MY EX WANTS ME BACK

Chapter 9

Charles' Pov

I had no choice but to leave Erika's office with my shoulders slumped. I could feel her anger towards me. I want to explain everything to her about the reason why I hurt her before. But how can I explain to her if she doesn't want to give me a chance? She doesn't want to have any more connection with me.

I can't blame her if she still hates me so much. I hurt her a lot and I didn't give her an explanation. But I can't blame myself either because I just don't want her to be sad when she knows that I am sick and dying. It was the doctor's damn fault why Erika and I ended up like this. If he had not been careless, my result would not have switched the result of the man who also had a check-up at the same time as me who had the real illness that the doctor told me I had.

When I got inside my house, my body was so heavy that I sat on the sofa and leaned my head on the back of the sofa. I closed my eyes. I don't know what to do to win back Erika's heart and trust. Before, when she sulked with me, I used to woo her by giving her cherries which she likes to eat. But now she doesn't like this fruit either. Poor fruit. It got ignored because of Erika's anger towards me.

I opened my eyes and grabbed my cellphone from the pocket of my long sleeve. I dialed Erika's number that Linda gave me along with the details of David and his company. Erika's cellphone rang many times before she finally answered my call.

"Hello? Who is this?" she asked me.

I didn't change my cellphone number since then because I was waiting for her call. But six years have passed and I still haven't received a call from her. And it pains my heart to know that she doesn't even recognize my number.

"It's me, Charles. Can I see you now, Erika? Please. I want to talk to you," my voice pleaded with her.

"I'm sorry but I'm busy. And then we don't have anything else to talk about, Charles. So please, leave me alone," her angry voice responded to me before she hung up her cellphone.

I tried to call her again but she didn't answer my calls. Maybe she turned off her cellphone because I couldn't contact her or she might have blocked my cellphone number.

I called my two friends, Tony and Bruce, to go to the bar where we used to hang out. Within an hour, they arrived in Bruce's car. I rode in my friend's car so I wouldn't have to bring my own car. When I got drunk, they were the ones who would take me home.

When we arrived inside the bar, we chose to sit near the corner. My two friends immediately ordered beers.

"What is your problem and you invited us to get drunk, Charles? As we know you, you only want to get drunk when your problem is severe like when you found out you have a terminal illness, which is just a false?"

"And the second one was when you discovered you weren't sick at all but it was too late because you already hurt your girlfriend and she left," Bruce added to Tony's words.

"Maybe your problem is about Erika again, right? She's the only reason why you're getting drunk," Tony guessed again.

I nodded to them. "She's back. She's the director of a new company which is now my company's business partner in their current project."

"Whoah! Really?" Tony exclaimed. "So you two have another chance to get back together. Explain to her that you didn't mean to hurt her. Explain to her what happened."

I quickly shook my head. "She doesn't want to talk to me. She hates me now. She doesn't want to have any more connection with me. And above all, she already has a boyfriend and they have a child. His name is David Wilson, the CEO of the company she works for," I said with a heavy heart.

"If she has moved on from you, then don't force yourself on her, Charles. Look for a better woman. There are many beautiful, rich, and sexy women chasing you like May. Just focus on her and forget about Erika," Bruce suggested to me.

I just remained silent and did not comment on what he said. But in my mind, I was wondering how I could forget Erika when she was the one who had been the owner of my heart from the moment I met her until now.

Love at first sight. That's what I felt for Erika. At first, it was just a contract marriage that made me agree to my parents-in-law's wish to marry their daughter in exchange for their shares in my company. But eventually, after I personally met and got to know Erika, who was in her senior year of high school at the time, my heart started racing for the first time.

I courted her even though I didn't have to do it because my parents-in-law and Erika agreed that we would get married after she finished college. I begged my parents-in-law not to tell Erika about the contract marriage we had agreed on, out of fear that she would think badly about the contract marriage and get mad at me.

When her parents died in an accident, I became her only support. She found strength in me to overcome the tragedy that happened to her parents. And when we decided to have an engagement party to announce our upcoming wedding to everyone, I felt excessive joy and excitement. But all of that was destroyed by a disease that wasn't even true. She was the woman I loved, so how could I possibly forget her and replace her with another woman?

"Let's just drink. Let's not talk about Erika anymore." My heart was breaking because I remembered that Erika didn't want me anymore and she had a child with another man.

"You're right, Charles. Let's just get drunk," Bruce agreed with me then turned to Tony with a grin. "Don't get drunk because when Charles and I get drunk, you will be our assistant."

Tony just shook his head at what Bruce said but didn't object to what the latter said.

I picked up my glass of beer and was about to drink it when we suddenly heard from behind us the voice of a man who seemed to be drunk already.

"Don't go, Susan. Don't leave me," the man's voice begged the woman with him who seemed to want to leave.

Suddenly, my eyes widened when I recognized who the drunk man was. He is none other than David Wilson. The beer I drank went to my head because David was with another woman and not Erika. He is cheating on the girl I love. Without a word, I stood up to approach David with my fists tightly clenched and my appearance like a soldier about to rush into battle.