Chapter 15

‘Hey Josh! Are you in Manila?' It was a text message from Ria. Joshua opened his Cupid Phone and texted a reply. ‘Yup. I'm here for my contract signing tomorrow. My contract with my agency expires next week.' Ria replied to his message. ‘Yey! Let's meet at the court garden.' The Court Garden is a high-end restaurant with an al fresco theme. It's so exclusive that the reservation is for members only and the tables are set up in individual gardens, so when you eat there it's like you're alone in the place. And the membership is so exclusive that the members are for elites and celebrities only. Joshua didn't know that Ria is a member of that restaurant. Well, there are a lot of things he doesn't know about her, so what's new? ‘Sure. What time?' ‘See you in 30mins.' Thirty minutes? Ria's not in hurry, huh? Still, he changed and prepared to go to The Court Garden. He arrived with ten minutes to spare, but Ria is already waiting for him in the parking lot. 'I didn't know you're a member here," Joshua asked. 'I made a reservation," Ria said instead. 'Let's go inside." They went inside the restaurant. A host greeted them, and when Ria told him her reservation, he took them to their table. Which is not only a table, but a gazebo on a vast flower garden. 'Are we meeting someone?" Joshua asked when it was just him and Ria in the gazebo. He suddenly felt curious why they met there. 'Well, sort of," Ria answered. They sat down by the table inside the gazebo. 'What do you mean?" He was puzzled by what she said. Ria just looked at him, and Joshua suddenly felt nervous. 'Joshua, remember when I told you the immunities of a Cupid?" Joshua wasn't able to answer. There's something in the way that she speaks that makes him feel uncomfortable. 'One of the immunities is that a Cupid will never fall in love with someone other than his red thread." Joshua suddenly felt nervous. He suddenly felt scared at what Ria is about to say. 'I'm sorry, Joshua, if I have to be the one to make you see this." Ria stood up, but she didn't leave and just stared at Joshua. When he stood up, Ria went out of the gazebo. Joshua followed her. They went out of the garden where they are at, and Joshua knows that they're heading to another garden. Before they come inside the next garden, Ria stopped and faced him. 'I'll be waiting for you outside." She moved to walk away. But Joshua stopped her. 'Wait… Why are you leaving?" He suddenly felt alarmed. 'What will I do here? What do I need to see?" 'They should not know that I'm the one who told you about this." 'Who are they?" Joshua asked. 'You'll see." Ria removed his hand on her arm, and Joshua allowed her to leave. He was afraid to go inside the garden where Ria left him, but something inside him is telling him to go and proceed. And that's what he did. He slowly walked towards the garden, and there he saw two of the people he trusted the most. Their handler, Tony Valdez. And the other one is Caith, his girlfriend. He slowly realized what Ria meant earlier, but the more he finds out the truth the more he struggles to deny it. He doesn't want to believe it even though he saw Tony wipe something from Caith's mouth. And he still doesn't want to believe it even after seeing their hands holding each other's. As if he's not yet satisfied, he concentrated, and he finally saw that red thread connecting Tony and Caith's heart. His vision started to blur. He feels so bad he started crying. He doesn't know what to do. He can't even get out of there. He's hurting with what he's seeing, but he can't make himself leave. Maybe Tony felt someone is watching them. He looked at Joshua's direction, and when he saw him the smile on his face slowly faded. 'What?" Caith asked, then followed his gaze. When she saw Joshua standing there, looking at them, she immediately pulled her hand from Tony's grasp. 'Joshua…" She stood up and ran to him. Joshua wanted to leave, to escape, but he couldn't make his feet move. He felt like her feet were planted on the ground. Caitlyn went to him but stopped when she's a few feet away. 'Let me explain…" Caitlyn said. 'Since when?" He choked. He's aware that he's crying, but he doesn't care. 'Josh, it's… it's not what you think–" 'Since when are you cheating on me?!" Caitlyn was startled by his scream. Tony stood up and approached them. 'Josh… Josh… what are you saying? We're just eating… Friends go out and eat together, right?" Joshua shook his head. He's crying so hard it's already suffocating. 'Caith…" It was Tony. 'Let's tell him the truth." Joshua looked angrily at Tony. 'I trusted you… I trusted you!" He shook his head. 'You make me feel so stupid right now!" Caitlyn stepped closer to him. 'Josh–" 'Stop!" Finally, Joshua was able to step back. 