“No, not at all.” Iyana shook her head vigorously. “He doesn’t even know I’m here. Please don’t tell him I came to see you. He hates me enough already. I just…I just had to see you to explain that he had absolutely no idea how I felt about him.” She drew in a deep breath then let it out with a heavy sigh. “I know I gave the impression that there was something between us but it was a lie. I only did that because I envied what you had. I was hurting so…I wanted you to hurt, too.”
As Arie watched, Iyana drew her bag in front of her, as if protecting herself. “Rome is a good man. He doesn’t deserve to lose you because of me. He did nothing wrong. I just wanted you to know that.”
For the life of her, Arie didn’t know how to respond. What do you say to the person who successfully screwed up your life, made you think the man you loved was a cad, and then showed up out of the blue to sing his praises?
“I’m not here to ask you to forgive me,” the woman said, filling the awkward silence. “I just wanted to set things straight. Thank you for seeing me.” She turned to go but then she paused and turned to look back at Arie. “And like I said before, I think it’s best if you don’t tell Rome I came to see you. I doubt he would appreciate my dropping in on you like this.” She turned away again and took a step toward the door just as it swung open.
“Arie, I’m tired of this. I have to see you.” Rome burst into the room, looking flustered and impatient. “Why are you avoiding m-?” He came to an abrupt halt, the words hanging in the air as his gaze fell on Iyana. His brows lifted in surprise then, just as quickly, they fell, gathering into a dark scowl. “You again? Haven’t you done enough? What mischief do you want to make now?”
His gaze flashed to Arie. “Are you okay? Did she try to hurt you?”
Then, before she could even respond he was back on Iyana, demanding to know what she was doing there. “Give it up, Iyana,” he growled. “Coming here to harass Arie is not going to make me love you. In fact, if you’re trying to make me hate you, you’re doing a damn good job.”
With the fascination of an observer at a street brawl Arie watched as, with every word Rome uttered, Iyana seemed to wilt right in front of him, slipping deeper and deeper into despair. She stood frozen, staring at Rome in obvious shock and pain.
All of a sudden Arie couldn’t take it. Right in the middle of the tirade she walked over to the crestfallen Iyana and put a hand on her arm. She looked over at Rome and gave a quick shake of her head, which meant he’d said enough. “There’s no problem here,” she told him. “Iyana and I were just having a little talk. Now make yourself comfortable,” she said as she steered the shell-shocked woman toward the door, “while we ladies finish our business outside.”
And as they went out she slid a comforting arm around Iyana’s shoulder, knowing that Rome must think her the craziest woman on earth.
***
A whole week passed before she was able to clear Iyana’s look of devastation from her mind. The woman had caused her pain but that didn’t stop Arie from feeling sorry for her. That was why she’d comforted her in the face of her fiancé’s fury.
Of course, on the day of the incident as soon as she’d returned to the office he’d demanded to know what the exchange had been about.
“The woman loved you, Rome. We both know that now. Mind you, she went about things the wrong way, but what you said,” she shook her head, “you were pretty tough on her. What she did was wrong but she’s human.”
A couple of seconds passed as Rome seemed to contemplate her words but then he cocked his head to one side and this time he was regarding her with a hint of bewilderment. “You’re not angry with her?”
Arie lifted her shoulders then let them fall. It wasn’t so much a shrug as a movement reflecting her own confusion. “I guess I don’t hate her. For a moment I put myself in her shoes and I thought, why wouldn’t she fall for you? I can’t be the only one who sees what a great man you are.” Then she smiled. “Not to mention, deliciously handsome.”
That made Rome smile, too, the granite in his face softening. “So you’ve forgiven her?”
The question made Arie think and, to her own surprise, the answer came back positive. “I guess I have. I don’t respect what she tried to do when she found out about me but I can’t hate her for it.” Then she shrugged. “Nobody’s perfect, right?”
With a smile, Rome went to her and pulled her into his arms. “Except you,” he said as he dipped his head to give her kiss. “You’re one in a million.”
That had made her feel good but even more important she was relieved that things were now back to normal between the two of them. Now they were one week closer to their wedding and, most exciting of all, Maya would be home at the end of the month.
That evening Rome swung by the house as they’d planned. There was so much to do. They were preparing for a wedding and a family, both at the same time. Thankfully, the decoration of the nursery was already done but they still had to get one or two pieces, such as a changing table and a diaper pail, then they would be ready to welcome their daughter into her new home.
Her fiance was all smiles as he walked in the door. “How’s my favorite girl?”
She happily walked into his embrace. “How’s my favorite guy?”
He kissed the top of her head then gently put her away from him and held out a brown box. “I’ve got something for you.”
Her eyes lit up. “What is it?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea.”
She laughed. “You’re the one giving it to me. If anyone should know what’s in that box it should be you.”
“But this box came from Amazon, delivered to my office this morning, with your name on it. You didn’t order anything from them?”
“Nope, not that I can recall. And even if I did, why would I give them your office address?”
Rome gave her a weird look. “You’d better stay here,” he said, heading off in the direction of the kitchen. “I don’t want you near when I open this box. Can’t be too careful.”
“And what about you?” Arie began but Rome had already disappeared, leaving her standing there, uncertain and just a little bit scared.