My ex-husband's nightmare - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Mason
David sent me the address just as he promised.
As I drove down to the bar, I couldn't help but think about Lydia.
She must be celebrating now, and a part of me wishes I were there with her.
I reminisced about the time when we vowed to be together to celebrate every win and loss together.
That probably didn't count anymore.
I pulled in front of the bar where other cars were parked.
From the amount of luxurious cars in the parking lot, it was clear that this wasn't an average bar.
As I approached, loud music resounded from the entrance. Light flashed in different colors, temporarily brightening things around me.
I stepped inside the bar.
It was more like a club than a bar. There were so many people in the middle of the bar dancing and pushing their bodies together.
I was led to a private booth by a waiter dressed in a black shirt and trousers.
“Man!” David stood when he saw me.
He was in a white button-down, his suit jacket placed on the side.
He held a glass of drink in his hand.
The smell of cigarettes hung heavily in the air.
The booth was separate and private, just like I liked it. The loud music was gone. This was the second floor, a different world from the first.
“I didn't think I'd be seeing you this soon.” He extended his hands, and we shook and hit the side of our shoulders together in a mini hug.
“How long has it been since I last saw you? You look as fresh as ever.” He said.
I sat expressionless.
“How long have you been in the city?” I asked
“Touched down in New York yesterday. Didn't want to call till I settled in, but after reading the news about Lydia, I knew I had to see you.”
There were three empty bottles on the floor and an unopened bottle on the table.
David opened the bottle and poured some into the empty glass on the table. He pushed it towards me.
There was a plate with squashed cigarette butts.
“Hmm,” I said.
I took the glass from him and twirled it.
“How did all this happen? I lost contact with the media all those times I was away. I knew of Kavas corporation, but not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that Lydia was the face behind such a big and successful corporation.”
He placed the glass on his hand on the table.
I took a slow sip from my glass, fully aware that David wasn't done.
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket by the side. He then placed a cigarette between his lips, holding it in position while he fetched the lighter on the table.
He flickered it on. Smoke oozed from the cigarette. He sucked in and then blew it out through his mouth and nose.
“Lydia is dead; how did the dead rise up?” He asked. I looked to the side.
“I would have doubted it if I heard this from someone else; we celebrated your divorce together and drank to comfort you at her death. But who knew she was alive all these while?” He sounded more confused than pissed.
“How is that even possible?” I tightened my grip around the glass.
“Not only is she back but she is now a rival. Mason, it isn't fair that you aren't speaking, tell me, what changed.”
The side of David was never hard to find.
He loved gossip as much as women did.
I gulped down the remaining content of my drink and placed my glass on the table with a thud.
“I would gladly tell you if I had an idea.” That was the truth, but I am just as clueless as he is.
“I was as surprised as you are, if not more, when I saw her.”
He squashed the butt of the cigarette on the plate, adding it to the halves on it.
“I can only imagine.”
I poured myself a drink.
“The only reasonable thing to assume at this point was that there was a mistake. We never saw her body.”
I nodded.
We were silent for the next minute, each of us covered in our own thoughts.
I wanted to speak to Lydia. With each gulp that ran down my throat, I wanted her.
My mind reverted back to the time we spent in the hospital together. That was the highlight of my day. I didn't think she was capable of stirring so much emotion in me.
“But one thing is sure, she sure has changed.” David's words cut through my thoughts. He was right.
Maybe she was correct when she said Lydia was dead.
“But I'm curious about one thing,” David said, leaning forward. I looked at him, “How does all this make you feel? Do you want her back? Do you regret letting her go?”
Do I want her back?
“I know for a fact that you never let her off.” He added, his expression turned more serious and maybe mixed with a look of concern.
“Even though you claimed otherwise, I knew you never stopped loving her. So now, how does her return make you feel?”
David may be a jerk most of the time, but he was one of the most understanding friends I had. He never judged and was always ready to listen.
No one has asked me that question.
Not even me. I have been running away from the question. I don't want to talk about it.
I fear if I entertain such questions or thoughts, I may truly want her back, and that was not possible.
She doesn't want me.
I rested my back on the couch, running a finger through its soft and smooth surface.
I didn't say anything; I didn't know how to reply.
Lydia.
Her name slipped out of my mouth. Suddenly, all the anger I felt about losing the contract disappeared, replaced with a deep sense of regret for losing her.