A Step Closer to Love

“What did he say?” Kieran asked eager to know what was going on.

He just said his wife was in town and that he could not meet with me. Does this mean that he is married already?” Arabella asked trying to wrap her mind around the situation.

His fingers had been void of any rings at all so it would be difficult for her to know he was married. He did not say anything about his marriage either.

“oh my gosh!” Arabella exclaimed loudly. “I feel so stupid” she added in annoyance.

“Why?” Kieran asked. None of this was her fault. “Were you aware that he had a wife?” he followed up.

“No,” she said shaking her head vigour.

“Then how does this make you stupid? It’s all his fault for leading you on”

“I mean I should have picked up on the signs” she said cutting him before he could say anything more.

“Do you see any signs?” he asked.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

She paused, took a deep breath and thought of it intently. “I did not but…”

“You are too hard on yourself, how would you have known that he was married if he did not tell you?” he asked her.

She knew that this was not her fault but it did not make her feel better. She was already trying to let herself fall for a married man?

“I mean I could not believe I was already considering him as a potential partner” she told him.

She hated how she felt about herself at that time. It seemed like she had always been making the wrong decisions all through her life. She was always somehow regretting the choices she made.

“How could you have known that he is just a jerk who is a cheater?” Kieran asked.

He felt his blood boiling but he knew that lashing out now would only put Arabella more on edge. He was going to have a personal talk with Mark later but for now, all his attention needed to be on Arabella.

“I don’t know,” she said sniffing. She felt her throat constrict as she felt tears brim the corner of her eyes. She wanted to let it go but she could not cry. It was not her fault so why did she feel so terrible?

“I thought he liked you but I must have been mistaken. It seems like he was only interested in you because he was not with his wife” Kieran said.

“And none of this is your fault, I am sure you would not have been with him if you were aware of this fact”

“Of course,” Arabella said trying to defend herself. “I guess there goes dating for me,” Arabella said.

Her attempt to date was suddenly ruined by the man she was trying to get into a relationship with.

“Should we go for a drive? We can take a long drive and then get some fresh air” Kieran suggested.

“Just like that?”

“Let’s go” he said ignoring her question.

“Well I guess so”

Kieran drove with no destination in mind. Arabella let down the window and let the breeze fill the car. She was not particularly happy about the situation and most importantly she did not like that it happened in front of Kieran but she was glad with the way he handled it.

“I want to scream” she murmured gently her face out in the window with the air slapping hard against her skin.

“Then scream,” Kieran said.

She put her head back fully into the car and then gave him a questioning look. “You won’t even ask me why?”

“Asking you why won’t solve the issue at hand and you doing what you want would be better to let you let go easier,” he said.

His words made sense but she wanted to be comforted. She wanted to call her sister but she knew the girl would want to cuss out the man and demand his number. If she refused to provide his contact details she would go the extra mile to get it.

“I just can’t believe this happened when I was about to give relationships a try. I mean I had been good before, the books gave me comfort and the life I lived was simple. I might have been bullied in school but at least I had a loving and supportive family so I thought all was okay but it turns out I just have extremely bad luck”

She stopped to take a deep breath. Kieran wanted to encourage her but he wanted to hear what she had to say first. “I mean I thought he was handsome and no that was not the reason I wanted to go into a relationship with him. I mean he was always a gentleman each time we met”

She wanted to stop talking because she could not believe she was being so vulnerable with him but she just needed to rant and he happened to be there. She loved how silent he was and not trying to give her unsolicited advice.

“He was like a perfect man. I mean maybe that should have been an eye-opener for me. He was like a man who popped out of a book, those men don’t exist in real life after all” she mumbled. “Every single time we meet he finds a way to make me like a princess” she said turning her face back to him.

“He is a pro” she added with a sigh before turning to the window again.

The car fell silent for a few good minutes. She was grateful for the place to rant and then be at peace.

“Can I ask something?” Kieran suddenly said breaking off the silence.

“What is it?” she asked. She was grateful for the silence but she did not mind him breaking it off.

“Are you still interested in going into a relationship?” he asked.

She faced him so half her body was directed at him. “Why do you ask?”

“Are you interested?” he asked again.

“I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea before but now I am not so sure anymore”

“If you are still interested then you should consider me”