Kapitel 2: Shocked! (2)
"Sebastian!" Victoria exclaimed, the shock and disbelief evident in her voice.
Sebastian looked up, his expression immediately shifted from surprise to something more complicated - a mix of regret, pain, and something else Victoria couldn't quite place. He opened his mouth to speak, but for a moment, no sound came out.
Finally, he managed to say, "Vicky, what are you doing here?" His tone was oddly neutral, lacking the affection and familiarity she had come to expect from him. It was almost as if he were a stranger.
Victoria's mind went blank. She couldn't think of a single word to say. She felt the pain of betrayal, the confusion of seeing Sebastian with another woman and child, and the hurt of not understanding what was happening. She wanted to speak, but no words came out. She could only stand there, frozen in place, her mouth slightly open, her eyes locked on Sebastian.
The woman wrapped her arm around Sebastian's neck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Who is she, sweetheart?" she asked in a sugary-sweet voice that made Victoria's stomach turn.
Without sparing Victoria a glance, Sebastian placed a quick kiss on the woman's lips. "She's no one, sweetheart," he said.
Victoria's heart sank. It felt like a punch in the gut. She felt sick to her stomach, but she couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even breathe. She just stood there, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Can you believe that?" the woman said, scoffing at Victoria. "She called you her boyfriend. The nerve!" She shook her head in disbelief. "A birthday boy," she repeated, as if the words were distasteful on her tongue. Sebastian let out a forced chuckle, clearly trying to smooth over the situation.
"Don't worry about it, love," he said to the woman. "It's just how these little girls act when they have a crush on me." Victoria felt like the ground had dropped out from under her. Hearing Sebastian talk about her like this, in front of her, was just too much to handle alone.
"I'm glad you made it," Sebastian said. Victoria nodded, not trusting her voice to say anything. Her throat was dry, and her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. All she could do was stand there, looking down at the floor, trying to process what was happening.
The woman looked at Victoria, then back at her husband. "Didn't she say she brought a gift?" she asked, sounding irritated. Victoria nodded, though she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
She fished the small gift box out of her purse and held it out to Sebastian, not wanting to linger any longer than necessary.
"Oh, thank you," Sebastian said, but he didn't reach out to take the gift. Instead, the woman stepped in front of him and snatched the box from Victoria's hand. She unwrapped it right in front of Victoria, a smug smile on her face.
She pulled the box out of the wrapping, and a laugh escaped her lips. "This is what you got for my husband?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "A cheap watch? You know he can afford to buy this a million times over. Why didn't you keep the money for yourself? For college or something? You look pretty young."
"It's okay, honey," Sebastian said to his wife, putting his hand on her arm. Then he turned to Victoria, his face suddenly serious. "I'm so grateful for your gift_"
His wife cut him off. "Oh yes, he's so grateful for your gift," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure our driver or our maid will love to wear it. Thanks so much."
Victoria felt like she had been punched in the gut. She was so humiliated, so devastated, that she could barely breathe.
The little girl spoke up, pointing at Victoria. "Mommy, Daddy, I don't want to see her anymore," she said, a pout on her face.
Victoria's heart was racing, her mind reeling. She couldn't believe what was happening. Not only was her boyfriend insulting her in front of this woman he had never mentioned, but now his wife and child were joining in. It was too much to take. She felt her face go hot, her eyes burning with tears. But she couldn't let them see her cry. She had to hold it together, at least for now.
Victoria turned and started to walk away, but then she heard her name being called. "Victoria, wait!" It was Sebastian. She stopped, her heart pounding in her chest. She turned back to face him. "Please stay," he said, his voice gentle and pleading. "You can have some food to take home, play a game. Maybe even win a prize." This sounded more like a mockery to Victoria even if it wasn't.
She felt like a fool, like she had been played for a fool. She couldn't stand to be there another minute. She turned and ran, not caring who she bumped into, not caring who saw her tears. All she wanted was to get out of there. To get home, to be alone, to cry and scream and break something.
But as she ran, her mind filled with questions. How could this have happened? Why didn't he tell her he was married, that he had a child? And why was he so cruel, so callous, in front of his wife and child? She had never felt so embarrassed, so betrayed, so humiliated. She just wanted to disappear.
Finally, Victoria made it outside. She stood on the sidewalk, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She closed her eyes and felt the cool breeze on her skin. She wanted to scream and cry at the top of her lungs, but she held it in.
She walked and walked, putting distance between herself and the party, until finally she was far enough away that she could hear the breeze rustling the trees and the sound of her own footsteps. She opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. The tears finally started to fall, and she let them. She thought about how it all began, about the day she met Sebastian.
It had been on her graduation day when they first met. Victoria had been a small, shy girl, despite being 23 years old then.
As it turned out, Sebastian had come to the college that day to congratulate his younger brother, who had just graduated. Or so he had told Victoria. But she had never seen or heard of this brother before, and she wondered if he even existed.
As Victoria stood there on the sidewalk, thinking about the past, she began to wonder if Sebastian had ever lied to her about anything else. Had he really had a younger brother at all, or had that been a lie, too? She felt her heart sinking as she realized that she might not have known him as well as she thought. She had trusted him with her whole heart, but now she wasn't sure if she could anymore.
"Would you like to go out for a drink?" Sebastian had asked her that day, his face hopeful. "But what about your parents and siblings?" Victoria had said, a little hesitant. "Would they want you to stay home and celebrate?" Sebastian had shaken his head. "I don't live with my parents and siblings," he had explained.
"What about your parents?" he had asked. And Victoria had told him the same thing. "My parents don't live here, either," she had said. "They're in another city." It had felt like a small moment of connection, of understanding. They had both been living away from their families, and that had brought them closer together.
That night, Victoria had agreed to meet Sebastian at a restaurant in the city. They had sat at a table in the corner, drinking and talking for hours. They had talked about everything - their lives, their hopes and dreams, their families and friends. And when the night was over, he had offered to drive her home.
She had hesitated, but then he had assured her that he only wanted to be a gentleman, and she had accepted his offer. They had driven through the dark streets of the city, and she had been surprised when he had pulled into the driveway of his house.
Victoria felt uneasy as she sat in the living room of Sebastian's house. She knew she wasn't safe, but she also didn't want to make a scene. So she sat quietly, listening to him talk. As the night went on, she realized that she was feeling something for him that she had never felt for anyone else. It wasn't just attraction, it was more than that. She was falling in love with him, even though he was ten years older than her.
Each time Victoria tried to ask him about his personal life, about his past relationships, he deftly changed the subject. He always said that his love life had been uneventful, that he had never been in a serious relationship. But that only made Victoria feel more and more sorry for him.
As the weeks and months went by, Victoria began to feel more and more comfortable around Sebastian. She began to trust him, and she felt safe in his presence. He always treated her with respect, and she knew that he would never hurt her.
But even though she was falling in love with him, she didn't want to go public with their relationship. She was afraid of what people would think, of how they would judge her. But Sebastian was always understanding. He never pushed her to go public, even though he wanted to. He was happy to keep their relationship a secret, for her sake.
.
Victoria felt overwhelmed by the emotions that were swirling inside her. She didn't want to think about the past anymore, about the pain and hurt that it had brought her.
She wanted to focus on the present, on the future. But it was hard to forget about the secrets that Sebastian had kept from her, the lies that he had told. She didn't know what to do, or how to move forward.
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein