MANIPULATIVELY TURNED AS OUR STORY

Everything was going well. As I said, my life was on track. Patricia is way possessive; I guess it’s the birthright of every woman, and I don’t give a dam about it. She was finally mine, and that was enough to ignore any other things, like anything. I was on my way to our usual meeting spot to meet Aidan. After my engagement, I was not able to meet him. Whenever we made plans, something would come up, leading to the cancellation of our meeting.

After reaching the pub, I made my way towards our usual meeting spot, and Aidan had arrived, sipping his drink. One glance at him could say he was deep in his thoughts. What was he thinking so deeply? And I thought thinking was not in his dictionary; always he would react first, thinking would be later, and the possibility would always be zero.

After entering, we hugged each other. He ordered my drink. “You were deep in your thoughts; what were you thinking the first time I saw you this way?” “Usual stuff; nothing so important. So, how is everything going with you?” “Good, in fact, great, in one word, perfectly going as I had planned about my future, my dream coming true, I am happy.” “How is your fiancée, Patricia? How is everything with her?” “Yeah, everything is going well with her too; everyone is dying by being jealous of me, don’t you think?” He was getting annoyed for some reason and spoke, “Like seriously, how is everything with her? Are there any changes from the past few days or months that you noticed but ignored?”

That made me think, Yeah, the only thing that immediately came to mind was her possessiveness, which was kind of annoying, but at the same time, I was enjoying it. It was a drastic change after our engagement, so I guess that was it. "She is a little bit possessive, but nothing major. Who wouldn’t? Every girl gets the right to be possessive of her fiancée. It’s not a big deal. Apart from that, as usual, why are you questioning so much today? Before entering the room, you were in deep thought. Is there something that’s bothering you?” “Possessive means how? Can you elaborate?” “Tell me what’s going on; you are making me worry now. This meeting was not casual, only two of us; something you are not telling me what it is."

He was silent and bloody thinking. What the hell is wrong with him today? Why the hell am I freaking something was fucking up? “I know sometimes you can be stupid, but I never thought you would be this stupid. Before cracking any deal, you would always think and come up with some strategy by hook or crook that deal would be yours; couldn’t you apply it in your life? Before diving, can’t you measure the depth of the water? The blindfolded way you just jumped into the water?”

He was angry, which was evident, but why the hell was he angry at me? What the hell have I done this time?” "Now I am really getting worried. What’s going on? Tell me”. Aidan placed a file and pen drive on the table and told me to check them. Something was not right; by seeing his face, I could make out that, but what was it? A strange fear started engulfing me; it was related to me; something was fucking not right, and right now only one name is filling my mind. Please don’t tell me it’s something related to her.

Randolph started checking the file. I was observing his facial reaction, shocked, confused, and horrified, and he was checking the pen drive after a few minutes, stunned by the latest discovery regarding his fiancée. She is a fucking genius. How the hell could she hide such a big thing from him? And this idiot fell into her trap and didn’t thoroughly check her past. Now his mind is totally a mess, not able to digest anything—the same reaction I had when I went through the same file and pen drive.

His world was turned upside down, and the life he had imagined till today was collapsing in front of his own eyes. Let me rephrase the sentence: his perfect life, which he dreamt of from his childhood, is getting collapsed. I can feel what he was going through. As we grew up together, we were like brothers, and I knew everything about him. It took him 20 minutes to go through the information that I had collected; he didn’t react, and I didn’t expect it either. We were quietly sipping our drinks.

After a few minutes, Nora Simmons joined us. I had invited her, and Randolph was shocked to see her. He didn’t know how much he should be grateful to Nora without any intention of helping. Nora had done a huge favor for him. When his fiancée, who had been successful in hiding her past for these few months, was finally revealed. Whether it was the right time or not will be decided in the near future. Right now, this matter should be handled delicately.

Nora entered, kissed me, and spoke, “You didn’t call; I was waiting for your call.” “I was busy, sorry.” “You didn’t get a minute to text or to call me.” “After our encounter, you gave me a hell lot of work; trust me, I was damn busy with that.” “What do you mean, what work are you talking about?” “Nora, let me introduce you to my best friend, Randolph Anderson.”

