⭐ Zachary's POV ⭐

I was checking my smartphone, in hope of seeing Eva's name on it. After collecting my luggage from the conveyor belt, I stepped into the arrival hall.

Last night, I tried calling Eva but she neither answered nor called back. In the end, I had to message her that I would be taking the afternoon flight back to Los Angeles. Even though she did not reply me, there was still a slim chance that she might be waiting for me in the airport.

There was a huge crowd waiting outside but there was no Eva in it. I pulled my luggage along and walked past those families waiting for their love ones. My heart sank in disappointment because I purposely came home earlier just for Eva. I flagged down a cab and the driver opened the trunk for me to place my luggage.

"Where are you going, sir?" The driver questioned as he maneuvered the cab out of the airport.

"Oak Lane." I replied in a monotonous tone and flickered my gaze out to the streets. After a moment of hesitation, I changed my mind.

"Sorry, I want to go to Bayberry Court instead."

"Alright."

I leant back to my seat and shut my eye for a quick nap. I did not fall asleep because my eyes flew open after a while to find that the cab was already not far from Eva's home.

The streetlights were moving quickly as the cab drove past. The sky was turning to a pretty shade of pink and I could see everything slow down along with the cab. My attention was diverted back to the smartphone, but I gave up on hoping that Eva would miraculously call me back.

"We're here." The driver announced as I took out my wallet to pay him.

I unloaded my luggage and made my way to the lobby. My smartphone vibrated as I was stepping into the elevator. I retrieved it from my pocket at the same time as I held the elevator door open for an old lady who walked in slowly.

"Hi Olivia." I politely smiled to the old lady as I was talking to Olivia.

"Hey boss. I know you have just gotten off the plane and probably feeling the fatigue seeping into your body. But, this situation is way out of my authority."

"Olivia. Get to the main point, please." I said with an unsuccessful attempt to hide the weariness in my voice.

"Oh yes. The equipment supplier wishes to bring forward the signing date. In case you're wondering, it's tomorrow morning. The problem is that, you have a meeting with Mr Flint."

I pinched the bridge of my nose as a headache was pounding in my brain. A soft sigh escaped my mouth and I tried to ignore the pain. I was at Eva's front door and reached up to press the doorbell.

"Inform Mr Flint that the meeting will be delayed for half an hour."

My jaw dropped and eyes stared wide open at the person who opened the door. I froze in shock as Olivia's voice was coming out from my smartphone but I was not paying attention to what she said.

"Mr Davis? Do you have anything else from me to do?"

"Mr Davis are you still there?" Olivia's question bounced out of my brain and I had trouble believing what was happening.

"I'll call you tomorrow." I whispered into the smartphone. I hung up the call as my mind had finally registered the cold hard truth.

Two pairs of eyes staring at each other. One with flames burning out from it, the other full of curiosity. My hands curled up into a tight fist and it itched to connect with someone's jaw.

"Honey, who's out there?" Eva appeared behind the guy and one hand flew up to cover her mouth. Eva was repeatedly shaking her head in denial.

"May I know who are you? We've been staring at each other for quite some time now." The guy finally spoke up and did not bother to hide the annoyance in his voice.

I said nothing and simply continued glaring at him, but after awhile my gaze flickered to look at Eva in the eye. I was waiting for her to say something, be it an explanation or an excuse.

"Hey, quit ogling over my girl." The guy took a step forward to push me but he was greeted with a punch on his stomach.

"Zachary no!" Eva shrieked out in fear as she dashed out to stand between me and that guy.

The look on my face must have scared Eva because she seemed terrified with tears threatening to spill out. The guy what was his name? I had no idea and did not wish to know.

"You son of a b*tch. Who the hell are you?" He lunged forward with his fist stretched out aiming for my face.

"Charles stop it!" Eva did not know where she could pull since Charles here wore nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Well, that was the reason why Eva pulled Charles back by his towel and as a result it dropped down to his feet.

There was a rather unlucky female neighbor next door just had to open the door at that exact moment. She screamed at the top of her lungs after witnessing the full glory of Charles like the day he was born. The neighbor covered her eyes and swore loudly before scurrying back into her house.

