REVEALING

**Rebecca’s story**

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him following me. I was sure the storm was about to break. For all I knew, I could confront him, letting him know that hiding things from me wasn’t the smartest thing he’d ever done. I could have forgiven him anything and everything, but just the thought that he had such a dark and hurtful secret that intrigued me and kept it that way was something that I didn’t think I could forgive.
This was such a serious thing involving so many issues and he refused to tell me. He deliberately hid everything from me. So much sadness and regret nestled in my heart that if he continued to pursue me, he would surely wish he had never met me.
I was not a vindictive person, but this was about the lie, the agency that would probably suffer, and me falling in love like a total fool. Good lord, he could have said I really loved him. Because yes, I could now say I loved him.
It really hurt me a lot the way he handled it, the fact that he hid everything from me, because in his judgment maybe I couldn’t handle it. Or God knew what he was thinking.
In vain, I was trying to make him lose track of me. He would follow me like a radar that detected everything. Still, it was like I was trying to give him a second chance. I had no choice but to face him and where better than on my own territory and with my own weapons. I even slowed my pace so he could catch up with me.
As soon as I got in the car, I knew he would discover my apartment where I was living, but little did I care. I pulled into the driveway and parked in front of the flat. Just as I expected behind me, a few seconds away, Dominic parked a few cars down the street.
It was now or never. I walked through the gate, crossed the garden, and unlocked the door. I turned on the light in the living room just as I heard his hurried footsteps right after me. Leaving my door open as an invitation to a closure to our so-called story, I turned in a rage.
“That’s it! Why are you following me?” I growled, and it echoed through my entire house.
His eyes gleamed with such anger that they turned from molten green to coal black. For a moment I froze in place, but then I thought that if anyone should be angry, it should have been me. I took a step back, slamming against the wall. Dominic came towering over me with his massive body that once intimidated me. He was sending me shivers down my spine. I was trying to control my own rage. When he was about to speak, I raised my hand in defense, blocking him from saying a word. “Come to think of it, I should be the one doing the talking! How could you? I trusted you, and you betrayed everything that was beautiful between us. I trusted you with my memories, my life, and what is my reward? In a few hours, my world as I knew it shattered into a million pieces, impossible to put back together again. So, I ask you why?”
In shock, Dominic was still standing in front of me. He was attempting to hold my angry gaze. I knew he was trying to process everything I said, but if he didn’t come up with an answer fast, I could think he was stalling and it wasn’t doing him any good. “Why won’t you talk to me? Am I so damn unimportant that I’m not worth talking to?” I burst out so angrily I could barely stand up. The look in his eyes still gave him away. He knew exactly what I was talking about.
“It’s not about that, it’s just...” he stammered out a few words, thinking I would stop the questioning if he intimidated me. I wasn’t so easily intimidated. Hell, I wasn’t at all. It was just that in front of this man, all my defenses weakened. I couldn’t imagine how I let him into my heart. How I opened my being in such a way that I could receive him and keep him there.
“Oh, I know, cat got your tongue! You had the nerve to talk to me when all of this started. Tell me what’s right and what’s wrong with my goddamn life. I find out things about you that shock me and discover how well you’ve kept them hidden.”
“Now you’re talking nonsense. What sort of things? I don’t know what you think I’ve been lying to you about or hiding...” My blood was already boiling in my veins. How could he still talk as if I knew nothing?
“But you’ve got some nerve, aren’t you? Did you think that if you told me my fiancé Tom died in the attack all done, you’d wash away your sins and I’d fall at your feet, eternally grateful that you saved me from death? But you forgot to tell me that Tom wasn’t exactly a saint, did you? And what do you know? Even you, Dominic Stone, had some connections with him, connections that only you and mighty God know.” I instantly saw his cheeks lose color and his eyes turn red again, but he immediately averted his gaze. “You even had the nerve to ask me what I was doing talking with Logan to the Gala? Don’t think I didn’t catch some glances there”
“Now, wait a minute. If you imply, I am jealous, you are so wrong. Not to mention that today you were again in his company. I just don’t want you to get hurt “
It was then that I burst out laughing frantically, out of control.
“Interesting approach, Dominic! Well, I don’t have to be a magician to see your jealousy where it shouldn’t be. And besides, it’s none of your business how I leave my life from now on and with whom!”
“Well, in that case, beware that people might put labels on what they see”
It was so true that we both spoke nonsense, but Dominic went over the line.
Right at that second, a heavy hand flew to Dominic’s left cheek, leaving a red mark, full of all my pain and the sadness at what he thought of me. The pain rose so high reaching my heart and then my soul, leaving deep marks in its path. I turned towards the exit, thinking about chasing him out of my house, but a powerful arm reached for me, forcing me to turn to face the man to whom my heart belonged.
“I’m sorry, Rebecca...” But the regrets were so late. The damage was already done.
Rebecca, wasn’t it nice how it sounded, and then again with so much pain? It was the first time I’d heard him call me by my first name, and in that tone, but instead of a warm and loving feeling, it was a sad one that I didn’t expect to hear at a time like this.
“Get out!” I shouted in rage.
“Rebecca, please!”
“I said get out!” My soul was crying and I couldn’t understand exactly when I felt things for him. The moment I couldn’t get him out of my mind.
I was trying hard not to stare into his eyes as I knew he regretted it the moment he said it, but I would allow no one, not even Dominic Stone, to step on my morality. I didn’t meet his eyes for fear that I would have begged him to stay with me, to hold me and protect me from all those who would want to harm me. There was this fear that I might tell him how I felt, that I might throw myself into his powerful arms, listening to his heartbeat as I once dreamed. Instead, I watched him walk away. I wanted to tell him so much more, to shout all my pain in his face. I could see he was in pain, but in the end, it was his fault.
Closing the door to my house was like closing a chapter of my life. And I intend to leave it closed. God, how much it hurt!
I collapsed on the hallway floor, clutching my legs to my chest and, in that silence, counting my heartbeat. They were rapid and chaotic, just like my entire existence since I met him. Tears threatened to fall, but I lifted my head to the ceiling to stop them from falling. I forbade myself to cry over anything. I was strong. People looked up at me and saw me as an example. I had to stay that way. I couldn’t allow myself to become vulnerable. Not even when it came to love. But despite my toughness, I’ve never experienced such pain that effectively sliced me in half. Regardless of my fiancé’s death, another kind of grief, all that just happened, turned into fear of never seeing Dominic again.