Goodbye, My Love

Chapter 8 –The Bet

Even though there was nothing that I wanted to know more about what was going on his head, I knew that indulging this conversation with him, was not going to be something that would turn out well for me. No matter what I wanted to do, I would simply need to remain quiet, for the sake of my own emotional safety. If Austin was already being this cold and aggressive, then I did not want to know how he would behave when the time came for me to challenge him.

It was a situation where I didn’t really have much of a choice—a situation that I often found myself in.

Something that I couldn’t help but dislike, was the way that I had become so compliant in regards to Austin. There were times that I had every right to speak my mind and burst out, but because of the very nature of Austin’s personality, I had learnt to keep my mouth shut and simply accept what was going on.

No matter how much resentment and resistance I felt in my heart, there was absolutely nothing that I could do, other than to listen to whatever he had to say, and be done with it. It was like I would never be able to win.

When we had initially left the cemetery, I had been under the impression that we would be going home. But now that I looked back on the moment, I couldn’t help but feel like a fool. I should have known that Austin’s priorities were still with Simone, and that he would want to be with her, in the hospital—because that is where we were now.

As soon as I walked into the building, the distinct smell of disinfectant reached my senses, the smell overpowering everything else. But I couldn’t allow myself to be caught up and delayed by something like the smell, because Austin wasn’t waiting for anyone—me, specifically. I needed to make sure that I kept up with him and stayed with him so that he wouldn’t have an excuse to leave me here, by myself. I knew that he wouldn’t even think twice before doing something as neglectful as that.

It seemed like we went through an endless amount of hallways and staircases before we got to Simone’s room. I knew that Austin must have deliberately avoided taking the elevator in order to make things difficult for me, and he had succeeded. I felt like my lungs were about to give out, like I couldn’t get enough oxygen into them.

But I would be damned if I dared to show that this was the way that I was feeling.

Simone was laying on the bed, and by the looks of it, she seemed to be in the process of receiving a drip. She was paler than I had ever seen her—and that was saying a lot, considering the fact that she had a pale complexion by nature. She looked even more like a damsel in distress, and I couldn’t deny the fact that this must have been why Hades felt the way that he did about her. It was all of these little things that were slowly starting to piece into big things. But I was the only person piecing them together.

I didn’t miss the way her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of me walking in with Austin, and if I was in her shoes, I would have felt the exact same. The only problem was that I wouldn’t have wanted to see anyone, and not specifically the woman who hadn’t pushed me down the staircase.

“What is she doing here, Austin? I don’t want to see her.”

Believe me Simone, if I had been given a choice, I wouldn’t have been here, either.

It seemed to me that she had lost a part of her manipulative streak when she had lost the child, or perhaps she was simply disconnected from it for now. Her true colors were showing, and she wouldn’t be able to get away from it any time soon. Although I doubted that Austin was bothered by it, judging by the way that he was hugging her and resting his head on top of hers.

“Laela will be taking care of you for the next few days. After all, it is the least that she can do, considering what she has done.”

The ease of the intimacy between the two of them caused tears to shoot to my eyes, the burning sensation behind my eyelids almost being enough to make me cry, but strangely enough, I managed to keep my emotions under control. I knew that they would never let me live it down if they saw the fragile state of my emotions. On the contrary, I was certain of the fact that they would find a way to use it against me.

I had to admit that I was somewhat caught off guard by the fact that Simone didn’t say anything to counter Austin. It wasn’t an out of the ordinary experience for her to challenge him, so I didn’t really understand why she wasn’t doing it now.

“Alright.”

The fact that they had been able to dictate the entirety of my fate, without so much as consulting me, bothered me. I was right here. It wouldn’t cost them anything to include me and speak to me.

But as my thoughts started to work and travel in this direction, I could not help but take note when Austin turned his attention to me. He looked just as unhappy to see me as he had been at the funeral.

“Laela, you are to stay here with Simone, until I am able to come back. I have some business matters to attend to, and this will prepare the two of you for the time that you will spend in one anothers’ company for the days to come.”

Truthfully speaking, I wasn’t even remotely surprised to find that he was leaving now. I should have known that there was a reason why he had brought me here instead of taking me home, and this was it now. He must have received word that he would need to handle some affairs at work, and he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to leave Simone alone for much longer. And now it was becoming my problem.

And I didn’t understand why that was.

There was an endless list of people whom Austin could have contacted to come and look after Simone, and yet, he hadn’t done so. It was like he had deliberately chosen me in order to torment me with what was going on.

But it seemed like I didn’t have much time to think about what was going on, because Austin wasted no time in leaving. I would have liked to find out more information about the state of Simone’s health, but it seemed like that was something that would need to wait. As soon as Austin had started to leave, Simone turned onto her side, turning her back on me, making it quite obvious that she intended to sleep.

I’m not sure how long I just stood there and stared at her, but after a while, it dawned on me that I wouldn’t be able to stand the whole time. My legs had already started to ache, and I could only imagine what was going to happen if I tried to stay here for longer. So, I did what any normal person would do, and I pulled the chair that was standing in the corner into a comfortable position so that I would be able to do exactly what she was doing, and get some rest. It was only fair.

In order to pass the time, I took out my phone and started to research things regarding my pregnancy—foods to eat, foods not to eat, and many other things that seemed insignificant to me before I was pregnant. But of course, I couldn’t do this the whole time.

