Married

Chapter Forty-One

She threw the last dress into her suitcase zipping it up with a sigh. She had stayed at Gladys house for five days. Truthfully she had hoped to leave for the united states right after the funeral yet the day she came to the house, she was engulfed with the warmth of memories which she was finding difficult to leave behind. Finally, she mustered the strength to pack her things and return to her son and husband. She picked up her luggage and with a final glance, she walked out of the room into the living room. She reached out for her phone and checked to see whether there were messages from her husband but she was rather met with messages from her assistant. Making sure she had not left anything, she scanned the room with her eyes before proceeding to exit the house. When she stepped out of the house, she made a decision to leave this phase of her life behind. For the past couple of days she had dealt with the grief and at a point, she nearly allowed depression to creep in. A day before, she had ordered pizza, being the only time she felt hungry. When it was delivered, she remembered the first day her friend tried it and the happiness on her face when she did. That memory alone caused her to throw the whole box of the pizza away. She later snuggled in her bed and cried herself to sleep. She had lost a couple of pounds and it's quite implausible that the dress that once held her body like a second skin was now slightly hanging on her.

"Hola que tan lejos estas?( Hello please how far are you?)" She asked the uber driver she has requested.

"Lo siento señora, podría retrasar un poquito. Tengo un pequeño problema con mi coche.(sorry ma'am, I might delay a tinny bit. Got a little problem with my car)"

"No hay problema( no problem)" She said and ended the call. She was a little distracted that she didn't realise a car has parked right in front of her. The driver of the car honked, taking her out of her daze. Her attention was brought to the car, nevertheless, it took a few seconds to recognize whose it was.

"Julio!" She muttered.

"Liana! What a surprise" He exclaimed with a rich Spanish accent and had a smile on his face as he approached her.

"Wow, it has been ages, Julio." He opened his arms to hug her, but she moved out of the way, a rather stern look appearing on her face. What Gladys told her about Julio was playing in her head which was clouding her judgement.

"He is a liar!" She recalled Gladys saying amidst tears.

"Calm down and tell me what the problem is. Who is a liar?" It was three months ago after she came home late from work. She had hoped to get a good shower and a nice sleep so the ringtone of her phone, destroyed her hopes.

"Who else? Julio! He is still with her. He has not divorced his wife." She snuffled back the tears, making loud noises over the phone.

"Wait what?" You mean Julio, your boyfriend of two years is still with his wife?"

"Not only that. When I confronted him, he told me that they are trying to fix things because of their daughter. I can't believe he has been lying to me for two years!"

"Unbelievable I was so sure that man loves you. So what are you going to do now?"

"What else? I don't want that cheating liar near me!"

"Listen babes, relax and don't do anything stupid. I have to check up on Junior but I will call you first thing in the morning and remember, that man doesn't deserve your tears."

She was able to calm her down that day and the rest of the days that followed.

"What are you doing here?!" She bluntly asked.

"Ermm I'm here to see Gladys. Is she home?" His voice had become lower, sensing the change of attitude in Liana.

"She is not home. What do you want from her? Isn't it enough that you have hurt her by lying to her?"

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You know I am talking about you lying about divorcing your wife." She spoke with her eyes narrowed at him. You could see the fury in them. If looks could kill then he would have probably died instantly.

"Oh that? she didn't tell you we resolved that?"

"She didn't and even if you resolved it, it doesn't take away the fact that you made her cry."

"I get your point, Lia, my hands were tied and didn't know what to do then. My daughter was diagnosed with cancer and for me to be able to be near her, I had to bear with her mother and pretend that everything was fine. It was her wish and I couldn't turn her down".

"Umm, sorry to hear that. I hope she is fine now?"

"Yeah she is. She has been declared cancer-free about six months ago.  Where is Gladys? I need to talk to her. I have been on a trip to London since last month. We don't get enough time to talk and I wanted her to be the first person I see when I got here." His eyes lit at the mention of her name.

"Hmmm, she is not here." She muttered underneath her breath, turning her head away so he wouldn't see her unshed tears."

"Has she travelled? She didn't tell me she will be travelling when we spoke a few days ago." He asked, puzzled.

"When did you guys speak?"

" About a  week ago and she didn't tell me she will be going somewhere or you will be coming for a visit. What I remember her telling me is that she has a surprise for me and she can't wait for me to get back."

Liana couldn't hold the tears in anymore. She didn't even try to hide them as she sobbed  like a hopeless child before Julio. Her behaviour confused him and even in a hundred years, nothing would have prepared him for what he was about to hear.

"What is it? Are you okay?"

"No I am not okay. Gladys is gone. She has left me." She sobbed. What she said had not registered to Julio yet. It only made him more confused. He  held her in his arms, allowing her tears to fall on his shoulders.

"Gone? gone where?"

"S-ss-she is dead!"