Dropping The Crown

Chapter 5: Not Alone

Adani's POV

I occupied the guest bedroom for several days, keeping a distance between Wayan and I.

He didn't seem to care. He didn't miss me in the bed laying next to him, nor did he asked me to prepare his breakfast or dinner. Quite frankly, he appeared to be please I wasn't in his presence.

Nevertheless, I was sedulous at the computer one morning, searching job vacancies, filling applications and attaching my resumes where necessary.

As I closed my laptop, the front door bell rung. Sighing, I got up from the chair I was sitting in and went to the door.

"Good morning, Adani."

"Good morning, Mrs. Hernandez. How are you doing?"

"Just excellent. I was up very early this morning and decided to bake some goodies. Frank do love my baking and I haven't done so in a while. There were extra cookies and muffins and a fruit cake so I thought you'd like some. Here."

She handed me the basket.

"Thank you so much," I responded as the freshly baked goodies greeted my nose. Tears of happiness filled my eyes as a memory flashed.

My mother used to spoil me rotten with her baking when I was a child. She taught me how to make chocolate chip cookies, cakes and muffins from scratch. Whipping the cheese cakes and applying the toppings were my favorite.

"Are you okay, darling?" Mrs. Hernandez asked.

"Yeah. Yes, I'm great," I answered, nodding my head yes.

"Well I should get going. Frank has a habit of going into the cookie jar when I'm out the house."

"Ah. Tell him I said good morning."

"I will."

I waved her off and went back to the guest bedroom. I sat the basket on the table before going upstairs.

I pushed in the bedroom door. Wayan's fragrance still hung in the air from using it this morning.

Scrolling into the bedroom felt like a strange place. Quite. Empty and foreign yet familiar. A place of hurt, rejection, pain, tears, disrespect and heartbreaks.

I reached the nightstand and our pictures from our engagement were framed and standing. I sat at the edge of the bed, contemplating my life and everything about it.

I looked through my purse, a habit I had when I was feeling lost. There, I found the piece of paper which had Adona's number. A waitress from the restaurant.

I entered the digits into my phone and called.

"Hello."

"Hi, is this Adona?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"Adani. I met you at....."

"Oh my goodness. I'm so happy you called. I remember you perfectly. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Uhh. I was just going through my purse, found your number and decided to give you a call."

"That's the only reason, Adani, I don't mean to pry or anything but are you sure you're okay?"

"I think I need someone to talk to. Someone whom I can relate to and understand me without judgment."

"Well, I do have the day off today, can you get away?"

I looked at the clock. It was 11:00 am. Wayan wouldn't be home until much later in the evening.

"Yeah. I can get away," I answered.