6: Pieces of Evidences

“BABE.” Citrine blinked a few times as she heard her fiancé’s voice. She looked down at Gael’s hand when he touched her leg to get her attention, then up into his eyes. “Are you nervous?”

“A little. This is the first time I’ll meet your parents since we dated, after all,” she said, and Gael just smiled as he continued driving. 

It’s been a few days since Citrine discovered her fiancé and half-sister’s affair and since then… She did her best to appear unaffected by it. She made every effort to hide the fact that she was aware of their relationship from them. 

She returned to her everyday life, and while her relationship with her father became more strained, she decided to keep things as they were. And now she’s off to the airport to pick up Gael’s parents.

“Sorry for not giving you enough time to prepare; they unexpectedly informed me that they’re going home today and wanted to meet you.”

“It’s okay, maybe they wanted to surprise you, and it’s my day off today anyway,” she said, smiling and looking out the car window. The sunlight felt nice against her skin as she closed her eyes for a moment. Her thoughts returned to the events of the previous days, including an argument with her father, enduring Olivia’s harassment, and pretending to enjoy Gael and Trisha’s company.

It was exhausting, but she knew it would be over soon, especially since Revan would sign the contract after returning from his business trip. After Revan called that night, they started messaging each other, but their conversations were always about their deal.

“Let’s go, babe,” Citrine looked at Gael as he opened the door for her, and extended his hand to assist her in getting out of the car. She gave him a smile, unbuckled her seatbelt, and placed her hand on top of his.

“Oh, the flowers,” she remembered and opened the backseat door to take the bouquet she had purchased earlier. As soon as she is sure she hasn’t forgotten anything, they walk towards the waiting area, where Gael’s parents just exited the airport.

“Citrine, it’s so good to finally see you,” Gina, Gael’s mother said, her arms wide open. Citrine smiled at her and hugged her tightly before handing her the flower. 

“Thank you, dear,” she says, patting Citrine’s shoulder and turning to hug her son. Gael reciprocates the gesture, and after greeting his parents, they return to the car and have lunch together at Gael’s house.

Citrine spends the rest of the afternoon getting to know her fiance’s parents. She thought they’d make good in-laws because they’re both sweet and gentle people. But, apparently, her relationship with them would take a different turn when the wedding ceremony arrived. She felt sorry for them because she knew the wedding would be a disaster. She is feeling guilty, but... Nobody could stop her from exacting her revenge.

“GOOD EVENING, Ma’am Citrine,” A deep male voice greeted her as she wait outside the car. She turned around to find a tall man, whom she recognized immediately as the private investigator hired by Revan.

Earlier, while spending time with Gael’s parents, she received a message from Revan informing her that the investigator would be handing her a flash drive containing pieces of evidence about her fiancé and half-sister's affair.

“Good evening…” Citrine trailed off, unsure what to call him.

“Oh, you can call me Vin,” he replied, extending his hand for a shakehand which she obliged.  The evening breeze hit her face, reminding her that the weather was colder than usual and that meeting at the park was probably the right choice.

“I won’t take up too much of your time,” Vin said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive. He handed it to Citrine, and she thanked him.

“There were a few pieces of evidence inside, such as pictures and videos, but this evidence was insufficient, so I recommend you install a camera at the house you and your fiancé recently purchased.”

“Why? Don’t tell me he brought my sister there?” she questioned as she felt anger rising within her. The mere thought of them meeting at the house where she and Gael were supposed to live after the wedding enraged her beyond belief.

“Yes, they met there secretly yesterday; I wasn’t investigating them for that long, but I could tell that wasn’t the first time they met at your house.” Citrine sighed and clenched her teeth, thinking their affair was more serious than she had thought. She was disgusted and upset. She couldn’t believe they had the audacity to taint the house where she planned to build her family.

“Are you okay?” Citrine snapped out of her trance when Vin inquired. Concern filled his features. Now that she thinks about it, he does look familiar but decided to ignore it for the time being.

