" You have been everywhere Miss Diah , does this too much attention bother you in anyway ", asked the hostess, she was at a live broadcast show, dressed in a beautiful turquoise satin dress and her brown long curls were let loose , deep red lipstick on her lips, she was elegant, that smile of hers that would even charm the devil , she seductively pulled some strands of her hair to the back of her ear , " I won't say it bothers me....without the attention I would have still remained a victim in this case , I wasn't able to speak up cause. ...", she smiled softly as she bent her head , " I was no one ,I feared no one would believe me , Rhea was an exceptional author and I was just a nobody .....but I'm glad things turned out well at te end".
The host smiled warmly , the beautiful young and talented author Diah , who overnight had become a hot sensation, rising inevitably from an unknown author, to a victim of plagiarism and now the author of a best seller novel , her story was indeed remarkable.
The hostess cleared her throat , " though with your massive success , you are still facing some hate online , people saying that you got together with Rheas fiance Daniel while they were still in a relationship ", Diah smiled as she elegantly crossed her leg and leaned back, " Rhea and her fiance were already having problems....., you heard right she was manipulative, controlling , I even heard she was aggressive...all Daniel did was help me, because of him I...", her lips quivered as a tear slipped from her eyes then she bent her head as she sniffled, the hostess who was looking apologetic brought out some tissues and handed it over to Diah who took it and gently wiped her tears, " it must have been hard huh....", if you are uncomfortable we can stop...", Diah shook her head , " no.....I'm okay now", she raised her head and smiled softly, " because of him I was able to take my work back.....", as she said that more tears streamed down her face , " they weren't together when we became official , Rhea .....just assumed that they were still together , if she is indeed innocent , why hasn't she come out to defend herself", the hostess nodded in agreement , " i know it was hard for you to come out here and say all this , if Miss Rhea is watching this what would you like to say to her".
Diah sighed then she looked directly at the camera , "I will forgive you but.....I will never forget, I am also greatful because of you I was finally seen as an author, so thank you Rhea", the host chuckled softly, " you are so kind, not many people in your place would have been able to forgive so easily....you are so brave ", " thank you", " Another question,....as a rising author what kind of author will you like to be ", there was silence for a while, " the author I will like to be?..... hmm..., ", Diah tucked away some few strands if he'd hair to the back of her ear then she smiled gently, " an authentic author...the one who mixes facts with reality yet the story still makes the heart grow fonder ", " wow.....spoken like a true author indeed, you were an exceptional guest Miss Diah , I'm so glad to jave you on my show", Diah bowed slightly, " thank you for also having me , the host turned back to the camera , " thank you all for watching and make sure to support Diah and her upcoming book " the riding lyre", it is a thriller , thank you all for watching, bye", Diah raised both her hands as she waved at the camera.
Once the show was cut , the hostess stood up and shook Diahs hand , " thank you so much for coming "," there is no problem", Diah said with that unwavering smile plastered on her face, after the hostess left , that smile died down immediately, she looked at her side and her assistant did rushed in as she pulled some wipes out, Diah looked around before turning back and wiping her hands , a smirk playing on her lips, " I did good, didn't I ", she asked , her assistant nodded as she brought out more wipes, " tsk.....I wonder how Rhea will feel as she is watching this ",she said as she chuckled darkly.
************************************************
" The author I will like to be....hmm, an authentic author, the one who mixes facts with reality yet the story will make the heart grow fonder", those words echoed in the vast space if the room., Rhea laid on the other side of her bed while her phone was far across the other side , she announced it, her upcoming book, it was an indirect message of a deadline , she was given an ultimatum.
" Forgiveness , greatful , kind, humble", she whispered under her breath as if trying to analyse and breakdown those words, it felt sickening , it all felt similar to what she had said all those years ago , she was asked what kind of author she would like to be and she had said she wanted to be a " pure author , one who twisted reality, fate and facts and rounded it into something that no one could forget.
