I call Jade when I reach home. She answers on the second ring.

"Liz," she exclaims, "It's been so long." I can't remember the last time I heard Jade. Between the, A&F and her classes, we never seem to meet much anymore.

"I know." I missed her.

"I heard from Asher about the fight with Glen. Are you okay?" I didn't want her to worry so I kind of didn't tell her before. Maybe I did it on purpose.

I tell her the whole story about that day, "I have some ugly bruises but I am fine."

"I hate that guy. What is wrong with him?" She says with rage.

"I also don't know." I am more resigned than angry. "He just can't let go when he is the one who cheated and got another woman pregnant." I say.

I hear her gasp. "He did what?"

"I didn't tell you that?" I am confused.

"Well, it's not like you are the most revealing person out there." She says dismissively but I can tell a hint of accusation. She changes the subject, "How long had they been together?"

I proceed to answer her but the fact that she didn't know much about the divorce keeps bugging me. I realize that Kystan also doesn't know.

After work the next day, I take a detour for Kystan's house. Hopefully he won't be there. I don't want to explain why I left my panties in his bathroom. Stupid me.

A knock at the door produces no response. I knock again and still nothing. Good. I pick a spare key from a small gap in the front brick surrounding the entrance. I slide it into the keyhole and it opens with a resounding click. I walk in unruffled. No sound comes from any room I pass by. As I climb the stairs, I keep justifying to myself how this is not breaking and entering. If anyone asks, I have a good reason for being here.

I wait at Kystan's door for a moment to hear if he is not inside after all. I hear nothing. Even better. I lurch onto the handle and open slowly.

I tiptoe into the room unaware of anything else except the bathroom door towards which I am heading. The sound of a shower turning on startles me. I finally start to register where I am. Caught red handed, I look around with shifty eyes. My eyes meet perfectly mascara-d hazel eyes, with a disapproving and loathsome gaze. Mine widen.

Lying calmly on Kystan's bed, Belle looks me up and down as I go from shock to understanding. Her skimpy summer dress, reaching very little below her butt and flowing auburn hair splayed all across Kystan's pillow finally drives the point home. It hurts when I finally grasp what is going on. The shower water turns off. I want to turn and run but I can't seem to command my legs. Kystan will be here any second, and I'd rather pretend this never happened than have to confront him. Than acknowledge that I was right all along.

The door opens and Kystan walks out, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. I watch as his gaze finds Belle and he doesn't even flinch at seeing her sprawled casually on his bed. Like it's not the first time. I swallow the tears I feel building in my eyes. I take a step in the opposite direction.

"Liza." Kystan's voice carries as much shock as guilt. I want to look behind and see his expression but that would only reveal how much I hate him for this. I continue walking. I hear him ask Belle something before she answers in a triumphant tone. She must have been waiting for this moment all along. Bravo, she has succeeded.

"Liza. This isn't-" I don't stop to let him talk. He comes up to me while still putting on a t-shirt. Water from his wet hair drips onto the t-shirt drenching it too. "I didn't know you were here." He tries to make small talk, but his voice is panicked and I am more than pissed.

"I am." I reply icily. I want to give him a chance to explain. I don't want this to be like Glen. I really don't, but what's the difference, really?

Asher walks in looking somber. A look of worry crosses Kystan's face. He is worried for his friend I can tell. I take that moment of distraction and walk out. I only have to walk a short distance before I find a taxi and get in. At the back of the hot, claustrophobic car, I feel lost. This feels like divorce all over again, only this time, he didn't even look remotely sorry, only shocked, but not sorry for the most part. Shame on me for being fooled twice.

The cab runs into a Notting Hill Carnival at Ladbroke. Instead of waiting for the road to clear, I get out and mix into the stream of strangers wearing brightly colored feathers and other peculiar costumes. They are having such a great time, I envy them. Along the way, I come across a refreshments stand. Despite having juices and cocktails displayed, they have beer in the back and I sit down to gulp down some shots to lighten up. Six shots in, I start losing coordination as the alcohol starts to set in. I don't really remember much but at some point police officers escort me out of the venue.

I wake up in the middle of the night on a bench outside the carnival grounds. People going home from the carnival look at me weirdly. I get up and stagger home. I am not that tipsy anymore; all the pain I wanted to escape from is setting back in.

The urge to puke assuages me on the front porch. I have to fight hard to keep it at bay or else I'll have an unpleasant encounter with pissed off neighbors. When I finally reach the door without puking, I find Kystan at my door. His head is resting on the door sill. Dark strands falling into his face. He is peacefully asleep despite being on the floor. Fresh jabs prick my heart. I don't want to deal with him right now. I open the door slowly. I sneak into the house without waking him and I lock up after myself.

