Orla was now adding final touches to her stainless makeup. She wasn't a fan of makeup, but to impress Callan, she had been invested in it these past days and had gotten good at it.
The thought caused a scowl to spring up on her face. The effort wasn't worth it, but at least she got to look beautiful.
"There will be no need for that." She flung the brush on the table and stared into the mirror to have a last look at what she had done to her face before jumping out of the chair.
When she wasn't satisfied with her look, she sat back, grabbing the brush to smoothen a part of her face that she hadn't taken note of.
He tugged at her hand, "Orla, please listen to me."
A warm sparking sensation seeped through her as Callan gingerly placed his hand on hers. She had missed that feeling so much and was tempted to lull in his arms and forget all about her new job that she had yet to tell Callan about.
"I will be late if I stay one minute more here." She begrudgingly yanked her hand off his grip even though she didn't want to let go.
His eyebrows fluttered in confusion. He had been watching her since she started swabbing her face with the cotton wool and other stuff he had zero idea what they were. It was early, she rarely went out. So where could she be going?
"Don't I deserve to know where you are going this morning?"
The anger that surged through Orla was intractable. She froze, letting the brush in her hand drop to the table. Her eyes flickered around the room before they finally rested on her husband.
He glimpsed the fury that gleamed in her eyes but successfully pretended not to have noticed anything.
"Do you?" Scoffing, Orla directed the question back to him, waiting for an answer. And if he tried to say something that would trigger her more, she didn't trust herself to remain calm.
"I'm still your husband." His voice was low, devoid of the authority it always oozed whenever he spoke.
It was as if he was ashamed to say the words. He didn't deserve to be called a husband after cheating on her with various women.
He could have kept the part where he slept with three other women after they got married and maybe she would have easily forgiven him. But Callan didn't, he didn't want to keep hiding things from her.
Now was the perfect time for her to know all about his wrongdoing. He had confessed and only hoped that she forgave him.
"Orla,"
It hurt to call her name the same way it hurt to hear him call her name. He was the only one who could properly pronounce her name as she wanted.
She arranged her stuff back into the box as Callan stared at her, hoping that she would say something to him.
It'd been a week. A week without her smile, a week she had deprived him of her cuddles, a week without her by his side. He dreadfully missed her and was ready to do whatever it would take to have his wife back.
"I don't know what to do, but I promise to do whatever you want me to do. I know I have fucked this up, but Orla, if you give me the chance…"
She grabbed her bag from the bed, dashing out of the bedroom before he finished his sentence. She wasn't interested in whatever he had to say. She was hurting, she needed to stay far away from him. He was no good for her.
He followed her into the living room, impeding her from reaching the door.
"I have to be somewhere important, Callan." Her tone was a little dangerous. She was trying all she could to avoid the contact he made with his pretty eyes.
She had successfully avoided him for days, and she could go on for longer. Right now, she wasn't certain where their relationship was heading anymore.
Callan had hurt her more than she could take and she hadn't thought about what to do, but forgiveness wasn't part of what she would plan if she eventually thought about it.
Orla noticed that Callan rarely went to work since that day he confessed about his infidelity, but she pretended not to know anything about it. She didn't care at this point. He hurt her.
"It's only a man who does not respect his wife that cheats on her like a dog, Callan! You didn't sleep with just one woman, you fucked three! Three when you had me." Tears formed again around her eyes, threatening to smudge the perfect makeup that she had managed to put on.
Resisting the temptation to cry, she threw her head backwards.
"All those times I thought I wasn't enough. I thought I would never be enough, I thought I was worse. I never knew you were out there fooling yourself with other women while I was in here—" she pointed towards their bedroom, the tears were now dropping in folds.
At this point, she was certain that her makeup would be ruined, but she cared less and wouldn't have bothered about it. But she took her time because she wanted to be around him for a little longer. Even though she was mad at him, she still wanted to feel his presence.
Breathing hard, she dabbed her face with her handkerchief and stared back at Callan who hadn't taken his eyes off her. He knew he couldn't touch her now and it hurt like hell.
Watching her cry hurt him so much. It was worse because he was the reason she was crying.
"You were out there with other women and I was crying myself to sleep every night because my husband wasn't with me. While I craved your presence, you treated me like trash because you were sleeping with other women!"
A new wave of resentment struck her again. This time, it was hot and hard.
"Orla. I didn't know what I was doing."
"You didn't know you were sleeping with them because you were blind or what?"
Callan massaged his forehead with his long fingers. The deed had already been done. It had been months, and wouldn't have come up if Mia didn't bring it up. He regretted his actions, he wished he hadn't hurt Orla.
"I am sorry, Orla."
His apology was sincere, but the pain was too much for her to bear. It wasn't easy to forgive him. He hurt her beyond what she could ever think of.
"Sorry doesn't solve everything, Callan."
"I know it doesn't." He agreed with a nod, guilt suffocating him. "What do you want me to do? Just let me know, I promise that I will do it."
"Callan, you shouldn't have cheated on me because I would never do this to you. You didn't respect me enough to acknowledge me as your wife."
"I do, Orla. I respect you."
"I don't think you do. If you did, you would never have thought of cheating with me with sluts."
He sighed, fully taking responsibility for his actions. "Orla, please. Forgive me."
"It doesn't come easy, Callan."
"What do you want me to do?"
"There is nothing on my mind except for the fact that this marriage might not work anymore."
Her words instilled fear into him. No woman had ever had a hold of him as Orla did. Every word she spoke scared him so much, he didn't want to lose her.
"What do you mean, Orla?" He felt betrayed. She was taking this too far. No, he would make amends, he didn't want this.
"You slept with my sister!" Orla yelled, fuming. The thought of Callan sleeping with Mia annoyed her so much. She hated to think about it, but it had stayed glued to her mind. How would she ever get over this thought?
"I didn't know she was your sister. And I didn't cheat with her in our marriage. I swear Mia and I happened years before I met you." Digging his nails into his hair, he huffed a drained sigh.