Natalie took a cab immediately after she touched down in the States and went straight to Kayla's apartment.
She had not called her best friend to inform her of her sudden visit, not that it was a problem anyway. She closed her eyes briefly as she let herself soak in every busy honking and boisterous sound of the city.
Then she dialed her dad.
He didn't take long to pick up her calls.
She missed her parents so much.
"Hello, darling."
"Dad." She called, "I'm in New York for a couple of days. Ho is Mum?"
"Your mum is fine. She just left for her yoga class. Will you be at Kayla's?"
"Yes, I will. See you in a couple of days."
"Alright, my darling."
She had arrived at Kayla's. She paid for her ride and stepped out as the taxi driver helped bring out her suitcase.
She smiled and went up the porch to ring the doorbell.
A grumpy Kayla walked to open her door and screamed in excitement.
"Oh my God. You're here." She rushed Natalie in, dragging in her suitcase and locking the door with a smack.
"I was worried. I've been calling you ever since your husband called to say you were missing." She continued,
"Daniel called you?" Natalie asked surprised
Kayla sighed. "Yes, he did. It almost felt as though he was sincerely worried about you."
Natalie scoffed, taking off her sunglasses. "I wish he were"
"You don't look good one bit. What happened to my pretty Barbie?" Kayla gasped.
Natalie laughed as she took the stairs to the room she always used when she was in town. Kayla followed her up the stairs, where they sat down on the bed.
"Things are no longer the same with Daniel and me. It's been so long since we connected." She paused. "It's like everything started falling apart when I started seeing photos from the paparazzi and the scandalous news from the tabloids, not to mention a few blogs. He always said they were not true, but then, after a while, he didn't care. It became as though I was believing the media about every gossip about my husband."
"What about the lady you caught him kissing?" Kayla asked, making Natalie wince.
The thought of that incident made her chest physically hurt.
"He wouldn't even acknowledge that incident with me. He didn't even attempt to explain himself or apologize." She replied dejectedly, her face contorting in pain as she held her tears.
"He is a scum bag. You know that. You've been hearing about his cheating, and you saw him. What explanation do you need?" Kayla asked, bewildered at her friend's inability to take hold of her personal life.
"It's not that easy, Kayla. This man is my life, my everything." She cried
"That doesn't give him the right to take it, girlfriend."
"But, I love him." She cried heavily. The tears spilling without a break.
"I love him so much despite everything." He replied, breaking in between sobs.
"Despite him publicly humiliating you, do you want to see him having sex with someone before you get the message?"
Natalie shook her head in denial. She couldn't imagine Daniel doing that with anyone else, but she had doubts. Seeing him kiss some other woman shook her world to the core; she could die if he slept with someone else.
Karyla's eyes narrowed as she watched her friend. She knew Natalie like the back of her hand and could tell her friend had been soft and creating excuses.
"Honestly, Natalie, if you weren't my friend, I would say you are either stupid or just love your chains."
"Kayla," Natalie gasped in shock
Kayla raised her hands in surrender.
"I'm not saying nada. Your trip here was a spur of the moment thing, you can book the next flight in a few hours to go back to your loving husband who by the way would ignore you as always and leave you home alone to yourself while you do nothing for yourself and suck up to his mother an beg for his affection as though you are not loved."
Natalie opened her mouth but couldn't say a word.
"If you had no love at home, I could understand your behavior, but you have parents who love you, a best friend who cares a lot for you, to be on the hook of a man who once upon a time swooped you off your feet." Kayla continues, her anger getting the best of her.
"Tell me,' She continued while Natalie looked on at her; her crying had stopped. It was as though she had been slapped. "When was the last time you truly felt in love, and don't give me the one-sided crap because we both know it had always been your feelings for as long as you can remember."
"I don't know," Natalie whispered. She raised her hands to her face and cried softly.
Kayla looked at her friend, unable to bear the sight of her pain. She hugged her while calmly encouraging her.
"You know, if I were you, I would want to be sure he hasn't been lying all these years. So, I know I am not overthinking things." Kayla quipped.
"I've tried. It's been all business except the kissing incident, which I happened to stumble on." Natalie replied, frustrated.
"Alright, not to worry. Just relax while I get you hot coffee." Kayla stood up, letting go of Natalie's hands.
Natalie nodded and smiled. She took her phone out of her bag to keep herself busy, and then she noticed a voice message notification from an unknown number.
She played the recordings and heard Daniel's voice asking where she was and why he was still blocked. The second recording was more like a demand from her to unblock his number.
She was about to move on to her Candy Crush game when she realized she didn't have the number Daniel used to send her a message.
With her heart beating fast, she rushed up to Kayla in a flash while she was sipping a bottle of milk in the kitchen.
"Do you know anyone who can hack into someone's device?"
Kayla almost choked, spilling some milk over the tabletop.