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For the date, Yvonne decided against the dress Scott had sent. The main goal behind that was to show him that he could now not just boss her around, things were going to be the other way around this time. She chose to go with an older and basic off shoulder red polka dot dress instead.
She really wished she could somehow speak to Iyan again. For some strange reason, the presence of Iyan was reassuring and Scott’s was stressful. It had been different in her marriage though but they still hardly got much time together, 3 years had easily gone down the line with being married to Scott and they still had such little memories together.
Maybe because Scott had not even given her sufficient amount of time. Had he done so, he would not already have been both married and divorced twice.
At sharp 8 pm, Scott stood right on Yvonne’s doorstep, he rung the bell and waited, his car neatly parked across the street. He had been impatient to see her again since he had last seen her, it would not be wrong to say that he was being consumed in her desire, craving the warmth of her body onto his.
On the other side of the door, Yvonne fidgeted her fingers as a sign of nervousness as she stood behind the door but tried to keep her calm and attitude on point. She had been stressing over the mere thought of going out with him again. She recalled the disastrous date they had had in Italy, when Scott had been on a honeymoon with Anna. And then the making out at outside Starbucks, but Yvonne, like all other girls had her weak and strong side. Right now she felt like throwing herself in the bed and wear comfy baggy clothes and just lie there in comfort, she just didn’t feel strong enough to face him again.
But she had no intention to show Scott her weak side again. She opened the door and saw him standing there, as usual, dressed in a dashing suit and tie, he did look good as always. She started
with a casual “Hi” to make the conversation light.
But Scott was spontaneously hit with something else; a strong wave of nostalgia came over him as soon as he saw her in that dress; for a brief moment, he forgot about everything and went back to that first day when he had seen Mariella.
All the memories dug deep in the past about that girl came rushing to him.
When he saw her for the first time…unconfident yet beautiful…
When she was walking nervously down the hallway, trying not to attract any attention but was still the center of attention, including his…
When Mark, a friend of his, had sneaked from behind, trying to feel her up as a prank and he had stood in the corner laughing with all his other friends…how he regretted that thing till today, that it had ruined his first impression in front of Mariella…
When she had flinched at just a slight touch of Mark, he should have known something was not right…
When everyone had been laughing at her and she was named Virgin Mary of Edmont High…
When she had run away to cry alone in some corner…
All the memories came back flooding to him.
Scott had felt protective like a shield to Mariella right since that moment and for some reason, during his married years with Yvonne, he had been looking for Mariella desperately in Yvonne but had failed to do so every time, which led him to an unending frustration and tragic and heartbreaking realization that he could never have her back. Yvonne was in all ways different from Mariella. They had the same face but they had been two completely different people with very evidently distinct personalities.
He felt unsure now, for the date at the Plaza, for the private setting arrangement he had gotten done specifically for her; the entire hotel floor was booked for just the two of them. It was very rare he had put this amount of effort in impressing a girl much recently, he had done that for just 2 women, Yvonne herself before their marriage and Anna…he waved her off of his mind immediately for today…
She was dressed in the casual dress and still stood magnificent to the point, Yvonne was still pretty after the face of Mariella had been removed.
“Should we go to the beach instead?” he asked uncertainly. In only a few moments, Scott’s attitude washed away, his pride was not here anymore, nor his plan to sleep with her tonight seemed like a good option. Thoughts from the past had him weakened at the core.
“If you would be okay with that…” Yvonne said suspiciously, he never behaved this way generally, unless his mind had been preoccupied with something important, but still, she had never seen him so uncertain before.
He smiled lightly to her, it was pretentious, she made that out in a single minute and both reluctantly made their way to the car, their sexual tension had been there but for the moment, Scott’s focus was awry.
For the journey to the beach, Scott remained quiet. He did not speak for even a single minute but Yvonne didn’t mind that. She was lost in her own thoughts about their empty and failed marriage and now with Iyan missing for more than 3 days, she had no clue if she even wanted to continue with the revenge plan.
