Love Triangle

Collision

It was a miracle how Lucy managed to survive the rest of that week without breaking down. As a matter of fact, she went through it on autopilot, trying her best not to think about what had happened. Maybe if she pretended it didn’t happen hard enough, she would stop having this insane urge to melt into a puddle of tears every time. One thing was sure, though. She was still going to go on this vacation though, as she would be damned if she let those people ruin it for her.

She did not know which one was more painful. The fact that neither Robert nor Amanda even tried to reach out to her after she left Robert’s house in a daze that awful Wednesday. Robert had called her once, although she did not take the call and that was it since then. All she did was send him a message that she was still going on vacation, but she did not want him anywhere around. He did not reply to the message. Amanda did not even call her or do anything, which was actually just fine. Now, Lucy stood in line at the airport, huge sunglasses on her face to hide the fact that her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and too much crying. Her face was also blotched red from crying in the taxi, but there was nothing she could do about that.

She walked with her head down and got on the plane, glad to be leaving the city behind, for some time at least. Everyone had noticed that something was off with her at the office this past week, no matter how hard she tried to be her normal self and pretend that everything was fine. So, it was a huge relief to get away from the place. The last thing she needed was to lose her job in addition to everything else. These two weeks away should be enough to bring her back to herself or at least provide her with some semblance of sanity.

“Hello.” A deep baritone voice said, but she ignored it and sighed, sinking deeper into her seat, as she was sure that the person wasn’t talking to her. She was trying not to dwell on the fact that the seat beside her, which was supposed to be Robert’s was painfully empty, yet for how long was she going to keep missing what was obviously a lie? Sooner or later, she had no doubt that she would have found out what was going on between him and Amanda. She was actually lucky she found out now than when they had gotten married and maybe had kids.

“Excuse me. Did you drop this?” The voice spoke again, more loudly and insistently this time around, and groaning to herself, she reluctantly looked up to see a hand stretching out her purse towards her. She followed the hand and looked up at the body it was attached to, to see a tall, good-looking man in a suit staring down at her with a serious look on his face.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks. That’s mine.” Lucy replied, taking off her shades and smiling gratefully at him. It would be just her luck to misplace her purse before her vacation even started. The man stared at her with that same serious expression for some moments, without returning her smile, and then he gave her a curt nod, before heading to first class. Lucy put on her shades again and watched him go, then sank back into her seat, and proceeded to sleep for most of the duration of the flight. She groggily got off the plane when it landed and made her way into the airport, not knowing what on earth to do or where to go. It was the first time that she was traveling outside her country, and besides, Robert had been the one who had planned most of this thing.

She retrieved her luggage and set out of the airport, intending to flag down a taxi that would take her to the hotel that she and Robert were supposed to have stayed at. It was probably best that she stopped thinking about them together. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she was not really looking where she was going and before she knew it, she bumped hard into someone. The force of the bump was enough to send her down to the floor to land on her butt. She sat down there in mortification and slowly raised her gaze to see who she had bumped into.

It was the man from earlier, the man who had picked up her purse for her after she dropped it, hours ago when she just boarded the plane. He shook his head slightly, apologized, and then extended his hand toward her. Lucy shook it briefly, embarrassed beyond belief. She was sitting down on her butt in the middle of an international airport and was already gathering some odd looks from passersby. She soon realized that the man who had knocked her down was staring at her oddly too, his hand still stretched out and hanging in midair.

“What are you doing?” He asked, raising his eyebrows, his serious expression so comical that for a moment, Lucy forgot all her troubles and almost burst out laughing.

“What am I doing? You knocked me down, mister!” She retorted instead.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that exactly. We bumped into each other, but unfortunately, you got the brunt of the collision. Admittedly, I was on my phone and wasn’t looking where I was going, so I did not notice you. I suppose it was something like that for you too. However, my question was directed at the fact that you seem contented to remain seated on the floor.” He finished, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips and reducing his severe and austere-looking demeanor. He offered her his hand again, and this time, she took it and he pulled her up from the ground. Her cheeks were flaming, and she was sure that it was only a minute or two before she combusted right there with the way she was blushing.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were going for a handshake the first time.” She muttered, avoiding looking him in the eyes.

“It’s okay. There’s nothing to be sorry for. You were embarrassed and weren’t thinking clearly obviously. Plus, you seem to have a lot on your plate right now, so I’m not surprised.”

“Yeah. Anyway, I’m Lucy.”

“Nice to meet you. Do you care for a ride? I’ve ordered a taxi.” The man offered, not bothering to tell her his name. Lucy fought the urge to ask. It was none of her business.

“I appreciate the offer, but thanks. I can find my way.” She told him gratefully, but really all she wanted was to be alone. Making small talk with a stranger was the last thing on her list right now, and from this man's looks, was the last thing he also wanted. He was clearly just being polite.

“Okay. No problem. Have a good vacation now.” He said, and walked briskly away without a backward glance, looking very smart in his suit. Lucy turned to continue to make her way out of the airport but froze in her tracks after taking only a few steps. Her face went ashen, as though she had seen a ghost, and she suddenly felt very faint, much like the way she had felt on the day that she had caught Amanda at Robert’s house. Right there, headed her way, arm in arm, were the very last people she was expecting or wanted to see here … Amanda and Robert.