Denver stood at the door , he had watched that interview and he couldn't just imagine the amount of pain that Rhea was feeling right now , what was she thinking about now , he had probably not seen fhe interview yet, .maybe he was just overthinking but he had to make sure she was doing okay,that video accompanied with those mean comments, God knew how she was feeling right now , maybe they could talk that was if she wanted to , he raised his hand, he was anxious , nervous but he put that all aside what mattered was if she was okay , he sighed deeply then he made up his mind, he was going to press the doorbell but....all of a sudden the door flung open , Denver was so shocked that he yelled and fell to the floor out of fright , Rheas eyes widened with both shock and worry, " I'm so sorry , I didn't mean to startle you.....you were just at the door for too long so I thought you needed something", she said quickly and apologetically eventhough Denver was shocked and embarrassed that she had been at the door watching him as he analysed his mental monologue, he still found it funny how she apologised, she stretched out her hand, Denver smiled as he took it in his and stood up , staggering just a little.
She didn't look like she had watched the interview , she just looked like a typical normal Rhea , they stood there for a while , it was getting akward with the unwavering silence till Rhea finally broke it with an unexpected sentence, " I'm hungry", Denver tilted his head confused , " what ....you are hungry?", he scoffed , Rhea nodded innocently, she was just full of surprises.
************************************************
I didn't know what I was doing , I didn't know why I had told hkn I was hungry, all I knew was that I had just finished a delicious bowl of hot chicken soup, was it after the bridge encounter?, I must have grown more comfortable with him, it was night time and just like i had predicted the city view from the large glass panel was beautiful , tonight the moon was full and the sky was covered with stars, the city lights so bright which made everything more pretty , I was too fascinated that I didn't know when Denver had come untill I felt something cold pressed against my cheek , I looked up and saw Denver who just smiled at me , I get like such a fool for coming here...but through all that chaos that ran through my mind in that dark and suffocating room, all I could think about was this home.
I scoffed as I took the bottled orange juice which was already wrapped in a napkin,I muttered a "thank you", he sat down beside me but at the arm length as if giving me space , I felt I was inconveniencing him and I really wanted to apologise and maybe just go back home , " the city view is beautiful...isn't it?, he looked over at me but I quickly looked away as I cleared my throat , " yeah...it is", eventhough i had cleared my throat my voice still came out coarse, he scoffed, " just make yourself comfortable , you don't have to be rigid....", i was the one that came into his home yet I was making the whole situation akward, " don't you feel like I am intruding , I....I feel I messed up the plans you had ", i suddenly felt guilty , maybe he had plans and my arrival based distorted it , I bent my head apologetically, " i don't have any plans, all I wanted to do was to watch the view , I didn't know having someone to watch it with me ...could be this fun", he said all at once , it was as if he was nervous as he tried to clarify things , I nodded, not sure of what to say next , should I just stand up and leave but that will be akward.
" Should we talk about something , anything .....", i looked up at him as he gave me a warm smile, as if he was waiting for a reply, " sorry for the kiss....", i abruptly shut my mouth , what did I just say, his eyes widened with surprise then amusement, what did I just say?, I looked away ,I was so embarrassed, " well...I did say we can say anything .....", i could hear it clearly , he was trying not to laugh and then ....it all stopped, there was silence once again and then a question suddenly popped into my mind, it was definitely off topic and I wasn't sure if I should ask in the first place but..., "Denver.....", i looked up at him, our eyes met , for some reason we were closer than before , Denver....was beautiful up close and all of a sudden I felt unworthy sitting next to him , he was perfect in everything and I was just someone who lived on ambition and still failed, " did you ever resent me?", it had just come out, it was a question I had been meaning to ask from the moment that I had seen him, a questioning had asked myself all these years.
He looked at me for a while then he heaved and leaned back on his chair, he used one if his hands to cover his eyes while I just watched him, wondering what he would say , " if I said I didn't...", he uncovered his eyes then he lazily looked at me , " it must mean I am also a saint then", he did resent me once , I didnt blame him though , I also resented myself but him saying it like that...I was hurt , I rubbed my thumb on my hand, " it didnt last long though.....", I stopped abruptly, " it was a repeated sequence i would say", he said as he scooted closer to me , I aas startled at first at the sudden proximity, it was like he noticed as he cleared his throat a little and scooted back and I suddenly regretted why I had made that face , " i would say my resentment was mutual", he sounded almost non challant, his tone gentle, his eyes soft and he looked at me with warmth but I was confused " mutual", he smirked a little , " when you left .....", his eyes were lowered, he was nervous , " I hated myself for not asking you...about what you were going through , I just listened , I never asked and everyday that haunted me and I felt pathetic.....", he always listened , he never asked , he just comforted me , I looked at Denver , those tiny gestures of nervousness and awkwardness with the hand that had the scar of the time he had saved me , now...it was my turn to listen.