Chapter 30 City D
>>Clio
My mouth gasped open while his eyes went wide as he was looking to the side after getting hit.
I slapped my hands on my mouth, “OH MY GOD!” I stood up in fear and pure panic, “I’m so sorry!” There was enough space for me now to escape, “I’m so sorry, that wasn’t my intention! I-I panicked, it’s just that I have a lover and I-” I froze as I caught his expression.
He hadn’t yet turned to look back at me while my words made his expressions turn grim. The air between us changed, it suddenly got tense. He clenched his jaw tightly and his eyes turned dark. He balled his fists as if trying to suppress his anger but all of his actions made me tense up.
No, it scared me.
“Ah, um!” I wasn’t sure what to say or what to do here but I knew what I did was wrong, but when I tried to do something, Matthew turned his head to look at me with a fierce gaze. The look in his eyes made my heart drop to the pit of my stomach and before I knew it, I bolted towards the door out of fear.
I ran past the couches and grabbed the entrance door to open it but as soon as I barely got to open it, a hand slammed it shut over my head.
!!!!
I froze and I felt an ominous presence behind me. It was like a large shadow looming over me with malicious intent.
It made me shiver in my place and I found my heart skipping a beat, but I couldn’t just keep standing there, even though it was overwhelming.
“S-sir?” I couldn’t bring myself to look back, so I just kept a shaky hand on the doorknob as I kept looking ahead.
“Do you,” Matthew spoke softly, contrary to my expectations, “Love your partner?” His question was the most unexpected thing I could have expected for him to ask but it did somehow calm me down by distracting me and my shaking stopped.
I lowered my gaze but didn’t look back at him, “Yes,” I replied, “I do,” My heart felt a little warm as I remembered my boyfriend, “He’s helped me a lot in life.” But why would he ask me that? What does he get out of this?
…
There was a pause. His answer didn’t come immediately and I couldn’t bring myself to look back at him. I don’t know why, maybe because I was still afraid.
“I see,” His voice sounded angry and the fact that he had such a domineering and violent presence didn’t really help but he took his hand off the door and stepped aside and I didn’t waste any more time in opening the door and escaping his office.
Frantically closing the door behind me I looked up to see Lily, the secretary, giving me a strange look. Understandable though, I didn’t enter from here and it may look like I spawned out of nowhere, making it all the more suspicious.
I’m sure she noticed the commotion that happened in there as well..
I looked away in shame and began to walk away but as soon as I took the turn that opened to the office where my colleagues work, all of them raised their gazes when they saw me come out of the CEO’s office, making me freeze.
“Oh?” Imani was the first one to speak up, “Didn’t you go to the terrace?”
Jacob eyes me, “Why are you coming out of there?” And all eyes were on me. Messing with my emotions even more.
My heart was pounding in my chest, “I-” I gulped as I averted my gaze, “Got caught slacking…” It seems like lies just spew out of my mouth easily but this wasn’t exactly a lie either. He did catch me on a call.
There was a moment of silence, then the office burst into laughter making me purse my lips and my cheeks go red. I was already scared, now the embarrassment had mixed in.
I glanced back at Lily from the turn I was standing on and although she was suspicious of what I had said, she didn’t say anything and continued her work.
“That’s why you should have been careful.” Everyone started giving me remarks and I quietly walked to my desk.
The laughter eventually died down but I noticed Chris hadn’t moved a muscle, neither did she acknowledge my presence. She was the only person that didn’t laugh in the whole office and looking at her made my heart hurt.
Maybe I should tell her about Rameen. Or maybe I should tell her that she was with Matthew the last time I saw her.
I wanted to talk to her but just then I noticed Dave stand up and walk towards the CEO’s office and something popped in my mind, “I would like to go to City D with you Dave!”
Dave panicked the moment I said that, he paused and looked at me with fear in his eyes.
“What?” He was bewildered and so were the rest of the people in the office. But I was desperate, I needed to go back to City D and meet Nolan, it had to be that I was away from him and feeling too alone here that I was finding Matthew attractive. Why else would I like someone who could be a criminal?
“I can’t take you with me,” He said outright, “If you want to go anyway, go on your own.” He turned away, “I have work to do.”
