CHAPTER 34: BROKEN FRIENDSHIP

The dining table was filled with varieties of breakfast dishes, which were mostly all-time favorites. There were only five of us sitting now, with the inclusion of Nicole, who was sitting right next to me and Mr. McConnery, who was seated beside Penelope. All four of us, except for the latter, were marvelously astounded at what was laid upon us this morning. It was as if there’s a breakfast feast where everyone’s wish of having was meticulously and mouth-wateringly served in front of them.


A while ago, when Penelope mentioned that she had prepared our breakfast this morning, I never expected it to be too much. I am not belittling her knowledge in cooking, since she is a mother and almost every mother I know knows how to cook, but seeing everything she solely made gives me a sense of pride in what she has accomplished.


“You prepared all of these, princess? All by yourself?” Even Mr. Hunt couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing.


“Uh huh. Some of those were your granddaughter’s favorite, Dad. I often prepared breakfast at home, especially when Michelle was with me. It’s one of our early bonding moments together, devouring her favorites before sending her to school.”


“Now that’s what every man wants to have as a wife. Someone who knows her way not just inside the household, but more inside the kitchen. That’s also one reason why I fell helplessly in love with your mother, princess. She knows how to satisfy my stomach the way no other can. I’ve never been prouder of you, now that I’m aware that your skills in culinary were exemplary.”


“Practice makes perfect, I guess,” She humbly responded, which made me smile before taking my first bite of her cinnamon roll.


“Do you also know how to make dinner, Miss Hunt?” Out of the blue, Nicole intercepted, which made everyone turn their heads at her.


“I occasionally cook dinner back home, but at times when I’m not around, Carol, my househelp, does the cooking for us.”


“You ladies should always drill in mind that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Satisfy his stomach by feeding him hearty meals, then you will definitely win his heart by a landslide.”


“I’ll bear that in mind, Sir,” Nicole was quick to answer before glancing at me and smiled, while Penelope’s face suddenly contoured for a second as if something that her father said caused her mind to be elsewhere, before swiftly returning to its previous facade of smiling. “I’ll start studying how to cook, so I will win my dream man’s heart” She whispered afterwards that only I could hear as she gazed at me meaningfully.


I’ve known Nicole for quite some time now. She was in service with Mr. Hunt for almost two years if I’m not mistaken, and during those years, it wasn't a secret to me that she was eying me to be her partner in life. She would occasionally steal glances at me whenever we were in the same room, just like what she did now. I first noticed this behavior of her, those spare attention she had been giving me and the special treatment she managed to pull through, after a month she started here.


It’s not that she wasn’t attractive and pleasantly appealing in my view, in fact, she has her own distinct beauty that might be overly likable to other men, but not for me. I am more fancied and bewitched with women who have an innocent and angelic look, which was the opposite of Nicole. She has the face of a celebrity, always in make-up and glamorously stunning, which wasn’t my type of a woman. I liked simple ones with beauty that exudes even without painting their faces with cosmetics. So if I were given a chance to choose between Penelope’s simplicity or Nicole’s chicness, I would certainly and without a shadow of a doubt, choose Penelope.


That’s the one true reason why Nicole couldn't pique my attention even by an inch. I couldn’t mandate myself to like her as a woman, simply because her sophistication wasn’t my cup of tea. All I could ever extend to her was my friendship and that’s the least I could offer, nothing more and nothing less.


Breakfast has ended and it was indeed a hefty one. Penelope’s sumptuous dishes, which I tasted all, were more than enough to fill my stomach until late this afternoon. I never enjoyed a hearty and highly exquisite breakfast for quite a longtime, the last time I had it was during my ex, which was several years ago.


Penelope was the first to excuse herself, because she still needs to prepare for work. I was hoping for some sign that would impose that Mr. Hunt would accompany her today, but it didn’t happen. So it would be a long wait for me before I could ever see her again, which was most probably before dusk.


I tried to mask the dismay I felt as I led Mr. Hunt out of the dining room and into the back garden for his morning activities. Sweeping away the sourness in my system, I focused on my patient’s morning routines every time he was at home. After an hour of light exercises and a proper amount of sweating, I assisted him to his room so he could freshen up before his mid-morning rest.


