"No, I won't tell her," Zoilo answered.
"What do you mean no? She already suspects that you've been sleeping with other women. Why won't you just admit it?" Veronica asks.
"Because she doesn't need to know. I'm going to fix everything." Arabella placed her hand over her mouth and silently cried.
"How can you go and fix things when you don't even tell her the truth. Relationships are built on trust not lies."
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
"You're honestly going to pretend that none of this happened? That you didn't sleep with-" she paused. "That's not right. I know what we did was wrong, but you keeping it from her is even worse."
"Do you think that I wanted this to happen? Do you really think that I wanted to cheat on my wife? That I wanted to sleep with her best friend?"
Arabella dropped her keys, making a loud sound. Zoilo and Veronica snapped their heads in her direction and widened their eyes.
"Bella," he began to approach her. Arabella raised her hand and he stopped.
"I had a feeling you were cheating. I-I just didn't have the proof. I thought you were cheating on me with multiple women. I would have been mad trust me I would have," Arabella frowned and made her way towards him.
She balled her hands into fists and yelled, "but you slept with the same woman all this time! Out of all the fucking women in the world, you chose her! You slept with my fucking best friend!"
"Bella calm down pl-"
"Why her?!" Tears continued to stream down her face.
"I'm sor-"
"I don't want your damn apology. I want you to answer my question! Why?"
"It was a mistake! I never meant to hurt you Bella! I-"
Arabella looked behind him and narrowed her eyes at Veronica. She made her way around Zoilo and stood in front of her. "What kind of a fucking best friend are you?! After everything we've been through together! After everything I did for you! This is what you do?!"
"Arabella I'm sorry I-" Veronica spoke, but Arabella cut her off.
"I was there with you when we found your sister. I was there for you when you mourned for her. Ever since that moment, you changed."
"Leave my sister out of this. She has nothing to do with this," Veronica said in an angry tone.
"Do you think I want to talk about this? About what happened to her? She was my friend! I miss her everyday." Arabella sniffled.
"Ever since the day she died, you changed Veronica! And don't tell me that isn't true because it is! I was there. I saw everything. You. Changed. I didn't say anything because I understood why you changed, but months after the incident I didn't just lose one friend I lost two. You and your sister!"
Veronica stood there staring at Arabella while remaining quiet.
"And then you moved. You went to a university and I was happy for you. I was happy that you were living your life. You left me, but I was happy for you. When you came back crying I was there for you once again. You told me everything and I listened. You told me about your relationship with that guy and how it didn't end well. I helped you recover from your heartbreak and I-"
Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.
She looked back at Zoilo and turned to look back at Veronica, "i-it was Zoilo?"
Veronica placed her hands over her mouth and began to cry. She nodded her head before staring down at the ground.
"And you weren't planning on telling me?" She directed the question to both of them. She turned to look at Zoilo once again.
Zoilo spoke, "that was a long time ago Bella. Veronica and I lost contact after we broke up and we never saw each other again until..."
"Until that day when I introduced you to each other," Arabella brought her hands up to the roots of her hair and grabbed onto it. "I'm so stupid..."
Zoilo stood in front of her, "no Bella don't say that. You aren't stupid. You're smart, beautiful. I-"
"Stop calling me Bella!" She yelled. She turned around and began pacing the room, "I was so stupid. You were cheating on me all these years and not just with any woman. You cheated on me with her! My best friend and your assistant!"
Arabella paused and scoffed, "the signs were all there and... and I ignored them all." Her lips formed into a thin line, "all those late nights. All the nights you never came home. You were with her weren't you? What about while I was away? Did you bring her here and fuck her here?"
He didn't respond.
"Answer me Zoilo!"
"Yes Arabella, all those nights I came home late or didn't come at all I was with her! But I never brought her here Arabella! I wouldn't do that," he answered.
Arabella looked at Veronica and said, "get out."
"Arabella I'm sorry I-" Veronica began, but Arabella cut her off.
"Now! I don't want you in my fucking house ever again! This will be your first and last time. Now get out!"
Veronica nodded her head and began walking towards the entrance. "I'm sorry," she whispered before leaving the living room.
"No you aren't," Arabella snapped at her just before she heard the front door open. She placed a hand on the side of her forehead.
"Arabella please sit..." Zoilo placed a hand on her upper arm and she pulled away from him.
"Do not touch me. Don't you dare," she wiped away her tears and took a few deep breaths and exhaled.
