Feeling regretful and sorry, Wayne lowered his head and put his hand on his forehead to support it. He had so many words to say to Anna such as “I still love you, Anna”, “I’m so sorry”, “Please get back with me”, and so on. However, he was so choked by the mixed emotions that he eventually failed to utter a single word.
“It was a boy.” At the moment, Anna’s voice was like a floating melody that came into Wayne’s wandering mind.
Startled, Wayne asked after he was back to earth, “What?”
“I mean our son. He was a beautiful boy. It’s such a shame that we lost him forever. Matthew and Tammy would be more than happy if they knew that they would have a baby brother back then.”
“Anna, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know you’re heartbroken as well. When I was in France, every time I went to the hospital for the ultrasound exam, I would be excited to see that he grew bigger and bigger day by day. Unlike last time when I was pregnant with Tammy and Matthew, the time when I was pregnant with Archie; yes, I was going to name him Archie; I was expecting his arrival. I wanted him to appreciate the beauty of the world and I wanted him to feel that he was loved and cared for. However, when I was five-month-pregnant, the doctor told me that she couldn’t hear his heartbeat anymore. I told her to double check whether she got it wrong. And after checking it for the fourth time and there was still not a sound of his heartbeat, I know he was really gone…”
Anna couldn’t help sobbing. This time, she shed more tears and her face turned red because she tried so hard to suppress her sobbing. Seeing that, Wayne reached out his hands and held her soft hands. As Anna felt the warmth passing from Wayne’s warm palm to her cold hands, she didn’t refuse him. Instead, she held his hands more tightly.
Wiping her tears, Anna continued in a choking voice, “I can still feel the coldness, despair and pain I had when the doctor and nurses thrust those cold medical tools inside me and dragged my Archie out of me. By the time he was out, he was already purple and breathless. The doctors and nurses tried to resurrect him but failed. At last, I had no choice but to bury him in the cold grave. And now, he was thousands of miles away from us, all on his own.”
“Then we should bring him back. England is his homeland and we can constantly visit him if we bring him back.”
“Yes, we should bring him back,” Anna said and nodded.
“Anna, again, I’m so sorry for what happened in the past. Since we have cleared things out, can we still be together again? I still love you. And Matthew, Tammy, and Archie would be happy if they know that we get back together,” Having plucked up his courage, Wayne finally said the words he had wanted to say to Anna a long time ago.
“I… I’m sorry, Wayne. I wish I could, but I just can’t. Please forgive me. I guess this is it.”
After that, Anna let go of his hands and left the restaurant. Though the restaurant was full of people, Wayne felt like he was abandoned by the whole world after Anna left. His ears were buzzing so loud that he couldn’t even hear the ringing of his phone.
It wasn’t until after a long while that he finally came back to his senses. After taking a look at the screen, Wayne dialed the numbers back.
“About time, Wayne! Why didn’t you answer my calls? I’m worried about you. And are you free tomorrow morning? Peace and I are preparing the party for our daughter and we want to invite you to come over to help us as you’re her godfather. What do you think?” Karl asked.
“Sorry, Karl. I’m really not in the mood for it. Maybe next time,” Wayne answered somewhat absentmindedly.
“Huh? Next time? Are you serious? What’s wrong, Wayne? You don’t sound like you’re okay.”
“I’m not okay. I just met Anna and we had a serious talk.”
“What?! Anna’s back to England?! Say it again?!”
“Yes, you heard me. She’s back. And the fact that we met today is a coincidence in a way. She was avoiding me all the time before, and just now, we had a serious conversation to clear things out, just like how I wanted it to be. But the result is not the one I want at all!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, bro. I also hope that you two can get back together. The thing is, you need to give her more time to figure it out. I always have the gut feeling that she’ll come around and be with you again. So does Peace.”
“But isn’t five years already enough for her? She just went missing for five years in a foreign land without telling me! And the things she just told me totally overwhelmed me! Shit! I need a drink. No, make it two!”
“Well, I… Sorry, Wayne. I know I should be there for you and have a drink with you tonight at the bar. But, as you know, I’m busy preparing the party and I really don’t have the time for it tonight. What about tomorrow night?”
“Forget it. Just prepare the party with Peace. I’m fine on my own.”