Nora took notice of another person who was present in the same room: “What, Randolph, is your best friend? What the hell you didn’t tell me anything?” “When we met, we were busy with only one thing, and later you were only talking. Thank God, trust me, if I unknowingly took his name, you wouldn’t reveal anything about your best friend.” “Bloody mouth of mine can’t shut it when it needs to; I should not bitch about her like this; she trusts me so much; please don’t tell me you have collected information about her past.” “When I said I was busy, what do you think the reason was? I was busy collecting information about the same, collecting as much as I could remaining, which I needed from you.” “So, this is not our next hook-up; you called me with a purpose related to your best friend, and do you think I will help you more than I have already done? Like, hell, I will do that for him. No, no, a big no, you don’t know anything about Patricia; if she came to know about this, she would skin me alive.” “Nora, I know she trusts you so much.” “That doesn’t mean I can bitch about her anywhere; she has too many connections, and dam genius, she will find out.” “Don’t you think it’s too late for you to worry, and trust me, she won’t find out anything, and I will make sure of it.” “Like hell, I can be at ease after revealing the biggest secret about her past. How the hell I didn’t know about your friendship; you were not present at the engagement.” “I was, but I had some work, so I left early.” “Oh god, fuck with this whatever; be careful; my name should not be revealed, not in any case.” “As I said, trust me, it won’t; I will see to it.”.

“Now I need another big favor from you.” “What else, and do you think more than this, I will do any more favor to your asshole friend?” “Asshole that he is, but I am not getting both of your connections. Why do you hate him so much? Don’t tell me you knew him before engagement; I mean personally.” “Yup, you guessed it right; we knew each other way before; we had hooked up once. I had a huge crush on him and asked him to date me. Of course, being a jerk, he instantly rejected the idea of dating and didn’t even give it a try. His reason was that I was not qualified to date him; seriously, trust me, they deserve each other.” With that, she started laughing.

Randolph was controlling his anger. Right now, she was our Trump card and wouldn’t lose this one better if he shut his mouth till, she revealed useful information. “Ok, is this your reason for hating him?” “Common Aid, is this not enough? At least if he had tried, that was okay without even trying. How can he say that I was not qualified, and Patricia was? Why do I give a dam to your egoist best friend?” “Please, will you relax?” I gave her a drink, and she started sipping it. Randolph was burning with anger and was full of questions; according to me, he was not sure which one to give preference to.

Randolph said, “You are her fucking best friend. How come you are so close to her when you hate her so much?” “When I said you, both deserve each other, I meant it because both of you are like-minded. Don’t give a dam to anybody’s feelings. She is just like you. We were friends from school, always snatching whatever I liked, from food to my crush. She snatched everything. She was not worried about my feelings because of this behavior. Most of our friends became her enemies, and most left her. She was left alone. The only person who stood was me. I never left her side till now, and the only reason I saw her happiest days and I deserve to see her miserable days too. You know I am qualified for that. I am not a bad person, but what she did to me until today haunts me in my dreams. She showed me hell before, always laughing at my complexion, appearance, status, and beauty. On top of it, snatching everyone’s boyfriend. Karma is a bitch started showing signs at the age of 15 and suffered from a personality disorder that was passed on from her mother. It was normal, but when her ex canceled the engagement, she escaped. It was a huge hit on her. She was in a mental hospital for a few months.” “What? When did that happen?”

“His name was Alex; I had a huge crush on him and shared with Patricia about the same, but within a few days they both started dating. Wow, right. She got everything, plus point was her beauty; by snapping a finger, she could get anyone, and she was her daddy’s princess. Everything was perfect in her life except her disorder. She was in deep love with Alex, but her disorder was not leaving her to lead a peaceful life. She was always suspicious and questioning, and she would always make him prove his loyalty and his innocence. Always, she would barge in the middle of whatever it may be; if he was out of the country on a business trip, she would always make sure to give a surprise visit to get him caught. Crazy right, he was so serious with her and loyal too, but he couldn’t handle her. Day by day, it was getting worse; he lost his patience, planned everything, canceled the engagement by sending a text, and escaped. That was a huge hit on her; she couldn’t digest the fact that he was no longer in her life. Trust me, she loved him so much that she ended up in a mental hospital.”

I started digesting everything word by word. She was in a fucking mental hospital, suffering from a fucking disorder, and here I was fucking thinking her possessiveness was nothing. Ok, wow, what the hell am I supposed to do now? “At least she is stable now after coming back from the hospital.” “Still on medication and therapy; she was fed up with medication and therapy. Somehow, I convinced her to go again. No improvement. According to doctors, it will take another few years, but I don’t think she will get any results because her condition is getting worse. If I am not mistaken, it was the first level; just asking your whereabouts, it started reaching the second level; she is suspicious of you, thinking you have an affair with your secretary, who was one of your flings before. A few days ago, she was asked my suggestion; of course, I see to it she wouldn’t change her mind regarding you, as you both are so mad for each other.”.

