His ExWife (edited version)

Chapter 17

Flashback

Iyan was restless that night. He had been waiting for Mariella's text, his poetry book lied open and unread on his bed. He had tried to read the lines but nothing had gotten registered in his brain.

Maybe I should call her, he thought.

Or maybe she is about to text...

He waited a bit longer.

As minutes ticked by, his anxiety got worse. It was 9:15 pm by now. He wanted to see her and he could go to her right away; he did know the address anyway- after seeing her for the first time, he had studied the list of all newly enrolled students in school and there had been just one girl who had been admitted to their batch: Mariella Lewis, 21 Lees Street, PensonVille, London.

It was maybe just his own attraction towards her that was pulling him but he knew he could not resist the urge to see her...but it would probably not even have deem appropriate- he thought- what if she took it the wrong way...

In moments of uncertainty, he often tried to leave his mind blank for a minute and then choose the first option that came to his mind- it was his easiest way out, he was not really the type to waste time contemplating the pros and cons of everything; thinking too much ruined it.

So, he sat on his bed and looked outside the window, it was a beautiful half-moon with some dim stars spread across the sky. His room was too dark, no lights were on anyway- his mom would have assumed Iyan had long passed out and Scott and his father never bothered to come to him anyway- and the moonlight filled the corner of his large room with enough light. It was easier for him to sneak out anyway from the window, his room had been the largest one in the corner of the ground floor.

He closed his eyes and tried to not think of anything and the first thing that came to his mind was big blue eyes, filled with curiosity and some strangely hidden sadness. He tried to look at them longer, but they disappeared as soon as they came. He had gotten his answer- he got up and picked up his phone from his bed and grabbed a jacket just in case; it was a chilly night outside.

Mariella did live pretty far from his home but he could walk, he was agreeable to walk under any night that offered this kind of view, it was refreshing out of his world of books.

In about 30 minutes he reached PensonVille and he stood on Lees Street. All he had to look for then was then the house number 21. But he realized, it was not a house, it was a huge and lavish bungalow with a metal gate he could not cross even with all his might. He noticed however that there had not been any security person on duty right now, which was strange.

He hoped she would pick up his call as he dialed her number and she did, on about the third ring.

"Iyan," she said unexpectedly.

"I'm outside your house," he said. "Just wanted to talk for a while if you don't mind."

"M-my house??" she did not conceal the shock in her voice, her father had been home since afternoon and she tried to think about how she could break any rules and get out of the house to meet him anyway.

"I'm sorry, I was just a bit restless, I wanted to see you..." he spoke with boldness, like he had not been afraid to show her that she mattered to him.

Her stomach turned again, she was not expecting him to care that much, or at all, like everyone else.

"I'll get out in a minute," she said without even wanting to say it; she knew very well that her father Rupert would never let her go out at this time.

"Cool," Iyan smiled on the other side.

Mariella tip toed out of her room and stood outside her father's room, the wooden door did not really give it away whether he was awake or not. She pressed her ears against his door and heard carefully for any sound but she was relieved to listen to his soft snores from the other end of the room. There was no other sound in the entire bungalow, it could easily pass for a haunted mansion had Mariella not been there; but then again, even she remained a permanent prisoner trapped inside the four walls of this house.

She got out the majestic wooden mansion door slowly without making any noise at all and walked the garden to open the metal gate. The mansion did remind her of how the older British mansions must have been made- a symbol of pride and richness.

Iyan had been standing a bit far from the gate, his face lit up as soon as he saw her coming.

Though she had been nervous and scared about sneaking out without the permission of her father, she was grateful to see him as well. She closed the metal gate as soon as she had opened it in case her father could see outside. Iyan was the only good thing that had happened to her here, a good friend- she thought- she could count on.

"I'm so sorry..." he came toward her explaining, "I was just anxious, I got the feeling that you were probably not alright, you did not even text so..." and his doubt had not been wrong, Mariella had been crying all afternoon that day. It had happened again today and she could do nothing to stop it.

But she lied immediately, again, not meeting his eyes, "No, nothing like that even happened, I was just so preoccupied with chores that I forgot to text you," she did not even need to explain because the way he was now observing her body language, he knew she hiding her secrets.

"Look up," he said to her pointing towards the moon, distracting her from her lies, "we should definitely go for a walk in this kind of night," he insisted.

She looked up to see the moon, it was even bigger and so bright in the sky now. She looked at Iyan then- the moon acted like a torch letting her see how he was looking at her, it was in a sort of admiration and she was not wrong. Iyan wanted to hold her hand, she was looking so beautiful, her hair was made in a messy bun and strands of her hair stuck to her cheeks as the cold winter wind blew. Her eyes were still breathtakingly gorgeous and consuming at the same time.

Without even thinking more, he moved closer to her, so close that she was now just about a step away from him. He didn't mind the proximity- her blue eyes widened though realizing how close he had come- and slowly, he removed the strands of her hair from her cheeks and safely tucked them behind her ear. He stepped away after that and asked her again with a small smile.

"You look worn out, a small walk up the hill," he pointed to the upward way it made from Lees Street, "would not do you bad; it would be refreshing for that empty brain of yours," he teased touching her head in a playful way.

"Hey!" Mariella laughed, all seriousness washing away, but she glanced back at the aloof bungalow and realized her father was still home and her laugh vanished.

"I wish, for the walk, but I cannot," she smiled sadly at him. She was barely 5 ft 5 inches while Iyan stood taller, around 5'8, almost the height of model.

He observed her for a bit and then took off his jacket, she was shivering. He covered her shoulders with the jacket like a gentleman. Through his small and intent observation, he could indeed make out that she did want to go to this walk, or maybe just get away from her home but her reluctance was not letting her do so.

He came even more closer to her this time and this time, bent down a bit to whisper into her ear,

"You might just like breaking the rules sometimes."

Iyan smiled to her after that and suddenly took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. His grip on her hand was tight and he was aware that he was taking her by surprise- her eyes widened again at his actions- and pulled her up the hill.