Faury up there guys! Enjoy!
"No..."
"No what? You don't want this? You started this game, why scared to finish it?" he smirked.
"St—st—started what game?" she stuttered as his thumbs brushed through her lips.
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about Miss Coleman"
"I—I don't understand..." she said, not sure what to do, or say. She wasn't even sure she meant all that was coming out from her lips as she was too weak to think. It was almost impossible for her to think, not in the sort of position he currently had her in.
Heck, she was finding it nearly impossible to even breathe, without having to inhale his now-familiar scent which was sending spiraling signals to her brains. His muscular arms held her captive in a position that did nothing but limit her space for movement, yet for some reason, she found herself wanting to jump up on his waist and have her way with his junior which currently poked her southwards.
He stared at her, for seconds that felt like hours, while their lips brushed lightly against each other. There's no doubt, I would die right now if he doesnt kiss me! Fuck it Just kiss me already you idiot! She thought, but the next thing he did surprised her even more...he pulled back.
You'd think that giving her some space made breathing easier for her, but no, it bred quite the opposite. Somehow, the distance made her airways close, like she had just been deprived of something she desperately needed for her survival, his kiss and touch.
She had been expecting he'd grab her by the neck, brush her strands off her face and pull her in for that kiss he knew drove her insides wild, but no, he had done none of that, and her heart sank.
She watched him as he slowly walked away, ruffling his hair as he made his way back to his seat. Straightening her position, she took a deep breath, walked away and reached for the door knob, but stopped right in her tracks, "You know what? I'm done, I'm so done playing these mind games with you!"
"What? What are you talking about?" he asks.
"This...walking in circles, it's got to stop!"
"What circles are you talking about?!"
"Fuckk! We all know you weren't exactly the nicest the first time we met, but we came to an agreement, and we had a truce. Then you're all nice and caring...and then you kiss me, only to act like you don't know me afterwards ,why? Oh I know, because your flat ass girlfriend is there and you're back to your old douchey self!"
"What are you even talking about?! I dont even have a—" he was saying but she cut him off.
"I am talking, let me finish!...then just some hours ago, you looked at me...and cornered me like I was--your greatest desire, but what do we know? Blonde girlfriend walks right in, and you go running off to those stupid ladder-legs of hers like some...lost puppy!"
"Woah woah woah...wait a minute, are you talking about Brianna?" he scrunched.
"Brianna, that's her name? Typical blondie!" she muttered, and then suddenly, Fai burst into laughter.
"And what's so funny?" she asked, even as she realized that it was the first time she had ever really seen him laugh, and God does he look even cuter!
"You are, Miss Coleman, you are really funny!" he said as Maldives got even more furious at the fact that her demise seemed to be some sort of humor to him. He retraced his footsteps back to her, maintaining a considerable distance between them. "...tell me something Miss Coleman, are you jealous?" he asked with a smirk that Maldives wished she could wipe off with a broomstick.
"I'm not! Why would I be? You're not even my type!" she scoffed. Fai who seemed surprise by her response, found himself utterly curious to find out more.
"I see...pray tell me Miss Coleman, what your type is, I'm assuming someone like that...boy I always see you hanging around with"
"He has a name, Gerald...and yes, he is handsome! Tall, dark and handsome!" she folded her arms and raised her head up to match his height.
"I see...well if it'll make you feel any better, then you should know Brianna is not my girlfriend"
"What?"
"She's my cousin" he said as he put his hands in his pockets, watching to see her reaction.
"Wha—I don't understand...I saw you both at the dinner party together, and you both seemed so...so close"
"We are close, because we are cousins...and I've got to say, I'm quite disappointed at the impressions you have of her. For what is worth, she liked you...she really really liked you"
"Really? But how did she even know who I was? Did you two talk about me?" please say yes! Please say yes! Please say yes!
"She--she saw you that night at the dinner party" he swallowed. "...and yeah, she's a lesbian" he said as he went back to his seat.
Maldives didn't know what to say, she was at loss for words. She went forward and sank into one of the chairs in front of his deck, contemplating how foolish and crazy she had been in her judgment of them.
Why hadn't she thought about that?! Of course they're cousins! That explains why she didn't exactly get mad at us when she caught us in that weird position earlier today! So he's not into open relationships, Praise Jesus!
"So now that we're done with me, let's talk about you"
"Me?"
"Mmhmm, what do you have to say for yourself? One minute you're seducing and kissing me, next minute you return with a guy and introduce him as your boyfriend"
"I did not seduce you!" she banged her palms on his table.
"Yes you did, you kissed me first"
"And you kissed me back!"
"That's besides the point. How do you go from kissing someone to showing up with another guy who apparently happens to be your boyfriend? How do you think that made me feel?!"
"Ooh were you jealous?" she smirked and he scoffed.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, I wasn't jealous, I just---I never like to be made a fool of" he shuddered.
