The scene made me sick. I want to throw up and scream out loud. To bang the door to get their attention before slapping her so hard to bring her back to her sanity. But no, I would never humiliate myself even more. Being in this horrendous wedding was enough humiliation for a day to bear.
'I will never stoop down to their level. I would never give this disgusting pig the satisfaction of seeing me in pain, nor this two-faced bitch the pleasure of knowing that what she did tormented me and tore me into pieces. If this is the game they wanted to play, then I will play along with them. I would play my cards well and see to it that I am the one to come out victorious.'
After wiping my tears away, I loudly fake a cough to grab their attention. As if orchestrated, both of them looked at me with disbelief. Shock was written all over her face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Have I entered at the wrong time? Have I interrupted something?" I vented without removing an eye off her.
As I got closer to them, walking with grace and poise and still managing to smile sweetly amidst the pain I felt inside, I saw how she tried to compose herself but failed to do so. Though she masked her anxiety with a firmed demeanor, unadulterated fear was still evident in her eyes.
"I see you have your ways of interrupting things. What the hell are you doing here, Angelou? Didn't your parents teach you how to respect others' privacy? You should learn that, now that you carry my name."
"Oh I didn't know I would be barging into something… Filthy. This is a public property you see. If I knew about it, then I might have knocked first before entering."
"Be an obedient wife and head back outside. I'll follow in a while."
"Oh definitely, my dear husband. But first…" I paused, eyes still glued at her as I gently placed a hand over his shoulder. Wanting her to witness the role I would portray in this game of theirs, I slowly glided my hand on his neck. A sly grin escaped my lips after feeling him gulp as it moved upward.
"Hands off, Angelou! Gabriel is mine! You're touching a private property!"
"Have I? He may be yours, but I am his legal wife."
Without leaving eye contact with her, my thumb instantly brushed off the smear of lipstick on his lips and then out of nowhere, grabbed his nape and covetously covered his slightly ajar mouth with mine. I want to anger her more by urging him to respond, wanting her to feel the intensity of pain by taking possession of the person she called hers.
"You bitch! I said hands off!" She shouted in rage, but even before her hand could grab a hold of me, I quickly retracted my pace and stepped back.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on me, Lucy! If you know what's good for you!"
"Enough! That's enough, Angelou! You're creating a scene! Stop this nonsense and go back outside!" Gabriel angrily addressed me, staring straight in my eyes as if I was the one who did something wrong instead of him.
"And what? Leave you here with her to shame both our names?"
"You sounded like a jealous wife, Angelou. Mind your own business, will you?" He added, causing me to chuckle loudly.
"A jealous wife? None of what I said screams jealousy, Gabriel."
"Then quit this nonsense and head back outside! This is none of your damn business!"
"The moment I signed that stupid marriage contract, the moment we were declared as husband and wife, you already became my business! I don't want rumors spreading that my newly wedded husband cheated on me on the day of my wedding itself! Now if you value your family's reputation so much, because I do, you should be aware of your actions!"
Without a word, he marched his way towards the door and left, leaving me alone with this two-faced bitch. I watched her like a hawk eyeing its prey and just waiting for the right timing to attack, seizing her from head to foot.
'That's right, bitch! Know your place. You knew better than to not mess up with me. I may look weaker than you physically, but you knew that I wouldn't back down without a fight.'
"You may have won this time, Angelou, but I…"
"Blah blah blah! You're not worthy of my time, Lucy. Keep your thoughts to yourself. There are far more important things to do than listen to your petty whines."
Not giving her a chance to speak back, the heels of my stilettos clicked mightily towards the door with my head held high and a victorious smile plastered on my face.
'Never again will I spare you an ounce of affection, Lucy. You had your moments, but you blew it bigtime. Now pay the price of your treachery.'
The day ended with our fathers reminding us to be in our best appearance, especially in public, so as not to ruin things for our companies' sake and our families' reputation as well. Just when I thought that I could finally rest and have solace in the comfort of my hotel suite, an unwanted figure awaited my arrival near the door.
"We have an unfinished business to settle, Angelou."
"There's nothing for us to talk about. I am dead tired and I need to rest before I fly off."
But before I could even grab the knob, she positioned herself in front of me and blocked my way. The look on her face tells me that she will never let me pass without having her way on me.
"We have lots of things to talk about and these matters can't wait."
'The nerve of her to even approach me after what she did to me. I never imagined that she would have this thick face to even show up here after ruining everything for the both of us. If I were in her shoes, I would never show myself and hide in shame.'
"Alright. Speak then. And when you are through, fucking leave me alone. I don't want anything to do with you anymore. Ours was over. It ended the minute you decided to betray me."
"Gabriel loves me and it will never change even now that you are his wife. He only did what he had to do, which is to be stuck with you, because he was forced to do it. His father mandated him before he could get hold of their family's assets and before he could take full control of everything. He did everything for me, sacrificed everything for his future and mine."
"Anything else? You're saying nonsense, Lucy."
"What you have with him is a fake marriage, all are just part of a stupid play that will soon have its end. None of these are permanent, Angelou. You are his wife in papers alone. So don't ever assume that he will care for you or there will be any affections involved during the duration of your contract marriage, because that will never ever happen."
I felt every ligament in me clenching as rage once again devoured my system. My hand almost landed on her cheek this time but castigating myself, thinking of the security cameras scattered around.
"Let me clear your wayward mind, Lucy. I will only say this once, so better stick it in that thick skull of yours. I am fully aware of what I put myself into. I already knew everything you said. It had been shoveled in my face months ago. You are the one who is assuming things here, not me. You are the one whose mind is gloomy, not mine."
"But he will never be yours! You have him in papers only! You bear his name in papers only! Gabriel is mine, Angelou! He is mine!" She screamed, agitated as desperation unravels her true colors.
"Who said I even wanted to be his? Have you heard me mention any earlier? Weren't you even listening to my argument with Gabriel earlier when I caught you both? My oh my, Lucy. Don't tell me your horniness has gotten the best of you. Don't be so overreacting and humiliate yourself further. I didn't even want this freaking marriage to take place, nor be in the same ground with him if given a chance. A man of his caliber wasn't the type of man I loved to spend my whole life with. He didn't even pass my standards, although yours did. I should have known way back then that his type was your kind of a man."
"Whatever you say or think about me now, the fact remains that he is mine! You are just his pretend wife!"
"One year. Just one year, then both of you can rot in hell for all I care. You can have him all by yourself then, I wouldn't mind. Besides, that's what best friends should be doing, right Lucy? Giving what the less fortunate one doesn't have."
After emphasizing the word best friend, I pushed her aside and immediately opened the door. But before I could finally close it behind me, her final words were loud and clear like crystals.
"Married or not, you are Gabriel's wife on papers alone! Bear that in mind, best friend!"