She sat down on the couch, placing her hands against her forehead, and closed her eyes, "you have no idea how I feel right now. I came here so that we..." She brought her hands down and stared at Zoilo. She continued, "so that we could talk about us and about-" She stopped herself.
He sat down across from her, "about what Bella? What do you want to talk about?"
"I told you not to call me Bella, you don't get to call me Bella anymore. My name is Arabella," she said and looked down at the palms of her hands. "Why her?" She asked.
"I never meant for any of this to happen. I love you Arabella. You have to believe me."
"People don't cheat and lie when they're in love. They cheat and lie when they fall out of love. You didn't love me!"
He stood up from his seat, "but I do! So fucking much." He got down on one knee and held her hands in his. "I filed the divorce because of what I did. I knew I couldn't be with you anymore because of what I did. Because I cheated on you. I thought that if I stayed away I wouldn't love you anymore. I thought I could stay away from you, but I couldn't. I can't stay away from you because I love you." He brought her hands up to his lips and kissed the top of her hands.
Arabella looked away and bit inside her cheek to stop herself from crying again. She pulled her hands away from his and placed hers on her lap. Suddenly, she felt something liquid fall on her knees. She looked down and saw water.
"I'm sorry Arabella," Zoilo's voice was raspy. "I'm so fucking sorry. I did this. To you. To me. To us." Arabella watched as tears fell from his eyes.
"Zoilo," she said softly. "Sit down... please." He nodded and sat down across from her. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm not going to ask you anything else. I can't right now, this is all too much for me."
Zoilo remained silent as he held his fist with his other hand. He rubbed his thumb against his balled hand as he continued to stare at Arabella. She continued, "I came here for two reasons. First, about us. Ever since the miscarriage, a lot changed. We both did. These past few days I've thought about a lot, especially about what I wanted. I came to tell you that I'm going to move out."
His eyes widened, "what? Where are you going? If it's because of Veronica and me-"
"No, Zoilo I made my decision before I came here. Finding out about you two gave me another reason as to why I should move out."
He hung his head down, "where will you go?"
"I don't know. I'll most likely rent an apartment."
"O-okay," he said softly.
"I won't come back to the office. I can't, not for a while, but that doesn't mean I won't stop working. Anything I'm able to do from home I'll do it."
He nodded his head, "I'll fire Veronica."
"I really don't care whether you fire her or not. From what I know she's done her job right, but what you both did wasn't right and you know that. Did you honestly think I wouldn't find out? What if someone else found out? What would you have done?"
"I was going to make things right for us. Yes, i fucked up but I need you Arabella."
"How were you going to make things right Zoilo? By not saying anything? By continuing to keep secrets and lie to me? That's not how you fix things Zoilo and you clearly didn't need me when you went behind my back and slept with Veronica."
He frowned and his lips formed into a thin line, "you think I wanted this to happen? That I wanted to cheat on my wife, the woman I love and would do anything for? No Arabella I didn't. I didn't know this would happen, but it did and I fucked up. When you had the miscarriage you pushed me away! Yes, I know you lost your child, but I did too."
Arabella stood up from her seat and looked down at him, "I carried that child. Our child! I felt everything. You don't understand what that feels like and you will never get to find out!"
He stood up, "I was there with you when it happened. I may have not carried our child, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less! I was right there next to you when I woke up to you screaming my name. I saw the blood on the sheets. I saw you crutch your stomach as you cried calling out for our baby and my name. I was there when the doctor told us about the miscarriage."
Zoilo brought his hands up and ran them through his hair. "I was going to be a father! Do you remember the day you told me you were pregnant? When you showed me the pregnancy test? That was one of the most happiest days of my life. We were going to be a family. You, our baby, and I... and then that night my world began to crumble because I not only lost my child but I was loosing you too," his voice became raspy.
"After the incident, I thought that if I acted strong that it would help you get better. I hated watching you cry yourself to sleep. I hated when you pushed me away and no that wasn't why I cheated on you. I was so depressed and in so much pain all those months that I needed someone to talk to because my wife kept pushing me away instead of coming to me to talk to. And yes, that person was Veronica, but it was just two friends talking. Yes, we had a past, but that's what it was. The. Past."
"When did it happen?" Arabella asked, tears slowly filled her eyes.
