It was past five in the evening when Natalia began closing her computer and quietly gathered her things in preparation to leave.
Her green eyes were clouded, staring at her phone screen as she searched for a nearby taxi, walking slowly toward the building's gate. Despite all her attempts to distract herself, she couldn't stop thinking about Kaiser.
That man... the one she thought loved her.
She gripped her phone tightly, her eyes on the verge of tears. The workday had ended, and no one would mind if she gave in to her tears, but she still didn't want to cry because of him.
She stopped under a streetlamp, lifted her head to the sky, and waved her hand in a desperate attempt to cool her face. She tried to resist, but it was futile... the humid heat began to gather on her eyelids before slowly sliding down her cheeks.
"Oh, damn..."
She whispered in a hoarse voice, the words nearly choking between her clenched teeth.
She stopped waving, wiped her tears with her trembling hand, then opened her bag and pulled out a tissue.
Her heart was still tied to him, but her mind was now rebelling against her.
"I can't believe... how fragile I've become."
She muttered to herself, unable to hold back her emotions. She squatted on the sidewalk, and began to cry.
A few people passed by, looked at her silently for a moment, and then continued on their way without a word.
"That bastard..."
Natalia continued crying, muttering confused words under her breath, overwhelmed by sadness and betrayal.
At the end of the street, a black luxury car appeared, moving slowly along the road, then veered slightly and stopped right next to her.
Natalia was lost in her tears, not noticing the black car stopping in front of her. Her vision was blurry, and her tears soaked her cheeks, drowning her conflicting thoughts.
Inside, Kaiser sat silently, watching her, waiting for her to notice. When the wait became too long, he raised his hand and honked the horn, the sharp sound breaking the silence of the moment.
Natalia's body jerked, but she tried to ignore it. She never thought the car had stopped for her, so she covered her face with her hands and returned to crying.
When she was ignored again, Kaiser raised his hand and honked the horn again... then a third and fourth time.
He kept it up with enjoyment until she noticed him.
With each honk, Natalia shuddered from the loud, extravagant sound. She finally lifted her head, her eyes tearful, glaring at the car in anger.
"What? What? What's wrong with you?!"
She yelled, then quickly wiped her tears and stood up angrily, heading toward the driver's side with a clear intention to argue. Her heart was racing, not out of fear, but out of agitation.
"I bet you're mentally disturbed!"
She stood in front of the window and hit the tinted glass with her palm.
"How dare you disturb me?! Don't you know that scaring people like this can have consequences?!"
She shouted, lifting her hand to hit the tinted glass, but Kaiser lowered the window at the same moment, so her hand froze in midair as her eyes met his.
"My God, my car window almost shattered. I didn't know you had such a violent grip."
Kaiser ignored her reaction and smiled sarcastically, then pointed his thumb toward the passenger seat and added in a calm but serious tone:
"Get in. We need to talk."
"We?"
Natalia muttered in shock, her hand still suspended in the air, then processed the situation and quickly lowered it, wiping her tears with her sleeve.
"I don't think we need to talk."
"We do, really."
Kaiser responded calmly, with a hint of insistence.
"But I don't want to talk to you."
Natalia said, turning her face away, her lips curling in a gesture of disdain.
"I know. I know you're angry. Just... let's talk."
"I said no."
"Oh, come on... I'm trying to make things right."
Natalia glared at him, her gaze mixed with anger and weakness, longing and disappointment. Then she sighed bitterly and said:
"Make things right? You think you can fix everything? ... You didn't just destroy our relationship, Kaiser, you shattered my heart too."
Her voice trembled, overflowing with the emotion that almost brought her tears again.
Kaiser didn't respond immediately. He just stared at her, his face outwardly indifferent, though not cold. He seemed to be looking for a way to salvage whatever could still be saved.
"I know I made a huge mistake."
He finally replied, his voice soft, carrying a trace of regret.
"But I didn't come to justify myself... I came because I..."
He paused for a moment, lowered his eyes, then turned his gaze away and raised his hand to cover part of his face.
"...because I wanted to apologize for what happened in that moment when anger took over."
Natalia chuckled sarcastically and shook her head in mockery before her expression froze, turning cold.
"You think that's all that broke my heart?"
She took a step forward, staring directly at him, her voice rising slightly.
"Tell me honestly, what were you doing standing by Charlotte's apartment?"
Natalia had always felt that Charlotte, even on the periphery of Kaiser's life, posed a real threat.
"What were you doing with her? Didn't you say you don't care about women in relationships? That their affairs are none of your business?"
Kaiser's amber eyes darkened the moment Charlotte's name was mentioned. He felt a tightening inside but tried to control his expression. He didn't want to make more mistakes at such a critical moment. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then looked at her.
"This—"
"Don't justify it! Tell me the truth!"
Natalia screamed in agitation, cutting him off before he could finish.
A slight tension appeared on his face, he clenched his jaw for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and answered in a controlled, calm manner:
"I don't need to justify it. First of all, I wasn't at Charlotte's apartment... Charlotte was at mine."
Natalia blinked in surprise.
"She came yesterday, we sat, drank until we passed out... then whatever happened, happened."
"What do you mean by 'whatever happened'?!"
Natalia asked, her voice filled with disbelief, her eyes widening in shock, not only at Kaiser but at Charlotte's audacity, having another man in her life.
"Tell me!"
Natalia demanded sharply, digging for the truth among the shards of lies and silence.
Kaiser paused for a moment, staring at her confused, distressed face, then spoke in a deadly calm voice:
"When we woke up... we were on my bed. Charlotte woke up screaming, accusing me of putting her there and doing something to her."
He sighed lightly and continued:
"All I remember... is that she was the one who came closer. She was the one who said we were more than just friends. Then... everything went blank."
Kaiser waved his hand as if to dismiss a heavy shadow, not waiting for Natalia's response, but added in a slightly annoyed tone, tinged with a sense of injustice:
"Because of her... that jerk thinks I touched her or did something to her, but I didn't do anything! Oh, how dramatic..."
He glanced quickly at Natalia, as if pleading for her understanding.
"You know, don't you? Charlotte has always been the queen of drama. Always blaming others... but today she showed her true face. And that's why I was standing there, in front of her apartment... stunned, shocked by what she did."
"Yes…"
Just as he expected.
Kaiser kept his victim expression intact, hiding a subtle smile of satisfaction as he watched Natalia's reaction to his lies.
"You're right."
"Mm... I know that."
Natalia clenched her fists in agitation, feeling foolish, regretful, and that she had wronged him without evidence. She hesitated, then quickly moved and opened the car door.
"Let's go to the building. I want to confront her right now!"
Kaiser closed the window, replying in a neutral tone:
"You can't see her right now. That jerk hasn't left her apartment yet."
Natalia didn't need any further explanation, she knew who he meant. She fastened her seatbelt, but her expression became more tense and disgusted.
"She's like a fox... I can't believe I ever trusted her."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Kaiser muttered calmly, his voice monotone, but his eyes watched the spark of jealousy beginning to burn in her, before he stepped on the gas and sped off.
He really enjoyed this. In fact, he always found the taste of anger and negative emotions delicious, like someone savoring chaos they didn't cause, but are the ones making it.
Later, a fiery confrontation would erupt, so it was better for Natalia not to meet Charlotte without his supervision. No one spoils his game.
Still, how lucky he was to have a woman who believed him with this much naivety… what a small victory, but it was sweet.