SAVANNAH
“Ms. Estrella,” Rafe greeted back.
I groaned inwardly. “What do you want?”
“Can we talk?” she asked.
I glanced at Rafe. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I’m with someone.”
“Yes, I can see that. I’m sorry.” She looked at Rafe and smiled at him. “Good evening, Mr. Sebastian. Thank you for coming here tonight and for the huge donation. One of our school’s goals is to raise money for scholarships and aid homeless children.”
“You donated?” I asked him in surprise.
“They’re giving out leaflets at the entrance,” he said.
As former students of this school, we should automatically share a donation of any amount upon attendance, but the other guests were not obligatory. “Wow. Thank you. That’s generous.”
He winked at me. “You’re welcome. I’ll leave you two to talk.”
“Wait, I didn’t say—”
“Don’t take long,” he cut off to my word and lightly kissed my temple. “I’ll wait for you outside…”
Sofia and I went to the tech room to talk. It was better when no one else was around, so we could say everything we could say to each other. Once and for all. In truth, I wanted to ask Sofia a lot of things. Things she refused to say, her feelings, why she suddenly changed, and what she thought when she chose to betray me and take my ex-husband.
We waited silently to see who would speak first, but I got fed up from waiting.
“So?” I initiated. “What do you want?”
She gasped in surprise at the stiffness of my voice. I wondered where the audacious woman who insulted me was as if she was the most righteous person I knew.
“I see that you’ve already moved on,” she finally spoke softly, as if she were an angel. She was getting on my nerves.
“Did I? It’s only been five weeks—”
“But you don’t love Edward,” she cut off to my words. “At least not anymore, Savi. I know because that’s what he said.”
What she said made me think, and Edward only said it tonight. I guess we weren’t really open after all. I crossed my arms.
“Is that why you betrayed me, then? You thought I didn’t love him, and you do, so you’ll take someone else’s spouse?”
“Savi…” She lowered her head to avoid my eyes and breathed out. “It’s not that. You know me. And even though I had always wanted Edward, I hid it from you, from everyone… Like you, he is also my first love.”
And with those words, I knew Sofia’s heart had completely opened. That was all I was waiting for.
She started sobbing. “When I first thought of coming back to New York, I wanted to see you. That’s the truth. I was going to sign to New Star Media, and I know you work with the Reeds. But Edward… he’s there. We spoke about your marriage and how he felt you two were breaking apart. He confided in me with his problems. I still love him, so I decided to listen and keep it to myself. At first, it was just friendly conversations, but then, it turned into something else… something more.”
A lump formed in my throat.
Edward didn’t tell me anything about his problems because every day, when I woke up in the morning and before we slept at night, all I saw were his smiles.
Why didn’t Edward tell me, and why did he prefer to confide what he felt with another because he was afraid of hurting me. And I knew that because that was how Edward was. We were both falling out of love because of our indifferences, fear, and lack of courage that we couldn’t tell each other about.
That was how our marriage ended. Not because Sofia was there to take him away. This was what Edward meant.
“But what you did never justifies anything. Not only that. You hurt my feelings. I felt bothered. You chose this over our friendship.”
“I was insecure!” She pauses, trying to get momentum. “I was wrong, and I know that. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say to you because what I did was unforgivable. My parents precisely shoved that to my face.”
“You are lucky you have parents like them, Sofia. You lied to them too. You told them things about Edward that aren’t true.”
She nodded. “They are, and I’m the ungrateful daughter, I get it. But I love Edward. I never stopped, Savi, and never will. I couldn’t watch him exchanging vows with my best friend.”
“Does he love you?”
She gulped hard. “I don’t know, but he said he cares for me.”
That sounded like the Edward I knew. He was always good with words to the point you just wanted to believe in everything he’d say.
I clicked my tongue. I sat on the edge of a desk and sighed, thinking. “I don’t think I can forgive you, Sofia. At least not now. I’m not ready. It’s not just about Edward, either. It’s your insecurity and lies that killed our friendship. Edward and I are done, so everything we had doesn’t matter anymore.”