The man sitting next to her made her feel nothing but regret. For the last two years of struggle, he had been responsible for all her pain. But then, she thought, destiny had many disguises, maybe it was meant for her to suffer all that throughout these years and Scott was just an excuse to lead her to this destiny.
Her train of thoughts halted with the car, suddenly- they had arrived at the beach, tall and magnificent towers stood far in the distance in the east, the lights filled the view and reflected on the calm surface of the sea even from a good distance.
From where their car was parked, they were only some walking distance away from the beach now. It was a moonlit night and the stars shone bright in the sky above.
Scott behaved gentlemanly, he got out to open Yvonne’s door. As she got out, she wondered if he behaved that way with all the girls he had been with after her, including Anna. How could she even forgive him for breaking the strong boundaries of her trust to go lie in the arms of and warm the beds of other women? She felt disgusted.
“We should go for a walk on the beach,” he said intently looking at the stars above.
She nodded, not willing to speak to him because she did not have the mental energy to neither argue nor refuse. But he understood her enough to understand why she was so quiet, he did feel guilty for what he did, for wasting 5 years of her life…when he probably had not been this serious with her anyway despite marrying her.
As they strode along the beach, Yvonne had taken off her red heels that now hung in her left hand- had her mind not been clouded with things from the past, tonight the moon was breathtakingly beautiful in the sky.
Scott turned to look at her, she was matching her steps but she had a lot going on in her mind right now. To break the silence, he said, “I think I owe you an apology.”
“Apology?” she asked unaffected, looking straight to avoid looking at him directly.
“For everything I’ve done to you, I’m sorry…” he said explaining himself, but Yvonne felt nothing to that- Scott was a good actor, she had realized after all this. But she in no mood to acknowledge his acting
skills; he was only heartless.
“So you think that your sorry can mend my broken life? You’re right, go ahead!” She scoffed in bitter sarcasm.
He stopped and turned to her, pulling her by the shoulder but she instantly flinched at his slight touch. Just like Mariella had the day Scott had seen her. Her fragility guarded with her refusal reminded him of her again. He tried not to go in that direction once- it was only misleading.
“Don’t touch me,” Yvonne warned him.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…All I want to is just talk,” he tried to say it convincingly and put both his hands away at once but he was yet to realize that once you break someone’s trust, you cannot win it back easily unless you’re convincing a fool.
She suspiciously eyed his face now as he continued, it was hard to make out every single impression on his face in the dark, yet she had her attention focused on his expressions.
“I just have been unstable Yvonne, I have been so much like that…all my life, I met many women, before you and after you but when I was with you, I was not like this, my life was balanced, if not happy…”
Not happy? She repeated mentally to herself with some degree of internal shock.
“My mom left me at the pity of my father and his first wife and son to go marry another guy. I had not been their legitimate child. My mom had been my only family and she threw me away, that small boy of 7 had already been thrown into the merciless game of trust, mine was broken and I had vowed I would never be faithful to anyone ever again. When I met you, you made me realize of a longing I was not even aware I had. I was smitten on you and I had to have you at any cost. Even if that meant
separating you from your family and friends and making you mine, yes, marriage was the only assurance I would have you forever.
“Though I’ve never been completely honest with you…or myself, my life remained complete but my heart was not at peace when I was with you. When I didn’t have you at start, I had the illusion that having you would complete me and you became my obsession. I even got rid of Iyan so I could have you all to myself- I was the one who had leaked your pictures on campus that year.”
Yvonne stood in shock as she tried to absorb every word that she was hearing from his mouth.
“But as soon I had you, I realized you were just not what I was looking for…”
Warm tears formed at the back of her eyes, rejection and pain filled her heart to the brim as she broke out in an unstable voice, “Then w-what were you looking for when you married me Scott? What are you looking for?”
He met her eyes feeling regretful and but certain of what he wanted this time and spoke complacently, “Mariella.”