"Hmm...that's all this is for you huh? Pride?"
"What it is, is mine to know, and mine alone"
"Hmm...we're not together"
"Not anymore?"
"We were never together. Yes, he was my date to the party, and yes we hang out a lot, but we are not in a relationship, never have been"
"Then how come the other night, you said otherwise?"
"Because back then, we thought we were going to have a relationship, but it never worked out, we don't have such feelings for each other"
"I see..." he said as he rested his back on the chair, staring at her. He was glad, glad that he wasn't going to have to smack the face of one of his co-workers, as he swore each time he saw the both of them together, his urges to make him disappear with some magic wand, grew even stronger.
"You know what? How about we just lay it all on the table now, shall we?" Maldives said.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's get to the root of all this...why you hate me?"
"Hate you? I never said I hated you" he scrunched confusedly.
"Well, maybe you didn't, but we both know that I wasn't exactly your favorite person when we first met. Not that I'm saying I now am, but I'm curious...what did you mean when you told me that night in the club that you were 'in a really bad state, so you took it out on everyone' ?"
"That's private..." he swallowed and pretended to go back to his computer.
"Why did you treat me the way you did back at the hospital?"
"That's in the past Miss Coleman, thought we already called a truce on that" he said as he felt something stirring up inside him.
"Did I remind you of something?"
"I'm begging you Miss Coleman..."
"Was it someone?" she pushed further.
"Don't..."
"Was it the abortion?"
"That's enough now!" he banged the table hard with his fists. "...you wanna the truth? You really wanna know the truth? YES! I hate you for the abortion that you performed! I can't stand you, or any other woman like you!" he said, bringing his head level to level with hers, so close that every single unminced words of his, didn't go unheard.
'You're an imbecile" she said with a voice that did nothing to hide how broken he had gotten her with his words.
"I am? Well, call me whatever you want...at least I know I'm not a treacherous baby-killing snake like you heartless women" he said through clenched teeth, and she looked at him, her solemn state clearly written all over her face.
Her eyes were glossy with tears that clamped at the hollow of her eyes. Her lips had gone dry, and she could swear her heartbeat had slowed down by half its usual frequency.
Never, not even when Regina taunted her for her skin color and race, nor when she got teased by her friends in school for not having a father, never had she ever felt so shattered and helpless. It was one of those feelings you got, whenever you had high hopes for something, and you had people warning you against it, yet you found yourself keeping that one shred of hope alive.
Fai Regan, the same person who had been the epicenter of her wet dreams in the nights passed, who she'd thought was one of the few logical people the earth had managed to keep, was nothing but an imbecile.
"I hope you rot in hell, where it burns the hottest!" she said through clenched teeth, before making her way to the door and closing it with a loud bang.
And there he was, seated in his office chair, with nothing but the sound of the air conditioners, breezing through his walls. He had thought that getting all of that anger, and pouring it on her, would grant him some closure, yet, there he was...and all he felt... was emptiness.
~~~~~
The following morning was a tough struggle for Maldives. After the confrontation she had with Fai, she lost the will to live anymore. He made her relive every single moment of the nightmare she had previously put behind her. How she made it to the bathroom after she had cried her eyes out the night before and gone to bed on an empty stomach, was nothing short of miracle, but like she always tried to tell herself; she was Black, she was strong and she was resilient.
Christian had been right, there really was such a thing as the abortion stigma, and Lord, it wasn't something any woman had to go through, regardless her reasons, but perhaps, what had hurt her the most wasn't the fact that she had faced that, it was the fact that he of all people, had been the one who cast such judgment on her, not just because he was a medical doctor, but because he had done so without knowing the full story.
Even now, as she stepped into REGAL Corp., she took one last look at her phone's camera, hoping the heavy amount of makeup she had dabbed on in the hopes of concealing all the tears she had shed the night before, was working. She wasn't ready to answer questions, she didn't want to answer questions, so this was her escape mechanism, but alas, there was only so much help a thousand dabs of KKW coverage powder could offer.
"What happened to you?!" Rachel asked the moment she saw her walk by her office, on her way to hers.
"Huh? Nothing, nothing happened" she shuddered and feigned ignorance.
"Nothing?! How can you say nothing happened if your lips are all cracky and your eyes are all puffy...and what the hell is all this makeup for? Cause if this is your way of hiding all the crying you did last night, then girl, you are failing miserably at it" she said as she touched her makeup with her fingers.
"Rachel, it's okay...really, I'm fine. Yes, I did cry last night, but trust me, it wasn't anything serious...it was just--I remembered a painful memory, but I'm fine now"
"Are you sure? Maldives, I'm really worried about you...My God, you look terrible!" she touched her forehead and noticed the growing fever. "...I think you should take the day off"
"No, I'm fine, trust me, it's nothing a couple aspirin and lots of water can't solve"
"Hmm"
"But let's talk about you! How did it go yesterday at the hospital, was it something serious?"
