"Stupid duo, always flaunt their 'friendship'." Shaelyn scoffed in annoyance,
"If you have free time, spend it with your girlfriend. Don't provoke me again; we don't know each other," Shaelyn muttered under her breath, voice barely audible as she walked away, not bothering to look back at Nixon.
Shaelyn recalled a conversation they had shared long ago, where he had made a rather bold statement: "Only my girlfriend or wife is qualified to sit in the passenger seat."
At that moment, she had found the whole thing amusing, as he had meant every word, believing it was a mark of respect and intimacy. But that was one of the things she loved about Nixon Gray, his quirks were unique to him,
Yet here was Leyla, comfortably settled in that very spot, laughing and chatting as if she belonged there and the fact that this garnered no reaction from him displeased Shaelyn.
"What is she up to?" Nixon thought, with a tinge of annoyance as he chased after Shaelyn. Her abrupt departure left him confused and irritated.
He had clearly asked her to wait for him, granted she never gave a response, but she hadn't even given him a full minute before she turned around and walked away.
Shaelyn's departure left Nixon bewildered. She seemed upset, but why? Nixon's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door closing, which he ignored, focusing instead on understanding what had triggered Shaelyn's behavior.
As Nixon struggled in his attempt to piece together what had triggered Shaelyn this time, his frustration grew,
It was like their union had been a mesh of endless misunderstandings which had been left unsettled for too long. And right now he couldn't fathom why she was acting this way; after all, he hadn't done anything wrong today—at least nothing that warranted such a reaction,
Nixon's mind wandered back to a previous conversation with Shaelyn, where he had mentioned that only his girlfriend or wife was qualified to sit in the passenger seat. He brushed off the thought as he was certain that Shaelyn wasn't petty enough to be angered by the fact that Leyla was sitting in that position,
Nixon couldn't help but wonder why he would wrong Shaelyn by thinking so low of her. Although it seemed to be a plausible reason that would anger anyone, however his wife was different.
As Nixon chased after Shaelyn, he took deep breaths to calm himself down, trying to suppress his growing rage at the confusion whirling within. He hadn't done anything this time, so why was she acting like this? He closed the distance between them, determined to get to the bottom of the situation.
As he closed the distance between them, he could feel his heart pounding, each step felt heavier than the last as frustration bubbled with him.
"Shay!" he called out, taking deep breaths, to regain composure.
She paused but didn't turn around immediately. After a moment, she finally spoke without looking back. "Nixon I don't know what you want from me but I don't feel like talking anymore."
Nixon's thoughts were filled with questions. What was Shaelyn trying to do? What was she so upset about? And why did she keep walking away without giving him a chance to explain? Nixon's frustration grew with each unanswered question.
Nixon took another deep breath before mulling over a suitable response, his tone steady, "I just want to understand why you're upset! I thought we agreed to have a talk."
Shaelyn turned slightly but still avoided making eye contact. "You don't get it, do you?"
"What don't I get?" Nixon pressed on, his frustration getting the best of him.
"You seem to be unaware on how your actions affect others," she shot back sharply. "You act like it's not a big deal who sits next to you or how that makes me 'your wife' feel."
Nixon opened his mouth to argue but then hesitated; her words were something he hadn't considered before. "I didn't mean to hurt you," he said.
"Maybe you should think about that more often." Shaelyn replied coldly before turning away again.
Nixon stood there for a moment longer than necessary, feeling helpless as he watched her retreating figure disappear round a corner,
"I just need to talk to her," he muttered under his breath, recent events had turned his perception of her upside down, he seemed to have little knowledge of the woman he had been married to for two years,
As he rounded a corner, he spotted Shaelyn ahead, her back turned to him. She seemed lost in thoughts, and Nixon let out a sigh of relief, "Shaelyn! Wait!" he called out, quickening his pace.
At his call she didn't stop. Instead, she continued walking briskly, her shoulders tense. Nixon pushed himself harder to catch up.
"Shaelyn, don't walk away from me." Nixon ordered, his suppressed rage creeping into his voice. "I just want to talk!"
Finally, she halted but didn't turn around. "What do you want, Nixon?" Shaelyn asked in a sharp and dismissive tone,
"I want to hear it from you, Shay." he replied, trying to bridge the gap between them. "I've thought about it and I realized that I really don't understand why we've come to this stage at all."
"You know what? I think you should go back to your beloved girlfriend." Shaelyn said, her words laced with sarcasm.
Nixon froze in confusion.
Girlfriend?
What was she talking about?
He opened his mouth to respond but found no words; instead, his brow furrowed in bewilderment. "Girlfriend?" he echoed skeptically. "I only have a wife! When did I get a girlfriend?"
"Was this what they called 'living in oblivion'?" Shaelyn thought incredulously, "How could Nixon still not understand why they were falling apart?"