Mend My Heart

Chapter 39

I let myself be immersed in that kiss because nothing mattered at the moment besides the man that was in front of me…the man who I was deeply and unequivocally in love with. But as usual, the moment didn’t last very long due to an unforeseen disturbance.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing with my girlfriend!” Brian roared as he stormed over to our table. When he arrived, he grabbed Theodore by the collar and landed a huge punch on his jaw, making him tumble to the ground.

I was stunned at his brutal action. “Brian, why did you-,” I was cut off by Theodore rising from the ground and making a swift upper cut on Brian, who hadn’t been anticipating the blow and lost his footing. And then all hell broke loose. I didn’t know what to do so I just yelled in horror when blood began to drip in either direction. It felt like years had elapsed when a bunch of people decided to intervene before it turned gory.

Both men were battered, but I’d say Brian received the most damage. Theodore is kind of a boxer after all…and that is not important right now. He spat some blood on the ground before wiping his bloody nose. He turned to glare at me. “This is what you call watching Gossip Girl, huh? You were cheating on me with this bastard,” he seethed.

My face crumpled in guilt. He was right, I did cheat on him and I couldn’t even forgive myself for it. “Don’t you dare speak to her like that, moron,” Theodore tried to defend me, his voice thunderous. The whole restaurant had gone quiet, and everybody’s eyes were on us. I caught a glimpse of Lexi watching from the corner, a look of shock on her face.

“I’m sorry,” I cried, warm tears beginning to cascade down my cheeks. “I shouldn’t have come to dinner with him and I shouldn’t have let him kiss me. In fact, I shouldn’t have started any of this with either of you.”

Both sets of eyes snapped over to me. “What did you say?” they both said at the same time.

The water works didn’t stop. “All of this was a mistake. I shouldn’t have dated you Brian and I definitely shouldn’t have agreed to meeting you, Theodore. Look at the mess it caused, and now you almost killed each other because of me. I’m not sure about anything right now and I think it’s best that we never see each other again,” I verbalized in despair before grabbing my purse and turning to leave but before I could, someone caught me by the arm.

“You can’t just do this. I love you Maya,” Theodore said, hurt written all over his face. Brian came to stand and the other side of me.

“And I love you too,” he added softly, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

I bit my trembling lip and shrugged off Theodore’s arm. “I’ve got to go.”

And then I walked out of the restaurant.

                                                                               ***

It had been three days since that fiasco at Ooh La Food. I hadn’t left my apartment since then and I also hadn’t been to work. I called in sick on Thursday and Friday, and the weekends were a half-day shift I alternated with Penny. Thankfully it wasn’t my turn so it all played out well for me. Avoiding people, however wasn’t all that easy.

I don’t know how many calls I’d received from Lexi, Brian, Theodore and even my dad. The most came from Theodore, who had even stopped by twice to check up on me. I, of course, didn’t open the door due to how ashamed and conflicted I felt, so he had left with a defeatist mentality on both occasions. But today, I really needed to talk to somebody…and that person was my dad.

After prepping up, I called him and asked if we could have lunch. He happily agreed and drove us to one of his favourite luncheonettes. It wasn’t long before we arrived there and my mouth opened up like a can of worms, telling him about everything that had happened leading to this point. I watched as his aging face went from awe, worry to a bit of grief.

He raked his hand through his salt and pepper hair. “That’s a rather confusing situation, might I say. I won’t sugar coat it and say you didn’t mess up but we all make mistakes. You’re human just like everyone else,” he muttered soothingly, making me feel slightly better.

“So, what do I do now?” I asked him.

He sighed and took my hand in his. I briefly flinched at the contact, it being foreign but I didn’t push his hand away. “Sweety, you may not know it but you made your mind up a long time ago. It’s time for you to come to terms with it,” he said cryptically. When I was about to ask him what he meant by that, his phone went off. Apologising, he picked it up. “I need to get back to the hospital, I have an appointment in half an hour,” he told me once the call ended.

I nodded in understanding. “Okay. Thanks for listening to me, dad. I really appreciate it.”

He smiled and patted my head. “I’m the one who should be grateful that you let me back into your life after all the nasty things I did and said to you. I’m still ashamed you know,” he trailed off with slight tremble in his voice. We both stood up, having finished our meal long ago and began to walk out.

“I know, dad. But at least you were willing to work for my forgiveness.”

“Just like that Theodore guy, you mentioned,” he added wisely.

Then it finally clicked in my head. All this time I’d been blind and in denial. The ball had been in my court but I simply refused to play. It wasn’t even up for debate; I’d already chosen Theodore. I love him with all my heart, and he loved me too. How could I have been so stupid?

I threw my arms around my dad in a hurried embrace. He was surprised by my action. “Thanks dad!” I yelled in glee before dashing down the street to hail a cab. On the first attempt, one stopped in front of me by the curb and I immediately hopped in. I told the driver the address of the place I wanted to go. Heaven only knows how I’d managed to memorise it given the fact that I’d only been there once.

Almost an hour later, we pulled up to the gate of Theodore’s beach house. After paying the driver, I practically shot out of the vehicle like a canon and ran to the gate. The guard came up to me, eyeing me suspiciously. “Is Mr. Duke here?” I questioned him, desperation evident in my tone.

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. He left for England earlier today.”

Everything froze for a second before my stomach wrenched. I muttered a thank you to the guard and turned away from the gate. He came all this way for me and all I had done was ignore him. And the worst part is I had a chance, now I was afraid I’d blown it to hell. I walked down the posh neighbourhood, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. I realised that I wanted to be with him more than anything, and now he was gone. Who knows when I’d see him again? If I’d ever see him again…

I needed to do something about this, and I needed to do it fast. 

___________________________

So, the truth finally came out and all broke loose.... what a debacle!

I'd warned you in previous chapters about this pivotal moment.

Anybody upset with Maya for waiting too long to pick Theodore?

I bet nobody even shipped her with Brian 😂

Lastly, is it too late for her to go to him?

Next update is the last chapter amd I'll upload next week. It will be a surprise one, not sure which date but I'll do it randomly. Then the epilogue will follow.

Getting a bit teary eyed...😭🥺

Toodles!

~Deetronite