thought that all would be well with her world now that she was married to the man who cherishes her above all others. One who was proud to call her his own.
"How naive," Reyona muttered to herself as a lone tear trailed down her face, marring her lightly made-up face.
"How stupid. How utterly foolish that girl had been."
She looked at herself through the glass wall of her office.
She was a beautiful woman with a heart-shaped face, a full mouth, and clear skin. Her face had matured from what it used to be, but she was one of those kinds of women whose maturity made their beauty bloom.
Reyona flicked off the lone tear that left a track on her face and trailed her index finger over her facial features.
"You will never be that stupid again, Rey. Nobody will play you for a fool again. And those who did, every single one of them would pay," she chillingly smiled to herself as she thought of the call she just received.
The man had come through. She saw his number online and picked it up to give him a call. She had doubted her sanity. Even when she explained what she wanted done for him and he told her he would get it done without stress, she hadn't believed that it would work.
Just that morning, she had called him again and again until she was sure that his patience had been tried. She was so scared that everything she planned would be in vain, all because of a flop.
She had not been relaxed throughout her meeting with her team; her mind had been on the phone, and when it would ring, she could hear the news of the success of their plan. Or the failure of it.
She knew it could only be either of the two, but she would rather learn that they succeeded than fail. She had already failed once when she tried to stop them from getting the visa, but that had not worked as she couldn't provide valid evidence why the couple should not be allowed to leave the country.
She shuddered as she thought of what the result would have been if she had failed. Those two would have been making fun of how foolish she was when they got to their destination while they patted themselves on the back for how clever they were.
"I have truly been foolish," she muttered to herself as she wondered how today would have been for her if she had not known about these days beforehand. Suppose she had not made sure that she did not end up as a laughing stock for someone who thought that he was wiser than any other person. For the one to whom she gave all her whole life.
"How ironic," she thought as she remembered how she had vowed to herself as she walked down the aisle that she wouldn't have a broken home like her parents did. "Divorce was not an option" was the promise she had made to herself that day.
"Whatever happens between us, please let us talk about it. Let us air it out and make amends. Let us seek help if we have to, but please let us never forget this love of ours that brought us together."
She cringed as she remembered how full of love she had been for him when she said that. He had smiled at her, closed the distance by drawing her tighter against himself, and told her that he understood.
"The bastard. He understood, he said. Yet this was what I would have gone back home to meet today. Naive, little me," she thought in anger as she squeezed the slip of paper in her hand tightly.
She did not need to read it again before she could recite it. The letters jumped behind her eyelids even though she closed her eyes.
"I am sorry, Reyona. I know I don't deserve you. Please forgive me. I wish you all the best in life."
That was it.
All her ten years with the man, and that was all she got from him; she did not even deserve an epistle that explained the reason for his action. All she got was a one-line, hastily scribbled note.
She gave a curt laugh as she turned away from the perusal of her reflection in the glass. She unclenched her fist and straightened out the paper in her hand. She kept it in her drawer for safekeeping.
She picked up her bag and looked around to check if there was something she forgot to take. She had a question for the man who thought this was what she deserved after all they shared.
"But as for today, I have my dear husband to go home to. He would need all the comfort he could get today. What kind of wife would I be if I couldn't be there for him to provide it?"