It Should Have Been Like This

Book Thirty-six: purple arrow

Lavender's viewpoint

   I walked into the building, waving as response to those who greeted me since I was on the phone with my new friend, Arthur. It took us three days, but we finally found each other at the same time and since then –which is only four days– we never stop texting each other and calling when Rominic wasn't there. I waved at Olive before stepping into the elevator to get to my office.

   "So you are trying to say she came begging last night?" I spoke after listening to him spit excited gibberish for the last three minutes. The only thing I heard was that his girlfriend, Precious, finally came begging.

   "You seriously did not hear anything I just said?" He gasped, "how mean. I said Precious came begging last night, weeping and crying. Babe, it was almost too hard to not pull her into my arms and soothe her, but I successfully did. I finally let everything out of my chest, making sure I hurt her with my words just the way she hurt me. And you are right. The moment I spilled everything out, I felt better and realized she isn't good enough for me. Precious took advantage of my love and commitment to her, hurting me whenever she wanted, breaking up with me at her own time. She would just wake up and say 'there's a lot going on in my life, Arthur, and this relationship isn't helping. Let's take a break', and she would dump me. And it hurt more because during our break, she would date someone else and enjoy me running after her each time, begging that she takes me back..." He sniffed. In four days, I got to learn something about him. When he's sad, he gush out his words to avoid tears. Anything that makes him speak slowly, he ends up in tears.

   "She made me feel like I was never good enough for her, that I had to work even harder. Whenever she felt like cheating, she would break up with me and do it so that way, it wasn't cheating. She did it over and over again for four years and I let her, because I love her. How could I have been so stupid, Jambae? How?" He sobbed. "Our relationship was never one to begin with because I was dating myself, and I chased my best friend and sister away for her. I stopped talking to my mother for her. They all saw what I didn't see but I... You probably think I'm the biggest fool in the universe, huh?"

   "Not really," I shut the door behind me and walked to my desk. When he first told me about the nature of his relationship, I couldn't help but feel the similarity between ours, only that Rominic never treated me like trash or made me feel unworthy. I was treated like an empress but he was a slave. I openly told him that she was taking advantage of him, he got pissed and hung up. That was a day ago. I sent him a text that if she should ever come, he should take his time to pour out his heart to her, tell her everything she did wrong in their relationship and try listening to himself while he speaks. He should take his time to really listen to himself, not just pour out his heart, and he did.

   "Yes, you are a fool, but I was a bigger one,"

   "Huh?"

   "Rominic and I knew each other years before and we dated. Our relationship wasn't like yours, he never treated me bad but he was using me and I knew, but I let it happen." I sat down on my swivel chair and spun it.

   "How do you mean?" Then I spilled everything to him, starting from my mother to my father's family, how I met Rominic, how I knew he was using me but convinced myself that he wasn't. How I saw him with Peyton but deleted the memories, convinced myself to love her and everything else. I had the phone on loudspeaker so I could work while recapping my life story to him. When I was done, he was still quiet, patiently listening.

   "So you see, yours is nothing compelled to mine. The big difference between mine and yours is that he loves me as much as I love him, but this girl doesn't. Rominic might have used my love to ruin my family, but he didn't treat me bad. Precious–from my understanding–is not a good person. You might think that since I forgave Nic, you can forgive her, but that's not true. Precious is the kind of woman that would do it again. She would change for the first three to five months, but believe me, Arthur, she will return back to her default setting. She does not deserve you, Arthur. You have wasted four years of your life slaving away for her, it's time you get your life back in track." A pregnant silence fell on us. I let him think while I checked my other phone to read the text Ferris sent me.