"Fae?" I asked surprised.
"Hi Victoria."
"What are you doing here?" There was a small silence as her expression went from surprised to sympathetic.
"Why don't we talk somewhere else?" she asked.
I didn't know whether that was a good idea but reluctantly, I agreed, getting up to get in my car while she walked to hers.
After following her for a few minutes, we arrived at a coffee shop. I parked behind her and got out, making sure to lock the car behind me.
We walked into the shop in silence, side by side.
"Welcome, what will you ladies like?" a teenage girl asked a little too enthusiastically for this time of the day. We both ordered before walking to a table in the back and sitting across from each other, noticing that there weren't many people there. After a few moments of silence, she spoke.
"What were you doing at Alex's house?" she asked me, clasping her hands around her warm cup of coffee.
"I think the better question is what were you doing there?" I asked her; the venom in my voice surprising even me. She sighed and took a sip of her drink.
"I was just checking on how he was doing."
"This again?" I said as I leaned back, feeling slightly annoyed at her repeated answer.
"I'm sorry if it's not the answer you want to hear, Victoria. But it's the truth whether you want to accept it or not."
"I know the truth Fae," I exaggerated her name, "and that is, there is something going on between you and Alex. I don't know what it is but I know there's something there."
"You're right, there's something there. It's called friendship, have you heard of it?" she answered, taking another sip of her drink, her face showing a little bit of irritation.
"Yeah right," I muttered, taking a sip of my own.
"I don't know why you want to think that something is going on between me and Alex. And I don't know how many times I have to say it, there's really nothing going on. Why won't you believe me?" she pleaded.
"Because I know the truth and you're not telling me it."
"Just because something is going on between you and Mike doesn't mean that there's something going on between him and me." I couldn't help but raise my brow.
"There's nothing going on between Mike and me." She sighed, almost as if she didn't believe me.
"You don't need to lie to me Victoria. Alex already told me about it."
"Oh so he tells you everything now huh? Well did he also tell you that we're getting a divorce?" I spat back angrily. Her eyes suddenly flashed with sympathy again as she nodded her head.
"He did, but that's because he feels that it is the right thing to do. He told me how much happier you were with Mike."
"He must be delusional," I said, shaking my head, "I wasn't happy with Mike. I still love Alex." The last few words came out in such a low whisper that I almost didn't realize that I had said it.
"Are you sure about that?" she asked, her voice in an equal whisper. Instead of answering her though, I continued to drink my coffee, trying to think of how to answer.
"Think about it Victoria, ever since you stopped living together have you thought about him?" she asked.
I had thought about him, too many times to count. He was always on my mind until... Until the day Mike kissed me. Thoughts of him were suddenly overshadowed by his brother. But that didn't mean that I didn't love him anymore.
"I don't see the point of answering that," I said.
She sighed again and got up from her seat. Clearly, my lack of answers had gotten the best of her.
"When you're ready to talk, I'll be there Victoria. Obviously, now is not the time."
She searched through her purse and pulled out her phone before leaving the table and the cafe all together.
~~♡~~♡~~♡~~
I woke up to an empty bed as the sun penetrated through my curtains. Yawning heavily, I slowly got out of my bed and went to take a quick shower before joining my parents for breakfast.
Until a few weeks ago, I couldn't imagine waking up and having breakfast with my parents before going to work; that was something I did before marriage. But now with everything that had happened, I would unfortunately have to get used to it.
"Good morning Victoria," my dad said as I walked in.
"Good morning." I walked to the kettle to make myself a cup of tea and took a seat beside him.
"How're you doing?" he asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder into a quick hug.
"I'm okay I guess," I replied solemnly. His lips turned up in a small smile as he continued to look down at me.
"Listen Victoria, I don't know why all of this has happened. And especially to you. But I do know that you'll find a way out of it."
His words summoned tears to my eyes as my situation came back to me. Of all the people this could have happened to, why did it have to be me? I thought to myself. Tears fell onto my face, causing me to lose my appetite. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. Shortly after, my mom joined us.
When I had finished forcing myself to eat a little, and it was time to leave, I left for work. It felt like it had been forever since I stepped foot into the clinic. With all of what was going on, it had been hard to think of anything else.
As I turned into the parking lot, I did my best to put on a bright face despite the storm of confusion brewing inside. I hoped that I would be able to forget about everything─even if it was just for a little while.
"Morning," Ashley and Mary said at the same time.
I felt a small smile on my face as I replied, making my way into my office.
I could do this.
~~♡~~♡~~♡~~
After checking on my last patient for the day, I walked into my office, dreading returning home where my mind would continue to buzz with questions. All day, no matter how hard I had tried, I couldn't stop thinking. Fae's words came to me as I put on my jacket.
"Think about it Victoria, ever since you stopped living together have you thought about him?"
At the time she had asked, I didn't know how to reply but now I knew the answer clearly. And that was no. All day, I didn't think about Alex nearly as much as I did Mike.
I was so busy dreading the fact that I was going home with this new realisation that I didn't notice someone walk into my office until she spoke.
"Victoria are you alright?" Mary asked, walking towards me "You seem to be out of it. When you were with your patients you had a smile on you face but as soon as you finished, your face turned dark."
"I'm not alright Mary. My marriage is over and to top it off I think I'm falling for my ex brother-in-law." Tears of anger and frustration burst onto my face, causing her to rush to me and hug me tight.
"I don't know why this is happening to me." I croaked.
"Why don't we talk somewhere else? Why don't you join me for dinner at my house?" she asked as she soothingly rubbed my back. I nodded my head as the tears continued to pour.
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