Just coming out of his room, my eyes caught a glimpse of Nicole, who was patiently standing a few inches away from the door. With the thought that she was waiting for me to come out, so she could head inside to discuss something with her boss, I walked past her after a simple nod of acknowledgement. But I hadn't stepped further away from her when she called my name, which immediately made me pause.


“Do you have a minute, Lewis?”


Uncertain of her purpose or why she wanted to talk to me, but didn’t wish to be rude, I flashed a quick smile before responding. “Sure, Nicole. What about?”


“Can we talk outside in the back garden?”


The tone of her voice was somewhat unretractable, which leaves me clueless of why she suddenly wants to have a word with me. Thinking that it must be a serious matter, my head swiftly nodded before extending an arm as if telling her to lead the way. She walked ahead of me until we reached the vast space of the outdoors. She stopped at the stone bench beside the fish pond and sat quietly, while I stood a few inches away from her.


“Is something the matter, Nicole?” I suspiciously asked, after a while of eerie silence on her part.


“I wanted to be honest with you, Lewis,” She momentarily paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I am perfectly aware that you know I have my eyes on you, right? My actions were straightly vocal and I knew you felt my intentions towards you way back then. Forgive me if I would boldly ask this, but would there be a chance for us to be in a relationship? To level up our friendship into something deeper and special?” She forthrightly uttered without any reservation and point blank.


My mind couldn’t grasp what I had just heard. No woman had ever done to me what she just did. The respect I gave her throughout the years immensely vanished for stooping down this low and by asking something that only a man should normally ask to a woman. I was the one who got ashamed of what she shamelessly stated.


My lips were lost for words as I think thoughtfully of what to say to her that will not make me appear to be rude and disheartening. She was staring at me with hopeful and dreamy eyes, obviously caught up inside her bubbly world. After several minutes later, I finally found my voice, but cleared my throat first before speaking.


“You are a very nice and extremely beautiful woman, Nicole. Any man would love to be in a relationship with you, because you are smartly charming and stunningly a head-turner,”


Her words uninhibitedly interrupted mine as she jolted off her feet, swiftly cutting out the distance between us and joyfully wrapped her arms around my neck. “Thank you so much for accepting my love towards you, Lewis. You don’t know how ecstatic you made me this very minute.”


If I got the shock of a lifetime a while ago, now my head was blown away with the words that came out from her lips. She thought I accepted her unspoken love and agreed with her longtime dream of having an intimate relationship with me. My mind was spinning heavily, not knowing what to say to contradict her assumptions. I didn’t wish to be rude to her, because she was indeed such a nice person, but there’s no other way to tell her the truth without breaking her hopes down and shattering her dreams. I couldn’t think of a nicer way to alter her speculative conclusion.


The moment she freed me from her unwanted embrace, my feet immediately placed a distance between us again as I held both her hands, so her full attention would be on me when I amended her beliefs. My serious eyes gazed straightly at her, while her dreamy ones marveled at mine.


“Nicole, listen to me. You somehow miscalculated the words that I said, because you didn’t let me finish. What I meant was, you are every man’s dream girl, Nicole. There’s a perfect man for you who will treat you like their queen and give you their world, but that man wasn’t me, Nicole” I conveyed with all honesty. I didn’t want to build up false hopes in her, which was totally unfair on her part. Her dreamy eyes suddenly became gloomy as they started to moisten and eventually sad beads rolled down in succession on her cheeks.


“But I thought the feeling was mutual. I thought you liked me too, Lewis.”


“I’m deeply sorry, Nicole. But I’d rather hurt you with the truth than make you smile with a lie.”


Her soft demeanor suddenly became scornful and she slapped me heavily that made me regret our broken friendship. Right then and there, I knew that the bond we shared as friends over the years was through and gone. By the looks of her now, her burning eyes filled with deep hurt and unfathomable anger, all my hunches were confirmed. She would no longer consider me as her friend. She would hate me for breaking her heart.


“I hate you, Lewis White! You are so heartless and viciously mean! How could you do this to me? I hate you!” She shouted out loud before running away from me with bloodshot eyes and headed back inside.


‘I am terribly sorry, Nicole, if I had to be straightforward with you. It’s not you who I desired to be in a relationship with and cherish wholeheartedly. I sincerely apologize for not meeting your expectations and being honest with you, but my eyes were fixed on one woman alone, who was the master of the mansion’s precious daughter and no one else.’