Divorced But Never Letting Go Chapter 78

RENE

  “I ask you again, Rene, what the fuck am I seeing right now? Is this some sort of joke? Do you think I’m some kind of kid that can be easily fooled?"

  Cyril ranted repeatedly. He couldn't believe his eyes. He thought it was all a dream, venting his anger at me as though I were the one who cheated on him.

  I didn’t blame Cyril for acting that way towards me, and neither did I retaliate when he yelled at me.

  After banking on Olivia, believing she would never cheat on him, he suddenly saw photos of his supposedly faithful wife acting all cozy with another man. I would do worse if I was in his shoes.

  “Exactly what you saw, Cyril. I am pretty sure you have eyes, haven’t you? Or does your darling wife have a doppelganger you aren’t aware of?” I mocked him, my words dripping with sarcasm.

  I intended to get under his thick skin, to make him develop an even deeper hatred for Olivia.

  “Could this be the work of Photoshop? It’s difficult to believe Olivia would have the nerve to cheat on me. After trusting her with all of me? No, I don’t see that happening. There must be a mix-up somewhere,” Cyril mumbled in disbelief.

  Where I stood, I was upset at Cyril for being too blind to see the truth staring him right in the face.

  I refused to speak, not wanting to make it seem like I had framed the story to suit myself. So, I waited for Cyril to come stand next to me—and he did.

  “How is it difficult for you to believe that she is cheating on you? How much more evidence do you need to be convinced? You do baffle me with the way you think,” I said, unable to hold back any longer.

  Although I sounded a bit harsh, I wasn’t bothered about my tone of voice. I was just aiming to pass a message, and I was glad I did.

  Cyril turned to look at me. "You sound so confident that Olivia is fucking cheating on me. Permit me to ask you where you got the photo from. The last time I checked, you told me you were home. Do I sense foul play?"

  It was a tough question I never saw coming. I hadn’t even taken the time to rehearse a response in case Cyril asked. I choked on my words, caught off guard.

  “Are you okay? Do you need me to get you water?” Cyril asked with utmost concern.

  "No, it's just a minor choke. I will be fine. There's nothing for you to worry about," I insisted.

  “No. I am not going to accept that from you. Do you want to die in my hands? I seriously need to get you water,” Cyril was obstinate. I had no idea that he cared for me that much. All along, I thought he was playing games with me.

  It was a feigned choke, but I had made it look more serious than I intended—serious enough for Cyril to believe it.

  At some point, I thought I was going to die from the choke myself.

  “Yes, please. Do get me some,” I pleaded, holding my chest in fatigue, pretending to struggle to speak fluently.

  Right before my eyes, Cyril dashed out and returned with a glass of water. It didn’t take him long. It was as though he had disappeared and reappeared instantly.

  “Here you go,” he said, handing me the glass.

  After gulping from it, Cyril led me to sit down. I had to stay in character since my trick was already working for me.

  After I rested for a while, I said, “I got a text from an anonymous user. It was just the photos he sent. I tried to ask how they took the shots. Sadly for me, I got no response.”

  The feigned choke had done me a lot of good. It allowed me enough time to strategize my lies and perfect them to avoid mistakes.

  But after telling the lie, it dawned on me that I may have just made the biggest mistake of my life. It didn’t occur to me that Cyril might want to request to see the chat between the anonymous user and me.

  I wasn’t the praying type, but at that point, I couldn’t help but say a little prayer inside of me. It was one of those days when I might need a miracle to scale through.

  “So, what are you going to do about this now?” I broke the silence the moment I noticed that Cyril wasn’t ready to speak.

  The news broke him, and I could see that. I looked into his eyes, and all I could see was a man whose eyes were filled with tears, sorrow, and vengeance. If Olivia were anywhere nearby, Cyril would have strangled her to death with his bare hands out of sheer frustration.

  Without saying a word, he stood up and was heading for the door when I rushed to pull him back.

  “Where do you think you're going? Please, say a word to me,” I pleaded.

  With slow movements, Cyril turned around to look at me. “I am going to end this madness. I am done enduring it for too long.”

  The sound of it gladdened my heart. It sounded like he was heading to finalize his divorce from Olivia.

  “Sorry, I don’t exactly follow. What are you talking about?” I asked again, just to be certain.

  “I want to go find Olivia and Adrian. That’s the man in the photos with her,” Cyril frowned.

  Inside, I wasn’t pleased.

  There I was, thinking he was heading to the company to end his marriage with Olivia—perhaps even seeing his lawyer to proceed with the divorce process.

  “Okay. Hold on for a second. You don’t even know where she is right now. Have you called to confirm her present location?” I asked, doing everything to change his thoughts and make everything work out according to my plan.