~ Eight months earlier
It was ten o'clock and it was a sunny day, the weather was quite mild. Besides the usually pleasant sound of birds in the morning, there was also an intense clicking sound of heels, uncontrolled and rushed in hasty tempo, it trampled the sidewalk with vigour and fury.
This penetrating noise came from a red-haired woman with a very red face that looked like it was set aflame!
It seemed that the woman had picked her best clothes out of her collection for today, and particular for this occasion, because she looked absolutely stunning, even the more so if you remember that it is morning, so she was like an exotic bird that lost its way.
On the outside she wore an tailored coat which had an expressive green colour draping with swagger over her shoulders, a soft silk blouse peeked through, tucked neatly into high-waisted trousers of khaki grey. Her pointed-toe pumps were of soft-suave red suede. All in all she looked over the top fabulous as if she were some sort of stylish fashion icon that went in the wrong direction and is now out in the jungle.
Darcy had put on bold red lipstick to put stress on the fact that she very confident and pissed off, but now as she is marching onto her objective, she looks irritated in her pocket mirror because she sees clearly that under these conditions of anger it makes her face look like an angry tomato, even a ton of concealer could hide this effect.
A very unpleasant side effect of being red-haired: Red lipstick suits well with red hair, as long as the constellation of bleak white skin espouses the red frame it went well, but when the facial constellation blushed or fired up it's colour will match the red from the lips and hair which turns the sublime colour palette into an all red deluge.
Darcy knew she had to calm herself down, as of now it was like she was a volcano in a state of full-blown explosion. Darcy wished she could be more composed and calmer.
She had to keep herself in check, in the boundaries of a dignified and 'whateverrr' like indifferent women that does not get heated up for stuff like relation problems and stupid boys....
She had chosen this neat outfit because she wanted to show herself of as a cool woman that had everything under control, a woman that stands above all those goatish men of her age that only think about conquering woman as if they are Pokémon cards to collect.
Jake was one of those men or better said 'boy' because even though he already is eighteen old, he still does not act mature and serious about relationship matters, his ability to keep his attention on just one woman is near to non-extinct. How many times had he not promised to stay staunch and steadfast to only her? To only be frequently around her and not other woman?
But no, unfortunately he likes to stick around other woman, and it is not that that on its own is a wrong thing to do, but he keeps clinging up to them in an unbound licentious-like manner and he keeps making secret one-on-one appointments with them and if she catches him doing that via hearsay or social media he plays it innocent and says that they were only watching a movie or playing a video game.
Tsk, what a bullshit pile of lame excuses.
And worse, lately he does not even care to make excuses anymore, when he is shamelessly being with another woman one-on-one eating or having a drink at whatever café and Darcy is questioning him about that, he brushes it off like she is some kind of annoying stinging wasp, vexing too much into his private life, like being one-on-one with another woman while in a relationship is a totally normal thing to do!
Actually, Darcy thinks angrily, she should just break up this wreck of a relationship, but for some reason she keeps clinging to him, there are still chains that let her connect with him, and even though she tries to unwrap those pinching chains, she still cannot successfully unbind them fully, like her bond with him is some kind of Gordian knot, some complicated cosmic force keeps her constantly compelling to his orbit.
Well, maybe not that overly strange, Jake is not some average guy, when they first met when they were both twelve, he was one of the coolest kids in school, just few other boys could match his swagger.
As a cool girl it was naturally that they got together very quickly, the first years not in a serious relation, only sultry and horny with each other, kissing and every now and then fucking, but no heated-up all out love.
The reason that Jake was a cool kid, was because of his talent in sports and in particular football, where he was very skilled in, even so that he was sought after by multiple scouts from clubs of various regions, fortunately for Darcy his mother - a stern lawyer - did not want her son to became an athlete and therefore rejected all requests on that matter, and so Jake remained at his home town and at the same school, which for Darcy was a blessing while she found his presence delightful and indulging.
Together they were a power couple and especially that aspect, the aspect of power and the attention that comes along with it maked their relationship so sensual and therefore so hard to cast away: Attention is very sweet.
Jake goes through life unconcerned, carefree and gleeful, exactly Darcy's type and that of many other girls, who are enchanted by his sweet and smooth way of talking and his bold and daring way of doing. He was and still is good at putting up a show and therefore he is the bane of every teacher, law enforcer and police officer.
His grades were always mediocre, something that is pretty much impressive when you take into account that he does absolutely nothing when it comes to studying.
