Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Colette lay under the duvet, the flimsy protective cover pulled all the way over her head. She was curled into herself, trying to shut out the world. The sound of the shower running in the bathroom was a distant, almost soothing noise, a contrast to the chaos in her mind. A few minutes later, she heard the water stop and his footsteps moving towards her. She tensed. “Itty, I am sorry… please…” Was he crying? Her heart broke at the sound of his vulnerable, choked words. He sounded as if he was crying, but she didn’t look at him. She didn’t dare.
She wished he would stop calling her ‘Itty.‘ It gave the fake idea of an intimacy between them that they never had. “Please leave me alone,” she muttered from under the duvet and heard his broken sigh. “Itty, please, we need to talk! Please, at least look at me.” She heard him come even closer to the bed and was afraid he would snatch the duvet away and force her to talk. And she wasn’t ready for that. Iris had told him she was stupid, that she didn’t understand anything about business. He had made that her tagline, the stupid Colette.‘ He had shared personal, intimate details about her, about their sex life with his secretary, and she had stood there watching. But after two years of marriage, if he could believe she had taken another man to her bed solely on Iris’s word, then their marriage had been damned from the beginning.
And she didn’t wish to see his face right now. “Please leave me alone, Matt,” she cried when she felt him sit beside her on the bed. “Leave me alone!” “I can’t!” he told her in a thickened voice. “Not when you are in this condition and I am the reason for it-” “Nothing happened! I am fine! I just don’t want to talk about it, please don’t force me…” Something in her voice must have alerted him because he finally relented with a deep sigh. “Okay, I will leave you alone for now, Itty. Go to sleep, if that’s what you want. I will leave you alone according to your wishes, but we do need to talk.” He stopped, and there was a weird kind of silence before he spoke again.
“Things need to change. Last night proved that if nothing else. After you feel better, ask Mrs. Rose to bring in some lunch for you and the rest. We will talk in the evening, okay?” He touched her hair softly, then snatched his hand away and moved off the bed. This time he left her truly alone, just as she had asked. But there was no joy in it for Colette, none at all.
She stayed in bed for a while, listening to the silence in the apartment, broken only by the pitter- patter of Mrs. Rose, the housekeeper, working outside. Around noon, someone knocked on the door. “Mrs. Angelis, Mr. Angelis asked me to see that you had your lunch. What would you like to eat?” the woman asked from outside, and Colette grimaced. “I’m not really hungry, Mrs. Rose. I’ll probably make myself a cold salad later. You don’t need to worry about it. Go home!”
Mrs. Rose hesitated, sensing something was terribly wrong but knowing better than to push. “Are you sure, ma’am? I can bring you something light, maybe some soup?” Colette shook her head,
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even though Mrs. Rose couldn’t see her. “I’m sure. Thank you, but I just need some time alone.”
“Alright, Mrs. Angelis. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me,” Mrs. Rose said. softly before retreating down the hall. Colette listened to her footsteps fade, the silence once again enveloping the apartment.
At 12:15 exactly, Colette heard the door of the apartment close with a finality as the housekeeper left. Matt had already gone to his office, as soon as Colette had let him off the hook. This was what she had been waiting for. She jumped out of bed, her heart pounding with determination. Silence was her only companion as she pulled out her empty suitcases and began packing her things. Not everything, of course. She was hardly going to need the Gucci and Jimmy Choos in her new lifestyle as a working woman. So, she took what seemed practical: her jeans, t–shirts, and a few of her formal silk blouses. She closed her case shut with a resolute snap and dragged it out.
Out of Matt and his very personal secretary’s life forever.
Zoe, her friend since high school, was waiting for her on the front porch of her small house. She smiled widely in welcome as Colette stepped out of her taxi with her cases. “Colette, you made it!” Zoe exclaimed, rushing forward to help with the luggage. They carried Colette’s things inside and settled her into the spare bedroom of Zoe’s apartment. “Thank you for helping me out, Zoe. You don’t know how thankful I am for your help! I didn’t know where I would have gone if you hadn’t
But Zoe quickly shook her head. “Cole, you are hell–bent on embarrassing me, aren’t you?” She
smiled, and Colette shook her head. “Then don’t say stuff like that, okay? I had been looking for a roommate anyway, and what could be better than getting my best friend back to live with me?” They looked at each other tenderly before Zoe turned around, groaning. “God! You are hell–bent on making me cry and ruining my makeup,” she muttered with a curse. Colette laughed, and soon
Zoe joined in too.
“Now, go get freshened up and we can go out for lunch. You can tell me all about your bastard of a husband,” Zoe said. When Colette made to say no, Zoe was ready. “I took leave from my office so
that we could spend the day together. Come on, Cole!” she begged. Colette gave up, knowing that if anyone could play on someone’s emotions like a pro, it was Zoe. Colette didn’t want to go anywhere. After the way she had spent the last 24 hours, the things that had happened to her, she just wanted to curl up on the bed with her head under the pillow and never come out. But as always, Zoe got what she wanted, and right now she wanted an outing. So, Colette gave up the idea of getting into bed and spending her time swimming in a sea of melancholy and self–pity.
