The Secret Admirer

Chapter 4: Finding Out

IN one month, Ron and I will be celebrating our five year anniversary. Alex and I have been talking and she honestly thinks that he will finally be proposing marriage to me. I have been feeling restless since I feel that our relationship has been stagnant for the past years. Since we started sleeping together, nothing much has changed.

I have met his parents, but not that often. We don’t have dinners with them the same way that we have with my parents. Sometimes, he even sleeps at our house and we invite him to vacation with my family. Whenever he has vacation with his family, I was never invited. He always goes with them but he leaves me behind. When I ask him if my parents don’t like me, he just says that his parents just don’t feel comfortable having a vacation with a stranger joining them. It would almost always trigger an argument since I can’t believe they still treat me like a stranger even if their son and I have been together for five years. Ron usually diffuses the situation by saying that I don’t have to worry about it since I am in a relationship with him anyway, and not with his parents.

People would have expected that by now we would have been at least engaged or even living together, but Ron and I have not even talked about this. I didn’t want to be the one to bring it up since I didn’t want him to think that I am getting too desperate or anything. I’m not saying that I am ready to get married, but I want to have at least some sort of assurance that he’s committed to me.

Our s*x life is still active as ever, which kind of assures me that Ron is not sleeping with anyone else. We have s*x at least once a week, and when we do, it’s always a marathon of multiple rounds. What’s baffling is that we still have to rent a hotel room just rather than him taking me to his place. I’ve been to his house twice in the past 5 years, and I’ve never slept there.

Although I’ve been feeling uneasy, Ron always assures me that he loves me very much, and he’s still always jealous of men trying to make a move on me. I don’t really notice any other men since I am so in love with Ron.

I’ve gotten used to the fact that Ron is a very good looking man and women tend to flock him or get drawn to him. What I don’t like is when he seemingly encourages them. There were times when I’ve caught him flirting with other girls, and when I call him out on it, he insists that he’s just being friendly, although I swear I saw him exchanging phone numbers. I try not to act like a jealous girlfriend. Sometimes though, I can’t help it.

There are even rumors I’ve been hearing about the office that Ron hooked up with one of the doctors in one of our hospital clients. I didn’t want to confront Ron on it because first, I don’t have the details and wouldn’t really know what to ask him; and second, I trust him more than those rumor-mongers in the office.

There was an incident that triggered the suspicious bone in my body. Being a pharmaceutical sales supervisor, I am in charge of making sure that the hospitals covered by the reps under me are getting the attention and support that they need, so I do random checks and visit different hospitals. I just had a meeting with one of the medical directors of one of these hospitals when I saw a familiar doctor that Ron and I used to visit. She’s one of the younger doctors in the hospital. She’s good-looking as well, and Ron made sure to always keep in touch with her until we were able to close the sale.

Vanessa: “Dr. Reyes, good morning.”

Dr. Reyes: “Uhm, hi. Have we met before?”

Vanessa: “Yes, we have. I'm Vanessa Abella. I used to make sales calls on you with Ron Meneses.”

Dr. Reyes: “Oh, that’s right, you were his assigned partner. I was just asking Ron about you when we were having dinner last night. I asked him about that pretty sales rep that he used to make sales calls with.”

Vanessa: “You had dinner with him last night? He didn’t mention that.”

Dr. Reyes: “Yeah, we have dinner whenever I’m free. A doctor’s busy schedule is pretty hard on a relationship. But we try to find time for each other as often as possible.”

Vanessa: “Relationship? What do you mean? Are Ron and you in a relationship?”

Dr. Reyes: “Yeah, hasn’t he told you? He’s been asking me out for the longest time. I finally said yes. We’re celebrating our 5th month in two weeks.”

I didn’t know how to react. I was shocked and wasn’t even thinking straight anymore.

Vanessa: “Uhm, doctor, would you mind staying with me? I just need to make a quick phone call.”

I got my phone from my bag and dialed Ron’s number and put it on speaker. We were supposed to meet for dinner later today.

Ron: “Hello baby, how are you this morning?”

Dr. Reyes gasped when she heard Ron calling me baby.

Vanessa: “I’m doing good, baby, I’m just making random checks on some hospitals.”

Ron: “Oh, take care while driving. And don’t forget to have lunch.”

Vanessa: “Guess who I met at the hospital today?”

Ron: “Sorry baby, I’m about to go into a meeting. Can we talk later? We’re still on for dinner, right?”

Vanessa: “I saw Dr. Reyes today. Remember her? That cute young doctor I used to get jealous with because you flirt with her too much.”

Ron didn’t respond right away. He must be thinking of excuses right about now.

Vanessa: “Hello, baby, are you still there?”

Ron: “Yeah, sorry I don’t remember her. Listen, I really have to go baby.”

Vanessa: “Before you go, I just want to ask. Do you have any plans for our fifth year anniversary celebration next month?”

Ron: “Let’s talk about that at dinner later, baby. The person I’m meeting is here. See you later. I love you.”