Unfortunately, cool boys get flocked by loads of girls, most of them mere, plain asteroids others like Darcy herself - as she proudly without shame thinks of herself - are exotic planets, a cornucopia of accumulated layers of strong character and beauty, an Aphrodite worthy of an Adonis like him, unfortunately this Adonis is quick to be distracted and quick to be bored, his attention span shorter than his pinky finger. Therefore, the danger of other planets - less deep and mysterious, it must be said - thirsting for his attention is always present, even though Darcy and Jake are in an official relation for three years.
The bond they share is unfortunately more felt by her than by him. This sun king always has mistresses walking behind him like ducklings, Darcy knows that he already cheated on her in the first year and after that multiple times. She always forgave him, and he always said sorry and made it good with her.
His apologizes were always dramatic and theatrical, with lots of soothing words and in a subdued manner. To be fair, Darcy secretly liked all that drama, because it gave her attention from him, but also from people around here. From all those curious and inquisitive friends of her and lower people in the hierarchy who swarmed themselves benignly around the cool kids in the hopes of getting crumbs of notice from them which would enhance their self-esteem.
Impudent girls - who were so foolish as to dare to challenge her rule beside him above on top of the pyramid - he went with were thoroughly expelled by her with vigour and vim, as a cool girl she had many tools to do so, even so, unfortunately, there still remain woman in his orbit to this day.
One of these women is his childhood friend Misa, who is not a very striking or flashy looking woman in particular, and therefore not a big treat in particular, even though it is impossible for Darcy to expel her because for Jake she is like a golden sheep, an important being in his life that should not be shaved into shame or harassed into oblivion, because unfortunately for her Jake has a very deep bond with her, even deeper than the likes of her. Such action could make him hate her and end their relationship immediately.
This Misa is eighteen years old and always dressed up moderately and unstylishly, never has Darcy seen her wearing clothes that fit well together. No, her clothing are always a mix max of every style, and it is always cheap and old, from that aspect she does not pose a high treat, but Darcy knows that Jake is very fond of her and sometimes he gets very sticky with her, in the sense that she sits on his lap while they are gaming or walking hand over the shoulder when they are drunk at a party. This makes Darcy feel uncomfortable even though those two never had a relationship before and Jake always says that he feels for her like a twin sister. Nice said and all, but who knows.... Jake is very immature in matters of the sexes.
The second women and the biggest treat right now is Layla; a serious and modest woman that goes to the same university as him, both of them are doing the same course and are sitting next to each other during the lecture and not only that, lately those two go on trips together; foremostly drinking coffee at a café, but they also go to bookshops together which is something Darcy is very suspicious of, because it is so unlike Jake to go to a bookshop!
As far as she knows him – and that is six years in total – he never concerned himself with intellectual stuff or with studying and discussing any particular subject of whatever the topic. That is just ridiculous and the more alarming for Darcy, because a boy does not simply chance his behaviour, in almost all cases a boy only does so if he is in love....
Everything adds up to that conclusion, lately Jake is more and more cold towards her, gone are the passion and enthusiasm from the beginning of them being together as a couple, when he always smiled cheerfully and embraced her with tenderness and sweet words. Nowadays he is apathetic and lukewarm towards her, the moments he takes initiative and begins a conversation with her are scares now and when she tries to contact him, he always answers curt and quick, as if she is not worthy of his time anymore.
The interactions they have now are awkward, even painful, because he pays little attention to her and when he does, he is plainly distant, not even taking in account what other people in the room would think of his neglecting behaviour towards his girlfriend. Darcy feels her status is shrinking.... other people are beginning to bad-mouth her behind her back; those cockroaches are getting more impertinent with the days. In the shadows they cheer on her downfall. Without Jake, they see her as weak.
Tsk, how foolish, even without him I can handle them all.
Last time Jake insulted her in front of many people, it was at a small house party at a friend's house, and everyone was having a good time vibing on the beats of the music when Darcy tried to be intimate with Jake, as she hoped that drinking alcohol and having fun with friends would make him more content with her. So, she tried to glue herself on him on a cheerfully manner, but he was having none of that, even though Darcy persistently sought to clung herself upon him and forced an advance into his torso, he constantly and very awkwardly warded her off, every advance slightly and subtly pushing off with his arm while saying: 'Darcy, I am not having it, can you not be so clingily, please. Its vexing.' Like serious?! Vexing?! What kind of high-class high-ass vocabulary is that? Does he think he is a high-end aristocrat and she an impoverished, shabby noblewoman that fell from grace?!
