The Long Way Around

Betrayal

                                  Haoyu
2024

A small figure got on the elevator. The woman was stealthily dressed in a dark tight fitted hoodie and jeans that exposed just a small slither of her stomach and back. She wore her hair pulled back into a ponytail with a black baseball cap. It was like she was trying to blend in or hide her identity. Even with all the dark colors and trying to blend in something about her pulled me into her.

She was clearly a foreigner based off of the color of her hands as she held her phone in her hand responding to a voice message she had received. Her side profile, though hard to see clearly told me that she was beautiful. But her petite height and the way such a basic outfit fit her told me she was a total bombshell. Too bad she never looked up from her phone or camera.

As the elevator doors opened and I gestured for her to go first she nodded her head and said thank you without looking up before getting off the elevator. Just then it was like being struck by lightning. That familiar voice. The voice of the woman I'd never forget.

She looked toward the lobby doors as she quickly walked to receptionist desk as if she didn't want to be seen.

I turned to my assistant "Qin. Find out who she is, what room she's in, and why she's here."

Confusion at my request about seemingly random guest threw Qin off. He walked over to the receptionist desk to gather the information.

I took a seat on the expensive couch in the lobby as I waited impatiently for him to return.  "Sir." He handed me a tablet. "The guests name is Ms. Taylor, full name Harlow Taylor. She is staying in the penthouse and is a special guest.  A quick search of her name tells me she is a big singer known worldwide. She is currently on a world tour and Shanghai is the first stop."

I looked at the picture on the tablet in front of me. Ten years later and she was even more beautiful than the last time I seen her. I felt the vein in my forehead pulsating, anger flaring through me that she still had this effect on me. Ten years she'd been gone. This woman I loved. This woman I hated. This woman I could never forget. This woman I could never forgive.

                        ...................
2014

"Haoyu she's gone. She left you without so much as a goodbye. She got what she wanted out of you and left." My mom's words rang in my ears.

I couldn't believe it. It was so unlike Harlow. But it was true. She disappeared without any words. I went to the apartment, and everything was gone. I called her phone, and it was off. She was even unenrolled from school. When I asked around no one had any news. The nail in the coffin was the fact that even her best friend Solei was gone. Shit! Even my own best friend Xiaowei had gone with them without saying a word to me.

There was nothing left that even showed Harlow ever existed in my life. Her social media page was gone.  Only photos of her on my social media were left.  None of this made sense to me. 

She was gone.

Of course, there were the mumblings that she was only with me for the benefits.  But Harlow never gave me any inkling of thought to ever believe that.  But here I was left with proof she used me.  My mother claims to have put her to a test.  She wrote her a check for $50,000.00.  Harlow took it and left.  That's all I was worth to her.  $50,000.00 was enough to throw everything a way.

Harlow put on a show for me.  She always seemed soft spoken and gentle.  Afraid to ask for or take what she wanted.  It turned out I was completely wrong about her.  Against my better judgement, I fell for her tricks, things I would usually see past when it came to other women. 

Every day I woke up feeling pity for myself.  With time pity and sadness turned to hatred.  I looked everywhere for her and the desperation I felt made room for me to grow to hate Harlow.  I hated her for leaving me behind like that, without even an ounce of closure. 

The last day I allowed myself to wallow over Harlow, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to her... a number she had disconnected, cutting me out of her life completely. "Harlow. Fine! I give up! Goodbye!"

I threw my phone down and closed the book on a relationship I thought would be my forever.