Kathie nodded. “I understand you, Babes.”
“I am sorry you are in the midst of all of these. I wish there was something I could do to make everything better.”
“I will be fine. I just need to get over tonight.”
“I feel so sad!” Kathie mumbled.
“For me?” Vicky gestured to herself. “Oh please, don’t.”
“My life has been nothing but a very sad experience. I am sure this is just one of those. I will be very fine. I just have to stay healthy and sane for my daughter. She is all I have and she is the only reason I have got to keep pushing.”
“You are not scared that Oscar might be back, wanting her to take on his duties as her father.”
“He knows the risk involved so he wouldn’t even dare.”
“Can I say something?” Kathie whispered.
“Whenever you chip in like that, I know you want to attack me but it is fine. You can go on?”
“You still like Oscar!”
“No, I don’t.” She answered immediately, staring intently at her personal assistant who was also her very close friend.
“You do.”
“So what now? You know more than my feelings?”
“Of course not. But there is just something that is always evident when you like someone deeply”
“Don’t be mistaken, Kathie. People are used to misreading and easily judging my countenance.”
Kathie reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Sometimes I wish I had this superpower.”
Vicky frowned at her, “What for?”
“To put things in place. You are one of the sweetest souls I have had the privilege of knowing and I wish things were even more perfect for you. You deserve an amazing man in your life. Someone who would treat you just like the Queen you are.”
“Thank you for the kind words but I am fine. I’ve got Sophie so I am good.”
“Stop using Sophie as an excuse to live a good life or should I say, a fulfilled life.”
“Your baby girl is going to be just fine. Definitely!! It is cool as her mother to always want to protect her, do everything for her, put her first, and ensure that she lacks nothing.”
“But you should know that she would eventually have a life of her own. If she doesn’t go to a boarding school, she would definitely go to college or vacations. For some reason, she would have to be away, and it would just be you that is left.”
“The point is, you can be a good mother and at the same time, be good to yourself. Have fun, take risks, party, find a partner, and all.”
“You know I care about you and want you to be really happy.”
Victoria nodded.
“Thank you for your kind words.”
“Anything for you. Do you feel better?”
She nodded.
Kathie shook her head, not satisfied with her answer.
“You still look really down. Or do you want us to hit the club?” Kathie asked hopefully, looking at Vicky intently.
“You are just joking, aren’t you?”
“I am being serious. I’m sure you need something to take your mind off everything that has happened tonight.”
“Besides, when was the last time you visited the club? Now is the best time, trust me?”
“I am not in the mood, Kathie.”
“I look really terrible. I don’t think I have anything slu ttery to wear and the hic keys on my neck.” She sighed. “Sweats are not my favorite but no doubt I have to wear them for the next couple of days.”
“I’m not in the mood to go anywhere. Why the club when I can just sit at home and have drinks and get myself drunk?”
“But I am not even in the mood to get drunk. I just want to cry myself to bed.”
Kathie nodded slowly. “If you are this hurt then there has to be a reason.”
“A reason for what?”
“It is fine to say that you want nothing to do with Oscar. It is okay to convince yourself that you are making the best decision. but is that really it?”
“Don’t you think you must be hurting even more because you feel some sort of pain or your mind is telling you that something is not right?”
“Okay, let me be direct. You want a second chance with Oscar?”
“Don’t even go there.”
“I know it is a sensitive topic for you but I am going to talk about it.”
“If you truly don’t want anyone anymore, you would be so happy to let them go.”
“But if you have let them go and you still feel miserable or some sort of guilt about it then something is definitely not. adding up. You need to question yourself if you have made the right decision at all.”
“I know Oscar has hurt you so much but what difference does it make now that you have made it known to him about not wanting anything to do with him?”
“I will be fine. I am this way because the incident is still fresh in my mind. I just need some time and I will be over it. 1 promise.”
“And before you accuse me of being brutal, I just want you to understand that I am done following my mind. Trust me, I have thought about it deeply and this is the best decision for me.”
“I am still not convinced but I respect your opinion. I just want you to know that forgiveness is better than forever regret. If there are any means by which you can be happy, why not explore it? I wish you were not this stubborn. I just want you to be happy.”
“I am happy. I don’t know why you do not believe me. I just need to cry myself to sleep and take a very long nap to be myself again. I am really chilled.”
“If you say so!” Kathie gave her hand a light squeeze.
“Have you had anything to eat? I can warm up something for you real quick!”
“I am not hungry.”
“You want me to prepare a bath for you?”
“In as much as I really appreciate you being here, I just want to be alone.”
“It is fine, I understand. I will leave now. I just needed to know if you are fine. That is why I came over.”