“What?” I stood up, “Why?” The truth was, I didn’t need to go with him but I would have liked the company, solely because I was feeling overwhelmed or else I would never have asked about it. What happened in the office was making my heart heavy and I really really needed to escape and go back.
Dave didn’t give me an answer and just walked away. It was odd, but no one in the office said anything about it. When I looked around at everyone, they all just looked back at their screens and continued to work.
I don’t know how I managed to pass the rest of the day but luckily, Matthew didn’t come out of his office and as soon as it hit five, I ran out of the office and ran straight to the train station. Got the ticket for the train to City D and got on.
All the way there, I kept thinking about Matthew and how I slapped his face which was so disrespectful. This was the second time I had hit him and also the second time he just let it go.
I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs to give myself some support as I stared out the window. It was a stupid thing to do for me to go today since tomorrow is Friday and a work day but my feelings were so messed up, I couldn’t wait.
The sun was setting, the orange sky and how it dyed everything in its hue was mesmerizing and I wondered why Matthew didn’t fire me? Why was he so nice to me? If it was anyone else, they would have hit me back.
To everyone else, I am a man, so they wouldn’t have thought much of it and done it
…
So why? And do I find him scary, then soft, then scary again? Why is everything so weird when it comes to Matthew? Why?
I kept thinking about it, but I couldn’t get an answer and just like that came my destination. I got off at the station and got in a Taxi to go to NLN.
My heart was conflicted but I knew as soon as I’ll see Nolan, I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. He’s always been there for me. He has helped me and my mother in the most difficult part of our lives.
He was there when everyone else left us and because he was there we both survived.
I ran into the office even though the lights were off. Everyone else must have already left but Nolan had a habit of staying behind. He’s an ambitious person, so he likes to close things himself.
I gulped as I ran up the stairs.
Nolan! My heart began to beat faster. Nolan! Please be here! I really need him right now! Just one hug would be enough. Just a little hug, a little time, some chatting, that’s all I need.
Really! An hour would be enough, then I’ll go back.
Just Please! Please! Please! Be here!!
I really need this! I can’t go to see mom. She’s already hospitalized, I can’t worry her. So Please Nolan, please be here! You’re all I have!
I reached the office floor and turned the dark corner. The office lights were almost all off except one but I didn’t stop. I kept going till I saw Nolan’s office and saw the light seeping out from the door that was open just a crack.
!!!
My heart lit up the moment I saw that and I already felt better.
Oh yes,
My chest felt less queasy and I slowed down, letting myself catch my breath as I walked the rest of the way to his office.
Just a little time.
That’s all I need. He said he needed me in City A, so of course I’ll have to go back to City A and keep doing my work but for now, just a few minutes with him will do.
I just need some reassurance. I’m just overwhelmed.
That’s all.
I reached his office with a soft smile on my face.
He’s always been here for me. I know I didn’t let him know beforehand but I’m sure he won’t get mad at me for this.
I reached for the door when I heard something-
“You! Stop,” It was a woman’s voice, “Nolan!” And it made my hand stop right above the doorknob, “We have work tomorrow.”
“Just once more,” It was Nolan’s voice
And I know peeping is not good but when I heard two voices of two different genders coming from the same office, I couldn’t help but peek in through the crack in the door.
And that was all it took for my heart to drop in the pit of my stomach.
There they were. Nolan and Cherelle engaged in intimacy while Nolan was on his desk chair and Cherelle was sitting on top of him. Her hands roaming around his cheek and his chest while his hands slid down her back and grabbed her ass, making her jump.
I watched as my heart shattered while they kissed each other with fierce intimacy.
The moment was like a dagger through my heart, a revelation that shattered the fragile illusion of trust. I stood there in the shadows, hidden from their view, as I watched my boyfriend with no stranger but his own secretary.. The room seemed to spin, and the air grew heavy with a mix of disbelief, heartache, and a simmering anger.
“....What?”
Betrayal, sharp and biting, surged through me, leaving me breathless as my body refused to move, forcing me to watch them. It was a sensation that seemed to claw at my chest. The person I had given my heart to, the one I thought would always be by my side, was entwined with another, their bodies and their intimacy a painful reminder of what we never shared.
“He was never this intimate with me…” I whispered to myself as the pain in my chest grew, “Why?”