CHAPTER 2 - BROKE AND HEARTBROKEN

There was a look of pure horror in David’s face when he saw her. 

“Kara! What are you doing here?”  

Kara almost laughed out loud.  If only she was looking at another person, and not at David, her boyfriend - the first serious relationship she had - it would have been comical. 

He was naked from the waist down.  His pants and undie pooled on the floor at his feet. And his eyes looked like they were so ready to pop out of their sockets. 

It was the sight of his naked butt that held her attention.  Her nose twitched in distaste. 

“Obviously I am here to surprise you. As it turned out, the surprise was on me.  I did not expect to catch my boyfriend red-handed.” She said bitterly as something akin to pain pierced her heart. 

Her words were like a spring board that made David react so strongly.  He pushed the woman off of him.  Her loud scream of surprise rang around them as she flailed her arms for something to hold on to before there was a loud thud when she hit the floor. 

For a while, Kara took pity on her. She looked undignified sprawled on the floor.   But then, Kara’s eyes zeroed in on her undie dangling on her right ankle and her face contorted. 

While the woman scuttled off to retrieve her clothes on the floor.  Kara felt a deep sense of humiliation for herself as she chanced upon what her boyfriend had been doing behind her back. Her eyes brim with tears. 

“Kara Mia.” David called out to her while pulling up his pants.  His movements were hurried.   The use of the familiar endearment made her blood boil.

She took a deep breath to control her emotions and without another word turned around to leave.  But David acted quickly.  He grabbed her wrist tightly, holding her back. 

“Get your filthy hands off me!” Kara snapped. 

Her skin crawled with disgust.  She tried to shake his hand off, but David held on strongly.  His grip was tight. 

Kara raised her legs and kneed him on the groin.  

David screamed in pain.  He jumped up and down, releasing his hold on her. 

Kara seized the moment to push him out of the elevator as well as the woman he was cavorting with earlier and pressed hard on the close button.  She had enough and would rather leave than be chummy chummy with David and his paramour. 

But David impeded her escape. 

He pressed the button and the elevator door opened again.  

“Kara, don’t go. . Let’s talk about this.”  He said hurriedly. He looked like he very much wanted to fix things with her.  But Kara does not want to talk to him right now.  She can not get out her head the sight of his naked b*tt while he b*nged another girl. 

“Let go.” She commanded in a clipped tone.

“So you are going to leave just like that? Let’s talk about this like mature adults.  Don’t be a coward!” David told her in a strained voice. 

Kara’s last vestige of self-control snapped. This time a bevy of expletives went off her mouth.  A sailor, if he heard her, would have been proud of the list of unmentionables she uttered in David’s face. 

“Coward! Am I a coward? What about you? What do you call yourself? A cheater? A liar?  You don't even look like you were remorseful.  So, can I safely assume that this is not an accident?  You chose to lie to me.  You chose to cheat on me. What does that make you?”  Kara jammed her finger on David’s chest in her anger, her eyes growing wide in disbelief. 

“And you had the gall to call me a coward. What about you?  If you are fed up with our relationship, tell it to my face! Don’t go behind my back.  I won’t make a fuss.  I will let you go if that is what you want.  Just do not betray me like this!”   Kara suddenly overwhelmed by her emotions almost choked back in anger. 

“That is the problem with you.  Every time we have a disagreement, you try to run away.” David accused. 

Kara laughed in mortification.  “Are you hearing yourself?  David we did not have an argument you betrayed my trust!” She spat out. 

“Because you don’t give me what I want.  I endured your prudish attitude and I have enough of it.  I need to get laid!” He exploded in her face. 

Kara’s face paled.  She thought he understood. She thought that their decision to put off intimacy was mutual. 

David saw her hesitation and took advantage of it. 

“What man can survive a year of celibacy, especially a warm, hot-blooded male like me?  Kara, do you honestly believe that we are made of wood? That we can switch on and off our lust and desires? I am a man.  I have needs!” David shouted, startling her. 

“You are asking too much, Kara.  Just because I condone and agree to your wishes, it does mean that I am a hundred percent-sold out to the idea.  My tolerance has a limit.  And I could not go on with this lifestyle. I need to get laid or go crazy!”  

For a moment, Kara felt like David slapped her on the face. She felt horrible. David’s expression softened and his voice took on a coaxing tone. 

“Kara, I love you, but it was so hard to put up with your celibacy rule.”  

“So what am I?”  The woman David was making out earlier butted in.  “A diversion? A past-time?” 

“I thought you liked me!  You said you are going to leave your prude of a girlfriend for me!” The woman shouted. 

David looked like he had been caught between a rock and a hard place.  

Kara held her tongue. Their drama plot is getting thicker. 

David took one look at her sardonic face and screeched at his woman. 

“Shut up!” 

