Chapter 72

**Bella-Rose POV**

Goosebumps crawled up my arms, and my breath came in short gasps. I fought to calm myself down. This couldn't be happening. Not now. I felt like a geyser erupted inside my chest cavity, throwing away my heart to let it shatter.

I would have doubted the painting but beside it hung an 8R size photograph that looks exactly like the painting. The painter must have drawn it by looking at this photograph. My eyes got glued to the photograph rather than painting.

I had a hard time concentrating as tears filled up in my eyes. I blinked a few times in succession to clear the mist in them. I swallowed the lumps forming in my throat. My feet quivered threatening to lose my balance.

"Wha...Wha...", my voice faded as I struggled to utter a single word. I raised and rubbed my chest with my shivering right hand as I tried to comprehend the picture before me.

Looking at the picture I couldn't help but trace their faces with my eyes as tears once again welled up in them. Where are these tears coming from? Why won't they stop? I quickly wiped one that had trickled on my cheek before she could see it.

James was holding her by her waist as the woman faced towards him, her back to the photograph. The photo captured the moment where James is sharing a secret that was meant only for her ears and she threw her head back giving a joyous laugh.

He looks so young in the photo. Not the bulk hardness that comes with age. He is still handsome albeit in a young college boy way.

I blinked a few times wondering if my thoughts led me to insanity and provoked hallucinations. Maybe I'm hallucinating. I have dozed off on that wooden chair, unable to bear to look at that woman's scrunched-up face anymore. And my mind must have conjured this scenario because I was thinking about her.

I pierced my nails in my palm to bring me back to reality. A sting in my palm made me realize that this is no dream but my nightmare came to life.

His eyes... they are not filled with secrets, not hardened with cynicism like now. Nope. They are that of a young man who is ready to take on the world. What happened to him that made him like this today?

Stupid heart...even now while looking at his betrayal, thinks about him. When will I learn? I should be mad at him...I should rant...rave...should slap him hard...I should...I should...oh, it's not that easy. My heart doesn't have an off button that can turn off when I like.

Does this mean James is married? Or is she playing tricks with me? Maybe this can be explained. Photoshop is a child's play nowadays. Yes...it must be photoshop. Is the light slightly dimmer at the bottom of the photo...if I squint my eyes properly perhaps I can find it? Or if it's tested by a professional, they will say it's a fake one.

Yes. That must be it. This woman set it as a prank. A prank on James, but I was caught in the middle. Oh...hope! What a dangerous thing it is. Can it be possible? Is this all a joke? A sick one. But I would laugh if it means it's a joke.

"Oh, how silly of me. I forgot to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Jacqueline McKenzie, wife of James McKenzie", the woman said as she grabbed my arms and turned me towards her forcefully without my permission.

I quickly looked down and away to compose myself. No. I won't give her the satisfaction of seeing me break before her.

Wife? James's wife? Staying in his home and he took me on a date today? Her behavior since I entered the main hall... her vile jibes that are masked in silliness...it all makes sense now.

Does she think I'm here to snatch her husband? Is that why she behaved as such? Is he involved too? Why would he do that? What would he accomplish by playing this game with me? The times when I asked about his past began to play in front of me-

*You never answered whether you are dating someone or not.

*Have you been in love?*

His response was always to ignore or divert. Only today he answered with-

*You gave me time. Give me some more. I promise I will tell you everything about me.*

Does that mean he will inform me about his marriage once I give him time? What will he accomplish in that time unless...unless he thinks I will get used to being the other woman? Or did he mean in some other sense?

What difference does it make at the end, if he really is married to her? Unlike me, he must know by now how I think, what I believe. He should know I won't accept such a thing. Then why?
Maybe I'm jumping the gun here. He must have a valid reason to hide his... My mouth dried up at the word.

Bella, you are not thinking it rightly. The James you know, would he have done this underhanded thing? No...

This woman must be trying to trap him and is using her lies to separate us. That's it. I clutched that hope as if my life depended on it. Now I know that she has done this on purpose.

