Pulling Your Heartstrings✔

Chapter eighteen

Chapter eighteen

The repeated ringing of my phone the next morning, pulled me out of my sleep. I reluctantly picked up my phone and checked the caller ID. It was an unknown number. My nose crinkled. I just hoped it wasn't Tife prank calling me or something. I was too grumpy and sleepy for that.

With a slight frown, I answered the call. "Hello."

The recognizable cool baritone voice replied. "Hi. I was worried you won't pick up."

I was completely taken aback. "Desmond?"

"Yeah. Please don't hang up." His voice shot up and a spike of annoyance sprung through my thoughts.

I grunted. "Why the hell not?"

"Because I need to talk to you."

"Tell that to someone that cares." I hissed out my words. How dare he try to do this?  Did he think I was that easy?

"You have every right not to speak to me. You really do. I just need a moment to set things straight."

My eyes rolled. Desmond was still so adamant. "It's been over four months. Get over yourself. You're not that relevant."

He stuttered. "I—I just wanted to apologize. For what I did. I was unfair to you. It was what I wanted, but it shouldn't have happened in that order. You deserve far better than that."

I nibbled on my lower lip. It was the one thing I had always wanted to hear, but right now, those words were baseless. "Goodbye Desmond. Our chapter's closed. Don't try to reopen it again. It's what's best for both of us."

I ended our call, and wrapped my hands round my legs. Desmond was an important aspect in my life. He cheated on me, and I eventually found a way to move on. There was nothing left to it, but I couldn't help the niggling feeling hearing his voice again. I had sincerely loved him and he broke my trust. How was I ever going to mend that again?

........
Tife quipped, when he noticed my faraway look. "Are you okay? You're usually excited about food?"

He was standing in front of my house, ready to take me out for lunch and I was just there, dressed in my rainbow coloured maxi dress, looking as distracted as possible. He looked so damn good in simple grey tee shirt and denim, that I couldn't keep my eyes off him.

I admitted. "Desmond called me on the phone today. He called to apologize."

Tife scoffed. "He sounds pathetic."

"I guess so."

"Do you still love him?"

My eyes met his. There was a vulnerable look in his eyes. He slipped his hands in his pocket and watched me. "After what he did? No. I just never expected a chapter of my life to have him show up and apologize."

"Not all chapters are meant to have a deeper meaning. It's just a chapter."

"You really hate him, don't you?" I had to say.

"He's a predictable ass. What's to like about him? Besides, he put you through a lot. No one deserves that."

"I think I still beat myself up about this, because relationships are my specialties, and yet I messed it up. I'm beginning to think that I'm not as good as I think I am."

His expression softened. "Do you want to hear the truth?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Do I have a choice?"

His lips curled up slightly. "Not really."

Imitating his smile, I say. "Then carry on."

"Quantity Over Quality, also known as the Nara Love Theory. I came up with it myself." He beamed, looking really proud of himself. I couldn't resist giving him an eye roll.

"Quantity over quality? This, I've got to hear."

Tife cleared his throat. "If Nara helps people with their love life, love equals one, without an external force, and the person's quality, i.e personality, outweighs their quantity, i.e occupation or looks. But when Nara deals with her own love life, love equals zero, without an external force, and the person's quantity, i.e occupation or looks, outweighs their quality. The Nara Love Theory."

I was instantly puzzled. "That's just crap."

He shrugged. "It's been tested and proven. By you, the willing test subject."

"So you're saying that I'm more interested in a person's status or looks?"

"I'm saying that you unconsciously become ignorant when it comes to your own love life."

I was exasperated. "I'm not ignorant."

"Why do you forget the "unconsciously" part in the whole sentence?"

I narrowed my eyes. "So Mr. Mathematician, what do I do with my love life then?"

"Stop forcing it. Let it come naturally. That's what I think. Not just for yourself. For things around you. Love's simple when it needs to be. Just saying. I'm no expert at this, but that's how it should be. Natural."

I tried to fight my smile, but it was no use. "You just surprise me each day, Tife. It's almost like I never knew you all these while. The person I thought you were, isn't the same person before me."

"People change. You've got to give credit to them on that."

I let my smile widen, and tucked a lock of some loose strands of my hair behind my ear. "I really should employ you as a love expert. You could be my in-house lawyer."

"I am a real estate lawyer. I'm not into corporate law. Even if I were, you couldn't afford me if you tried."

Shaking my head, I dragged my feet slowly to where he stood. "Let's just go. I'd rather reserve my strength for strangling you another time."

Tife clutched his chest dramatically. "That somehow warmed my heart. I don't know how you did it. It's a damn miracle."

I shoved him playfully and laughed softly. His smile sobered, and a soft expression glued on his visage. His dark eyes raked my face, as his voice softened. "Are you okay, now?"

Searching through his face, I smile at him. "I am, now."