“I do think that you are a decent human being,” I said, in a desperate attempt to smooth out the situation. “But you have to look at it from my perspective too. Mrs. Brian told me that no matter who you were screwing around with, your wife always came back in the end. Like there was some sort of a repeating pattern, and she said you two were meant to be and any girl who thought you would put her before your wife was deluded!”
“So you would rather listen to a crazy old bitch than trust me or hear me out?” He was clutching the hem of his shirt tightly; it made me afraid. His temper was clearly rising.
“It’s not like that. I am sorry about what your mother has been putting you through,” I said genuinely.
“So you believe me, then?” He met my eyes in surprise.
“Of course!” I said at once. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He shrugged. “You didn’t believe me when I said there was nothing between Gina and I, so why would you believe this?”
“Because I know you better than to think you would make up some story about your mother trying to kill herself just to get in my pants.”
“That’s reassuring,” he said sarcastically. “You can get back to work.”
“But–”
“Go!” he shouted, pointing at the door.
With that, I was dismissed as he jumped back into handling whatever paperwork was in front of him. I walked back to my desk feeling confused with a million questions in my mind. So where did we stand? He had ended it with his wife for me, despite it risking his relationship with his mother. But he hadn’t mentioned anything about our contract or where we stood in regards to that…
I wanted to ask him, but he seemed to be in a foul mood and I didn’t want to upset him even further. Nervous about my mother’s hospital bills, I decided I would wait a couple of days and then bring up the issue with him. I just hoped that I hadn’t caused problems between Zayden and his mother. What if she got so upset that she tried to kill herself again? The thought of that sent a shudder down my spine. I would never be able to forgive myself for causing that. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for him to have ended things with his wife. Since I couldn’t get myself to go back in there and tell him that, I wrote him an email.
Zayden,
I don’t know where we stand in terms of our contract right now, and I don’t need to know for now. I did, however, want to apologize for not giving you a chance to explain it about your mom before. It must be hard for you to deal with this situation. The last thing I would want in the world is to cause your mother to be upset and do something that hurts you, just because I couldn’t handle the fact that you were married. Please don’t rush to end things with your wife – I believe that you are not sexually involved with her because I trust you – but perhaps you should take more time to sort things out with your mom before ending it so suddenly. I promise I won’t let it affect our contract, regardless of what happens to it.
Aria
P.S. I really do think you are a decent person, a little more controlling than you need to be, but better than most men I know.
I waited until it was time for me to leave before hitting Send so that I wouldn’t have to watch him read it.
---
The Friday after Zayden ended it with his wife, I was hanging out with Nick and Stacey in our living room, when I got a phone call from my mom.
“Hi Mom,” I answered, surprised. “Isn’t it a little late for you to be calling? You are always in bed by 10. Is everything okay?”
Mom giggled nervously, suggesting that she must be a little tipsy. “Everything is okay, dear. Or I think so. I don’t know. The last two months, my hospital bills had been paid by this day but it hasn’t gone through yet this time, and I wanted to check to see if everything is okay on your end.”
Shit. I felt my face grow hot with frustration. The month was not over yet, technically. But perhaps this meant – it could mean – had Zayden decided our contract was over after all and he wouldn’t be making any more payments?
“Mom, I have to tell you something,” I said, resigned. “Please listen very carefully and don’t get upset with me.”
“Why would I get upset with you?” she asked sounding surprised that I would even suggest such a thing. “You have been wonderful, Aria, helping me with my hospital bills like this! I only hope I get the opportunity to do something great for you in return someday.”
“You have, Mom, you did that little thing where you, you know, raised me?” I tried to sound cheerful but my insides were at war. How was I going to explain it to her? The contract was not exactly something she would approve of; it would sound, no matter how I put it, like I was selling myself. She would not be able to handle that. I had to come up with a better story. “Listen, Mom,” I started again. “I may have lied to you a little bit, but it was so you didn’t feel uncomfortable about those payments. My loan never exactly got through.”
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until she spoke, “What do you mean your loan never got through? You have been making payments! I have the receipt!”
“That wasn’t me,” I said sulkily, as Stacey threw me a pillow for comfort.
“What? I don’t understand. Of course it was you!”
“It wasn’t. I mean it was. It’s complicated. My loan got denied so my – uh – boyfriend, who has a lot of money, offered to lend me the money, which I am to pay him back after finding a job.”
“Boyfriend?” She sounded shocked. “You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend, Aria! Since when do we hide things from each other? It’s not, oh God, it’s not that awful boy who broke your heart last year, is it?”