Just then James walked into the main hall, however, he came to a halt looking at this woman. He stood in a wide stance, his hands clenched in a fist as he shouted over the top of his lungs,

"What are you doing here, Jacqueline?"

That one line sealed the deal. Crushed my hope into tiny particles that can never be glued.

Jacqueline however, uncaring of his offensive tone, stepped from me and ran straight into his arms. Looking at them, I felt as if I have been poleaxed. If possible, my heart broke some more. The place where my heart used to become one deep hole.

His words played in my mind as I watched them with a single rebel tear trailing down my cheek,

*I never met and will never meet someone like you Bella. You are the most important woman in my life.*

*I won't let anything happen to you*

*Take your time, Bella moi. But not too much because it's too precious to waste on these doubts you like to carry. Think about what else we could do with this time instead*.

And how I teased him with his secrets-

*One of these days James, I'm going to learn all of your secrets. And then I'm going to tease you with them*

Turns out the joke is on me. Whatever game she is playing...they both are playing, I gulped the rock in my throat, I don't want any of it.

Though I'm afraid to look at the triumph in her eyes, I have to. I'm a Murray woman. And no Murray woman has backed down from a challenge.

I deadened my senses as if I'm not standing before them but hovering above, looking from up there. I armored myself with serenity and clenched my fists hard to root me to reality.

I have no semblance of how I maintain my composure, projecting a calmness that is far from what I'm feeling as my heart broke into tiny pieces. But I have to.

"Mr. McKenzie...I think I have seen enough", I said hoarsely as my eyes landed anywhere but at them. My chest felt tight, my face got hot as a lump formed in my throat.

James... no, Mr. McKenzie, looked murderous as he struggled to untangle from Jacqueline's clutches. Jacqueline nonetheless undeterred hold onto him like a leech, her nose caressing his neck as her hands gripped his waist tightly.

Unable to watch anymore, I stuttered to them, "it's...it's better if I... if I leave now. The storm", my voice broke, tears gushed from my eyes as I turned quickly to hide them.

I hastily walked past them, willing my legs to move...to cooperate for once. I don't know how I got into my car... or how long I drove.

The storm has caught up making the way harder to see. I still drove on as the rain poured heavily, my car's wipers meticulously doing their work.

I drove into the dark, uncaring about the direction, about the path, about the time. Until I drove some more, my hands turning to ice, my body shivering from the cold.

A loud thunder, however, made my car's tires skip. It skidded on the wet ground as I tried to turn the steering wheel to lessen the impact.

I was able to raise enough from my numbness for my brain to kick into action and through reflex, I was able to stop the car before it could get toppled.

I slowly untucked my seat belt and on shaky legs stepped out of my car.

Putting one foot in front of the other has become difficult. Yet, I walked in that rain, my eyes unfocused, with my clothes slowly getting wet. I remain unstirred that my body is turning into ice cold.

A tiny rock on the ground made me stumble and I collapsed on the ground right in the middle of a mud puddle as heavy rain pelted my body.

I screamed in agony as uncontrollable wails rocked me to my core. Though, my suffering is lost in the howl of the wind.

I demanded it. I demanded to meet him. Now, I'm ruing that foolish wish. Our entire Correspondence was a colossal lie. I was malleable enough stupid enough to do such a thing. Never questioned his willingness to carry this farce called mails when we could have met outside.

He stripped my shell; I'm torn up by the roots and lie prostrate on the earth. He robbed me of my innocence. This whole situation was farcical. I was just entertainment for him...for both of them.
Are they lounging on that fancy couch, sipping their wine, and laughing right now? How gullible and easy I was? Are they exchanging notes comparing who scored more?

How could this happen to me? Where did I go wrong?

A guttural scream tore from inside me as I tried to scratch my face with my nails. I no longer know what I'm doing. Madness enveloped me.

I don't know how long I sat there as wind and rain slashed through me. Time lost its essence to me. My mind has been overcome with grief.

Before long, I was drenched and chilled, my skin crawling from the bridled charged energy of the storm.

Though the tumultuous storm was beginning to lose some of its furies, I felt chagrined. The deep and poignant distress engulfed me from within making my body numb to the outside world.