“You look like a penguin trying to waddle back to its home when you walk like that.”
“I wouldn’t have to walk like that if some pervert behind me wasn’t staring,” I shot back, sticking me head out of the tall pile and pulling my tongue out at him.
He shrugged. “I’m your boyfriend, I’m allowed to be a pervert towards you.”
I ignored him just as we reached our floor, and instantly began walking towards our office to get rid of the files and grab my bag.
“Keep walking,” Adrian called out from behind me, amusement thickly enlaced in his tone.
I rolled my eyes and continued to ignore him just as I reached the office door. I sighed in frustration, struggling to get a grip onto the door handle before I felt him come up beside me. “Poor Emily, do you need some help? Why didn’t you ask me earlier?” Adrian asked, giving me a sympathetic look before I felt the entire stack of files being lifted out my arms effortlessly.
“You – ugh!” I groaned, opening the office door with another scowl as he chuckled at my reaction.
Adrian placed the stack of files onto the small coffee table in the room just as I collected my handbag and briefly glanced at my phone. “Are you ready to go?”
“I need to use the loo,” Adrian commented, shaking his head.
My face scrunched into a look of confusion. “The what?”
“The loo? The toilet. The bathroom. Whatever you American’s call it.” Adrian dismissed in a bored tone
“Well don’t let me stop you,” I replied sarcastically. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Okay, feisty. Are you getting your period? You’re on fire today, Shortcake.” I turned back around to face Adrian who was already smirking in my direction. “Wait, wait, let me give a go at this. ‘Adrian! Oh my god! Like, don’t say stuff like that!’” he squealed in a girly voice, attempting to imitate me.
I flipped him off and rolled my eyes at his immaturity. “I’ll be downstairs!” I called out before slamming the door shut behind me and leaving Adrian alone in the office.
I decided to text Amy while I waited by Adrian’s car in attempt to look occupied and not as awkward and alone as I felt. Amy replied within 30 seconds after I sent the message, and I smiled down at the phone at her desperate attempt to have company at her job before someone cleared their throat.
I looked up and froze in the position I was in as I realized that Rita was standing in front of me, nodding slightly at the device in my hands. “Adrian?”
I blinked back blankly before a frown etched itself onto my face. “What are you doing here?” My voice was meant to come out strong; instead, it sounded more like a reply to my parents after being scolded for coming home too late.
“I… I came to apologise to you Emily,” Rita responded, a cautious look on her face.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I snapped back in reply. I didn’t bother waiting for her to respond and turned around and began to walk away.
“At least let me tell you the reason behind my actions,” Rita begged from behind me.
I stopped walking away and breathed in deeply before turning around and crossing my arms over my chest. “Go.”
The look of surprise on her face showed me how much she was not expecting me to turn around, but she spoke up anyway. “My husband… he… He gambles a lot. We fell into debt just two weeks before I met you for the first time. I was desperate… I didn’t know what to do. Somehow, David found out about our debt and offered me the money if I did what I was told. I didn’t think he’d go to that much extremes, Emily, please believe me. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Why didn’t you just ask Adrian if you were so desperate for money? You know he would’ve given it to you in a heartbeat; especially if I helped with asking him.” My tone came out bitter; not willing to be sympathetic towards her just yet.
She hesitated before responding. “I… I didn’t want to ask that much off of you… or him… please you have to understand-”
I shook my head, cutting her off. “I’m sorry. You have to understand that what you did is so low in my eyes that it’s unforgiveable. You know how much David frightened me. You saw how he kept me prisoner in a hotel room and even hurt me and tried to push for sex-”
“I didn’t know he would-”
Angry tears began to spring up into my eyes. “Yes, you did! And the worst part was you still didn’t think to tell us! You let us believe that Anna was the guilty one and that you were just as angered and uncomfortable at the mention of him just as much as I was!”
“Emily, I didn’t-”
“I think you should go,” I interrupted her, my face falling straight as my voice turned cold. “Go before Adrian sees you here. I may be kind enough to hear you out Rita, but he will turn you straight in without a second of hesitation.”
I watched as her own eyes started to gloss over with tears, before she swallowed and nodded briefly. Not saying anything else, she re-adjusted her handbag on her shoulder and turned around and walked away.
Once she was out of sight, I let out a breath I didn’t realise I had been holding in and wiped away my own tears, before turning around and running straight into a solid figure with a familiar smell of cologne. Adrian’s arms automatically wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me into a hug as he looked down at me with a concerned expression. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I… Rita just came here and apologised…” I whispered, not trusting my voice to reach its full extent just yet.
I felt Adrian’s chest vibrate as a low growl emanated from his throat. “What the fuck did you just say?”
I opened my mouth to re-state what I said before Adrian glared down at me angrily, cutting me off. “I know what you said. What nerve does that backstabbing bitch have to even bother showing her face near my property?” He scowled angrily.
I sighed before placing my hands on his shoulders. “Adrian. Forget it. She’s gone now, and I didn’t accept her apology anyway.”
“I’m not forgetting what that bitch did to us. I shouldn’t have listened to you and reported her to the police when David Walter’s trial was still on-going.” He glared, clenching his jaw from anger.
“Adrian. Let’s go to lunch. We’re meant to be forgetting anything related to stress. Drop it.” I ordered sternly, looking up at him with my fiercest look.