The Cupid Series ↬ Finn Bálor

32| Real Life

COFFEE AND PANCAKES WITH extra syrup on top.

That was what he ordered at the local restaurant in town. Fergal sat at a booth in the corner, where people would less likely see him as he waited for her to come. Though he wasn't sure if she will, for she never gave him an answer. So to say he was anxious would be an understatement.

"You need to eat something." When he looked up, his heart leaped into his throat.

Clad in a sunflower themed dress and a pair of green flats, plus dark sunglasses, Celine was surprisingly barely recognizable. She had her hands in the pockets of her dress as she sat down and took off her glasses.

Her eyes were puffy. Red. There was so much sorrow in her eyes, it could spill out at any given moment.

"Celine?" Finn had to blink to make sure that she's real and wasn't a cruel figment of his imagination. When he was sure that she wasn't, Celine sat down and clasped her hands together on the table. "I didn't think you'd show up."

Celine looked at her fingers, pondering an answer. The waitress came before she could say anything. She ordered a cup of coffee and minutes later, it was placed before her. There was so much Celine wanted to say, to yell, but she reigned it all in. Instead, she opted for something simple, "When did this happen?

Part of her wanted an answer, while the other one didn't want to know. She wanted to hold n to the love they had for each other, but she didn't want to stay with a man who had no remorse for breaking apart something as sacred as a marriage. It was an impossible choice.

Sitting across from the love of his life proved to be hard enough as is it, so talking with a lump in his throat should take some getting used to. Where was he even supposed to begin? How could he ever heal the deep wounds he's caused this time?

He sighed, leaning back and rubbed his face with both hands, "A little while after the whole Joshua thing... Bayley dragged me to a party, I got drunk and..."

There was only so much he could say without wanting to burn himself on a stake. The guilt was eating him alive. He should've told he the truth from the very beginning. He shouldn't have hid it from her. And now they were both paying the price for his stupid actions.

She didn't want the details. She looked away. "Why?"

"I..." Fergal nearly choked before looking down. "I can't answer that, love."

"She's married, Fergal." she hissed, scowling. He has to answer that.

"She came onto me that night." was his immediate response, but there was no way he could use words or actions to defend himself. "All I thought about was you and how much I wanted to punch your ex in the face and yell at you for lying to me. I was hurt."

"So was I." she countered harshly, tears welling in her eyes like him. Fergal took another deep sigh, feeling the effects of shame weighing down on him.

"I have no excuse for my actions, Celine. I know that there's nothing I can do to make your pain stop." She pursed her lips. She wanted to forgive him. Really, she did.

But he hid the truth. Fergal chose not to tell her that he slept with her friend, her married friend and while he was trying to keep that truth hidden from her, Mercedes was staring her in the face with a bright grin while laughing behind her back after stabbing it.

Mercedes had looked her in the eye, pretending like she did absolutely nothing wrong with no remorse whatsoever. She never thought of her husband or who else might get hurt. All because she wanted someone who wasn't hers. How far would she be willing to go to do it again?