Bert sat across Sebina who had her head in her hands. They were on their flight back home and she had been stressed since last night.
After Faizal dropped the call, Sebina had desperately tried to call him back but he seemed to have switched off his phone. Bert had grabbed a towel and quickly helped her out of the tub to their bedroom.
This morning she refused to eat, obsessing over her phone and now here they were.
"So you didn't tell him that you are coming here with me?" Bert cautiously asked.
"Yes!" she snapped. Then she calmed down and apologised. "I told him that it was just a business conference. I didn't go into too much detail about you or our fake engagement."
Bert nodded. "Look, we'll explain everything-"
"Not we. I. I'll explain everything. Alone."
A stewardess brought a tray of food for them. "Eat up," Bert encouraged. "You're going to need the energy. Please, just eat."
Sebina nodded and with difficulty, ate what she could.
.
Hours later, she was frantically knocking at Faizal's door and no one was answering. She tried calling again but his phone was off.
A woman passed by in the corridor and Sebina stopped her. "Hi...do you know where the man that lives in this place is?"
"No. He moved earlier this week."
Sebina nodded and then turned back to go to her house.
She jumped into the shower, letting the warm water cascade over her and wash all the negativity she felt away. The only thing that got her out was the ringing of the doorbell.
Upon opening the door, she stared in surprise because there stood Faizal, scowling. He invited himself in and then stood in the hallway, staring at the wet Sebina who stared right back.
"I want you to tell me everything," he said, sounding calm.
Sebina wiped the water dripping down her face. "I'm going to put on clothes-"
"No. Talk now."
"Do you want to sit down-"
"Sebina!"
She nodded. "Bert invited me to Cameroon for an event whereby he was hoping to be awarded a tender. He was willing to invest some money in my business-"
"In exchange for what?"
"I had to pretend to be his fiancé. His associates like me and he thought bringing me along might increase his chances of-"
"Did you fuck him?"
Sebina stared at Faizal, shocked. "What?"
"Did you fuck him?"
"No!"
"Did you do anything sexual with him?"
"Not really-"
Faizal's nose flared and he clenched his fist. "Not really? So that means something happened between you two!"
"I kissed him! I kissed him but it meant nothing! I was just trying to sell the idea of us being engaged. I swear it meant nothing-"
Faizal ran his hand over his hair. "Fuuuuck!" he yelled, pacing. He was angry. Sebina had never seen him like this. "I am going to kill him!"
Sebina placed her hands on his cheeks, trying to calm him down. "Faizal...Faizal, look at me..."
He removed her hands from his cheeks. "Don't touch me," he hissed. He glared at her. "Honesty and openness was the one thing I wanted from you. That was all I wanted. Then you go on trips with my boss! The one man I hate and you don't have the guts to tell me?!"
"You would have refused-"
"Of course I would have! I know Bert!"
"My business should come first before your insecurities-"
"But I would have had a reason to be worried!" Faizal yelled without meaning to. Sebina recoiled. "And now you gave me that reason to be worried!"
"No! You don't get to turn this around on me! I was wrong for kissing Bert but it was nothing!"
"If the situation was turned around, would you believe me if I kissed another woman and told you it was nothing?"
Sebina was quiet.
"Exactly. Look, I think we should take a break."
"No..."
"I have moved to a better place now and you will be seeing a lot less of me. I just need some space and I need to process all of this that just happened."
A tear fell from Sebina's eye. She quickly wiped it away and nodded. "You're breaking up with me. Ok."
Her philosophy had come to bite her in the ass. If he cheated, she would have left him. Now the tables had turned. She cheated, he was leaving.
"I'm sorry." He walked to the door. "Please don't contact me. I'll reach out when I am ready."
Sebina numbly nodded. This hurt! "I understand. Take care." She didn't even have the energy to fight or beg so she watched him leave and softly closed the door behind him.
As soon as she heard his car drive away, the waterworks came and she slumped down on the floor. It hurt! It hurt a lot! Now she knew how Bert felt when she left. In as much as the man had cheated, he had genuinely loved her. Being left in the dust hurt.
It hurt like a bitch!
.
As she lay in bed later that evening, her phone rang and she answered. The rain outside got a little heavier.
"How did it go?" Bert asked.
"He broke up with me," she simply replied.
Bert paused for a moment. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"
"No. I'm fine. I just want to be alone."
"I'm sorry. For causing this mess and getting you into trouble with Faizal-"
"Don't sweat it. Goodnight, Bert."
"Goodnight," he sighed before dropping the call.
Some time later, the doorbell and phone rang at the same time. She went to open the door and Bert stood there in the soaking rain, looking at her.
She opened the door wider and let him in, helping him take off his soaking wet jacket. She quickly ran to the bedroom and came back with a towel and some clothes for him.
He wiped himself, blow dried his hair and changed into the warm clothes in the bathroom before following her to her bedroom where she invited him to lay in bed with her. She was a hurt single woman now. Laying with Bert was not going to get her into trouble.
The thing about her was that even if it took her time to move on from an experience, she did her best to forget about it because she knew that wallowing in misery would only sink her into depression. Faizal left her, she was going to live her life like the single woman that she now was.
Bert looked at her. "Wanna talk about it?" He asked.
She snuggled closer to him as he put his arm around her, locking her in under the blankets.
"It hurts so fucking bad," she croaked, on the verge of tears. "Now I know how you felt."
Bert chuckled. "And it was worse for me because I was begging and trying to get back with you but you wanted nothing more to do with me. I had it really bad."
Sebina dryly laughed. "I'll be fine. I mean, look at you...you seem happy. You got over me and-"
"I'm not over you," Bert blurted without meaning to. He quickly let go of her and got out of bed. He hadn't meant to confess.
"Bert-"
"Look, it's fine." He glanced at her. "You don't love me. You love Faizal. It's fine. I think I should leave before I say anything more."
"Bert-"
He walked out and after a while, Sebina heard the door open then close.