This grave humiliation in front of others is something Darcy is very wary off, had Jake been more imprudent, she would have smashed her glass on him, scattering his handsome and arrogant face in a nice good-visible scar, a suitable piece of history, a glyph marking a once made mistake and everytime he looks in the mirror he will be reminded of it! Her wrath!
If he moves the line any further, I will surely do that!
Well, all signals sign red but still Darcy is very benignly willing to save the wreckage that this relationship has become. She needs to make it clear to him that he must keep his boundaries and that he must not be so insolent with her again. They are equal, he has no right to deprive her from their equal standing. Everything should be in balance again, just like before.
Darcy doubts if their relationship even was a serious one to begin with, it is clear that it was always more one way than another, even from the beginning. Was it foolish of her to even try having anything serious with him? Even before the start she knew he was promiscuous and pleasure loving, but when they grew together and forged a relationship, she really thought she was now his only one, his precious scarlet gem that he would never discard.
When they confessed to each other they were both abstemious and conscientious, both of them vowed in an - especially for them - very extraordinary serious manner to love each other into their old age and demise. It was so romantic, and it really looked like Jake was honest and steadfast. But all was too good to be true, the seriousness and earnestness of their relationship maybe lasted four or five months but after that Jake lost his interest day by day, slowly becoming more and more indifferent, and now it seems like their whole relationship is a nuisance to him, one can wonder why the construction is still standing, maybe Jake is too lazy, too apathetic to even end this relationship in a reputable manner.
Well, at least earlier this month he still had the energy to have sex with her and when she confronted him a weak ago with the question concerning the status of their being-together, he answered that she was oversensitive and that their relationship was still standing and on the question of her why he was so uninterested about her, he answered - with a very annoyed tone in his voice - that she was overthinking everything and that she should mature and not be so clingy as a child to him all the time.
In the end Jake confirmed half-heartedly and stoic that their relationship was still intact and he promised that between him and Layla there was nothing special going on, they were just study friends, and she was a big help to him, nothing out of the ordinary. It was she, Darcy, who got it all wrong, who misunderstood everything because she was in his eyes always so overly possessive and overly jealous.
Darcy wanted it all to be true, but she kept her doubts, and right so.... Because last night she saw a series of photos on social media - from a friend of hers that also went to the same university and was in the same study group as Jake - about a study party which he attended to, that showed what she feared the most: He and Layla were kissing on the background of one group photo and on another photo they hugged each other promiscuously.
These two photos where those two were on belonged in a collection in a set of forty-four photos total that were first uploaded on a public group account that contained all members of the study club, so these photos were open to see for everybody, even the more so because they get reuploaded on other accounts, like that account of Darcy's friend, or better said, her convenient spy-sparrow, because the actual reason she put herself closer to this 'friend' was because she knew that through her she could obtain useful information about Jake.
And know she clearly knows that that shameless manwhore is again fucking around with another woman!
Darcy is so done with him and also done with herself over the facts that see still feels attracted to him, that he feels not the same obligation to her than her to him, that it is apparently only she who works on this relation. That is not fair, not equal; she is more dependent on him than he is on her.
She wants to let him know very explicit what her opinion is on his disloyalty and whoring around, and she wants to demand from him an apologize, and an honest pledge from him where he promises to abstain himself from that wretched woman!
Darcy hoped vehemently that a strong approach would bring him again to his senses like the last time an Athénaïs had brought him under a spell, that vile witch Carla! Still, Darcy was anxious, foremostly because it seemed like Jake was reforming his life, he is even serious in studying! Apparently, Darcy does not take an important role in his reformed life, it seems as if he is only interesting to her as a sex partner.
In the beginning of their relationship their flesh-blending was long and full of foreplay, playful and with good quantity of dirty talk, nowadays it is a rushed pull-in pull-out, as if she is degraded into his personal lust toy, a useful object to steam off his temper and appetency. Their no forbearance and patience anymore in their play of lust.
It feels so dehumanising and unfair now, being an object of his fleshly desires.... He should know what she truly feels about him. That he is a shameless manwhore! No more constrained talking and downgrading the situation, Darcy felt she had now almost nothing more to lose.
Their relationship is a sad forlorn ruin, to build it up again strong measurements are necessary! She doesn't want to hold back anymore. Now she will throw it all out, let all chains loose! It is now or never, all or nothing!