No Ordinary Love(8)

“Fuck you, Rita,” Alex whispered, but it was loud enough to startle her ex-girlfriend. “When you destroy something as pure and powerful as the love we shared, it’s gone forever. There is no going back and there is absolutely nothing you can do.” Alex shook Rita’s hands off her. “You can sit here and shed a little tear and feel all remorseful, but it doesn’t change anything. You broke my heart and my trust and I will never feel the same way about you again.”

“I don’t expect you to. I just want—”

“I don’t care about what you want.” Alex rose. “And by the way, I’m seeing someone.”

Alex cast one more glance at Rita’s flabbergasted face before heading for the door and banging it shut behind her. She had to steady herself against the wall while waiting for the elevator and, adrenalin pumping through her blood, prayed Rita wouldn’t come after her.

Once inside the safety of the steel lift cabin, she exhaled, taking in the red patches of skin on her face, and thought of Maddie. Sweet Maddie who had rescued her from the post-Rita blues. Alex looked her mirror image in the eye and wondered if Maddie could ever be enough.



MADDIE



The signal beeped in Maddie’s ear. She launched the receiver back into its cradle with a loud sigh of frustration. Alex’s evening class was finished by now and it wasn’t like her to ignore her phone, let alone a call from Maddie. She just wanted to hear Alex’s voice for a few minutes while waiting for her ten p.m. conference call with the New York office. She should have gone home and taken it there instead, but by the time she realised her call was only half an hour away, she figured she may as well stay in the office and get some more work done.

It was five to ten and she tried again. Long, taunting beeps rang in her ear. Maybe Alex forgot her mobile in the gym. Or perhaps she had better things to do than answer a call from her girlfriend. That’s what they were now—girlfriends. Their affair was not a slow burn. It was full on from the beginning. Both of them desperate to leave mistakes from the past behind and launch themselves into this new romance as if everything depended on it. As if new love could undo former heartbreak.

She watched the clock as it ticked into ten. Forty-five minutes later the elevator spat her out into the bank’s ornate lobby. Maddie refused to count the hours she’d spent in her office that day. She didn’t have to count to know they were well above average, even the crazy Hong Kong workaholic average.

It was only a five-minute walk to the escalator. Maddie breathed in the mild early December air and contemplated a quick drink at a pub in Soho, but she had a refrigerator full of wine at home and maybe Alex would be around.

She’d given Alex a spare key after two weeks of dating and every time she walked through the door of her flat she hoped to encounter Alex’s well-toned form draped over the sofa. Not one for late nights of pub-crawling—or late nights of anything not including a naked Maddie in her arms—Alex was usually there when Maddie arrived home after working late.

She wasn’t today.

Maddie poured herself a glass of wine and took a few gulps before heading to the apartment located on the floor below. Maddie didn’t have a key to Alex’s place. Instead of ringing the bell, she knocked on the door gently.

Nat answered with her hair in a mess, her t-shirt wrinkled and her trousers half zipped open. She looked at Maddie as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Who is it?” Maddie easily recognised Isabella’s Scottish drawl coming from the bedroom.

“Do you have any idea where Alex is? I’ve been trying to reach her all night. Is she here?” Maddie scanned the living room behind Nat for any other signs of life.

“Come in.” Nat widened the door and stepped aside. “Your best friend won’t be too pleased.” She winked at Maddie. “It’s well past her bedtime.”

Isabella emerged from the bedroom with nothing but a tight red robe covering her body. “Maddie? What’s going on?”

“Gosh, I’m sorry.” Maddie made for the door again. “I’m worrying about nothing. Alex is probably on her way over as we speak. Do continue whatever it was you were doing.” Maddie managed a tight grin.

“I haven’t seen her since she left for work this afternoon,” Nat said. “She didn’t mention any plans for afterwards. Maybe she’s in Tai Po?”

“It’s not like her to be off the grid like this and she’s not answering her phone.” Maddie brought a finger to her mouth and started chewing on a nail.

“Come on.” Isabella slung an arm over Maddie’s shoulder and escorted her to the sofa. “Nat, will you try her mobile, please?”