My Controversial Secret

Chapter 39: Reluctance

Jenna returned to her apartment that night. When she stormed out of the Hunt Villa and picked up a late taxi from the street, she realized she left her phone. Tired, angry, and hurt, she decided to pick up the phone tomorrow. She doesn't want to see Delilah right now. 

What she said, her accusatory tone was anything but her best friend. She swore she was seeing a different side to her. The mean, heartless one. Delilah is hurt and for obvious reasons but that doesn't mean she will say anything. 

Calling her a gold digger on the basis that she lied about Jerry was insensitive. She of all people should know what her relationship with that fucker was yet to justify her hurt, the wrongs she thinks David and Jenna's attraction is, she went all above to hurt her.

Words stay. Delilah knows this. Words are like permanent ink in your life. A scar that doesn't go and tonight, she scarred Jenna. Her reluctance to see their affair as anything but mindless fuck has angered Jenna. Yes, she is wrong. She accepted and even asked for forgiveness but things have changed. Feelings have gravitated. But it's useless now. 

Delilah will continue to blame her and Jenna can't do anything. 

Jenna exits the elevator and walk towards the narrow hallway leading to her room. She lives in an apartment complex a block away from her gallery.It's a beautiful residential place with a garden and a rooftop swimming pool Jenna paid a hefty amount to afford this place. Her neighbors are nice and almost everyone has a pet. She used to give them ear scratches on passing and they would smile at her in return. 

When she found out Jerry stalked her recent whereabouts she knew she had to leave this place. It doesn't matter how much security that complex is surrounded with, a person like Jerry will find his way inside. Just like he did at the gallery. 

Currently, it was past one. The hallway was quiet and dark. The only source of lighting was the fluorescent light in the middle that brightened almost the entire room. A soft smile lingered on her lips at the familiarity of returning home. She dragged her suitcase on the marbled floor and stopped in front of her apartment door. 

Opening the unit, she got inside her place. Dark living rooms greeting her with a scowl as if asking where she was all this time. She sniffed the homely smell of her place, her hand automatically turning the entryway light as she got deeper into the seating area. 

Everything looks just as she left. The curtains are half closed, parted from the middle to let a little sunshine in. She didn't want her apartment to look morbid and dead during her absence. The artificial plants stood on either side of the sliding doors. Her couch looked so inviting. She spend hours on that thing, working, attending calls, watching movies and playing cards with Delilah. 

Turning away, she headed to her bedroom and released a breath. For some reason, she was on edge. She felt a little alarm inside her. A warning that something was wrong. A part of her was paranoid that someone was in the bedroom. She put that thought away and walked inside. Scanning the place like she just returned from a long vacation. 

The same old vanity mirror is on the left of the room beside the bed. The window is also on the same side taking half the space up on the wall. The right has a bookshelf but there are things besides the books. A jewelry box, some family frames, a DIY card she and Del had made, a pen stand where her bookmarks were stored, and...is that a lighter?

Jenna frowned. She doesn't smoke neither do Del so how did it get here? Crossing the room she picked the silver lighter from the shelf and examined it. Surely it was silver and tacky. Kind of like Jerry.

Oh fuck. 

Her eyes widened in alarm and she dropped the lighter on the ground with a thud. For a second, she stood frozen on the spot, her eyes taking her apartment with a different view. He's here? In her place?