Chapter 411: Frenemies
Michaela’s POV…
I called her out for acting sus, and her immediate response was; ‘What gave me away?’
Sounds to me like someone who’s aware of what’s right in front of her, despite that thing being as invisible as the wind. One of the spiritual gifts that I had access to was the discerning of spirits—and I was quite skilled at knowing the nature of the heart of whoever was before me. I may have only just met Kendra today, but I could already tell that there were things about her that didn’t bring me any comfort.
Granted, there’s no perfect person out there in this great big world. Everyone has their pasts, their sins and their demons. I didn’t have any right or authority to judge Kendra, or anyone else for that matter. However, she was Cherilyn’s best friend. She had access to Cherry. She could influence her in ways I could never know. If she was up to no good, it not only could affect Cherilyn, but me as well. It needed to be addressed.
“Why did you come to New York this week?”
She spread her hands out, pointing out the obvious. “For this conference.”
“Sure, sure. The conference, of course. But what was the other reason? And don’t say that there isn’t one. I know that there is.”
She took another sip from her drink and stood up to me. “And how do you know that?”
“Let’s just say that I’m very good at reading people. It’s a gift that God has blessed me with.”
She stayed silent for a while, almost like she was contemplating whether to level with me or not. It was starting to seem like she wouldn’t talk to me, or she’d find a way to avoid my questions. But to my pleasant surprise, she opened her mouth and answers came flying off her tongue.
“Alright. Since you want to know so badly, I’ll tell you. After I got promoted, I knew I needed to sharpen my managerial skills in order to keep my new position. Then a friend mentioned this conference to me. Initially, I wasn’t interested in attending, but then I found out that it was happening here in New York, and I thought about it and decided to come, so I’d use the chance to see Cherilyn as well.”
She stopped talking. Like that was the entire scoop. But I knew there was more, so I looked at her with a raised brow, waiting for the rest of it.
“But Cherilyn is not the only one I came here to see.”
I arched my brows again. “Who else did you come to see?”
She sighed. “Malcolm.”
It was a bit of a surprise that she mentioned wanting to see Malcolm. I didn’t think she had any sort of relationship or dealings with him, but as it would seem, she does. “Why do you want to see Malcolm?”
She hesitated to answer that specific question. But she still gave me an answer. “He did something for me a while ago, and I need him to do it again. I won’t bore you with the details though.”
She stayed silent after that last comment, just glaring at me with what seemed like hostility in her eyes. I didn’t like it, so I spoke out. “Do you have a problem with me, Kendra?”
“A problem?” I could hear the sarcasm like it was the horn of a giant sea vessel, “Why would you think I had a problem with you?”
The look in my eyes and my immediate silence spoke volumes and she kept on talking, “Oh, maybe it’s because you barged into Cherry’s fairytale story and turned it into this complicated mess of emotions…”
“What are you talking about?”
She raised her voice. “She and Malcolm are soulmates. They reconciled in Vegas. They got back together, even after so many things tried to keep them apart. But then you showed up from out of nowhere and ruined everything—turning what was meant to be a romance unlike any other between one man and one woman into a mystery harem drama film.”
I could hear it now. Her disdain for me. It was becoming clearer the more she spoke. She didn’t like the fact that I was engaged to Malcolm as well. In her mind, I had ruined her best friend’s relationship. I didn’t owe her any explanation, but I felt compelled to help her see the truth of what was now a shared reality between Cherilyn and myself.
“What binds Cherilyn and I to Malcolm isn’t something trivial or mundane. I never asked for this, same as she didn’t. It just kinda happened and we both made our choices. You shouldn’t hate me because I fell in love with Malcolm. And you shouldn’t hate him because he fell in love with me.”
She took a step forward, standing a lot closer to me now. “Oh, I don’t hate you, Mick. I certainly don’t hate Malcolm as well. I know there’s a lot of spiritual ties around this relationship that the three of you are in. I can’t fully understand it because I’m not a part of it, but that doesn’t mean I have to be okay with it. And believe me when I say that I am NOT okay with it. I’m not okay with any of it. I’m not okay with you. I’m not okay with this three-way marriage. I’m not okay with whatever covenant you three are involved in.”
Well, she’s pretty much levelled with me. Now that I knew how she felt, I could either antagonize her OR try to make peace. I didn’t need any new enemies, so I opted for the latter choice.
“I’m not Cherilyn’s enemy or her rival. I truly care for her and we’ve even become good friends. I really hope you’ll keep an open mind so you can see that what I’m saying is the truth.”
She scoffed just before placing her empty cup onto the floor. “Whatever! Let’s just finish doing what we came here to do, so I can get to doing what I came here to do. Excuse me, Mick…”
She brushed past me, intentionally hitting my shoulder with hers. I didn’t think she would do anything about how she felt. But she certainly wasn’t going to be my friend anytime soon. Maybe at some point, she’ll learn to accept that I’m an MC in this story. And that I was just as important to Malcolm as Cherilyn was.