Charles immediately bent over to pick up his towel and quickly wrapped it around his waist again. He scowled and his cheeks turned into a darker shade of red. I put on a poker face as the next few words rolled out of my tongue.

"Charles." I snarled and made a look of disgust.

"In case you are wondering, sweet but deceiving Eva here has been lying to you." I hook a thumb towards Eva and saw regret shining through her eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Charles was genuinely confused as one of his eyebrow sketched upward. After that, he turned his attention to Eva who quickly casted her gaze downwards.

"Eva, do you know what he is talking about?" Charles took a step towards her and she just could not look at him in the eye.

"Eva is, no wait, was my girlfriend for 2 and a half years." I broke the silence that was beginning to settle comfortably among the three of us.

Charles visibly stiffened as he grabbed both of Eva's shoulder. Eva let out a gasp of shock and she tried to squirm her way out of his tight grip.

"Charles, you're hurting me." Eva whimpered and struggled to keep the tears at bay.

"Ha! What a joke. I should be the one who says that you've hurt me." Charles let out a sarcastic laugh but the disappointment in his tone was unmistakable.

According to their conversation, it confirmed the fact that Charles was also a victim like me. Clearly, I was not in the mood to hear the both of them bicker. I had neither energy left to fight with Charles nor argue with Eva about her cheating on me. I chose not to stoop to her level whenever she was pissed at me.

I quietly got my luggage, and stepped into the elevator. My mind was not functioning the right way but at least I got myself into a cab and arrived home safely. I closed the door silently and slide down against the door to sit down. Both of my hands were covering my face as I let the tears flowed out.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh my goodness, boss. You look like hell." Olivia was standing at my doorstep with a look of shock.

"What a way to greet your boss." I muttered as my hand reach out to get the grocery bag from Olivia.

"Sorry, but what exactly happened to you? My phone at the office could not stop ringing because of Eva." Olivia tip toed a little to take a quick peek at my home. I blocked her view with my wide shoulders and she smiled sheepishly.

"Eva will stop calling after a few days."

"Hey, Zachary. I'm telling you this, as a friend. You have to stop blaming yourself for everything that Eva had done. She's not a child anymore. I really hope it was you who dumped her not the other way round." Olivia left after dropping an advice.

I cancelled all the meetings for these few days and did not step into the office. After what happened three days ago, I was not in the mood to work. I made my way to the kitchen and kept all the stuffs Olivia bought. At the same time, I took out two cans of beer and placed it on the coffee table. There was at least a dozen of beer cans lying around the coffee table.

Eva had the cheek to come and tell me how regretful she was of her actions. I did not open the door, but that had not stop her from yelling past the thick door. She still wanted to patch things up with me. As if I would accept her again after everything that had happened.

I searched for the remote control hiding somewhere in the pile of mess. I switched on the television and slowly dozed off without even realising it.

"Zachary!" A fierce female voice pierced through my foggy mind. I sat up straight and successfully made my lunch flew out and landed on the floor.

"Zachary I know you're in there! Open the damn door for your mum!" The voice I initially assumed it was Eva's, actually belonged to my mum.

"Mum, why are you here?" I asked as soon as I unlocked the door.

Instead of answering my question, my mum pushed past me and entered the house. I heaved an audible sigh and closed the door behind me.

"I know everything. Eva frantically called me two days ago. She reluctantly told me what happened. While you refused to answer any of my calls. You leave me with no choice but to come here."

If my mum was shocked by the looks of my home, she definitely did not show it in her expression.

"I appreciate some alone time, mum."

"Three days isn't enough for you? You can't possibly live like this forever! Did you even shower?" My mum added the last question after taking a good look at me.

"It's okay, you don't have to answer. I simply cannot allow you to continue with this. Let's get you freshened up for starters." My mum gestured to the state of my home and hooked a thumb towards the bathroom.

Hands on my hips, I complied obediently because there was no way my mum was going to let me off.

Author's notes:
Hi! I hope you guys like this chapter! 😊 Well, don't be shy to leave a comment on your thoughts about this story! Tap on the vote or share button, if you want to! ♥