“I’m not, but thank you; I’ll do what you suggested,” she replied, looking at the flash drive in her hands. Vin just nodded and left shortly after that. Once he left, Citrine decided to stay longer at the park to get some fresh air. She sat down on a wooden bench next to the tree and stared at the view.

It was quiet and peaceful, there weren’t many people around, and the breeze was soothing. She wished she could enjoy the silence as long as she could but someone calls her name.

She turned around to see where the voice was coming from and noticed Revan approaching her.

“Huh? Why are you here? I thought you were on a business trip,” she inquired, frowning as he sat casually beside her.

“I arrived this afternoon. I even saw you with your fiancé at the airport; were those his parents?” he asked pulling a cigarette from his pack and lighting it. He offered her one, but she declined with a scowl on her face.

“You’re still smoking? I pity your lungs,” she said, shaking her head disapprovingly, but Revan just raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

“So, what brings you here?” she inquired once more, her face flushed with curiosity.

“I came here with Vin, and I’ve been watching you from my car since you arrived,” he replied, blowing smoke into the sky.

“Wow, that’s creepy,” Citrine remarked with a straight face, making Revan scoff. They’re conversing casually as if they’ve been friends since they reunited. The awkwardness that surrounded them at first has faded, replaced by ease and familiarity with each other’s antics.

 “Is he one of your friends?”

“Yeah, you don’t remember him? He’s a college friend of mine.” He replied as he took another drag from his cigarette. “He’s Zeke’s cousin.”

“Oh, I see. I knew he was familiar,” Citrine says, looking up at the sky, remembering how popular Revan and his gang were in college. They were well-liked even by the high school students at their school and Citrine couldn’t help but laugh at herself as she reflected on those years. Especially since she recalls how foolish she was at the time, believing that Revan would like her because she did everything she could to make him fall in love with her. She was so stupid.

“Shall we sign the contract now?” Revan asks, making Citrine returns her gaze to him. She had already signed the contract, but it was in her office, and getting it at this hour would be a pain in the ass.

“Your signature can wait until tomorrow; I’ll just drop by your office because I already signed it,” she told him and Revan nodded as he stood up.

“Alright.”

“Are you leaving?” Citrine asked as she stood up as well. She wanted to drink and get drunk, but she knew she shouldn’t invite him because he was most likely exhausted from the business trip.

“Why? You want to spend the entire night with me?” He grinned suggestively at her, and she rolled her eyes in disgust.

“Sorry, I’m a busy man and it’s getting late. You should  head home, it’s cold out here.” He responded. “Kids should go to bed early.”

“Stop treating me like a kid, asshole,” Citrine muttered before kicking his legs in annoyance.

After walking out, Citrine went home straight and heard how Trisha, Fabian, and Olivia were having fun over dinner. It sounded like a lot of chatter and laughter which she found quite envious of.

She simply smiled bitterly and went to her room. She took a quick shower before going to bed with her laptop to check the files on the flash drive. As Vin previously stated, numerous photographs of Gael and Trisha were taken in various locations, including the home they purchased together. The majority of the pictures and videos showed them laughing and walking together.

“Bullshit,” Citrine muttered as tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing how happy they were with each other infuriated her, and the fact that these were taken recently shows how good Gael and Trisha were at concealing their affair.

She wiped her tears and saved the files into a folder, but she flinched when someone knocked on her door.

“Citrine, I heard you got home; are you sleeping?” Trisha asked as she opened the door. Citrine quickly removed the flash drive and hid it as she closed her laptop.

“I'm about to,” she said, trying to keep her tone light as if everything was normal. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, how was your meeting with Gael’s parents? Were they nice?” Citrine’s brow almost furrowed but she composed herself as Trisha sat on her bed.

“Yeah, they’re sweet and gentle, they really like me,” she replied, putting on a fake smile. “But how did you find out I met with them? I don’t recall telling you about it.”