"Hey Paula, do you have few minutes?"
The phone call to end her lunch. Much as she had expected it, she didn't want to answer it. Plus, he had caught her off-guard, she definitely wasn't expecting him to call now. Having to end her lunch with girls early and then finding a quiet place where she could scream and threaten Sam without attracting attention was going to have to be a hassle for another day. She'd have to go back to her hostel room and lock the door.
"Okay Sam, what is it?"
"Well, I saw Prince at my hostel today. He was in a brawl with one of the boys on my floor. He said he was drunk and didn't know what he was doing. Is everything okay? He's literally disappeared, nobody knows where he is, do you?"
She took a deep breath and thought through her answer carefully. He was just being concerned, not nosy as the rest of them were. So she oughtn't be rude, but she still oughtn't disclose much information about the situation back home. It was their business, not the world's. "Okay, I do not know the full story, but he's not alright. I'm guessing there's either someone he liked that dumped him or she likes someone else. I'm not sure. If he's disappeared, then he just wants to be alone. Let him be, he'll come back when his head is cleared. Okay?"
"uhh...okay sure. How are you though? Haven't seen you in a while. You good?"
"Yeah, I'm good. N you?"
"yeah...Anyway, we should catch up sometime. I've gotta head somewhere. See you around, yeah?"
"Okay. Bye Sam"
Well, that went better than I thought it would. She sat down and stared at her brother's sleeping form on her bed. What did you get yourself into twinzie? What did you do? She wiped the tear that had rolled down his nose while he was asleep. She could see that he was struggling to keep it in, but he didn't want to bring it out either. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her phone to call their mother, maybe she would have a solution for him, he was her favourite after all. That's when she noticed the chloroform bottle under the bed. That was the third she had seen. He wasn't falling asleep, he was making himself unconscious. Mum needs to know about this.
A couple of years before.....
"How did it feel when you were with her, huh? Did she make you happy? Did she make you feel accomplished? Did she fulfil you? What does she have that I don't? What did she give you that I didn't? Just give me one good reason why you chose to go with her and leave the family you built and worked hard for behind? Just one!"
"Shut up Kim!! just be quiet, please"
Kim looked at Oscar agape. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was the one cheated on, and yet here he was shutting her up like some disobedient poodle. He just sat there, saying nothing, typing away on his laptop. Even till now, he valued his work before his family, before her. She stared at him, studied him. Even his demeanour had changed. He wasn't the husband she knew and loved. He wasn't the father of his children anymore. She wiped her tears, walked out and closed the door. She would find out who his mistress was, and make her regret walking into her husband's life.
Oscar watched the door close and drew out a deep breath. He looked at the random letters on his screen. He wasn't doing anything, but he didn't want to face his wife's fury. Truth be told, he was afraid of her. He didn't know why he had cheated on her either. He was having problems and his wife had been too busy for him lately. He had found solace in Abby. She had comforted him and had made him feel better. She was always willing to listen to him and give him a solution regardless of what time he had called. But then the guilt kept on piling up until he couldn't take it anymore so he had confessed to her that he was married and that he had kids and what they were doing should stop. But just when he thought he had called it off and that it was finally over, the insolent woman had had the nerve to send a long message saying she knew he still loved her as much as she loved him, along with pictures of them both. What part of friends with benefits did she not understand? And when did she even take these? All would've been well had she not sent them at the same time Kim had borrowed his computer. He could only imagine the horror on her face when she saw the pictures. And now he knew where she was going. Problem was, he didn't even know his mistress' surname. And neither did he know that his son was hiding from his sister in the same room.
"Hey Rin! I've been looking for you! Where have you been? Gimme my stuff back. I know you're the one who took it." Paula looked at her brother. He seemed lost and out of focus. He even handed her her bag without a fight. That wasn't the Prince she knew. He wouldn't give her back her stuff without asking for something in return. Something was wrong.
"hey. What happened? Why are you like that?"
"Dad has another woman, Aula. I saw and heard them fight about it. He even told mum to shut up."
"What do you mean he has another woman? They've been married since before our birth! He can't have decided to get tired of her now! We're his family. He can't just leave us for his mistress. He loves us." She looked at him, hoping he was joking or playing a nasty trick on her, but when he kept staring into space, she lost it. "That can't be. How could he..."
Prince looked at his sister trying to convince herself. He couldn't blame her. He'd tried to reassure himself too. But when he saw his father unresponsive to his mother's tears. He knew that was it. He knew it was over. The only question he had in his head was, What happens now?
Oscar stood at the door, watching his daughter freak out. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed that they weren't alone in the room. He didn't have the guts to explain to them what had happened, he knew they wouldn't listen to him. He just walked away and went to the room he shared with Kim. I wonder if she'll ever want to share a bed with me again, much less a room.
So this is how it ends, who would've thought?