Arnold looked coldly at Raymond before his gaze slowly shifted to Ciara who looked like a kid caught red-handed in a silly act. His unreadable yet cold expression made it difficult for Ciara to think straight. She's never felt intimidated by the presence of Arnold like she was at the moment.
"I..I..w..was...I was" Ciara fumbled with her words.
"Relax, Ciara" Raymond said as he stood up.
"Maybe it's time to leave" Arnold said coldly, looking at Ciara.
Ciara turned to look at Raymond who only nodded, and bolted out of the room like she's been chased. When she closed the door, she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and tapped her chest softly to calm her heart and walked to her room. This side of Arnold, she sworn she's never seen before, not until today.
****
"What the heck did you think you were doing?" Arnold asked as he approached Raymond who stood akimbo.
"What do you think I was doing?" Raymond asked lazily.
"Why Ciara?" Arnold stopped only a step away from Raymond. "Why her? How much did you tell her?"
"Is Mr lover boy trying to hide this story from the little miss he's crushing on?" Raymond asked, as he got ready to deflect Arnold's attack but he didn't attack. Arnold only sat on the chair Ciara occupied a moment ago.
"I know you can easily see through me, but was it necessary to tell her what happened?" Arnold asked.
"Arnold, don't tell me you were trying to hide it from her" Raymond said as he took his seat.
"I don't have any intentions of hiding it from her, but hearing your summary made me mad. Did you tell her I have a crush on her?" Arnold asked
"I wasn't expecting you to show yourself tho. You walked in just when she began to ask about you. What did you deduce from how curious she was about your past" Raymond asked.
"She's only curious" Arnold replied.
"We're not walking down that road again, bro. Not today"
"Ciara" Arnold said. "I wonder why she asked. I just don't want to jump into any conclusion right now. But I can only hope"
"Arnold, be honest with me" Raymond said as he looked intently at Arnold. "Your feelings for Ciara aren't in the budding stage, are they?"
Arnold looked away, when he heard the question and Raymond knew, that was a 'yes'.
"How long has it been there?" Raymond pried, suddenly interested in his love affair.
"Over a decade, I guess" Arnold answered truthfully.
"Over a decade?" Raymond almost screamed. "We've been friends since childhood and I never noticed it, not even once. How did you succeed in hiding it from me?"
"I never expressed it, so no one noticed it. Only one person saw through me even before I could understand what I felt for her, Dr Brown Wilson himself. He wittily asked me to stay away from her, and I obeyed" Arnold replied.
"How did he find out?" Raymond asked.
"No idea" Arnold answered.
"Arnold, why did you want to marry Alice? Does she share any similarities to Ciara?" Raymond asked.
The question caught Arnold off guard. He wasn't expecting that question.
"Their similarities were exactly what you told Ciara" Arnold replied
"I see. Alice is a model and Ciara is a model too. Do you have something for models?" Raymond teased.
"I doubt that" Arnold replied
"I remember you attended most of Alice's runway modeling shows. I doubt you don't have a thing for women who can catwalk" Raymond continued to tease.
"It was quite marvellous to see Ciara and Alice on the same runway. It was quite funny how they were mostly paired, yet had pure dislike for each other" Arnold said recalling a few memories from the past.
"Ohh! I get the picture now. You attended the shows you were sure Ciara was going to turn up"
"Seems like"
"Arnold, I am glad Alice left you. She'd be a fool to think she was using you. Because I can tell she was only a piece on the chess board"
"I'd say that's not true. I truly loved Alice and wanted to make her my wife because she was respectful, humble yet bold and had her own life running. I can't say Alice relied completely on me to rise. She worked hard herself. She was fun to be with. Alice helped me get over Ciara, but I guess it was only temporary because meeting Ciara again unmasked and heightened all the hidden feelings"
"Don't let her go, Arnold"