'Don't… Don't, please…" 'I'm sorry, Josh," Tony said. 'It just happened." Joshua laughed miserably. 'That is so absurd, Tony… It's not funny." 'Josh…" That was Caitlyn. Joshua looked at her. 'You know I genuinely loved you… Did you even really love me?" His voice was full of pain and anguish. Caitlyn closed her eyes as she seems to feel the hurt in what Joshua said. 'Did you even really love me, or was everything just for show?" Joshua asked again. 'Did you just do it for our love team? Caith… Even just for once… did you really love me?" 'Of course." Caitlyn started crying. 'I love you, Josh." 'Then why did you cheat on me?!" Joshua literally screamed that question. 'Why did you do this to me, Caith? Why…? I trusted you…" 'I'm sorry, Josh…" Because Caitlyn is already crying, Tony went to console her. Joshua felt more angry. 'I don't think I can forgive you now…" He has turned his back on the two, when Caitlyn stopped him. 'Josh!" He doesn't know why he stopped. Maybe, because he wanted to hear more? It's so painful, yet it's not enough he wanted to hear more reasons to why did this happen. So, he stopped and waited for what Caitlyn is about to say. 'Josh, please! Don't walk out on me," Caitlyn said. 'You can't. How about our love team? We have to sign our contracts tomorrow." Joshua's whole body froze. Really? After everything that happened? He slowly turned around to face them again. 'Caith…" Caitlyn's face is full of tears, but Joshua could not feel anything for her but anger. 'How low can you get?" He finally found the courage to walk away. He went straight to the parking lot, where Ria is waiting for him. 'Joshua…" She went to meet him. 'You knew…" Joshua's anger focused on her. 'When I became your Cupid Mentor, yes, I had to know." 'It was a few weeks ago! And you didn't tell me!" He feels so betrayed. 'I just waited for the right time, Josh. I'm sorry if I told you just now, but I had my reasons–" 'Screw your reasons!" He went to his car and left. He doesn't know where he would go exactly, but he went inside the first bar he saw and ordered the hardest alcohol they can serve him. *** Joshua woke up with a throbbing head. He opened his eyes and saw the white ceiling of his room. What time is it? And why does his head ache? He tried to remember what happened last night. The last thing he remembered was getting dragged inside his condo unit. He just can't remember who took him inside his condo, but he thinks he can remember Ria opening the door for them. His consciousness totally awakened. Oh yes, he clearly remembers everything now. After he found out about Caith and Tony, he went to the closest bar then drank until his head sways. He remembers talking to Ria angrily while they were inside the bar. Then her driver took him to Ria's car, and they took him home. Joshua looked down at his shirt. He can't remember changing his clothes. Maybe Ria's driver did it. He got out of the bed, then went outside his room. He found Ria sleeping on his sofa, and the driver is sitting by his dining table, also sleeping. Somehow, he feels grateful to them for helping him. But still, he can't shake away that anger he feels for being betrayed. Ria woke up, and upon seeing him she immediately sat up. 'Josh…" 'When your driver is fully awake, you can go." He went straight to the kitchen to get some water. Ria followed him. 'Are you okay?" He turned to face her. 'What do you think?" He laid down the pitcher on the island counter so hard it almost broke. Because of the loud thud of the pitcher, Ria's driver woke up. 'Great. Your driver is awake now. You can go." Ria took a deep breath. 'I'll leave you, and I know you'll be safe. But I hope you won't do anything foolish." She put down his keys on the island counter. 'You know where we left your car, right?" Joshua nodded. 'I'm sorry that you're hurt, and I'm sorry if I was the one who made you… felt it," Ria said. 'But it's something that I had to do, and it's something that you must go through." Joshua did not answer. He just poured some water on the clear glass and drank it. 'It's not yet the end, Josh. You know it's not yet the end." Ria went out of the condo, followed by her driver. Joshua just stood there, until he could not take his aching head anymore. He found some medicines on his cabinet and took it. His phone buzzed. There was a message from his PA. ‘Sir, may I just remind you of your contract signing at 3pm.' He went back to his room and took his wallet. Then he went back to the kitchen and took his car keys. He went outside the condo building, then hailed a taxi. He's coming back to the bar he went to last night to pick up his car. But no, he's not coming to the contract signing. Instead, he's travelling back to their house in Tarlac.