Chương 58: Closed for good

Her sister grabbed her by her hand and pulled her excitedly away from Edward. "Can I borrow my sister for a few minutes?" Marge said.

"Sure," Edward replied, not having a choice anyway when Marge started dragging her away from him.

"What's going on?" Smiling at her sister who was beaming from ear to ear. She wondered if she should be happy or concerned about the uncharacteristic actions of Marge. "By the way, where have you been?" She quickly added, remembering that her sister was nowhere to be found earlier.

They stopped walking in a vacant hallway just outside of the ballroom. Then, Marge faced her, trying to get her full attention.

"It doesn't matter where I've been." Marge was in between giggles and laughter. "Sabrina, what matters is that we are now official," Marge said, which made no sense to her.

"What's official even means? What are you talking about?" She continued to smile at her excitement but was still bewildered as Marge acted like a teenager.

"Alex and I just became a couple," Marge exclaimed elatedly. From the way her sister said it, she almost thought Alex proposed to her. Although Alex was not the first relationship Marge had in the past, this was the first time that she saw her this happy and carefree.

"Finally, I'm so happy for you, Marge." She gave her sister a tight hug, showing her that she supported whatever made her happy.

"I just want you to be the first to know. I gotta go. He's waiting for me at the bar." Marge held on to her hands a little longer, gave them a slight squeeze before letting it go. "Let's go back inside."

"I think I'll just take a few breathers in the garden. It's a bit suffocating inside." Sabrina said.

"Oh! Are you ok? Did something happen?" Marge snatched her hand again forcing Sabrina to turn to her again. Suddenly remembering that Brad and Johanna were still inside.

"No, nothing happened. It's been a while since I attended such a large gathering. I'm probably just having a hard to adjust to it again. Plus, I think I had enough Champaign on my system." She made some excuse, which was only partially true. She had barely drunk alcohol tonight.

"Let's go. I'll keep you company." Marge hooked her arm on hers, but she stopped her.

"No, it's ok. I could use some alone time. Besides, I don't want Alex waiting for you for too long. He might realize he made a mistake and change his mind." She teased her sister who slapped her arms playfully.

"Ok. Fine, but call me if you need me." Marge warned her that she was serious before leaving her side and walking back toward the ballroom.

She, on the other hand, walked towards the garden she spotted at the end of the hallway.

It was a typical garden in a very expensive hotel. No expense was spared to make sure that only the best plants and flowers were displayed around the perimeter. The well-maintained lawn and the beautiful landscape did amplify the elegance of the surrounding.

She walked further into the open space, finding a spot where she could easily look up to the sky. Stars could be hardly seen tonight, but at least the real star of the night was shining brightly up in the middle of her stage.

"Can we talk?" An unfamiliar female voice said from behind her.

She quickly turned around curious of who the voice belonged to and her reason for coming to her. She was not expecting the woman standing in front of her. She had avoided them as much as she could, so it was a surprise that she sought her out.

"Of course," she finally answered, recovering from the shock upon seeing her. "Would you like to seat down?" Pointing to a bench just a few feet away from them.

Her new companion nodded and followed her, seating on the opposite end of the bench while she sat on the other end.

"I think you know who I am, so introductions are unnecessary." The other woman sat confidently in her seat as she stared at the fountain in front of her.

"Yes." Focusing her attention on the fountain too. She could feel the awkwardness of the situation, but she was glad that she could finally get the chance to talk to her. "Before you say anything, I would like to say I'm sorry, Johanna."

"For what? Sleeping with my husband or for the long affair?" Johanna glanced swiftly at her, checking for her reaction. "I always knew about your affair with my husband, but I chose to be silent about it."

"Why? You could have confronted us then," she asked, curious of her action or lack of it.

"Because, what we had was just an arrangement, which I think he already told you." She stated while she responded with a simple nod.

She was again puzzled by the kind of arrangement they had. Johanna was beautiful, smart, wealthy, and successful at her career as the future CEO of their family's company, then why agreed to such an arrangement. She could not understand it.

At the beginning of her relationship with Brad, she tried to question this arranged marriage, but somehow Brad shrugged it off as not important. Since she was blinded by her love for him, she did not pursue to get answers.

"If you think that we still have any relationship, then let me…" Johanna stopped her from what she was about to say.

"No, I know he stopped seeing you after the scandal. He promised and I believed him." Johanna spoke over her, smiling as if there was something funny in her statement.

"Then, what do you want from me?" She finally asked. She had said her piece, so she felt that they had nothing else to talk about anymore. "I have no plans of getting back with him if that is what you want to hear." She hoped that would appease her and let them move on with their lives.

"I think I believe you for now, but the question remains. That is if you still love him because I'm quite sure that he still loves you." Johanna admitted with a sad tone as she placed her face on the palms of her hand and started to cry.

"I'm not sure what else you wanted me to say to you. I moved away so that we could all move on." She rubbed Johanna's back trying to calm her down. Although it was news to hear her say that Brad still loved her, still it did not change her decision.

"I'm sorry, Sabrina. I'm not usually emotional, but in truth, I love Brad so much. I don't want to lose him. I don't want my son to grow up in a broken family." Johanna told her as she tried to wipe the tears that flow down her cheeks.

She could understand her sentiment. Upon hearing about her pregnancy when she got back from the island, it solidified her resolve to end it with Brad. It was different when it was just him and Johanna with a fake marriage, but a child now was involved.

She could never rob his son of the family he deserved. Remembering her own experience of growing up without a mother. Although the reason might be different, she could not see any difference in the feeling of being broken or lacking.

"I assure you that I have no interest in going back to your husband." She patted Johanna's hand. "I did love him or maybe I still do, but it would never be enough to take him away from you and your son."

"Thanks for talking to me and listening." Johanna straightened herself and tried to fix her face. "I think I should get back to the party before they started looking for me."

She stood up with her but did not follow her inside. "You go ahead." She told her as she moved back in the direction of the ballroom while she remained standing gazing at her back.

She felt she finally got the closure she needed. She was now certain that she made the right choice of letting him go. They never had a future in the first place. He did belong to his family, despite what they felt for each other in the first place. It was a chapter of her life that she wanted to be closed for good.