Vicious Circle

7. Journey

I didn't expect the truth to be so painful. After we broke up in college, I heard a lot about him over the years. His fights, his championship, his personal life... My life, on the other hand, had been very quiet and peaceful. I had prioritized my career. This had distanced me from most events.

Until today. I always knew where I stood in Wayne's life. After the recent events, it was very difficult to feel hatred towards him instead of love. That's why I ran away. I needed to get away from him.

“Brie?”

“Mateo, I'm going to help your friend,” I said, clearing my throat. ”After that, I want to get out of your life.”

Without waiting for his answer, I hung up the phone. I stood where I was. Time had passed, and the sunlight that had entered my room was gone. It was dark inside. Even though I had made a lot of plans in my head, none of them would ever happen.

“Why!” I muttered to myself. ”Why always me?”

I stayed where I was, curled up, all night long. After a while, I drowned in my thoughts and fell asleep. The sound of someone knocking on the door woke me up. I got up and walked slowly toward the door.

When I opened the door, I saw a stranger. “Hello, Mr. Holmes sent me. I was told to take you to the airport.”

I shook my head and said, ‘Give me some time to get ready,’ then closed the door. I washed my face and checked the house one last time. I grabbed my suitcase from the door and left the house.

When I got to the front of the house, a nice car was waiting for me. When the man saw me, he got out of the car, put my suitcase in the trunk, and opened the door for me to get in. As soon as I got in the car, he sat down too. I had been texting Eloise during our journey to the airport. I told her that she didn't need to look after my cat and that Wayne had taken it. I couldn't help but smile when I imagined her reaction. While waiting to drop us off at the airport, the car took us to the runway. There was a luxury plane where the car stopped. When the driver got out of the car, I was about to open the door suspiciously, but he beat me to it.

Wayne was a rich man. However, I didn't know he was that rich. The door of the plane was open and there was a staircase. I looked at Mateo in amazement as he descended the stairs.

“Brie,” he said, hugging me. As I hugged him back, Wayne appeared.

“Are you always so irresponsible with your patients?”

I couldn't hide my desire to roll my eyes. Neither of us listened to him.

“Mateo, it's been a long time.”

“You haven't changed a bit, Brie.”

I smiled back at him and said, “You too, Mateo. Your hair is still much nicer than mine.”

As we walked toward the plane, Wayne watched us with narrowed eyes. When we boarded the plane, I noticed that the interior was just as bright. Mateo directed me to an empty seat. As soon as he sat down across from me, Wayne sat down in the seat next to me.

“How's life?”

“You know more or less. I'm teaching psychology. My goal is to open my own place.”

Mateo nodded understandingly and took out a few documents from the tray table between us. Glancing at the documents, he said, “The first papers are confidentiality agreements, Brie. You know Wayne and his reputation. We don't want our sponsors to suspect Wayne. The others are Wayne's schedule.”

As I looked through the documents one by one, the flight attendant came to announce that the plane was about to take off. While I carefully reviewed the confidentiality agreement, Mateo and Wayne were discussing work. It was a standard employment contract. I signed the agreement and handed it to Mateo. As I looked through the other papers one by one, I glanced at Wayne. His eyes were fixed outside the window. Even his posture said I was superior.

“Let's do our second session, Mr. Holmes.”

His eyes shifted to me. I took his silence as a yes and moved to the chair opposite him. Mateo put on his headphones and eye mask.

“Why don't you tell me about yourself?”

“I'm nervous and I get what I want.”

He was quite clear. His eyes were locked on mine.

“Don't these attitudes cause problems in your life?”

No answer. “Mr. Holmes, do you have any special qualities that you have acquired through your work?”

“No limits.”

An honest answer. ”Does that scare you?”

He nodded yes. “Not what I've done. I'm afraid of what I'll do. I want success in my life, and I've gotten it. I wanted wealth, and I got it. I've gotten everything I've wanted. But there's one thing I can't get.”

I cleared my throat and ignored his last sentence. ”What about your family? Do they agree with you?”

“My father agrees with me. He raised me this way. I can't say the same for my mother. She hasn't been with us since my sister died. I don't even know where she is.”

“How is your relationship with your father?”

His smile made it quite clear. As I took notes in the notebook in front of me, I asked, “When did your insomnia start?”

“When I was 20. The night we had s*x. The first time.”

As I wrote without looking up, I felt him move closer. I didn't move.

“The night you wanted me.”