By the time that the sun fell, Simone was still asleep, and I still hadn’t been able to get something to eat. My stomach was growling, but considering the draining day that I had had, I would manage without eating anything. But it was my turn to go to sleep now.

But of course, I should have known that even that was too much to ask for, because Simone seemed to decide that it was the golden opportunity for her to wake up.

But of course, when she saw me sitting there, her entire demeanor changed, telling me that she was far from happy to see me there. But there wasn’t much that I could do about that, other than curse the fact that I was here, just as she was. If I had been given a choice in the matter, this was the last place that I would have been, and I don’t think that that is something that she was considering.

“Well, well, well. I’m surprised to find that you are still here.”

Truthfully speaking, I didn’t know why she decided to speak to me. After all, nothing that she said was going to be worthwhile to the situation. I dropped my eyes down to my wedding ring, and suddenly got a bitter taste in my mouth.

“It’s seems like I still have some loyalty towards my husband.”

This wasn’t a laughing matter, and yet, it was exactly what she did. She laughed in my face, like I had just told her the joke of the century, and honestly, all that it did, was make me even more upset than I already was.

“I pity you when you speak like that, Laela.”

I shook my head, turning away from her. She might not have realized it yet, but I no longer had any interest in speaking to her. I had fallen in love with a man who had done nothing but betray me—with no one other than her—and she thought that it was a laughing matter. Did she have no self-respect? No common decency to understand what she is doing and entertaining, is hurtful? Even if she did know, I didn’t think that she would care.

She must have realized that I wasn’t going to talk to her, because she cleared her throat in a rather deliberate manner, intentionally trying to draw my attention to her.

“Pour me some water.”

She started to lift herself up on her elbows, and all that I could do, was to stare at her in disbelief. Who did she think she was? When I had been asked to come here, I definitely hadn’t done so with the intention of turning into her servant, and I wasn’t going to allow that to happen either.

But I sucked up my pride and went to pour her a glass of water—out of the jug that was standing within her reach, if I might add.

“No. I don’t want cold water. There is an urn in the hallway.”

She still hadn’t managed to correct her tone while speaking to me. I understood that she was as unhappy being around me as I was with her, but she needed to understand that there were certain things that just weren’t going to make it with me. I would have addressed it with her, but I knew that it would be nothing more than a waste of time.

Even though it felt like absolute t*****e to play her servant, I complied with her request and went out into the hallway, filling up the glass with the hot water. I felt like it was incredibly hot—way too hot to drink. But she had the jug of cold water next to her. If she wanted to adjust the temperature to her liking, then she could do so by herself She couldn’t be expecting me to do that for her too.

But when I got back into the room, and I held out the water for her to take, she didn’t take it. She stared at my hand as if it was a snake that was going to bite her, her eyes connecting with mine and portraying nothing more than anger.

“The more time that I spend with you, the more that I realize that I have every right to be upset with you. You’re a pitiful creature. Do you know that? I literally blamed the death of my child on you, and you didn’t even try to stand up for yourself. It is like you want everyone to hate you—not that I have a problem with it. I hate you enough to make up for the lack of it that you receive from everyone else.”

I wasn’t going to entertain a conversation like this—not with her. She had no reason to be talking to me about matters like this, and just because she felt like she could do so, didn’t mean that she could. But I intended to handle this situation as best as I could, and all that I did, was shake the glass slightly in order to draw her attention to it.

“Here is your water. From the urn, and hot like you asked.”

Her hand reached out, and just as she took the glass out of my hold, her other hand wrapped around the wrist of my arm. Her grip was tight, feeling like it was burning my skin and cutting off my blood flow, and all that I could do, was to try and pry her hand off of mine with my other hand. The way that she was looking at me caused goosebumps to break out across the expanse of my skin, and I was willing to admit that I was scared. I was far from prepared for what was going on, and I hadn’t seen it coming either.

What was she trying to do?

“Let’s make a bet, shall we? Let’s see if that darling husband will care as much about you getting hurt, as he cared about me?”

My heart was beating in my chest, and as I looked at the glass that she had perched over my hand, I realized what it was that she was going to do. Any desire that I had to stand up or to try and yank my hand away, came too late, because the hot water connected with my flesh in an instant.

It all happened so fast that by the time reflex kicked in and I was able to get away from her, the glass had already emptied. I turned around, clutching my burning palm to my chest with my uninjured hand, determined to go and find someone who would be able to help me—but of course, there was also an element of surprise that made an arrival. And in this case, it was nothing other than Austin standing in the doorway, watching the scene that had unfolded before him.

He looked at my hand, and then back at Simone, but he did nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And in doing so, he just proved to me that he did care more about Simone than he cared about me. It was something that I had never really questioned, but the fact that Simone had deliberately done this with intention, told me everything that I needed to know.

It seemed like Simone caught sight of him at the same time that I had, by the looks of it, because she put the cup down on the table beside her, trying to push herself away from the wet stain that now decorated her bed.

“It was an accident! The glass was too hot and I dropped it!”

Austin looked at me, with an expression that made me doubt everything that was going through my mind. He looked down at my hand once more and for a moment—a fleeting moment—I thought that he was going to call her out on her lie.

But as fast as the moment had come, it disappeared.

Because he walked past me, going directly to Simone, without doing so much as saying anything.

“You should go have that checked out. I will stay here with Simone.”