My Unfolding Story

4. Heartbroken

I opened my eyes to see the bright morning light filling up my room. I woke up and looked at the time it's already 11: 00 in the morning. I had a good sleep after a long week of work. My life for the past few years as far as I can recall is full of chemicals, lab tests and reports. My professional life has more chemistry than my personal life. I should work on it. Let me call Jen and ask her to come over for dinner. I am going to cook her favorite food and we should spend time together. I took my phone from the bed side table and called her.

"Hello....", her morning voice was so sweet. "Good morning babe", I said and she responded back in a sleepy tone. "Sorry to disturb you Jen...I thought you would be up. Sorry!", I said. "It's okay!", she said and asked me what was the matter. "Wanna come over for dinner?", I said. She was silent for a while and answered that she would come. It's unlike her. She doesn't have the same excitement these days. Earlier, she would wait for the weekends to come and meet me but now she seems indifferent. She deserves her personal space. Maybe I should give her the same.

At least she is coming. Today I should make her feel special. Lemme go and get the groceries. I got ready and went for grocery shopping. I didn't even care to have my breakfast. All I have in my mind is to make the evening more special. I came back home and made a simple lunch for myself. Once I am done eating, I started doing the dishes. Did some cleaning, played video games and by the time I was done, it's already 5 in the evening. I started preparing the dinner. I was happy throughout the whole cooking process as my mind wandered down the memory lane reminiscing our college memories. I should propose her soon. I couldn't wait to have a family of my own. I blushed at the thought of marrying my dream girl.

I arranged everything on the table and waited for her. I looked at the clock and it's about to be 8 p.m. I took out my mobile to call her to ask if she has reached. But the message from her made me disappointed. It made me upset. It read:
Sorry Andrew. Couldn't make it. Something urgent came up. Going to meet an important client. See you tomorrow.

I looked at the table sadly knowing all my efforts are in vain. The dishes are getting cold. I packed all of them in disposable containers and walked down the street. I gave them to the homeless on the side of the road. I am not hungry anymore. I patted my heart trying to calm myself down. I am upset about what Jen did. At least she could have informed me earlier.

I sighed and walked around the busy town for a while. When I was passing by the road, I saw her in a restaurant. It was a glass wall so I could see through it. A man was sitting opposite to her. At first I thought it was her client. But why would a client hold her hand. I know him. I have seen him somewhere. I sighed because I remembered who he is. It's her boss. She seemed happy with him. I don't know what to do. I took out my mobile and dialed her number. Her phone rang but she didn't pick up seeing my name. She just gestured at the man that it was nothing important and put her mobile inside her handbag. I stood there seeing all of this and my heart broke. I felt like it was all a dream. How could she do this to me? I really love her. I have even talked to my parents about her. I am even planning to propose her. I have imagined my whole life ahead with her. Did I upset her? Did I do something that broke her heart? Did I mistreat her? So many questions ran through my mind.

I still kept holding my mobile to my ear as my clouded mind didn't even realize that the call has already been directed to voicemail. My hand slowly dropped down as I felt weak. I didn't move an inch for a while. I kept questioning myself. What went wrong?

Heartbroken, I started walking back home. Everything seemed blurry as my vision is getting clouded by my tears. I reached my home and opened the door. I was startled seeing someone already inside watching TV. Daniel turned and said, "you are back. I've been waiting for an hour now. Why didn't you pick up the phone?". I understood nothing as I kept looking at him. He read my expression and rushed towards me. "Are you okay? What happened?", he said turning me around to check if I got hurt or something as if I were a small kid. "Nothing", I said as if he is not gonna find out. I know very well that I can lie to anyone but not to him. He knows me well. "Are you going to tell me or what?", he said with a firm expression wanting an explanation from me. "I think she is cheating on me", I blurted out. "What?!!!", his expression turned from confusion to concern. I told him everything as he kept rubbing my back to comfort me. "Maybe its a misunderstanding. Try talking to her", he said trying to make me feel better. "Mm", I nodded. He sat for a while with me when he got a call from his wife. "I should go buddy. Don't worry too much. Just talk to her tomorrow", he said and left.

I just sat on the sofa staring at the wall in front of me. Maybe I should talk to her. What if it's just a misunderstanding like Danny said. I took out my phone to call her but I didn't. I received a notification so I opened my IG to check. It was a post from my favorite page. A picture of a dark road with a small light at the end of it with a caption which read:

Should I listen to my heart or my mind? Should I take this road hoping to find the light at the end or should I not take it cause it's dark and scary?

I can relate to this now. I am confused. Should I talk to Jen about it or should I just leave it like I didn't see anything? What will happen to my heart if she lies to me? Will she give me an explanation?
With all these questions running in my mind, I made up my mind, liked the picture and typed something. I know what to do. I am going to talk to her tomorrow.

At Lexi's hometown,

I stood before the road which was darker at the front but I could see a light at the end. I took a picture and posted it on my Instagram. I wrote a caption which clearly wasn't about the road. It was about the decision I'm going to make. I was still confused whether to talk to David or not. I was standing there looking lost when the notification sound startled me. I opened and saw the comment from my favorite follower. I smiled and started walking towards the road. I reached the end and it was a beautiful street filled with lights and there was a small beach nearby. If I hadn't taken the road, I would have missed this beautiful view. Thanks to his comment,

If you feel like the light is a little hope at the end, then go for it!

I walked towards the beach, sat there forgetting everything as the gentle breeze caressed me. But what I don't know yet is the stranger is also there, standing at a distance staring at me in the same black hoodie.