Chapter 6

Mark took the TV remote and turned the news off. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Lisa, I know you’re pissed at me and you have every right to be, but please…let’s think this through.”

“Are you seriously going to let all those guests show up tomorrow and just stay home?” He asked me, and I folded my arms on my chest.

“Well, you do have a point. Why let all those people suffer for your mistake? I know what we’re going to do.” I told him and he smiled, even though my heart ached. Just seeing Mark made me feel like I was drowning with no one to help me. I felt awful.

“What do you suggest.” He gulped and then folded his hands on his lap as he stared at me. “We could push the wedding date until you and I work out our issues. What about that?” 

I stared at him incredulously. He seriously thought that he was going to screw my best friend and just say sorry to make it all go away? You can’t put a bandaid on a severed leg!

I took my phone out of my bag and headed for the window. I balanced the phone on it and clicked on the screen a few times, trying to get the camera to focus correctly. “No, Mark. We’re not going to do that. But you were right about one thing. It won’t be fair to our guests, or our loved ones and friends.” 

“And calling everyone one at a time would take forever. So we’re going to make it easy. We are going to make a video, you and I. In this video, we are going to show that we’re unified.” I continued, and when I glanced at Mark, I saw him smile a bit.

“I like the idea. And what would we say in the video?” 

“Well, after we make the video, we would post it on our social media, and that way, it would reach all our friends and loved ones.”

“Yeah, but what would we say in the video?” He left the couch and walked to me by the window. The camera on my phone was now focused and ready. 

“We would be informing everyone that we are going to be calling off the wedding and engagement. And I’m going to give you the respect that you don’t deserve by not telling anyone why we would be doing this.” I informed him, and I saw the color drain from his face as I smirked.

“No.”

“What do you mean by no? Would you rather I tell everyone that you f*cked my best friend and that’s why we’re calling off the wedding and engagement?” I raised one of my eyebrows, and he scoffed.

“No, as in we’re not making that video. I would gladly make it vid about pushing the wedding date or that we are even taking time apart to understand ourselves, but I’m not ready to call off our wedding.”

“So you’re not doing the video?” I pursed my lips and awaited his answer. 

“No, I’m not.” His voice was firm.

“Okay,” I shrugged and then grabbed a chair and sat in front of the camera.

“Lisa, what are you doing?”

“I’m making this video with or without you. So you either get out of my way or join me.” 

“You’re going to be late for work if you do that.” He tried to get me to not make the video.

“I don’t care. My boss would understand.”

“No, he won’t.” Mark laughed. “You and I know that your boss is harsh and heavy-handed.” 

“Not when I just landed him the biggest client of the year, he’s not.” I stifled a small laugh.

“Dammit, Lisa!” Mark tugged at his hair in frustration and left the living room.

I started the video anyway. “Hi everyone. As you all know, my wedding is tomorrow. Mark and I are blessed to have such wonderful friends and loved ones. We truly appreciate you all. But we sadly are calling off the wedding and engagement due to personal reasons. It’s nothing dramatic and we respect and still love each other. But we figured out that we were not soulmates like we thought we were.”

My eyes were threatening to spill tears but I did not allow them. “We are so sorry for the inconvenience and would start accepting calls from you all by tomorrow. Thank you.” I pressed the red button on the screen and ended the video.

I sniffled, stood to my feet, and grabbed my phone only to notice Mark standing near the couch when I turned around. The look on his face said it all. He was basked in guilt, regret, and sadness.

“Please don’t post that, Lisa. I swear I would do better. I would cut Nora out of my life and even move across the country to stay away from her if that is what you want. Please…” He approached me and tried to touch me but I flinched away.

In my mind, I could still hear Nora moaning as he thrust into her. “Don’t touch me,” I warned him. 

“I messed up, please, but if I lose you because of that, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” He was seriously in tears. His crying took me aback a bit due to the fact that he was rarely one to cry. 

“I–,” I tried to speak but no words came out as I saw tears flow down his face. My heart was beating fast and my breathing was irregular. As much as I hated him for cheating on me days before our wedding, I felt sorry for him. 

I knew that he loved me. I have always known that. But if he loved me enough, he wouldn’t have done such a horrible thing to me. Even if I forgave him, I would never be able to trust him again; I would always see him differently.

And without trust in a relationship, it would be destined for some kind of doom or destruction. 

