Chapter 16 I hope you will like it.
Dahlia
" Where are you?" Cold and emotionless, Jason's voice rang from the other end of the line, and the disgust that coiled my gut was sickening.
The entitlement in his voice, the sheer indifference, it was all beyond insulting, and to think that I had had to put up with it for years, I couldn't hate myself more.
Just how desperate had I been?
" Your father gave me a call."Noticing that I wasn't going to say anything, he revealed, his familiar voice tinged with annoyance. So, he didn't call because he wanted to check on me. He had called because my father had informed him about my arrival.
And the way he spoke? It was like he didn't even care about where I saw.
And as I processed everything, chilling calmness graced my heart...For the first time when thinking about Jason and his betrayal, I didn't feel like crying, bitter, or heartbroken. My heart just stayed still, as if I had finally made peace with everything.
And truly, I had.
My heart belonged to someone else, after all, and in six days, I would be someone else's wife, someone that Jason and his privileged attitude could never measure up to.
" You just left home. Where did you go?" As he asked, he couldn't even bring himself to fake concern, and as his words sank in, a cold sneer stretched at the corners of my lips.
" Since when did young master Jason start worrying about my whereabouts?" I asked, the mockery in my voice hardly concealed.
Since he didn't care, did I need to act around him?
After my question, deep silence dominated the lines, and even from where I was, I could already picture the look on his face.
He must have been in deep disbelief. His expression bordered on surprise and anger.
" Dahlia you you.." The anger that pulsed with his heart was palpable, even through the phone, and listening as the ever-so-proud Jason Riggs stutter, a condescending smile found its way to my lips.
I guess he was so angry that he lost his voice. And that was very understandable, too.
I mean, in the two decades that I had known him, it was clearly the first time that I was talking back to him, and that too, in such a condescending tone. His privileged ego was bound to be bruised.
" We are getting married soon." After what felt like an eternity, his hoarse voice rang again, from the other end of the line, and as his words sank in, I couldn't swallow down the scoff that slipped past my lips.
Getting married? Even after making a fool out of me for so long, he couldn't master up the courage to tell me the truth! What a spineless fool!
If it were in the past, my heart would have perked up in excitement at the mention of the upcoming wedding, but the current me?
I was merely disgusted.
" We will see each other on the wedding day, be good and don't cause any trouble. "
" Take care of everything. I want the day to be special." He concluded, and to his words, my heart shook with so much anger that for a brief second, I saw darkness.
He had already betrayed me.
He had already impregnated Sofia. And still he was telling me to go ahead and plan for the wedding. What exactly was he planning to do?
To make me watch as he married her?
Was his goal to embarrass me in front of the whole world?
When I had overheard him talking to Max, he had mentioned something about apologising to me.
When exactly was the apology going to come? On the supposed wedding day? After making me witness him slipping a ring on her finger?
" Jason?" Doing everything in me to make my voice sound smooth, despite the whirlpool of emotions burning through my veins, I called out.
" Yes." He responded, calmly, just like he used to. There were no tremors in his voice. It was more like he wasn't even guilty, not bothered by the way he trampled over my heart.
" Do you still intend to marry me?" I asked, and before you ask, of course, I already knew the answer, and I was very much okay with the course that my life took after his betrayal. I was getting married to Dalton, after all. The man who stirred in me things I had never experienced before.
I was only giving Jason a chance to come clean with me. To tell me, even if it was over the phone, that he didn't love me.
After my question, heavy silence reigned. From both ends, nobody spoke, just tension, expectations.
Yes. Even after everything, I was still expecting him to be honest with me, if anything, for the sake of the past that we once shared, for the sake of the years that we had spent, growing up together.
" Yes." After what felt like decades, he finally answered, and when his answer seeped through my senses, my heartbeat didn't pause. There wasn't a dramatic pain in my heart either.
What I felt was just clarity. A realisation. I guess, compared to the woman that he loved, whatever past we had didn't matter.
He was hellbent on humiliating me till the very last minute, and I was just disappointed in myself for having expected anything.
" Why are you doubting me? I said I will marry you. I still intend to keep my word." Shortly after, his voice came through, filled with unveiled anger, and I just smiled knowingly.
He thought I was in the dark concerning his cheating, his plans to dump me and marry Sofia.
What he didn't know was that, while he was planning a future with Sofia, someone else had already possessed my heart.
" Jason. "
" I believe you. I am just tired right now. I will go ahead with the wedding preparations. "
" When the time comes, all you have to do is show up." Taking deep breaths to calm myself down, I finally promised, and I heard it as a shaky breath escaped from his lips.
" Very well, Dahlia. I will be looking forward to that day "
" Make sure that everything is in order. " With that, he disconnected the call, and as I looked at the blank screen, a sardonic smile tagged at the corners of my lips.
' Make sure that everything is in order ' I repeated those words in my mind, over and over, and my resolve hardened.
Without wasting a second, I gave my wedding planner a call.
' I have shared a location with you. There are a few changes that I would love to make concerning the wedding. " My voice was cool as I revealed.
" Let's meet and go over the details together..."
It was not until she confirmed her availability that I ended the call.
' Dear Jason. You certainly have nothing to worry about.'
' I will make sure that you like my surprise.' I whispered gently as I proceeded to delete his number.
I didn't need it.