Meant to Be

Chapter 16

"You will tell me what is wrong or I'm firing you." I had no idea where that came from but I was getting desperate. I didn't know how else to convince her to tell me what was making her not talk to me, be late to work and destroy herself like this.

"Look..." She sighed and bowed her head. "I can't repeat what happened between us, Charlie."

"I didn't know I was coming on to you." I blinked at her. "I just want to talk to you, friend to friend."

"As I said..." She swallowed hard. "I can't."

"You are trying to throw that night in my face and it's honestly insulting." She looked up at my words. "You know I know you better than that so stop lying to me."

"I'm not lying." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Rhylee. You are." I tightened the grip on her shoulders. "I want the truth, Rhy." I lowered my tone and lifted her chin for her to look at me but she was avoiding my gaze.

"I went to see Nick." She finally said after a long pause, still looking away. "I told him everything."

"Okay," I said slowly. I wanted her to continue.

"He took it pretty hard." Her eyes started to water as she reminisced on it.

"Did you..."

"Break up?" Her eyes finally locked with mine and the wish of it being true sparked in her eyes. "No."

That made my heart stop.
She was staying with him?
Or should I rephrase it?
He was willing to forgive her?

I mean, good for him, perhaps Bill underestimated him but I can't deny I was hoping that this would be her escape ticket. Somehow, I still thought that we might end up together.

This is a fucking nightmare, isn't it? I can't believe that she was going to stay with him after everything that happened between us. It might only have been one night but I know that neither of us saw it that way.

"He..." She bit her lip.

"What?" I encouraged her to speak.

"He told me that he'll stay with me if I stop talking to you." She blurted out.

I let go of her. She was joking, right? I was in complete shock. He gave her an ultimatum and she took it? She obeyed him. She chose him over me?
She chose him over me...

If the information that they didn't break up broke my heart, then this fucking shattered it.

"What?" I breathed. I didn't know how to respond to such bullshit.

"You wanted the truth and here it is, Charlie." She cried.

"Oh, yes! I see how happy your choice makes you!" I pointed at her face which was beginning to be soaked by her tears.

"What do you want me to say?" She barked at me.

"Oh, I don't know..." I put my hands on my head. I wanted to scream, I was so angry. "How about you admit to yourself that you are not happy with him and move on with your fucking life!"

"You're the one that needs to move on, Charles!" She shouted at my face.

I started breathing faster and I felt as if I couldn't move, as if someone stupefied me. What was going through her head? Why would she want to torture herself so much?

"You're going to say that you're happy with him?" I knew I should stop talking but if we were going to shout in each other's face we are going all the way.

"Don't do this, Charlie." She begged.

"Are you happy with him?" I repeated the question. "Because it sure doesn't look like it."

"You don't understand." She shook her head.

"Then fucking enlighten me, why don't you!" I was the one who raised my voice now.

"How would you feel if your partner told you they slept with someone else? It's only natural in the way he reacted. He loves me and he is willing to forgive me if I do one simple thing for him."

Was she seriously defending him?

"One simple thing." I laughed sarcastically. "Tell me, Rhylee..." I scratched my chin, bowing my head. "Who's your closest friend here?"

There was a moment of silence. Another tear ran down her face. She didn't answer.

"That's what I thought." I bobbed my head. "He asked you to stop talking to me and just like that..." I snapped my fingers. "You obliged. Not even telling me. Not even warning me."

I pressed my lips together. I was so furious.

"Were you ever planning on telling me this? Or did you think I would simply let it go? Ignore the fact that you are late for work. That we are all worried about you. That you lock yourself in your hut the second we are done with work? That's not life, Rhy."

I stepped closer to her again. She was just standing there like a child being scolded by their mother, looking at the ground. She knew I was right. She knew she was making a mistake but she blinded herself, trying to convince herself that she made the right choice.

"When was the last time you were in a relationship?" She asked calmly. "In a serious relationship, with real problems not just a one-night stand with some bimbo from the neighboring village?"

"6 years ago." I bit my cheek.

"Then don't pretend you know what I am going through." She turned around and started walking away.

"You deserve better." She stopped at my words and looked at me over her shoulder.

"Excuse me?" She asked, pretending she didn't hear me.

"I said that you deserve better," I repeated myself.

"Life isn't a fairytale, Charlie. Sometimes we simply can't get what we want." She wiped a tear off her face, her gaze on me just for a second longer before she turned her head and ran down the hill.

I didn't stop her this time. I knew it was meaningless. I knew she made up her mind. But there it was again – the silence that was supposed to be filled with words. Her eyes that were saying she wanted to tell me more but couldn't. What was stopping her? Why was she so determined to stay with him?

I don't know what hurt more; the fact that she gave up our friendship to stay with the guy she cheated on or the fact that I now know I lost her forever. Probably both.

I turned around and sat where she was sitting before and stared into the distance. I wasn't observing the sunrise. To be honest I didn't even notice it. I was distracted by the pain in my chest.

By my broken heart.
By the fact that I will never be with her and I was beating myself with the question...why?
Why did she choose him?