"Actually, that's what I was coming to tell you about...guess what?!" she asked her.
"What?"
"Frank and I are expecting!" she whispered as she chirped.
"No wayyy...seriously?!" Maldives asked.
"Yes! I already told our family back in Germany, but this is so BIG! I can't keep it to myself but I know I only wanna share this with the people that matter the most to me, and you happen to be one of them" she smiled.
"Awwn...you don't know how much it means to me, hearing you say that"
"Yeah, plus there's the fact that Fai didn't show up at work today so..."
"The doctor's not here?"
"Nope, he called in earlier to say that he wasn't going to be at work today, 'personal issues' he said"
"Ohh..."
"Yeah...so listen, I know the baby is still probably the size of a peanut but you already know how excited I am about all this...so I spoke to Frank last night and you know I feel really really bad about you not being able to witness the wedding..."
"Yeah???"
"Well...we were kind of hoping that when the baby would come... you'd agree to maybe being the godmother?" she bit her lip in nervousness as she didn't know what her response would be.
Maldives also didn't know how she felt about the offer as and found herself reminded her of her own demise. For her, being the baby's godmother was going to be a sort remainder of the great gift of motherhood that she was deprived of herself and she didn't know if she could stand owing such honor to a baby she knew wasn't hers.
"I know we've only known each other for about a year, but with you, it feels way longer...like we're sisters, which is why you were the only person I could think of entrusting this responsibility with...and you don't even have to give me a response now, you can think about it for—"
"I'll do it"
"Huh?"
"I'll do it, I'll be your baby's godmother...it would be an honor" she said as tears welled up her eyes. How could she say no? All her life, she had always dreamt of being a mother, and seeing as life had taken from her what she wanted the most, she couldn't see herself passing up on the one thing that came the closest to that.
"Really? You will? You really will?!" she said as she also began tearing.
"Yes of course! Your baby's gonna have one hell of Black godmother!" she chuckled.
"I wouldn't have it any other way" she said as she hugged her.
~~~~~
"Hey Lisa, why's the table set up for two people? Are you finally joining me for breakfast?" Faury teased.
"Hahaha no, the breakfast is for you and the boss"
"My brother? He didn't go to work today?"
"No...I don't know, but last night, he came home really late and he didn"t seem to look too good"
"Really? Do you think something bad happened?"
"I don't know, I really can't say, although..."
"You guys don't happen to be gossiping about me, do you?" Fai said as he walked into the kitchen looking disheveled.
"Jesus Fai, you look like shit! What happened to you?"
"Long story" he said plainly as Lisa served him his pancakes with maple syrup and excused herself.
"Well, you appear not to be going to work today, so tell me all about it"
"Hmm"
"Well???"
"I messed up Faury...big time"
"Why? What happened?"
"I don't know...I don't really know where to start..."
"Wait a minute, is this about a girl?"
"W—what?" he stuttered.
"Oh my God, it is about a girl! Who is she?"
"You didn't even let me finish—"
"Is it or is it not about a girl?" he scrunched.
"Will you let me finish? YES, it is about a girl, but it's not so simple.. in fact, it's very very complicated"
"Why? Do you love her?"
"What? Look, I don't know okay? It's not like we're even together anyways...and I sort of feel like I might have destroyed any hopes I had of even having something with her"
"Why, what did you do?"
"I let my anger get the best of me...I fucked it up, big time!"
"What exactly did you do Fai?"
Sighs "You know how you always say I shouldn't let my anger over what happened with Hailey interfere with my judgments of other people?..."
"Wait...you found out she had had an abortion in the past and that changed your mind about her?"
"No, I found out she had had an abortion in the past, hated her for it and even called her names!"
"What?!"
"You have no idea the kind of things I said to her yesterday"
"Yesterday? Is this girl someone I know?"
"That's not your concern for now Faury" he gulped.
'Okay, Gee, don't bite me...but yeah, you really did mess up. Why can't you just forget what Hailey did to you and move on with your life?"
"You think I don't try to?! You don't understand, its hard! TWICE Faury! TWICE!"
"I know it's hard, but what's even harder is the emotional mess it's putting you through, can't you see?! Women get abortions all the time, women have the right to do that and I know that you might have felt like based on the situations you guys were in, Hailey owed you more, but you've got to let go! You're a gynaecologist for God's sake, and not just that, but we'd expect you of all people, with all the qualifications and exposures you've had, to understand that abortion IS A CHOICE, you don't have any right to judge any woman for wanting to do it!"
"I know I know...I don't know what else to do...mein Gott!, I'm so foolish!"
"You can start by apologizing to this girl...I don't know, see if that will give you some closure..."
"You think she'll forgive me?"
"Honestly Fai? I can't say...but if it's meant to be, it'll be... If you're meant to be, you'll be..."
Mein Gott!- My God! (German)
Please don't forget to vote, comment and share, thank you! 💓