“I swear that I would change. Just give me one more chance,” He tried to touch me, and this time, I let him. He pulled me into a hug and I immediately broke down and started to cry. 

“Why did you do this to me?” I continued to cry and tears flowed from my eyes freely. My chest felt heavy and my body trembled as I sobbed without control. 

He held me in his arms and caressed my hair as he let me cry onto his chest. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, my Lisa.”

“You broke my heart. You ripped every ounce of happiness out of my soul. Why did you do that to me? You said you loved me…” My voice was continuously breaking.

He just kept mumbling in response, “I’m sorry.”

After a few minutes of crying, I lifted my head from Mark’s chest and he looked at me. He then held my neck with his hand and slowly brought his lips close to mine until I could feel his hot breath.

“I have always loved you and will always.” His words caused my lips to quiver. He then kissed me gently and I returned his kiss. A warm feeling spread in my chest and I craved for more of him. 

His movements were perfect and I suddenly felt his hand traveling down to my behind. I allowed him. Even though I could not still force the image of him with Nora out of my head, I continued to indulge in our passion-filled actions.

I wanted him and he wanted me. It was very evident. But I needed to have respect for myself. He disrespected me and I was not supposed to be rewarding his behavior.

“Mark…” My attempt to stop him sounded like an invitation to more. He then began to kiss my neck and I could not contain myself. He knew me. He knew my weaknesses ad he was using them expertly.

The phone in my hand suddenly began to ring and my senses returned. “Mark, stop.” I gently pushed him away and he listened. 

I comb through my hair with my fingers and then I looked at the screen of the phone. It was my boss. I was late and I needed to get out of there. “I have work,” I told Mark and then headed for the door.

I did not answer the call because I was afraid that my boss was going to yell at me, so I just let it ring. 

“Wait!” Mark stopped me. “Your keys.” He took my car key out of his pocket and brought it to me. “I just wanted more time with you so I decided to hide it from you. I’m sorry.”

“Okay,” I replied numbly, took the key, and left the house. When I got into my car, I connected my phone to it and placed a call to my boss right away as I drove out of the driveway.

“Lisa, it’s almost nine, where are you?”

“I’m so sorry, I slept in. I’m heading over right this moment.” I lied, and the line went quiet for a few seconds.

“Okay.” He surprised me. What? I expected him to yell. 

“Okay?”

He chuckled. “Just get over here, Lisa. I have some documents on your desk already.” He ended the call, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Signing the CEO seemed to be saving me a lot from the wrath and short temper of my boss.

After a few minutes of driving, I reached a traffic light, a red one. I took this as an opportunity and I watched the video that I made. Was I still willing to call off the wedding and engagement? 

I had two choices and very little time because tomorrow would be the wedding. I either had to call it off or not. 

I clicked a few times on my screen and found myself on the verge of sharing the video with all my social media accounts. There was no turning back once I tapped the ‘send’ icon. 

A loud honk from behind me suddenly startled me and my thumb touched the screen by mistake. 

The video immediately began to be shared across all my social media accounts. I exhaled deeply and threw the phone gently on the seat next to me.

The car behind me honked loudly again and I honked back in annoyance. I then pressed the gas and the car began to move. I drove straight to work without touching my phone again.

The screen kept coming alive due to phone calls, texts, and voicemails. But I tried my best to ignore it. 

When I arrived at Powerhouse Designs, I parked in the parking area, placed my phone in my handbag, and exited my car. 

As soon as I entered the building, everyone suddenly began clapping and I was taken aback. I smiled, revealing my teeth when I realized what this was about: me signing the CEO as a client with the company.

The lobby was packed with my colleagues and a lot of other employees who worked here that I did not know. They all clapped and cheered for me. I then noticed the banner and balloons by the receptionist's desk. 

The banner read: Congratulations, Lisa for signing us a billionaire!

 My boss suddenly made his appearance with a huge smile on his face and I walked to him and laughed happily. “Wow, you did not have to do this.” 

“Yes, I did, Lisa. It’s not every day that one of my employees gets a billionaire to sign with us!” He hugged me and I hugged him back. Tears formed in my eyes, but not of sadness, but of joy.

When he released me from the hug, he informed me, “You have been promoted. And I know that you have always wanted that window office on the floor above you but I got you a better deal.”

“Oh, really?” I was intrigued.

“Yeah, you are now officially the new COO of Eternity Limited. You would have an even office than that corner office. Plus you would get to work closely with the CEO, Bradley Specter.”