The Man She Betrayed

25. Back To Work

Clara

My head hurts, my back hurts, my arm hurts. My whole body feels like a painful, throbbing heap of cells.

I groaned before opening my eyes, sharp pain shot through my head as I looked around my surrounding. I was lying on the couch in the living area, a blanket spread over me and light penetrating my eyes from everywhere.

Sound of shuffling of something caught my attention and I looked towards the counter where Aaron was busy making coffee. His eyes shifted to me for a microsecond after which he poured the coffee in two cups and walked towards me.

"Here." he gave one cup to me. Narrowing my eyes, I massaged the front of my head, stifling the urge to moan in pain.

"Thanks." I said and took a cup of coffee. The memories of last night flooded in front of my eyes. Drinking three glasses of liquor despite my inability to handle it, throwing up in the bathroom, leaving the club, Aaron taking me back to hotel in his arms. But that's where the memories ended and I figured something else happened.

I pulled the blanket off my body and gasped when I found my legs bare and my body covered in one of Aaron's shirt.

"You forgot your keys in the club." he said when he noticed my confusion. "Amber found them and she sent it here just this morning."

He threw my purse to me and after casting a long, tensed glance at me, walked back into his room. I tried to remember what else happened last night but nothing came into my stupid brain.

Why is he so tense? Did something weird happen between us last night?

...

"No." I screamed, jumping at Ava to envelop her in a hug. She screamed as well, jumping up to return my hug but we lost our balance and ended up falling on the bed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I glared at her as she kept laughing, tossing on the bed. If I didn't know the cause of her laughter, I would have thought the blow messed up her brain.

"Because I wanted to see your reaction. Mark told me how you helped him keep this a secret." she said and stared at her ring adoringly. I smiled at her reaction and the blush that crept up her cheeks.

She screamed again and hid her face in the bed, her legs dangling encitedly in the air.

I returned to Seattle just this afternoon and waited the whole day for Ava to return from her office so that I could tell about my trip but she told me about her engagement before I could and that explains why we were screaming at this time of the night. The neighbours must have thought one of us had gone batshit crazy.

After celebrating her engagement with a large pizza and fudge brownies, we both went to sleep. I was already tired because of spending a week away from my apartment so as soon as I lay down on the bed, darkness overcame me.

...

It was my first day at work after coming back from New York. Dressed in a violet pencil skirt and black shirt with hem tucked inside, I entered the office building. Passing a brief smile to the receptionist, I walked towards the elevator but my legs froze in an awkward way when my gaze landed on the woman already standing inside.

"Hi." she smiled faintly when I stepped inside. It was Crystal, the friend of Aaron. A weird feeling settled in my stomach, like she was the eye witness of the biggest crime I had done. Well, the reality wasn't much different. What I did was not a crime but still, it ruined just as many lives.

"Hi." she said again and that's when I realised I hadn't replied her before.

"Oh. Um.. Yeah. Hi." I said nervously and stood beside her, my feet tapping the floor anxiously. Her presence thickened the atmosphere, causing my heart to beat faster.

"So um.. Are you here to meet Aaron- I mean Mr. Vincent?" I asked to break the silence.

"Yeah. Actually I'm here to decorate his office. It's his birthday today." she replied and a strange pang of jealousy erupted inside my chest. I knew they were close and it was usual for her to do such things to him. But I could have all this and I let him slip through my hands. 

"Oh. Happy birthday.. to him of course." I smiled nervously.

Shit. What am I doing?

She let out a small chuckle. "It's not my birthday Clara. If you want to, you can congratulate him." she said and I bit my lips nervously. Thankfully, once the elevator stopped, I walked out of it as soon as possible.

Through the glass window of my office, I could see Crystal decorating his room with balloons and flowers she brought. After doing so, she waited for Aaron to come. Despite the workload on my desk, my eyes were fixated on his office.

Minutes passed when I heard footstep walking in the hallway. Leaving my desk, I walked towards the window and peeked through it. Aaron reached his office, his hair gelled back with perfection and his light grey suit hugging his toned body.

"Surprise." Crystal shouted as soon as he entered inside. Launching at him, she hugged him tightly and he returned her hug, pulling her up with his waist. The door then closed, rendering me unable to see anything going inside.

I didn't have the right to feel bad. I left him behind, I walked out of his life. Then why did seeing him moving on in his life hurt so much? If seeing him with his childhood friend was affecting me so much, I couldn't imagine how it would feel if he has some girlfriend I don't know about. After all, it's not life this marriage between us would mean anything to him after my action.

Shutting the blinds, I returned to my desk and engrossed myself in the work. I didn't even took a break for lunch, not until Mia and Jake came to my office with a sandwich and a cup of coffee. They wanted to ask how my trip went but I was not in the mood so I politely told them that I had a headache.

After the lunch break, I went into Aaron's office to get a document signed. His room was flooding with colorful balloons and a half-eaten cake placed at one side of the desk.

"Happy birthday." I whispered once he had signed it. His eyes left his laptop screen and focused on me, blank and distant.

"Thanks." he said stiffly. Awkwardly, I turned around to leave when his voice reached my ears. "Miss. Avery!"

"Yes." I asked.

"You're invited to my birthday party at my house. I don't want others to think that I invited everyone but you." he said without looking at me.

"It's fine. You don't have to-"

"Didn't you hear what I said? Everybody else in the office is invited, so are you." he gritted. I nodded understanding the only reason why he would invite me to his birthday.

"Here is the address." he jotted it down on a piece of paper and passed it towards me on the table. Nodding again, I picked it up and made my way out of his office.

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