“Why are we here?” Colette asked, as they stopped in front of a bank. They had had lunch in a pub
near the harbor and were on their way back to the car park, or so Colette had believed. But Zoe had suddenly changed her path, and now they were both standing in front of a bank with a big glass revolving door. Zoe was standing near the large shrub–like plant at the entrance, hiding her
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head as she peered inside through the glass and into the interior of the bank. “What the hell are you doing? Colette asked, bewildered by Zoe’s behavior.
“Do you see that man in the blue shirt?” Zoe asked, focusing intently inside. The one with the black tie, dark hair, and a giant pouty lower lip?” Colette nodded, spotting the man. “What about
him?
“My ex–boyfriend!” Zoe muttered the words like a vicious curse, and Colette sighed despondently. Zoe was the worst kind of stalker one could get. Ingeneral, crazy people stalked those they were obsessed with, but Zoe got obsessed with revenge.
“You talk too much, Zoe! We are going way too fast, Zoe! I don’t like your haircut, Zoe! I’m sorry, Zoe, I’m in love with someone else. Zoc, we need to break up, Zoe Zoe mimicked cruelly, her lips turned down in a fake man’s voice. “In love with someone else, my foot!” She cursed as the watched the man get up from his chair and move towards a woman in a black skirt on the other
side.
“Zoe,” Colette sighed tiredly. “What are you going to gain by standing here watching him like this? She deliberately avoided using the word “sta, knowing Zoe was still sensitive about being accused of stalking a boy in high school “Revenge for muttered Suddenly, she procured two pouches from her purse and tried to hand them over to Colette. But Colette knew better than to take something like that from her. She had learned her lesson years ago.
“Whats in this?” Colette asked first.
“Meth!” Zoe replied as if it were nothing more thans salt. “Gotta plant it in his desk and his T’m im love with someone else’s desk. Then they can spend their love–filled years in jail together.”
“Zoe! Are you out of your fucking mind? Colette duded, then quickly lowered her voice. “You can’t do that, Zoe! That’s illegal! If you get caught you will be the one in jail!” she whispered
urgently to the crazy woman still barking behind the potted plants. “Zoe! You do realize there are probably numerous CCTVS watching us right now “And then there’s the guard standing at the entrance. Do you think he will let you enter with that pouch of meth in your hand like that? And even if you do sneak in somehow, there will probably be a hundred CCTVs inside watching your
It’s a bank, you fool. The security is the tightest beje
Zoe looked deep in thought as she processed everything Colette had just said. Then she nodded. “You are right! Colette sighed in relief, but it was short lived. “I will need a disguise. Maybe a falur
mustache and a long overcoat to hide the meth in its seams.
Colette wanted to bang her head against the nearest wall. “At least let’s leave now. We can talk
about this at home.” Zoe agreed reluctantly, and to Colette’s utter relief, they went home.
Chapter 11
As they walked back to the cat, Colette kept glancing nervously over her shoulder, half–expecting to see security personnel running after them. “Zoe, you can’t keep doing stuff like this. It’s dangerous and illegal,” she said, trying to inject some sense into her friend.
“Yeah, yeah, Zoe replied dismissively, waving her hand. “I know it was a bad idea. I’ll come up with something better.”
Colette shook her head, exasperated but relieved that the immediate crisis was averted. They reached the car, and as Zoe drove them back home, Colette felt a sense of weariness wash over her. Zoe was her best friend, but her antics were exhausting.
It was barely five o’clock in the evening when the doorbell of Zoe’s flat started ringing off the hook, almost as if someone had stuck their finger on the button permanently. The shrill, incessant sound pierced the relative calm of the apartment. Then, whoever it was started banging on the door, each thud echoing through the small space. Zoe muttered something very colorful about the unexpected visitor and went to open the door. Colette already knew who it was. Matt had found her. Her heart pounded as she twisted her body away, ready to flee as soon as she heard his footsteps.
“Hello, Mr. Angelis,” Zoe greeted with forced politeness. The moment Colette heard Matt’s voice, she bolted for her bedroom and locked the door behind her, her hands shaking.
“I am here to take my wife home,” Matt told Zoe rudely. He had never liked Zoe; to him, she was as crazy as they come.
Zoe stood her ground, arms crossed over her chest. Colette, do you want to go home?” shouted towards the locked bedroom door.
“NO!” Colette shouted back with all the force she could muster, hoping it would convince Matt to leave her alone. Her voice trembled but was resolute, filled with desperation and defiance.
“There you go, Mr. Angelis. Goodbye, Mr. Angelis.” Zoe spoke sweetly, about to close the door on Matt’s face.
