The Man She Betrayed

35. Amidst The Laughters

Aaron

I waited for her to say something after I hinted towards our divorce but she didn't.

I had to say this, I had to burn the only path connecting us. Kissing her made me realise how much I still long for her, even after everything she did to me. I am afraid that I won't have stopped if it was not for Crystal. And if I don't want such things to happen in the future, I need to put a full stop on our so called marriage.

My eyes shifted to her for the umpteenth time. Her face was towards the opposite wall and her petite body was resting against the wall. I couldn't see her face because her hair was blocking her view from me.

It looked like she was crying but I might be wrong. After all, why would she cry when she was the first one to move on?

Diveting my attention from her, I focused on my own exhausted condition. My whole body felt fatigued because of over working. I had thought I would just go home and sleep in my comfy bed but clearly, I couldn't do that now.

Letting out a frustrated heave, I closed my eyes and let the silence lure me to sleep. There were still three hours before the guard would check the elevator and there was no way I could stay awake till then. Slowly, my body began to feel relax and my face fell to a side because of sleep.

...

I was sleeping peacefully when suddenly, I felt intense bright light over my closed eyelids. Opening my eyes, I adjusted to the light as the guard continue flashing his torch into my eyes. Beside the guard was standing Amber, her face dripping with worry.

"God, are you alright?" she said and that's when I noticed my position. My head was draped over Clara's shoulder, my arm loosely hanging around her waist. She was still sleeping, despite the noise of Amber and the flashing of torch.

"Yeah, we are fine. Thanks for saving us." I showed her a tired grin and tried to move without waking her up.

"You must be so panicked and terrified." Pity was written all over her face. "My driver is waiting for you both. He'll drive you home." she said and motioned me to pick Clara up. At first, I watched her sleeping figure nervously but then, I leaned down and picked her up in my arms.

Finally, I walked out of that elevator with Clara in my arms. She fitted perfectly in my arms, her soft body against mine. She shifted in my hold, hiding her face in my chest and unintentionally, a faint smile hovered over my lips.

The sun was just rising, which meant it was probably 5 in the morning. That was the time I usually wake up to go for a walk.

Once I spotted Amber's car, I walked towards it and the driver opened the door for us. Carefully, I seated her on the passenger seat and slid inside too.

Informing the driver about Clara's address, I leaned back and set Clara's falling head on my shoulder. She looked like the most innocent human being while sleeping, oblivious to every evil in the word. If only the reality was not so different.

Once we were outside her apartment, I lightly patted her jaw. She lazily opened her eyes and looked around, her face contorted as she took in her surrounding. It took her one minute to completely wake up and stretch her limbs. I stared at her while she exited the car and trudged inside the house, not saying a single word left her mouth.

After she had left, I told the directions to Crystal's house to the driver. Somehow, it felt like I need to make it up to her, even though kissing Clara was never planned. At that moment, when she was breathing hard, I couldn't think about anything else. I was severely panicked and my body was shaking with fear for her so I did the first thing that came to my mind.

Crystal lived alone in a 2 bedroom apartment near my house. She had given an emergency key to me which usually comes handy at such moments. Once the car stopped in front of her building, I thanked the driver and went inside. Her room was on the second floor so using the stairs, I made my way to her.

As usual, she was sleeping like a log inside her room, unaware of the latest intruder. Her feet were resting against the headboard of the bed while her arms were dangling below. Shaking my head, I straightened her and draped the blanket over her.

Turning the lights off, I lay down beside her and nuzzled my nose in the crook of her neck.

"Aaron?" she asked in her sleepy voice, without bothering to open her eyes.

"Hmm sleepyhead." I said and tightened my hold on her. There was nothing romantic or fluttering about my gesture because this is something we have been doing from a long time. It was just a sweet attempt at finding comfort in your best friend's hold.

'Girlfriend' I corrected myself.

"Let me sleep dork." she said, pouting, eyes still closed.

"It's 6 in the morning, lazy ass." I mumbled.

I tried to wake her up by poking her cheeks but she didn't respond. Soon, soft snores started to come out of her mouth. Shaking my head in disappointment, I closed my eyes too and counted numbers until I was sleeping again.

...

The drops of water on my face woke me up. Opening my eyes, I found Crystal crunched over me. She had just taken a bath and was now wrapped in a bathrobe. She had a glass of water in her hands from which she was splashing waterdrops over me.

"Ugh." I groaned and rose to sitting position. She slid beside me and passed me a cup of coffee. I was used to drinking coffee in the morning and she knew that.

"I thought I dreamed about you last night." she said.

"Well, here I am, two hundred pounds of pure muscles in flesh." I said, rolling my eyes.

Once I sipped the coffee, I woke up in actual sense. I turned to look at Crystal who was staring at me with a calculative gaze. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

I immediately thought of the kiss but the sane part of my mind stopped me from telling her. "No." I continued. "Can't I visit my girlfriend without any motive?"

"Girlfriend!" She chuckled at the word and scooted closer to me, leaning her mouth towards me. For a moment, I panicked but then I told myself that it was okay to kiss her.

Our lips slowly moulded against each others but before we could continue, her body started shaking. Soon, I realised she was laughing, in between what was supposed to be a make out session.

Pulling away, she laughed for almost thirty seconds after which she spoke, "Sorry. I just... Okay. Let's continue."

Frowning, I attempted to kiss her again. Being close to her in my drunken state was easy but now, when we both were in our senses, it was kind of weird. I tried my best to focus on her lips but I couldn't. Instead, when she traced my pecs, I burst out laughing.

"Sorry... Sorry." I said between my laughs, holding my stomach. At first, she frowned at me and tied the knot back but then, she herself started laughting.

"You're a jerk Vincent. Way to make a girl feel confident." she said, moving back and forth, all the while letting out loud chuckles. Tears appeared in my eyes because of all the laughing.

Once we both calmed down, our faces were sweaty and flushed because of lack of respiration. Breathing heavily, we lay back side by side, a ghost of smile playing on our lips.

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