I don't even turn on the lights, I walk through the dark towards my room to cry my heart out. On the way, I bump into a stool and an object falls, making a lot of noise. I hear Kystan stir from his sleep. In a few moments, he starts knocking on my door telling me to open.

I change into my pajamas and roll up in my bed and let my tears flow here where no one is watching. After sometime Kystan stops banging on my door and he leaves.

Eventually, I fall into a restless sleep. I wake up a few hours later. It's still dark outside. I get out of bed, my body aching all over. I go for a shower but end up staying in too long because I start crying. When I do get out, I get dressed for work. I notice that the object that fell down last night was a video game. I pick it up, but I can't help but remember the day we spent together and played games. It was the best day for me. I toss it onto the couch and head to the fridge to get chocolates, as they say chocolate makes everything better.

I manage to act normal at work, without breaking down, until the lunch break when I go to the restroom. As I am inside the stall, tears creep up on me and I start crying again. To be honest, I am crying more than I ought to be. But still for Glen I almost saw it coming, the absence from home, the constant excuses, but for Kystan everything was going great!

"Liza, what's wrong?" Cynthia's voice carries through the thin partition wall. I want to come up with a lie, but I come up blank.

"Nothing." I answer swiftly. I wipe the tears from my cheeks and flush the toilet.

"It's obviously something. Why else would you be crying?" She shouts to overpower the sound of the toilet flashing.

I finally give in when I hear how concerned she is for me, I unlock the stall and she gets in. "Kystan cheated on me."

She is shocked for a moment and her eyebrows knit together. "Like in the bed?" She asks warily.

"Yes. And a lot more." I correct, "Belle was on his bed, and he-" A fresh track crawls down.

Cynthia hugs me instead, "It's okay." It's really not and she knows it. "He's missing out, don't feel bad at all." Her voice is so soft, so soothing, I almost believe her. Of course Belle is all that, and she's better than me in many ways. I finally admit that a part of me is hurt because he had to pick the more beautiful, more accomplished girl over me.

"I hope so." I say with a sob in my throat. I want to believe it, badly.

Cynthia leads me out of the stall, and we wash our hands at the sink. "Did he explain himself?" She asks me.

"No. I don't want to hear any lame excuses, he cheated and that's that." I say resolutely.

"Okay. That's fine too." Cynthia says and pats my back. I am glad she understands.

Another lady enters the bathroom, I wipe at my face quickly. Luckily she doesn't pay much attention to us.

When it's finally time to go home, the manager appears on our floor and calls for attention. "Excuse me," He shouts. I look in his direction wondering why on earth he had to come now. I was almost escaping to the comfort of my home.

"As you all know, the time with our interns is almost over." He says. The room turns to me and the other four interns here. I smile as multiple eyes find me. "As it normally goes, you, the interns, will present what you've been working on. And we'll have a small farewell celebration."

Everyone starts murmuring thinking he is done but not so fast, he calls attention again, "Another thing, the best three projects from the interns will be featured in our London fashion week collection." I can't contain my excitement. My designs have a chance at being featured in front of iconic minds in the fashion industry like Virgil Abloh, Anna Wintour; I am more than ecstatic. I turn to Cynthia and find her smiling with excitement matching my own. "Make sure to add any finishing touches and extra pizzazz before Monday, when you will be presenting them." He says and sashays out of the room.

"Cycy, this is amazing." I say to Cynthia. We jump up and down, my previous meltdown forgotten in the presence of such exciting news.

"I know, it's the first time they've done this. You'll make the cut, I'm sure." She says confidently.

"I can't be too sure, I'll fine tune my designs over the weekend."

"Don't overdo it though, it may get messed up in the process." She advises.

"Noted." I nod and delve into planning what I'll actually add to the designs.

The whole night I immerse myself into scrolling through Pinterest looking for additions that may appeal with current trends. I want more than ever to impress the panel of judges that'll be present.

I stay holed up in my house all of Saturday. I read a book, work on my designs, and ignore Kystan's constant messages and calls.

Sunday morning comes, I wake up to the sound of my front door being slammed shut. I jolt out of bed and run to the living room. In my pajamas I am completely defenseless incase something bad happens. I hear a sniffle coming from the other room. Not what I expected from a robber but whatever.

"Liza." Jade's voice comes through the door. I hurry to her.

The first thing that meets my eye is her tear stained, tired face. I wrap my arms around her and let her cry it out before asking her what happened. When she has cried her heart out, I start asking questions.

"What happened?" I ask her.

She wipes the last trail of tears from her face, "Asher cheated on me."

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