Arranged Marriage with the Womanizer

Chapter 26

My feet felt heavy against the floor, the darkness greeted me with a grin, almost as if it was mocking me. I dropped my keys to the counter, heavily making my way to the couch. I sat, my head between my legs. My own heart felt heavy. It was such a foreign feeling. Why was I like this? Why did I need to fall for her. Why couldn't I just treat it like it was just another fling?

I wanted to scream, I wanted to yell, but all I could do was stare at my own two feet in shame.

I regretted not admitting the truth, and I forever will. I saw a stain drop to the rug, almost like water. Then another, and another.

Only then had I realized I was crying. I could care less. This was a side that not even I expected would ever come out from someone like me. I was a living player, a guy who cares more for one night stands, and yet here I am, crying over a woman.

I allowed myself to cry, wiping a few strays here and there. My mind returned to the past memories.

The kiss.

The blissful night on her birthday.

The day she walked down the aisle.

Everything we've shared together, I'll always cherish.

My phone buzzed, shutting me out of my thoughts. I wiped my tears, and cleared my throat. My mother was calling me.

"Hello?" I attempted to sound normal.

"Robbie? Are you okay, sweetie? I just wanted to check on you. I had a hunch you weren't doing well." The soft, concerning voice of my mother entered my ears.

I smiled through the phone, "I'm fine mother. I could use some rest though."

"Definitely, my dear. Try to grab some sleep, you did look pretty untamed today. I love you sweetheart, goodnight."

"'Night, take care mom. I love you too."

BEEP. I tossed my phone to the side of the couch. I decided to lay down, and rest. I was far too tired to even think about anything else. The last thing on my mind, was the sight of (F/N) radiant smile, before I drifted off to sleep.

I was woken by a series of rough shaking from my shoulder. My brows furrowed in anger, shoving away the interrupting presence. I was in no mood to even walk around and get some food for myself. I was far too tired.

"Robbie! Son! Get up..!"

I moaned, peeking with my right eye for the owner of said voice.

"..D-dad..? Ugh. My head.." I quickly regained consciousness of my surroundings. Why my father had arrived is beyond me.

"Your friends are here. Parker and Jared. They decided to drop by, check how you were doing."

Instantly, I rushed out of bed. No doubt, I was greeted with my two best friends in the living room, gazing upon the furniture before them. Wiping away the sleep from my eyes, as well as the sadness, I headed for them.

"Robbie! Been a while, huh buddy? We wanted to ask you something about the marriage.." Parker started.

I took a seat across from him, adjacent to Jared. Pressing my lips together, the ache in my heart bubbled again. 

"The marriage is over. My mother filed a divorce once she discovered how unhappy and forced I looked throughout the entire thing," I cut him off, bitterly. 

Jared took a closer look on me. His eyes scanned my features. 

"But you don't look very pleasant. You look.. awful." 

I looked up at both of them, fighting against the tears that wanted to fall. It wasn't because I thought it wasn't right for a man to cry. It wasn't because I wanted to continue being masculine. It wasn't because of pride. 

It was because I knew that I would never regain her in my arms again. 

"I'm just.. extremely upset that my mother is ill. You've heard of it? She's dying. And it's much harder for me to celebrate the end of that cursed marriage when your loved one is nearing end."

It burned my chest to lie. It may be one thing to lie, but I couldn't stand lying to my friends about my true feelings. But I had to move on. I had to forget her. There would never be an "us". It ended then and there when she kissed me. And I had to stay strong. 

For a moment, a look of sympathy and doubt pooled in Jared's eyes. He chose not to say anything. For a moment, I felt that he knew how I was inside. 

"What brings you two here anyway? Surely, it's not just to check up on me. And what did you want to know?" 

Parker spared Jared a look, and looked straight to me. 

"I had a hunch your marriage may have failed. I saw your ex-wife with another man out on a date, giggling and laughing."

The confidence that I had left in my body had vanished. She said she loved me. How could she have forgotten about me in such a short span of time?

"It doesn't matter now though, does it? She can do whatever she wants. She's free to please whomever she wants to. That much is none of my business." Pride. Ego. Pride. Ego.

I was greeted with a stare from Jared, "Are you sure you're prepared to see her with someone else? You'll never know when the emotions can suddenly hit you." 

I took a deep breath. "I am, because I also found someone else."

Parker raised a brow. "Who?" 

"Freya Darling. She's my girlfriend. The woman that I'm madly in love with since the start." 

After the departure of Parker and Jared, I headed towards the restaurant that I've texted Freya to meet me the minute my phone was on my hand. She was, more or less, happy to have been invited for a lunch out. 

I thought about driving there, but I still needed time to think. 

How did she move on so quickly? To another person? Did our love mean nothing? 

I laughed bitterly into the sky, earning a few stares from the public. 

Love. 

We were never in love. It was just something that happened because we've grown comfortable with each other. There's a difference between loving someone, being comfortable with them, and them being a part of your routine. Maybe it wasn't love. Maybe it was just the feeling of extreme comfort. Maybe we both wanted to convince everyone else so bad, that we ended up convincing ourselves that it was something.

Yet, the pain my chest is real. The tears I shed are real. How could I deny love, when the first and last thought I have at the beginning of my day to the end of my night, is her? Why do I bother denying it? 

I fell in love with her. 

But she moved on. 

And I know I did fall in love with her. Because I never want to see her with someone else. 

I hadn't realized that I arrived at my destination until I looked up at a person that I've bumped into. A waiter had stood outside the restaurant, promoting the menu that was presented up front. Bidding him a sorry, I made my way inside. 

My eyes scanned for a familiar figure. They stopped once Freya gave me a wave, signalling she had already found a spot for the two of us. I smiled, albeit a fake one, and padded over to the seat across from her.

"The sudden invitation. I can't say I'm not surprised. Especially after our last encounter--"

"I want you to be my girlfriend."

Her mouth fell agape. A chuckle escaped her lips. Her eyes twinkled. Such sight would make me smirk. But I couldn't find happiness in her either. 

"I would love to be yours, Robbie."