“I know that, too.”
Silence.
“I thought you said you have an announcement to make in front of everyone? Isn’t that the point of this reunion?” Or maybe to show off? As a matter of fact, I almost thought she did all of this to piss me off, to see if I’d lose my wit. She probably thought she was the one pulling the strings. I wouldn’t be able to forget when she told me, and I looked exhausted.
Anyway, that overconfidence she showed over the past weeks was now gone. She had turned into a wet, flightless bird that needed healing, like me.
“I will tell you first because that’s what I should’ve done in the first place.” She took a breath and lifted her chin. “Edward and I talked about getting married at the end of the year. That if you and Edward have finalized your divorce. I wish to announce it to some of our closest friends to invite them to our wedding. It’s one of the purposes of this gathering.”
I smirked. “Purpose? You really thought so highly of yourself that you thought everyone would be interested.”
“I guess you are right. After all this time, I’m still a nobody. Even if I got a man like Edward, the hottest and most popular guy in school, I still don’t matter. I’m still the fat girl who can eat three full meals in one sitting. Unlike you,” she choked out bitterly. “You’re still beautiful and successful. Ah, you also got a better guy this time. Someone richer, hotter, and the one who seems so head over heels of you.”
I released my arms and moved toward her. “Why would you say it like that? We never saw you that way. Not even Riley.” And Rafe, he was… He was going through something he still hadn’t told me.
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter.” She shook her head. “What I see here is that nothing has changed. No matter what I do, you’re still the superior, the smart, and the capable. To our friends, I’m just a woman who stole my friend’s husband, no matter how much money and fame I have.”
“That’s why you did this? All this pretense and bragging just to let them know you’ve changed? That you think if you do this, they’ll see you differently? What the fuck, Sofia! Does it really matter what they will say? You are better than this, and Edward saw that. That’s why he chose you.” I heaved an exhale. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Keep making bad decisions, and you will—”
She hugged me, cutting to my words, and she sobbed. “I’m sorry, Savi. I’m really sorry.”
My heart melted. I wanted to hug her back, but it wasn’t that easy. Our wounds for each other were still engraved deep in our bones. Not everything between us was said, and not every reason was heard, but I knew deep inside my heart I was ready to accept them. A phase in our lives had finally come to pass.
And only time could tell if it had been healed or not.
***
“How was it?” Rafe asked softly in the car when I slid inside. It was after I said to my friends. His eyes glimmered against the lantern lights.
I breathed in a soft, deep breath and smiled. “I’m glad I came here.”
One side of Rafe’s mouth curled up. “Are you okay?”
“I am. Actually.” I flashed a smile. “I’m even surprised about it myself.”
“What happened?”
I told Rafe about my conversation with Sofia.
“And after she apologized, we just stayed there in silence. There were no more words that needed to be said. I don’t think we can still be friends, but it felt good to clear things up. Is that why you let me talk to her?”
He held his steering wheel and chortled lusciously. “No, sweetheart. It was because you taught me things I didn’t know were possible. I just did what I thought you’d forgotten.”
“Communication builds trust, I know.” I chuckled. “Yes, I taught you well.”
He beamed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I think I’m ready to see your family.”
“You are?”
I looked up at his impossibly beautiful features and wondered if I’d ever tire of admiring them. “I don’t know. I feel incredibly relaxed.” It must be because I’d already spoken to Edward and Sofia, and I was no longer married. “Will I see your parents tonight?”
Rafe shrugged. “It’s late, so you’ll probably meet them at breakfast.”
“I’m sorry.”
He brushed his thumb on my bottom lip to lose my pout. “No, it’s fine.” He stared tenderly into my eyes. It was disarming. “It means I’ll have you all night for myself..”
“Y-yeah.” I swallowed dryly. Suddenly, I was thirsty, but not for any drink, no. “I’d love that, too.” I laughed nervously.
Finally, in all that anticipation, Rafe brought the car engine to life and pulled to the driveway.