~ANABEL'S POV~
"You begged for us to be together back then, even though I had Sophia in my heart, you didn't mind. Now it's been ajust a few days, and you've moved on already?" Damien's voice echoed throughout the entire railway.
I stared at him blankly, I was amused at my own foolishness back then, and his audacity right now.
"Anabel, you're impressive with your seamless transition!"
His words were like sharp blades, reopening my unhealed wounds, making them bleed again. But I was done, I tired to mask it with confidence
His grip was like iron, and I couldn't break free. I inhaled sharply, staring at him intensely, hoping he could release his grip but to no avail. In the midst of my helplessness, Damien was suddenly pulled away by someone.
It was Adrian. His powerful left hand threateningly twisted Damien's shoulder. Despite his gloomy stare, Adrain's eyes were filled with worry. He disregarded Damien and spoke to me,
"Anabel, I just remembered, Director Harvey asked me to give you some scripts. I forgot because we were happily chatting in the car."
He handed me a thin file folder. Feeling embarrassed that Adrain saw such an awkward scene, I quickly took it.
"Who the hell are you? I'm talking to my wife…you.." Damien asked rudely.
"Smack!"
I shook my slightly aching hand, who knew it took so much force to slap someone?
Damien looked at me, incredulous, he wants expecting me to hit him. He covered his face, his eyes darting between me and Adrian, turning red around the rims.
I gave Adrian an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, Adrain. I made a fool of myself. Thank you for the Scripts; I'll go over them when I get home."
Adrian nodded and glanced at the stunned Damien beside him. Turning to me, he said, "I'll walk you to the car."
I smiled and agreed. Ignoring Damien's angry and shocked shouts, Adrian escorted me to the gate to catch a cab.
Adrain remained quiet the whole way, easing some of my embarrassment. My car was arriving in three minutes. I looked up, meeting Adrain's eyes seriously and said, "Thank you."
His eyes were gentle and understanding in the night. He shook his head and said, "Anabel, don't be sad."
I was stunned. I thought he'd be worried about my embarrassment and feeling humiliated. But instead, he cared about whether I was hurt or upset. My eyes suddenly stung, and I sniffled, saying thank you again.
"Change the environment, change... the person, you can start anew."
Hearing those words, I suddenly didn't dare to look up. I didn't care why Damien fl became so obsessed with me out of the blue—I was not curious in the slightest.
Because we wouldn't have the chance to meet again.
The car arrived at exactly three minutes and I bade Adrain farware. The ride was smooth.
I returned home to find that my grandparents had prepared steak for dinner. With my impending departure overseas and the likelihood of not being able to visit for at least a year, my grandparents were understandably reluctant to see me go.
The three of us talked all night, and finally, with a smile and tears in my eyes, I fell asleep in my grandmother's arms.
I dreamed about the time I first met Damien, it was my first day at work; I had just joined the company as a scriptwriter, creating scripts for the actors to perform. But I had grown now to become an actress myself. Well I got there because during of the company's rehearsal's for a movie, an unexpected incident occurred—the leading actress broke her leg.
The director and the other crew members were thrown into chaos, with the performance scheduled for the next day and no leading lady. The Director was frantic.
Desperate, the director turned to me. I had written the script; no one knew the lines better than I did. After much persuasion, I agreed to step in as the temporary lead actress, coming to the rescue. The leading man opposite me was Damien.
That performance marked the beginning of my love for Damien. Just like the temporary lead actress in the play, I became the temporary girlfriend in Damien's life, and then to a placeholder filling the position of his wife.
He confided in me about a girl he had feelings for, but she was a staunch non-believer in marriage and relationships and would never consider him as anything more than a friend. He could only show her his care from a distance.My heart ached for him, and I wished he would give me a chance to love him.
He said, "Anabel, I will strive to be good to you while we are together."
I waited patiently, even until marriage, hoping he would let go of Sophia and fall in love with me instead. For the past three years, I have been there for him, available whenever he needed me, taking care of him every day. His happiness was my joy, and his pain was my sorrow. He did not want our relationship to be public, and I agreed to keep it a secret; the titles did not matter as long as we were together.
He insisted that he would never cut ties with Sophia, and should she need help, as a friend, he could never refuse. I accepted that too. But reality shattered my efforts bit by bit. No matter what we were doing together, just one word, text, or call from Sophia, and Damien would drop everything to go to her. I could not hold back any longer and confronted him.
He said, "Anabel, I told you, I will always be Sophia's friend; I could never abandon her."
Recalling the years of endured grievances, I awoke from my dream with my eyes blurred with tears.
Anabel, you really have debased yourself.
I slept until noon and woke to find over a dozen missed calls from an unfamiliar number.Hesitating whether to return the call, the number rang again.
I answered, and before I could speak, a familiar voice came through the line: "Anabel, do you think ignoring my calls will solve anything?"
I took a deep breath, it was Sophia.
"What the hell did you say to Damien?"
I became puzzled and waited patiently for her to continue the conversation.