45| Finding it hard to tell Leah

Octavier's POV

How was I going to tell Leah about it? Definitely, she was going to scream her voice out, and everyone was going to hear it.
“Leah, you will have to hear me out.”
“I don't get you.” Her face carried an expression I feared to see.
“It was one of the nights I went for a party, the usual kind of party I attend.”
She gave me a go ahead.
“And I told you about a one night stand I had.”
“There are so many nights like that,” she expressed doubt. “I can't point out the actual night you are talking about.”
I thought about what I wanted to say, and how foolish it would have been for me to have told Maggie about it. Of course I almost did, the day Emaus came. Thank goodness, I had changed the topic, and Leah's meet up with Grimes had also given me an effective cover-up.
“One of the young men I met had an eye color that varies with the day, and I told you about it.” I went on.
I made sure I gave no details about eye color just to gauge the kind of reaction she would have in case I told her.
“Hmmm....” She was trying to think.
“I had told you that it was a night part that involved the use of masks.”
“You have also told me about many ceremonies that involved the same act.”
Oops.... How was I going to get her to think?
I decided to rack my brain for another way to pass my message to her. Maybe going straight to the point was a bad path to thread. Our friendship would be at stake, yet it was Celine's idea to tell her.
“Okay, let's leave that aside.” I had thought of another way. “When you got to Grimes' palace, did you see his mistress?”
She took a prolonged look at me before slowly nodding her head.
“Did Grimes tell you about her?”
“He pretended she was non-existent.”
“Oh.”
I thought of that, it was actually a good sign that he was trying to take his mistress to the sidelines.
“At least he prefers you to her.”
She snapped her fingers. “Why do you say so?”
“Because he wasn't proud to introduce her to you.”
“That might be a game he's trying to play with us.”
It was time to hit the point.
“How would you feel if you heard that he's still having an affair with her?”
“Crazy, so crazy.”
No, her answer did not give me the reaction I was supposed to expect from telling her the main topic of getting her outside.
“What if you've seen him making out with her?”
Her eyes were glued to me, and I had no idea of what she was starting to think of my questions.
“Why do you ask all these questions?”
She had hit me on a weak spot.
“I'm just... I am just asking.” My palms were beginning to sweat, and I cleaned them on my dress.
She started scanning me through. I almost felt I was dead.
“You called me here.”
“Ye... es.”
“And you told me I should stay calm, that I should promise it, didn't you?”
I didn't try to speak, I simply nodded.
“Octavier, tell me everything you have to tell me, I will bear with it.”
So many people had made that same promise, but in the end, things had always ended up on a bad note. I didn't want that to be between me and Octavier.
“Should I make an oat for you to believe I will take it lightly?”
I still couldn't speak out.
“I might also keep it to myself if you want.”
That wasn't enough to convince me.
“What if we call it a secret? You would tell me, wouldn't you?”
I started laughing, holding her shoulders as though I was going to fall to the ground. It was to avoid her probing, and to act as a good cover-up.
“It was all to pull your legs,” I said.
Doubt and uncertainty had taken over the countenance of her face. She didn't believe me.
“I saw the tension building up in the room, and how so many questions were thrown to you.” I made an explanation.
“That's just it?”
“What else could it be?”
“Hmmm... But the way Celine was looking at you. It spoke a lot.”
“We had the same thought.”
I had cleared the air, but the burden still had a place in my heart. Perhaps some other time, I was going to tell her, I thought. Our guests inside, Roshan, and Maggie would hear if she didn't take it lightly. It was too risky.
“Tell me more about his mistress.” I wanted to bring in our usual vibes. “Let's go sit in the cart.”
The man riding it was at the usual spot, holding the ropes that held the horses. We went inside not considering if Maggie and the rest of them could be waiting for us.
“She was staring at me, and I felt envy oozing out of her.”
“She wouldn't be happy in any way.”
That was expected.
“I feel that Grimes was trying to hide something.”
“What do you think that would be?”
“No idea popped up in my head.”
“We should go back inside,” I said, getting out of the cart.
She followed me. Maggie was trying to get a reading of the possible reasons of why I had taken her outside for a discussion.
Celine was looking at me, giving me a look of “have you told her?”. I made subtle efforts to ignore her.
“You spent some time outside,” Roshan said.
“It was one of our talks, totally of less value.”
“Of less value?” He narrowed his brows.
“Was it a secret?” Maggie asked.
I shook my head, taking the glass of juice I had left on the table. “Nothing as such.”
“But it seemed so.”
“No it isn't.”
“Leah.” Celine called, totally weakening me.
“Did she tell you everything?”
A storm had started.