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“Did you know about this?”
The question rang in my head, giving me a pounding headache.
“What have I done?” I asked no one in particular. There was no one who could answer me but me. I needed to beg for her forgiveness. How exactly would I get her to forgive me?
Chapter Twenty-one: It's Always the Ones You Love
Tabitha
I wonder if this is how he will take care of our children.
“Don't worry I've got you. I will never let you go.”
“It's good to see you have another side of you that I like.”
Feeling his hand caressing my hair while I fall asleep. The rhythmic sound of his heartbeat whenever I laid on his chest. The man who made me want to submit for the very first time in my life.
The one who stole my first kiss and made me believe I had found the one. The one that I dressed up for and got excited for a date. The one I would get jealous of whenever I saw him talking to other females.
The one who would punish me if he ever saw me talking with any of my past lovers.
The one who made me feel all the emotions above and the other I had forgotten to mention was my Brutus. I still couldn't believe it. When I returned to my office, I felt sick. Cynthia and Alex came by but decided not to bother me after I had dismissed them. Bruce also came by; after I threatened to kill him if he crossed the door or stayed any longer, he left.
I spent time screaming and crying. Everything I had built was taken away by a man. I despised my mother, but her advice was actually true. I never would have suspected that someone like him would betray me. When I asked if he had any idea what was going on, the moment he said no with sincerity in his eyes, I was relieved. But when, guilt crept into his eyes, and I knew something was wrong.
He knew everything I built was going to be taken away. When I asked why he was outperforming me, he claimed it was just to help me have time to prepare for my trip to Zurich. Every time I brought up the question, he always found a way to make me feel like I was overreacting.
I foolishly believed him. I stared at myself in the mirror. I had stopped wearing my hair in a ponytail. My hair was spread to fall on my shoulders just the way he liked it. I had started to wear dresses more often because he liked them. I was even nice because he liked it. I, who had never brought myself down for any man, had actually made myself weak for one.
What the hell happened to you?
Thinking back, I had made a lot of mistakes when it came to Bruce. Our meeting at the party was no coincidence. He may have been stalking me for a long time, which would explain the fact that I found him familiar. The second mistake was not conducting a background search. It was a measure for any person I wanted to make my lover. But of all times, I had neglected doing it on him. The third mistake was letting my emotions rule.
I had never been a slave to my emotions. I had made sure that they never got the better of me, which helped me deal with anyone who was to become a lover or business associate.
I let my pride rule and my desire to dominate win. He was clearly better than me, knowing the kind of person I was and turning it all against me. I should have known it was too good to be true. The fourth mistake was that I didn't trust my instincts. When he had started gathering people to support him, I should have fired him immediately. Instead, I believed what he was doing was for my own good. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been. I contacted my network and had them look into Bruce and his past. The way he knew a lot of things was too accurate.
****
I refused to see Bruce. The board had not announced their decision to the rest of the staff, so only Alex Bruce and I were aware of what had happened. Bruce looked like the ghost of himself. Alex was looking for a legal loophole to get me back on the seat. Cynthia was trying to look into what had happened too. As for me, I had lost a considerable amount of weight within just two days.
“Ma'am, is everything alright?” Becca asked. “You have bags under your eyes. Aren't you sleeping well?”
“I should be sleeping well,” I responded. I didn't know how to.
“That's a very odd response coming from you, ma'am,” she remarked.
“And you aren't the only one looking like this,” Hannah remarked.
“What?” I raised a brow.
“Have you seen Alex and Dr Jericho?” Becca asked. “The latter rarely does any work now. I have seen him pacing about in front of your office. And he would stare off into space.”
“It's not so different from Dr Alex as well,” Hannah added. “But at least he's getting some work done compared to Dr Jericho.”
“Is that so? Thank you for the information,” I said in appreciation.
“Speak of the devil,” Becca said as she pointed behind me.
