Unsuccessful

The Plan..Part-2 : Execution...

Tessa's Point of View...

I feel my nerves as for the first time in years, I was not able to read Matthew. He says he will help me but he has a condition.

I sit nervously on my spot as Matthew takes his time to let me know his condition. I know he still loves me but I also know he knows I am married, to the man I love now. That's Hardin.
I will love Hardin and that will never change.

I believe Matthew will not ask for something unreasonable. I believe him.

He straightens his posture, he still has that smirk on his face. He scoots his chair closer to mine and puts his arms at the back of my chair. For the first time, I feel uncomfortable around him. Matthew's presence and his proximity increase my tension.

He brings his lips close to my skin and whispers into my ear.

"Let's order something first, I am starving. Your treat," I nod as I gulp my nerves down my throat.

We order our food. Matthew makes the order for me, hoping my likes in food are still intact, which he is not incorrect. I still pretty much like the same food that I used to like back when we were dating each other.

"So..how's Married life coming up for you? Are you happy?" Matthew's question catches me off guard. I don't know if I should tell him the truth or I should lie.

I nod. "It's good. Hardin makes me happy," Matthew puts down his burger back to his plate, cleans his hand with tissue paper, and throws it away to the nearby trashcan.

"No, you are not happy. Tessa, at least don't lie to me. I can tell when you are lying or when you are telling the truth. Currently, you are not telling me the truth. You are not happy, something happened between the two of you. I know it's personal so I won't ask you about it, but please you can be honest with me."

Matthew's honestly has been one of the many qualities I fell hard for. He rarely lied to me when we were dating. That's a pact we kept between us, that we will never lie to each other. That's why when he told me after he cheated on me, that he never cheated on me before, I believed him. That's why I was able to forgive him easily.

"Everything was good, Matthew. We were happy. After our marriage, we did have an amazing night together but the very next day, everything changed. This woman I am telling you about has been trying to manipulate Hardin. She...She is bad news. I need your help to stop her. Please help me, Matthew. Whatever conditions you have, I will happily agree. Please help me save Hardin."

Matthew listens to me without interrupting me. Once I was done, he scoots away and unwraps his arms from the back of my chair.

"Ok, I will help you. But, once I am done helping you, I need something from you and you will have to give that to me. You promise now or else I won't help you."

Internally I am scared. I don't know what Matthew wants from me. I want to believe that he won't ask for something I won't be able to give him. But, at the same time, I know that the way we ended things was abrupt, and the fact that I started dating Hardin, the same day we broke up, might have made Matthew upset in the past. But, it's Hardin, we are talking about. I love him and I will do anything to help him out of this situation.

"Ok, I promise. Once we are done,  whatever you will ask me, I will do that for you," he smiles. I finish my pasta whereas Matthew finishes his burger. I try to pay for the food but Matthew beats me to it. We leave the cafe and enter Matthew's car.

"You said it's my treat. Why you won't let me pay?" He shrugs.

"We dated for more than 8 years, Tessa. Have I ever let you pay for our food, so why begin something new, when our old routine is just fine." I laugh. I missed this. Our friendly banter about paying for our food. I missed Matthew, even if I don't want to accept that, but I have to. Before we started dating each other, we became friends and I miss our friendship.