In no time, a shouting match ensued.  David and her woman hurled hurtful words to each other. Then they started getting physical. The woman took her sling bag off her shoulders and hit David with it.  At first, David did not fight back. He tried to dodge the woman’s attack at first, but when it hit him in the face and his nose bled, his control snapped. 

He pulled the sling bag and shoved it away.  

Kara shook her head. She had witnessed enough. She did not have any intention of joining in the fray. If they have to wrestle it out, then she does not have time for them. She had more pressing things to do. The most important of which is to look for money to redeem her property. 

She closed the elevator, not caring where it brought her, so long as he could get away from David and his woman. 

The elevator ascended and stopped at the Penthouse. When it opened, Kara was surprised to see an elegant man in his three-piece suit waiting. 

The man looked equally startled to see her.  He hesitated briefly as if he was debating in his head whether to come in and join her. Then, he shook his head and stepped inside. His presence alone seems to take up the space around him. 

Kara awkwardly pushed her body to the corner to appear inconspicuous as possible.  The man looked her way, but did not say a word. 

The car started to go down. 

In her corner, Kara’s hands clenched and unclenched as the scene this morning flashed in her head like a tableau. She was overwhelmed and felt suffocated.  She choked back a sob, but knew she lost the fight when a guttural sound escaped her lips. 

Halfway through their descent, Kara felt a movement. The attractive man was handing her something. 

She looked at it.  It was a red handkerchief.  Then she looked at his face. He had an impassive expression, but his voice sounded gentle when he spoke. 

“Wipe your face.  I do not want to see a woman crying.”  Her mouth opened. 

She accidentally looked at her reflection in the stainless steel door and gasped.  She looked like a train wreck!  No wonder her lone companion looked shocked when he saw her face earlier.  She self-consciously ran her fingers to her hair.  

She took deep breaths, dabbed the handkerchief over her face, neck and nape,  and when she felt calmer, she returned the handkerchief back to the man.  The man looked at it, then at her face. She could sense his disapproval, but he spoke gently and said, “Don’t bother. You can keep it.” 

She quickly folded the handkerchief and tucked it in her back pocket.  Then, the man took something from the pocket of his inner jacket.  “You look like you could use some help. If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to call me.”

The elevator dinged open and the man got out, leaving her inside.

Kara read the card. It says his name was Don Marco Bonacci. He was the president of one of the leading financial institutions in the country. The bank she owed money to is their subsidiary company.

Her eyes lit up. Finally, after all the rejections and heartbreaks she went through this morning.  A ray of hope!

Kara was sure this man could help her with her problems. 

She raised her head ready to talk to him, but he seemed to disappear. 

Without thinking Kara raced after him. 

“Mr. Bonacci!  Mr. Bonacci!” Kara called out, her eyes darting around. 

Then, she spotted him. He was about to board his car.  

“Mr. Bonacci!”

He stopped. He was obviously waiting for her. 

When she neared him, she hesitated. 

She dug her palms to her front jeans pockets. What if he turned her down like what her boss did earlier.  This man did not know her. She just happened to share a short elevator ride with him. 

What makes her think that he would help her?

Don Marco Bonnaci saw the indecision on her face.  “Do you need anything?” He asked.

Kara bit her lip. Her fingers encountered the crumpled paper that was her eviction notice. This gave her reason to throw caution to the wind. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  

“I- I need your help.” She stammered. 

At the same time, the door to the elevator swung open and David Ford, her boyfriend, got out. He looked like he was urgently searching for someone. 

Kara was afraid that he would spot her and wanted to avoid further confrontation at all cost. She wet her suddenly dry lips and was about to ask Mr. Bonacci to help her get away from here. But before she told him her intent. He was one step ahead of her. 

“If you need my help, then hop in.” He invited and widened the opening of the car door for her. 

Without hesitation, she got in real quick.  

Mr. Bonacci followed her. Then, one of his men closed the door for him, cloaking them in silence.  The windows were heavily tinted.When the door slammed shut, it attracted David’s attention. 

Kara held her breath while she waited in bated breath when David nodded to Mr. Bonacci’s man before continuing with his search. 

When the driver started the car and was backing out of the parking area, Kara let out a sigh of relief. She looked behind them to check on David. He was still busy scouring the parking slots. She did not know if he was looking for her or the woman he was with earlier. She did not care anymore. 

For her,  she and David were over. 

Maybe it was for the best. It would be to her best interest if she focused on her problems right now.  

She sniffed. The shock has worn off, but the hurt is just starting to make its presence felt.  

“Was that man the cause of your tears?”  Mr. Bonacci pried, startling her.  

Kara bit her lip. She was reluctant to confide but denying would only lead to more explanations. In the end, she figured if she wanted to get Mr. Bonacci’s help, she had to be honest with him. 

“We just broke up.” She offered silently.