CHAPTER FOUR: I'M SORRY

I'M SORRY

She stood gobsmacked staring at his pleading eyes, she thought he was joking or maybe it was one of his usual pranks but the expression on his face says otherwise. She was hoping he would tell her that the revelation he just made was another joke but the only words that kept coming out from his mouth were 'I'm sorry'.

It felt like her tongue had been tied, she wanted to say something but she couldn't. She only stood and stared at him dumbfounded.

"You're joking right?" She asked almost in an inaudible tone when she finally found her voice that seemed lost.

"I know it sounds like a joke, but believe me it's not. I'm sorry, I didn't intend to keep it away from you for that long" he replied calmly, staring at her tranquil but raging eyes.

She stepped a bit away from him and shut her eyes not before heaving a deep sigh.

"You mean two years of my life, I have been loving a pretender, a liar and a betrayer?" She half yelled as a tear rolled down her cheeks, her voice almost deafening.

"I have been faithful to you starting from the day I accepted to be yours, I told you everything about me, my past relationship, every single detail including my secret, but you, you kept that big secret away from me." She screeched as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Sophia, I was scared of losing you, I really wanted to tell you but I don't know how to break it to you." He replied, his voice quieten as his eyes were staring deep into hers.

"You're scared of losing me. That is why you kept a very big secret away from me?. How does that sound in your own ear?." She snorted, shaking her head, the scenario playing before her still like a dream that she needed to be woken up from.

"Maybe you don't know, but you need to know today and right now that that position you're trying to fix me in is my biggest fear in life, I never wished to be in that position. And now that I know what is the guarantee that you're still not going to lose me?." She yelled with her crack voice before shaking her head in disappointment.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she wouldn't give him that chance until she's done spitting out everything in her mind.

"Two years of my life I dedicated it to you believing you're different from other assholes that I have dated. We hung out together, did a lot of unforgettable things and shared many memorable moments together. And after saying yes to your 'will you marry me', the only news you could break to me now is that you're Father, a fucking father of two grown up kids Andrew." She hollered and held her head that felt like it was banging with her two hands, she couldn't help it anymore,she busted out crying.

He knew the outcome won't be easy, he also knew and wasn't expecting a positive reaction but standing there and witnessing her cry really broke him. Being the reason why she was shattered and felt betrayed made him regret his action, but he has his reason, maybe it was for the best.

He moved closer to her and tried to hold her but she jerked his hand off.

"Andrew, don't move close to me, don't even dare try touching me. How could you? I trusted you more than what you did to me. Okay, let me ask you a questions" She said with a pause, her voice a bit calm as she wiped her tears with the back of her hands.

"Your house where I do visit you, isn't that where your kids live?" She questioned, her swollen face and raging eyes staring into his, waiting patiently for an answer.

"No, they don't live there. That's one of my other houses, Sophia, believe me I'm sorry, I swear......"

"The more you say sorry the more you infuriate me and the more I hate you. You never mentioned to me that you're once married or you lost your wife, this simply means you never loved me as you've claimed" she barked, cutting him off from his explanation.

"I love you so.."

"Shut up Andrew, just shut the hell up.That isn't love but deceit, you don't do things that you know will hurt people you claimed to love. No matter how good your excuses and explanations might seem to you, they are lame and taradiddle to me. I'd have reconsidered and changed my mind because of how much I love you if only you had been as truthful as I am and told me this earlier. You know what?, she sniffed, dropping her hands to her waist.

"Just leave my house. I might do something stupid that we'll both regret later if I continue seeing your face, just leave my house." She added pushing him towards the exit door of her house.

"Babe please just listen to me.."

"I don't want to listen to any of your lies again and I don't want to set my eyes on you, this liar and betrayer again." She shouted as she successfully pushed him out of her house and locked the door. She fell back to the ground and started her cry afresh.

After settling down in his car, he leaned back on the car seat as he was lost in thought. He once had a perfect home, his wife and children are his first priority. Apart from his wife, he never thought he'd find another woman attractive or be ready to love another woman the way he loved her, but death came early searching for her and eventually it took her. He never imagined himself getting married again nor falling in love, but everything changed the day he set his eyes on Sophia.

"I know I wronged her but I'll do anything not to lose her" He said more like an assurance before igniting the engine of his car, with the last glance at Sophia house he drove out.

*****

Sophia didn't bother to stand up and check who was knocking at the door before shouting with her weak Voice.

"Just go away, I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to see your face again, never" She yelled from where she had laid sniffing.

"Sophia please come and open this door, it's me, Florence '' The person at the door replied with tension in her Voice. Sophia managed to stand up when she heard her best friend was the one at the door. She came at the right time, she's losing her mind and really needs someone's shoulder to bury her head and cry her eyes out to her satisfaction, she thought.

She fell back to the floor immediately she opened the door for her best friend and paved the way for her to enter. Florence, who was lost and scared, threw her bag to one side and bent down to engulf Sophia in a tight and comforting hug.

"Sophia, what happened?Why are you crying?" She asked in a worried tone, her hand moving up and down Sophia's back. She was trying to figure out what could be wrong to have warranted her best friend crying that hard.

The only time she was sure had witnessed her cry was when she lost her father. She was with her that day when she received a call from an unknown number with the news that her father was involved in an accident and when they got to the hospital where he was taken to, he had given up the ghost.

Sophia fell sick due to severe crying and the bitter truth that she's never going to see her father, who was her everything again.

Her mother died when she was still a baby and her father has taken up the responsibility of raising her alone without getting married to another woman. Which made the bond between the father and daughter unbreakable.

"Sophia please stop crying and talk to me, you know the effect it will have on you later, for the sake of your health, please stop crying" Florence begged, helped her up and walked her to the living room.

"Andrew, h...., he's a.." She stuttered amidst her cry which left Florence in more confusion. She knew Andrew to be calm and how much she loves Sophia, but Sophia mentioning his name made her want to ask thousands of questions, which only broken Sophia could answer.

"Andrew lied to me, he betrayed my trust, he took me for a fool and betrayed my trust. He's a father, a father of two grown up kids, Florence, he never said anything about it. He never told me he was married or separated from his wife. You know how much I hate to be a stepmom, I detest it with all passion, but just look at how things turn out. The man I love wholeheartedly and willing to spend the rest of my life with is a father" She never ceased crying as she explained.

Florence was shocked to the extent her mouth was left agape, she blinked her eyes in disbelief as she continued patting Sophia's back whose head was now buried on her chest. She knew how Sophia has always hated to be a stepmother, but who knows, this could be the work of fate.