“Hug me, please.” She let go of Vicky’s hand and pulled her into a hug.
“It is going to be alright. You need not guilt trip yourself about anything. You will be fine and you are going to smile again.”
Victoria nodded against her shoulder.
“Have some quality rest and do not forget to reach out to me if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Kissing Vicky on the cheek, Kathie pulled away from the hug after which she took her leave.
Once Kathie was gone, Vee pushed herself up from the couch. She did a thorough check around the house to ensure that all doors and windows were locked and secured as she had no mind for any more surprises.
Once done, she made her way over to her bedroom, undressed, then went to the bathroom for a cold shower, trying to hard to scrub his scent off her.
Vicky spent a while in the bathroom after which she dried her body, put on a third night dress that night then crawled into bed.
Covering her body with the duvet, She cried and cried until there were no tears left.
After ending the call with his best friend, Oscar spent the next hour going through his mail on the laptop. He needed a way to distract himself from his thoughts and sadness and work was the only thing that came to his mind.
He spent the next one hour filling his eyes and brain with work content, catching up with emails as well as responding to them, and taking sips of his strong alcoholic drink while working.
Oscar was distracted when a thought crossed his mind. He picked up his phone on the desk in front of him, went to his contact, and scrolled through his list until he found the name he was looking for. He dialed the number and brought the phone to his ear when it started ringing.
He anticipated for the person on the other end to pick up the call but he got no response.
He sighed, tossing his phone aside.
Oscar went back to work, trying to round up since he was feeling tired already.
He was almost shutting down his laptop when his phone buzzed beside him. He smiled, reaching for his device. He swiped the answer button, then answered the call.
“Why the hell are you calling me?”
“That is not a good way to talk to a friend.”
“Who is your friend? Because I am sure it is not me.”
“Why are you denying me?”
“What do you want? I am in the middle of work. I had to come somewhere quiet, that is why I did not answer when you called earlier. It is noisy everywhere here.”
“Yeah, I called to check up on you, and thank you for calling me back.”
“Are you checking up on me?” Her voice came out unbelievably.
“Are you okay, Oscar?”
He chuckled. “I know I am not a good person but that doesn’t mean I am a terrible person.”
“Then what is it? Because I am sure you need my help again.”
“Just so you know, I’m not going to help you if it is something silly.”
“You really think low of me, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “I am just talking based on experience.”
“Anyway, you are wrong. I just called to say Goodbye.”
“Goodbye for what? You are about to commit suicide?”
“That would actually be a really good option right now but I have to be alive because I have things to do.”
“Then where the hell are you going to?”
“Back to America.”
“Why? That wasn’t the plan. You said you were not going to go anywhere until you got married to the manager. Besides you are the new shareholder. I overheard you all are going to hold a board meeting sometime next week. And you definitely have to be there. What is going on?”
Oscar sighed, running his hand over his face with his free hand.
“When will you be done with work?”
“My shift ends in thirty minutes.”
“You doing anything after work?”
“Today is Saturday so I have till 1 pm before I start my Saturday job.”
“Cosh, do you work every single hour of the day?”
”
“Yes, because not everyone was born with a silver spoon like you and yeah, I’ve got a family to care for.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude. If you want you can come over to my suite after work just for us to see briefly.”
“I will come right after work. Text me your address and don’t you dare think of doing any rubbish. I’ve got a knife and pepper spray in my bag.”
Connor couldn’t help with the laughter that escaped his lips. “I think I know better than to try anything silly with you.” “Better! I’ll be with you shortly. And please put some clothes on. I will never be attracted to you.” She said after which she ended the call, not waiting for any reply from Oscar.
With a smile plastered against his lips, Oscar shook his head in disbelief, putting his phone back on the desk.
He did a few things on his laptop before shutting down. He rose to his feet, picked up his laptop, and kept it in the bag, ready for tomorrow’s travel.
Oscar was almost crawling into bed when his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and sighed the moment he came face. to face with the caller ID. He watched the phone ring for three seconds after which he answered and brought the phone to his ear.
“Oscar, Mom called me and she said a lot of things that mostly confused me. Can you please shed more light because I think I am going crazy here?”
“What is it, Fedora?”
“Okay, where do I start?” She said and Oscar could picture her walking up and down which was exactly what she was doing.
“She freaked out about you wanting to divorce Ingrid which I think is a good thing because she is bitchy anyways but what’s with you coming back on Sunday? We discussed and I thought we agreed that you were not going to show your face until you settled with her. What the fuck is going on?”
“Calm down. Dora, my head hurts already.”
“What’s going on, Oscar? I asked you if you wanted me to come over to talk to Vicky on your behalf but you refused me. Now, I don’t know what to think anymore.”
