Cracks
1062 Words
"It's true. Why am I here all of a sudden? I'll go," Victoria said, still turning her face away from Evan.
She started to take a step, but Evan stopped her. "Don't go like this."
Victoria looked at Evan with a look of disbelief. She found it hard to breathe until every breath was short. All sorts of questions and possibilities swirled in her head.
"You asked me to be understanding and patient because we're both busy right now, plus the problems that have been going on at the office lately. But that's not the reason. Is that the real reason? Without knowing, I..." Victoria couldn't continue with her words. Her eyes burned, and it looked like tears were about to fall from them. She flailed helplessly at Evan's body, her entire body weakened by the sight of what had happened moments before. "How could you do this to me? How could you?"
Evan tried to reach Victoria's hand, which continued to pound on his chest. "It's not what you think."
"Let go." Victoria tried to shake her hand from Evan's grasp. "I said let go!"
"You calm down first. Let's go inside. Let's go inside and talk about it."
Victoria, who had been acting hysterical, could only laugh now. She stared intently at Evan's lipstick-stained lips as she rolled her eyes.
"Wipe your lips first," she said.
Hearing that, Evan immediately wiped his lips awkwardly.
As if she had seen enough of Evan and Victoria's argument, the woman who had been with Evan decided to come over and say hello to her.
"Hello, Ms. Victoria," she greeted with an innocent expression.
Victoria was surprised to see a woman she recognized.
"Are you mad? Isn't she your cousin?" She asked Evan.
Evan shook his head, which shocked her even more. She turned to the woman and felt very shocked when she realized that she had been lied to by Evan all along.
"She's not your cousin, is she?" Victoria was at a loss for words, her brain still digesting the situation. "So it turns out you have been lying to me all along. 11 years we've been together, don't you feel sorry for me?"
"No... that's not it. I never said she was my cousin. I said she was... the daughter of an aunt I knew," Evan argued.
"My mom and Evan's mom are close friends, so we're close too," the woman added.
Just hearing her voice made Victoria feel claustrophobic. "I'm sorry, but Evan and I are talking. Can you give us a minute?"
"What do you mean? You must be outraged right now, right?" The woman looked at Victoria's slightly flushed face. "Are you crying? Please, don't cry."
Victoria looked at the shameless woman in disbelief.
"Freya, wait inside," Evan ordered.
"No, I won't. I'll go," Freya said.
Evan forbade her. "Wait inside first. I'll take you home later."
Freya nodded, then quickly walked into the living room of the spacious apartment.
"You just go home. I'll come to you after I drop her off, and then we'll discuss it. Or do you want to wait here? I won't be long," Evan told Victoria.
Victoria still couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could Evan look so relaxed, as if he had done nothing wrong?
"What did you say? Do you want to take her home now?"
"Shouldn't she go home first? I can't let a drunk girl go home alone," Evan said.
"Why can't you? Why can't you just let her go?" Can't she go home by herself? Or do you want to continue this in the car?"
"Victoria, what do you mean..."
"Why do you call her a girl? She's not much younger than me."
Evan sighed angrily. "Are you going to go on like this? I told you, it's not what you think."
"If not, then what? You kissed her on the couch. I saw it with my own eyes. If it's not what I think, then what, YOU THINK I'M WHAT?" Victoria's tone began to rise, but her voice remained shaky.
"Okay, you're right. Who's to say it's not true? It's not what you think. I just made a mistake. Just this one time. And it won't change anything between us. I said I'll take her home and we'll talk later. You're acting like I've been caught cheating on you, and suddenly, you're blowing up and putting me in a corner. Do you really have to be like that? Have you not thought about my position at all?"
"Just once? You mean the only one that got caught?"
Evan chuckled at that. Then he put both hands on her waist. "What do you think I am? You don't believe me? You have been with me for 11 years with this little trust? Is that all I am in your life?"
"What?"
"That's why you came here all of a sudden, right? Because you don't trust me? Wow... that's really mean. You didn't even tell me that you were coming here. You've never done that before. Now you're being honest. You were suspicious of me, so you came here to catch me, right?"
Victoria bit her lower lip. She was at a loss for words.
"You think I came here for that? Why did I come here with this expensive wine?" Victoria voice caught in her throat, and her eyes watered again.
Evan's expression changed. He felt sorry for Victoria for backing her into a corner.
"If it wasn't for that... why did you come suddenly?" Evan didn't continue.
"You're right," Victoria said suddenly.
"What?" Evan was confused.
"You're right. I was paranoid, and because of my suspicions, I bugged your car and came here to catch you cheating. Now that it's confirmed, that's good."
Victoria turned away from Evan and headed for the door. She could hear Evan's voice calling her name, but the man did nothing.
Are you just going to let me go like this? Are you really going to be there with her? Evan Alexander Carter, how could you do this to me?, Victoria thought to herself before walking out and slamming the door.
She left with hurried steps, tears welling up in her eyes. Her heart was broken. Not only because of the betrayal but also because she had lost someone she believed would be her support in her most difficult moments.
- Writer
