Old Wounds
1555 Words
Instead of responding to her condescendingly smug 'hello,' I found myself gritting my teeth so hard and trying to maintain some semblance of self-control not to jump the woman who my husband cheated on me with and go all cave woman on her.
I thought after all these years I'd moved on, but staring at her, all the pain I'd buried so far down came flooding back.
I found myself wondering if she and my ex-husband were still a thing, and as quickly as I realised what I was doing, I shut down that thought immediately.
No, I couldn't let her get to me; I couldn't let her think she'd won. She could have Ryan for all I care; I didn't care then; why should I care now?
“Hello Kathryn,” I said, my tone dripping with malice. I couldn't be bothered to mask the fact that I despised her with every fibre of my being; she didn't deserve my civility, and as though Farid could sense the tension crackling in the air, he fidgeted on his seat, looking between us.
“I almost didn't recognise you, you know,” she smirked, taking a step closer to our table. “You sure have let yourself go,” she said mockingly, and my fingers tightened around the fork in my right palm. It took everything in me not to stab her in the f*****g eye and stamp my four-inch heel through her skull and watch her bleed to death.
Oh, what I'd give for that to happen, but alas, I couldn't, at least not yet. She shakes her head in pity, turning away to drag a chair from a random table towards our table.
“Can I join?” Without giving me a chance to refute, she plopped down on the chair, a smug smile on her face.
“And who is this?” she asks, turning her gaze to Farid, who was watching our exchange with an unreadable gaze, and when I didn't respond to her question, she laughed, flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically.
“A new fling you used to replace your husband?” she asks again, her smile even wider than before. "Oops, my bad, ex-husband.” She added, and I felt anger surge through me so violently I began to see red.
She leaned closer, meeting me dead in the eye. “Between you and me, no one could ever come close to how good Ryan could make you feel,” she winked, straightening up, and I felt my left eye begin to twitch.
"Well, either way, I don't care; I mean, you deserve it after everything my boo boo bear put you through,” she sighs in fake sympathy.
“Why are you here?” I asked instead, ignoring her comment, and she gasped, her nose scrunching up into a frown, faking hurt at my words.
“I saw you after five years, Julia; is it a crime to say hello to an old friend after so long?” She had tears in her eyes as soon as she was done spewing s**t. If I didn't know any better, I'd actually feel pity for the conniving w***e.
“Are you sick in the head?” I seethed in a deadly calm tone.
“How dare you?” I leaned over the table closer to her. I saw her eyes flicker down to the fork I was gripping tightly around my fingers and felt satisfaction when they widened with fear. But as soon as it came, it died as her eyes met mine, that smug smile still painted across her damn face.
“You don't scare me, Julia,” she taunted, but before she could so much as blink, I stabbed the fork into the table, slightly missing her hand, and she gasped, jumping back in fear and cradling her hand to her chest, her eyes wide.
“Say my name one more f*****g time, and I'll carve out your f*****g tongue and feed it to you,” I seethed, watching her squirm uncomfortably in her seat.
“Now let me make this f*****g clear to you: I don't care what happened in the past; you're nothing.”
“I don't know what exactly is feeding your delusion just because you slept with a wealthy man; we're suddenly on the same level.”
“You are and always will be a lowlife w***e, a dirty slut ans a disgusting lowlife little b***h” I enunciated every word, staring her dead in the eye.
“Get lost before I change my mind and give you a souvenir to remember me by,” her eyes widened at my obvious threat, and she scrambled out of her seat like a scared little kitten, turning to leave when I stopped her.
“One more thing, Kathryn.” Rising to my feet, I picked up my half-filled wine glass and emptied it all over her white dress.
She gasps, staggering back, as she stares wide-eyed at the growing red stain on the bodice of her once pristine white dress.
“Now, off you go,” I dismissed her, a smirk on my lips as she grabbed her purse and stomped away like a petulant child.
The moment she was gone, I lowered myself back down to my seat, shutting my eyes tightly, and inhaled a shaky breath to curb the onslaught of memories that filled me with so much pain. I fought the urge to bend over and scream out my lungs.
When I finally came to, I opened my eyes slowly to see Farid watching me with gentle eyes. I quickly looked away, refilling my wine glass and downing the content in one go, uncaring if it was inappropriate for a business meeting.
“Seems my dirty laundry is now out in the open,” I chuckled dryly, picking up the wine bottle again and pouring more wine into my glass.
"That?” He chuckled, picking up his glass and swirling its contents.
“That was hardly dirty laundry,” he murmured, meeting my gaze.
It was silent for a moment as I pondered deeply on what just happened. I hadn't heard about or seen Kathryn in the last five years, so why now?.
“You handled that well,” he said, smiling softly, and I chuckled, shaking my head.
“Trust me, not as well as I'd have loved,” I sighed, my face scrunching up into a frown when I thought about how I could have punched her maybe once or twice for good measure. Gosh, even my thoughts have started to become unhinged.
“You're too hard on yourself, Habibti,” he says, shaking his head, and I sighed, reaching for my purse.
“If you'll excuse Farid, I have to use the restroom,” I said, rising to my feet.
“Of course,” he nodded, and I turned, walking in the direction I thought the restrooms would be.
When I found the restroom door, I slipped in, walking towards the sink. I splashed some water on my face, grabbing some paper towels. I cleaned up the water before reapplying my lipstick.
I stared at my face in the mirror with a frown. Maybe I was letting Kathryn get to me a little too much. I've moved on from what happened five years ago, but why does the thought of them together cause my heart to ache?
I sighed, turning away from my reflection and exiting the restroom. I had a contract to be signed. When I approached our table, it was cleared while Farid stood waiting.
“Oh good, you're here,” he smiled, and I arced a brow.
“I figured we could pick this up some other time; besides, it's getting late,” he explained, but somehow I knew that wasn't the only reason. Clearly Kathryn had ruined the night, and no matter how much I pretended everything was okay, it wasn't.
I nodded, and he smiled, leading towards the exit. We both walked into the empty elevator, and he punched the first floor on the control panel.
“Can I have the documents? I will look them over and have them signed and a copy sent back to you,” he murmured, turning to me with a warm smile.
“Of course!” I said quickly, reaching into my handbag and pulling out the documents before handing them to him.
“It's too bad that woman interrupted us when she did; I didn't get to hear your response to my proposal,” he fully turned to face, tilting his head to the side as he watched me.
I blanked for a moment, looking up into his dark eyes.
“Farid,” I sighed.
“You know I can't,” he stepped closer, so close I could feel the heat of his body and the scent of his perfume teasing my senses. Was I tipsy, or did Farid look so good?
“I know, but that doesn't make me want you any less,” he murmured, his gaze flickering down to my lips.
He leaned down slowly, his fingers slightly grazing my jawline as he tilted my head up to meet his. I felt his lips on mine the next second, and I let him.
***
- Writer