With that, Ron ended the call. I put the phone back in my bag and looked at Dr. Reyes. I can see her trying to suppress the tears that are about to fall from her eyes. She also looks embarrassed and can’t keep eye contact with me.

Dr. Reyes: “I am so sorry, I didn’t know you were together. I kept asking him if there’s something going on with you and he insisted that you were just friends.”

Vanessa: “It seems like we were both fooled by him. We’ve been together for 5 years. I thought he was going to propose. I guess the reason why he doesn’t want to marry me is because I’m not the only woman in his life. I’m so stupid for not noticing it.”

Dr. Reyes: “Don’t blame yourself. Like you said, we were both victims. I’m really sorry. I should have known he was in another relationship too. When he moved in with me, he didn't even come home every night. I thought he was staying at his parents’ house. Now that I think about it, maybe he has been staying with you.”

Ron and I don't usually spend the night together unless we check in to the hotel. They moved in together? What is going on?

Vanessa: “I’m sorry, you mentioned Ron’s parents’ house. Have you been there? Have you met them?”

Dr. Reyes: “Yes I have. He usually invites me to their family functions. I even went with them on a vacation when they went to Boracay. That’s why I didn’t think that he could have another girlfriend.”

Hearing what Dr. Reyes just said immediately broke my heart. So the reason why he doesn’t bring me to family functions and vacations is because he’s been bringing somebody else. Why did Ron do this to me? I was fighting hard to be strong and not let the tears fall.

Vanessa: “Dr. Reyes, can you do me a favor?”

Dr. Reyes: “What is it?”

Vanessa: “Could you not talk to Ron about this yet? I just need to get to the bottom of this. I need to understand. We’ve been together for so long I can’t fathom why he would hurt me like this.”

Dr. Reyes: “Honestly, I don’t plan on  ever talking to him anymore. I can’t believe I fell for a liar and a cheater like him.”

I felt a tear fall down on my cheek, and I wiped it right away. I looked at Dr. Reyes. I wanted to hug him because she’s also a victim like me, but somehow I can’t get out of my head the fact that she’s the other woman.

Vanessa: “I have to go. I’m sorry about all this.”

Dr. Reyes: “You have nothing to be sorry for. Well, except for being with a douche of a man.”

I nodded as I walked away. I have to come up with a plan. Getting cheated on like Ron did is no joke. II gave 5 years of my life to him. I gave up my virginity to him. I figured I should get more information before I confront Ron tonight. I decided to visit Ron’s mom.

Ron’s mom is a gynecologist. She is a pleasant lady who is always put together with her hair always in a neat bun. It’s a good thing that she didn’t have a lot of patients today so I was able to meet with her right away.

Vanessa: “Hi Dr. Meneses, do you remember me? I’m Vanessa Abella.”

Dr. Meneses: “Yes, of course. You work with Ron. You used to go out with him, right?”

Something got caught in my throat. So his parents also thought that Ron and I are no longer together. I didn’t want her to suspect what I was planning so I had to go with the lie.”

Vanessa: “Uhm, yeah. Listen, I hope you don’t mind me asking. What was your impression of me when you met me?”

Dr. Meneses: “Oh, my husband and I thought that you were very pretty, pleasant and very polite. We were surprised when Ron introduced another girl as his girlfriend.”

Vanessa: “You mean, Dr. Reyes?”

Dr. Meneses: “No, there were at least 2 that she introduced after you before Dr. Reyes. I think her name was Christiana, or Christina? He says they used to work together too, so you might know her.”

Vanessa: “Right, Christina. Yeah, we used to work together.”

Dr. Meneses: “Between you and me, you were the one Ron introduced to us that we liked the most.”

Vanessa: “So you didn’t mind that I wasn’t a doctor?”

Dr. Meneses: “No, of course not. You seemed like a nice kid. That’s all that matters.”

Vanessa: “Thank you, Dr. Meneses.”

Dr. Meneses: “So, what brings you here today, dear?”

I had to lie that I have a gynecological issue that I needed to have checked to make sure I don’t get caught in the lie. I told her that my period is not regular.

He did some examination and had me scheduled for an ultrasound and other laboratory work so she can properly diagnose me. She also gave me a prescription for the discomfort. Before I left, I asked her not to tell Ron that I had a checkup with her and asked the questions. It seems like she didn’t suspect anything. I thanked her profusely and said goodbye.

After paying the bill, I decided to call it a day and go home. I called the office to let them know that I had an errand to run and will not be back anymore. As I was driving home, a lot of thoughts were running through my head. I wonder how I could have been so blind. Looking back, there were already red flags in our relationship that I’ve noticed as early as our first year together. Did I ignore them or was I so blinded by my love for Ron that I didn’t take them seriously?

I wonder how many times Ron has cheated on me. How many women has he been with when we were together? He’s never worn a condom whenever we f*ck. I suddenly got scared that I could have gotten sick with whatever he or his other s****l partners. Sleeping with someone is tantamount to sleeping with the ones they’ve slept with.

When I got home, I thought of what I can do to get back at Ron. I’m definitely going to end it with him, but I can’t just let him get away with what he’s done. I owe it to womankind to teach someone like him a lesson.