Chapter 42 Clarity in Situationships
I ran my hands through my hair, thinking of what to do and blaming myself for letting my mother into the house.
“If only I had known that she would talk about her,” I whispered to myself.
As I was still talking to myself, my phone beeped.
I reached for it on the table and it was Marcus.
“Are you home?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m on my way,” he said and dropped the call.
I tossed the phone to the side and sighed, staring blankly into space.
A few minutes later, I heard a sound from the door. I stood up sluggishly and reached for the door.
“Hey man,” he said with a small smile tugging at his lips as he raised the wine he was holding.
“It took me a while to get this,” he added.
“Come in,” I replied, stepping aside.
“What happened? You don’t look good,” he said, looking at me with his eyebrows drawn together.
I locked the door and walked over to the couch while he headed straight for the bar cabinet and picked up two glasses from the rack above the wine.
“I think I’m overthinking it, but I feel like Joan heard my mother talking about Cassandra,” I said as he placed the wine bottle and glasses on the table.
“Wait… how did that happen?” he asked, his brows raised.
“Joan visited me this morning, not long after my mother arrived too…” I started.
Then I explained everything that happened.
“That’s fucked up man,” Marcus said, leaning back against the chair.
“I know right… I actually don’t know what to do now,” I replied, my face blank.
“She might not hear your conversations with her… but why would your mother want to talk to you about Cassandra?” Marcus said, lifting a glass of wine.
“Isn’t that bothering you?” he added.
“I don’t know… and for real I’m not interested in knowing,” I muttered, lowering my gaze.
“Don’t worry about Joan though. I’m sure you will know how to salvage the situation even if she heard,” Marcus replied and gulped the wine down his throat.
“I hope so,” I sighed.
JOAN COLE’S POV
I couldn’t stop thinking about what I overheard at Alex’s house as I drove back home.
And no, I didn’t get any call from Theo. I just wanted to leave his place to process and again, I didn’t want his mother to come back and meet me there.
“Maybe the Cassandra is his ex-girlfriend,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Could he be married?”
“What if he was married and is now divorced?”
I blinked rapidly, trying to shift my focus back to the road.
“Why do I even care? It’s not like we have anything defined,” I told myself, my grip tightening on the steering wheel.
“What we had was just chemistry, and just one unforgettable night.”
Then I remembered.
“I want you back, Joan.”
“Hmm,” I shook my head immediately at the thought.
When I got home, I met Theo in the living room, snacking on a bowl of cereal.
“Hey, sissy,” he said, looking up.
“Where is Lena?” I asked, dropping down to the couch.
“She should be in her room,” he replied, pointing in the direction of Lena’s room.
I stood up and headed for Lena’s room.
She looked up immediately when she heard the creak of the door.
“You are back early,” she said, sitting up on the bed.
I forced a small smile as I dropped my bag beside her and slid down onto the bed.
“Yeah.”
“What happened? You look like you fought with someone on your way back,” she said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied my face.
“I’m fine,” I chuckled lightly.
“Okay,” she replied and returned to her phone.
The room fell silent for a while. I thought about telling her about Alex and me, but I quickly snapped myself out of it.
She wouldn’t like the idea.
“Well…” I started, rubbing the back of my neck.
“A colleague of mine asked me for some advice today,” I added.
Lena looked up, her eyes slightly widening.
If there’s anything Lena likes in this world aside from charming men, it would be gists.
“About what?” she said, balancing herself against the bed frame.
“Hmm,” I sighed.
“Spill,” she said calmly.
“She said she overheard her boyfriend’s mother talking to him about another woman,” I stated.
“And?” she replied, her brows slightly pulling together.
“She said she doesn’t know what to do… whether to confront him and ask him who the girl is or pretend she didn’t hear anything,” I added, tapping my feet against the ground slightly.
Lena leaned forward now, now fully invested.
“That’s suspicious,” she said.
“That’s what I thought too,” I laughed dryly.
“If the mother is discussing another woman comfortably, then there’s definitely something going on,” she continued.
Then I swallowed, trying hard to make my expression as neutral as possible.
“So what do you think she should do?” I asked, waiting eagerly for an answer.
“She should ask him directly,” Lena replied without hesitation.
“No woman deserves to sit and overthink while a man keeps options.”
I sighed and nodded slowly, my mind heavier instead of feeling lighter.
“But what if…” I said and paused.
She looked at me, waiting for me to land.
“What if they are not officially dating yet?” I finally added.
“It doesn’t matter. If emotions and intimacy are involved, clarity is important,” she replied with a serious face.
“Oh,” I muttered, leaning back to the headboard as I stared at the ceiling.
And yes, I wasn’t sure if I would follow her advice because I didn’t know if I was ready for clarity.
“What if I asked and I didn’t like the answer?”
That was the question ringing in my ears.
Lena nudged my legs lightly, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Are you sure this is about your colleague? You seem to take it seriously,” she said, squinting her eyes dramatically.
“Yes,” I said quickly, forcing a small smile.
“I just hate situationships,” I added.
“Well… tell your colleagues not to ignore her instincts,” she said, clearly not convinced.
“Anyway, Marcus and I are getting along really well,” she smiled.
“Oh… good for you. I just hope you say that again in the next couple of days,” I replied as I stood up and reached for the door.
“I think this is different,” she blushed.
I scoffed, then I stepped out of her room.
As I walked towards my room, her words kept ringing in my ears.
I opened my door, took a deep breath, and flung my bag onto the bed.
Just as I was about to sit down, my phone buzzed in my hand.
I checked and it was a message from Alex.
“Did you get home safely?”
I sighed and stared at the screen.
The moment I placed my fingers on the keypad to reply to his text, another message popped up on the screen.
“Hey, Joan. Are you free to talk? I want to talk to you about something important.”
It was from Dave.
I paused, my finger hovering over the phone’s screen.
“What could that be?”