“For real? Are you sure you don’t want…”
“For real,” Wayne answered Karl and hung up the call before he could finish his words.
After that, he walked out of the restaurant slowly. On the way to the garage, he saw a family of five talking with each other and smiling happily. For a moment, he saw the scene where Anna, Tammy, Matthew, Archie and him were talking happily and laughing out loud. But as soon as he rubbed his eyes, the scene disappeared and what came into his view were five strange faces.
Sighing in disappointment, he turned around and ran to the garage, almost as if he was escaping from a horrifying monster. After he got in his car, he started the car and took off, heading toward one of his apartments.
***
When Anna returned to the building from the night shift, she stood at the doorway, looking for her keys. The lights that were activated by the voice went out. She coughed, but the light did not illuminate, and it appeared to be broken.
A dark figure approached Anna slowly in the darkness. At the moment, Anna finally found the key in her pocket. She smelled alcohol and heard footsteps as she opened the door with the bright light of her phone.
Stunned, she shuddered and reached for the emergency alarm button on the wall.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“It’s me,” Wayne said. His voice was low and husky.
Anna froze and turned around. She saw that it was Wayne by the faint light. Her heart began to race. She thought, Wayne, what are you doing here? I thought I cleared things out with you and you would stop looking for me after that. Alas! Even though I haven’t fallen in love with anyone else since we parted five years ago, I still can’t get over you. But I know I have to move on. It’s the best for everyone in this way.
“What are you doing in…” Anna asked. Her back slammed into the door behind her before she could finish. She was in pain and wanted to scream.
Wayne, however, held her tightly. He didn’t care that she was struggling but kissed her hard. He trembled lightly with rage. He was irritated and resentful but appeared to miss Anna a lot. And his tongue tasted like the strongest whiskey.
Wayne was still a very attractive man, Anna realized. He was attractive, elegant, and commanding. He was more composed after all these years, but he was still very paranoid.
Anna was attracted to him, but she maintained her sanity. He shouldn’t do this to her because she knew they weren’t dating anymore. Anna pushed his body, but he stood there like a wall, not moving.
He was drunk, so his body had gotten hotter. He pressed against her, making her sweat all over. Anna struggled nervously before slamming the key into his face.
Wayne let go of Anna right away. She used this as an opportunity to slap him hard and say, “Get your hands off me, Wayne! Didn’t I make myself clear when I talked with you in the afternoon?”
Wayne was bleeding from a cut on his face. Seeing that, Anna was heartbroken, but she frowned in anger as she didn’t want Wayne to see that she was heartbroken because of him.
Wayne’s eyes were bloodshot with red, making him look horrible. Anna knew he was very drunk at the moment and he didn’t know what he was doing.
Wayne asked, “You went on a blind date?”
Anna froze and said, “Yes, and I already told you this on the phone this morning. Also, you were the one whom I went on a blind date with. Don’t you remember?”
Wayne leaned against the wall, exhausted. He appeared to forget what had happened between Anna and him in the afternoon and said, “No. I had lunch with a client. It has, it has absolutely nothing to do with you.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Anna asked, thinking, Gee, Wayne! How many bottles have you had? You’re so drunk that you didn’t even remember that we met and talked hours ago.
Looking her in the eyes, Wayne said aloud, “Anna, I miss you! After all these years, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Anna felt her heart miss a beat and her breathing became rapid. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
After that, Anna took a deep breath and pressed her back against the door. She locked her gaze on Wayne for a long moment before gradually relaxing and asking, “How much did you drink?”
“I didn’t drink much. I wasn’t even drunk!” Wayne answered as his eyes were in and out of focus from time to time.
Anna frowned. She knew that drunks often defended themselves by claiming they hadn’t too much to drink. She thought, You’re lying, Wayne. I can see right through you. Yeah, you’re the type of person who won’t give up on something or someone you want until there is really no way back. I should’ve thought of it earlier. Whatever. As long as I contact your assistant and ask him to take you away. You will be out of my side soon and I won’t have to worry about you coming to my place uninvited again, I guess?
After collecting her thoughts, Anna asked, “How did you get here?”
Wayne answered without even thinking, “I drove myself here. “
Anna asked, wide-eyed, “Are you crazy? It’s dangerous! You’re lucky that you didn’t end up in the hospital!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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