Maria

“Hand over the keys.” I pouted, stretching my hands out.

Cade, instead of doing as I had instructed, shoved the key inside the back of his jean pocket, daring me to come get it.

“Not until you tell me if Jöel hurt you.” He replied, adamant on giving me what I wanted.

There was a time when Jöel and Cade were inseparable. Best buddies, brothers even. All of a sudden, for reasons none of them refused to share with me, they had a serious falling out, one that ruined their brotherhood beyond repair.

I chuckled, biting my lower lip to curtail my simmering emotion. “Five years.” I began. “It took you five years for you to care about my well-being. Guess what, Cade! I don't need protection. I'm not that little girl anymore.”

“Maria, I…” he stuttered, tongue-tied on what to say. Those blue eyes for a moment showed a flicker of hurt. Maybe I was too harsh with my speech. If I was, at this point, I didn't care.

I didn't care because five years ago on the day I was to marry Jöel, Cade boarded a flight leaving the city. He didn't even say goodbye. He just vanished, cutting all ties with me. I thought I had done something wrong. Maybe I did. That still wasn't enough reason for him to abandon me, leaving me at the hands of Jöel.

Instead of leaving alone, he should have taken me with him. All he had to do was ask and I wouldn't hesitate to leave everything behind, including Jöel on the altar. That was how much of a sucker I was for Cade Reed, who failed even in this moment to recognize my feelings for him.

Wanting to be anywhere else but with the one person whose actions affected me. I continued coldly. “It's already too late for the excuses, Cade. Jöel and I are over, and that is all you need to know… the keys.”

Defeatedly, he handed me the keys. I swung the door open, the morning air penetrating through my thick coat, causing me to shiver. I rubbed my hands together, walking back to the house eager to get away from the Reed's mansion until the holidays were over and Cade went back to whatever country he had crawled out from.

Funny how I was the one who patiently anticipated Cade's return and was still the same person who, in less than twenty-four hours since I learned of his arrival, wanted him gone.

It was the week before Christmas. My friends who came back for the holidays organized a get-together. A hangout where we could all meet and catch up on what we've missed being apart from each other.

Tricia and Bacardi, sticklers for being timely right from our college years, were already at the bistro joint when I arrived. Carly joined us a bit later. She didn't come alone. Her six month old daughter was tied to her chest, sucking on her pacifier.

Out of the three of my friends, I envied Carly. She was living my dream as a wife to a man who adored her with children to keep her busy. There was no greater accomplishment than that of growing a family of your own.

The drinks started coming in. Tricia had a no drinking policy, which prevented her from drinking, and Carly was still breastfeeding, which left me with Bacardi. I didn't drink with caution. With the stress I've been under these past few days, several bottles of alcohol weren't enough to clear my head.

Tricia, the observant one among us, noticed my current state and called me out. “Someone's having a bad day. My best guess would be a man problem. But I doubt if Cade returned for the holiday.”

At the mention of Cade, I chugged down the bottle of beer aggressively, calling the bartender for a refill. Tricia's eyes opened in realization. “No way Cade Reed is back in the city!” She howled, mirroring the reaction of my other friends.

“That's not all…” I said, taking over from Tricia. “He wants to know if Jöel hurt me.”

Bacardi, already drunk, laughed. “Men. That gender disgusts me.” She scowled, collapsing her head on the table with a groan.

Bacardi was fresh out of a heartbreak. Her ex eloped with all her money after she entrusted him with her bank password. He was a gold digger. That biased notion that women are gold diggers needed to be applied to men as well.

In our friendship circle, only Carly wasn't ridden with our curse of not finding true and genuine love. She was the lucky one. Tricia, on the other hand, preferred the solitude of being single and didn't plan on being in a relationship anytime soon.

After the girls hangout, I strolled back to the house. It was a good thing the bistro wasn't far from my neighborhood. I was drunk enough to know not to drive. Tricia had her hands full with Bacardi, while Carly, who would have dropped me off, needed to tuck her baby into bed. It was already way past her bedtime.

As a usual routine that I had gotten used to, I checked the Reed family's driveway. Cade's navy-blue car was parked at an unusual spot facing his mother's little flower nursery at the entrance of the house. The glass of his car was tinted, but not tinted enough to hide the brunette straddling him on the driver’s seat, laughing at something he said.

Whatever it was that had me up in my feelings controlled my legs, which walked straight to his car. I knocked hard on the window, calling his attention.

Cade slowly whined down the glass of the car, staring at me innocently. “I don't mean to intrude. But this is a house, and in this house there are rooms for extracurricular activities like this.” I said, dramatically pointing in the direction of his room.

Cade had not changed when it came to womanizing. Maybe it was the alcohol in my system, but I couldn't stop myself from quaking inwardly at the sight of him with another woman who wasn't me.

A sly grin appeared on Cade's face. His beautiful eyes beaming under the streetlight. In an accusatory tone, he asked. “Maria Elizabeth Johnson. Are you jealous?”