Zoilo slumped his shoulders and the corners of his lips hung down. "The night of the party... when we were celebrating the deal we landed. Mostly everyone from the office was there. Everything was fine. We all had a few drinks, talked, and celebrated. When it ended, I took Veronica home. She said she didn't have a ride and I was just going to let her walk home or take a taxi at two in the morning."
He ran a hand through his messy hair, "when we reached her apartment I was about to leave when she kissed me and continued to touch me while I tried to get away. I tried to push her away and then I don't know what came to me. I didn't know if it was the alcohol, the feelings I thought I still felt towards her, or something else. When I woke up, I was scared. I felt fucking disgusting at what happened and at myself. I told myself I wasn't going to do it again and yet I did."
At this point, Arabella was already in tears. She frowned as more tears fell down. "Why didn't you tell me after the first time?! I would've forgiven you as stupid as it sounds! I loved you!" She threw punches at his chest. Zoilo stood still as she threw hard punches at him.
Her punches became softer and she slowed them down. She placed her hands against her face and sobbed. Zoilo slowly raised his hands and placed them on her upper arms. Arabella quickly pulled away from him.
"I-I need to go," she walked around him and headed to the front door.
"Arabella!" She heard hurried footsteps from behind her, but continued walking. Suddenly, she felt his hand on her arm. They stopped and he made her face him. "What was the second thing?"
"What?" She brought her eyebrows together in confusion.
"You said you had to tell me two things. What was the second thing?" He asked. His chest continued to quickly rise and fall.
"I'm pregnant."
His face fell and his eyes widened, "what?"
"You're going to be a father," she sniffled.
He slightly tightened his grip on her arm, "since when? H-how long have you-"
"I found out three days ago. I'm almost three weeks." He let her arm go and she placed a hand on her stomach.
"A-are you- Is it true?" His voice cracked.
She nodded, "I was sent to the hospital after I had fainted and found out later that day."
"Why didn't you call me? Why didn't the hospital call me?" He frowned.
"Because I didn't want them to!"
"And I'm the father?" He asked.
"Yes Zoilo! Who else would be?" She asked annoyed. The corners of his lips slightly curled up, but quickly went back down.
"You can't leave," he went to the front door and locked it. He turned to Arabella, grabbed her arm, and began to drag her further into the house.
She struggled to pull herself out of his grip, "What are you doing? Let me go Zoilo!"
He stopped and faced her. "I'm not letting you leave with our child."
"I'm not staying here with you! Let go of me or else," she said in anger.
"This is our child we are talking about Bella. Another chance of starting the family we always wanted. I'm not letting anything or anyone take you or our child away from me."
Arabella finally managed to pull herself from out of his grip and said, "just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean everything will be okay. It doesn't mean that everything will suddenly get fixed. I'm not denying you're the father and I'm not going to deprive you of being with our child, but I don't want to be here. I need time away from here and from you!" Her chest rose and sunk as she tried to catch deep breaths.
Zoilo held her hands in his and brought them to his lips, "Bella please don't go. I'll do anything. I want to make things work. I want to stop the divorce from happening. I want to raise this child with you as my wife. I love you. Please..."
She pulled her hands away and said, "stop Zoilo. I'm not staying here. I can't stay here with you, not now. I need time to think about us. If you love me then please understand why I'm doing this."
He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. He balled his hands into fists and after a few seconds he nodded. Arabella walked past him and grabbed her keys from the ground. She walked past him again as she headed towards the front door.
She unlocked it and opened the door. She took a step forward and stopped before turning to look at Zoilo once more. He had stayed nearby the door and watched her as she was leaving.
"I'll call you..." Arabella spoke and faced forward.
"I'm sorry Arabella. Know that I do love you," she heard him say softly.
Even if he couldn't see her face, she sadly smiled to herself before closing the door behind her. When she entered her car, she broke down once again. She quickly got her phone and called the first person she thought about. After a three rings, the person answered their phone. Arabella continued to sob.
"Arabella? What's wrong?" Said the voice on the other side of the phone.
"Zoilo... h-he cheated..."
"Come over. I'll text you my address."
"O-okay," Arabella said and hung the call. She checked her messages and typed the address into her gps before driving away.
____
The End.
After this chapter, the following updates will be bonus chapters containing point of views (POV) from all the characters. They will contain scenes from this book and scenes that didn't make the cut. They will add onto the book so I suggest you read them.
After the bonus chapters I will post the 2nd book of the series!
I hope you guys enjoyed this story and thank you for reading!