“Shut the hell up, I mean it.” “Trust me, Randolph, she is not going to leave you, no, not in any case. When she wants something, she will get it by any means. When she saw you at a party, she became obsessed with you only on the first meeting. The few other times she purposefully attended parties after knowing you would attend; she was highly anticipating you approaching her. When you were acting like a gentleman, she was annoyed because that was the first time. She felt like a dejection. Someone taking so much time to approach her was a big no, considering her history of proposals. So, I pushed her a little and gave her the suggestion of approaching you; she didn’t waste any time fearing losing you. I knew you had fallen for her on the first day itself, and importantly, she qualified your expectations, and as you know, the rest is history. As I said, Randolph, you both are a match made in heaven, and I can be the best matchmaker, right?” “Why the hell are you annoying me so much? Expecting something is not a crime.” “Rejecting on the spot without giving a second thought is a crime.” “For that, you are fucking playing with my life.” “Correction, you fell for each other; I became a bridge; you should be thankful to me; you are going to marry your dream girl, and I am the reason for the same; lucky me.” “Knock it off, I mean it.” “Whatever.”

“Both of you knock it off; Nora, please enough; he is an asshole. I agree, but he doesn’t deserve this. Such a huge betrayal. At least they could have told the truth about everything they hid but tell me how many years she has been on medication and why there has been no progress.” “Patricia’s father hid everything related to her condition; for around 9 years she was on medication but showed no improvement. It got worse when her ex dumped her. Everything with her will be good only for a few days; after that, step by step, her imagination will grow wildly; randomly, she can imagine anything and act that way, and it would be the opposite person’s responsibility to bring her out of it every time; she won’t trust her partner; the reason might be her father.” “What do you mean?” “This condition was passed on from her mother;she was a maniac, always shouting, creating a scene wherever they would go. Ms. Maloni Davis, Patricia’s mother, had become a nightmare to her father, and he couldn’t take it anymore. No medication or therapy worked. There is a rumor that Mr. Thomas might have killed his wife. I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but seeing Patricia, it may be true, so nothing is working on her. Maybe she is just like her mother. Congratulations! You got a complete package of mess.”

“Shut it for God’s sake; ok, you are pushing the button.” “A few days before you were so in love with her, you were acting as a perfect gentleman, and see, she perfectly matched your expectations.” “As I said, shut the hell up.”

Aidan, “Nora, enough zip it, please; we need your help.” “Ok, sorry.” “Say what should be done now; changing doctors would be helpful.” “Common, what are you saying, Mr. Thomas Precious’s only daughter? Don’t you think he had to unturn every stone for the sake of his only daughter? As I said, nothing is working on her; she is a ‘pro’ in getting suspicious and imagining things. Every time her partner should prove his loyalty, affirmation regarding their relationship, her investigation, cross-verification, and her surprise visits, what not? Why the hell did her ex vanish, dumping her over a text? He had enough of her. Sorry to say, because of her ex-betrayal, she has become more conscious; she is planning everything in a calculative way so that you stick with her no matter what. She is mad about you. Trust me, when she likes something, she can go to any extent to get it. I know her and have experience with too, so I don’t think any plan would work for her.”.

“Can you please give us some useful information, and what will be the consequences of canceling the engagement?” “Seriously, can you do that? Are you ready to go against her father, the famous Mr. Thomas Davis?” “Well, both of them betrayed us by not revealing Patricia’s past. Is that not enough to cancel the engagement?” “As I said, that’s not possible if you give any clue regarding canceling the engagement; she will become your nightmare. By using her power and her father’s power, she can do anything. If you ask for my suggestion, her backbone is her father. Before taking any decision, discuss it with him. I don’t know whether it will be useful but give it a try. Don’t approach Patricia; don’t give a clue; she is a psychopath; trust me, she won’t leave you at any cost. Get rid of her father; only then will things become easy for you. Have a word with him; I feel like you invited hell to your doorstep and embrace it with a wide-open arm.” “Oh, for fuck’s sake, shut the hell up.” Yeah, yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to be sorry, though. I will shut my mouth.”

Silence engulfed both of us. We were digesting every revelation regarding Patricia. What a two-faced woman—gorgeous and a disaster at the same time. Nora spoke, “I guess I gave enough information. I don’t give a dam to either of you, as both of you deserve this. She is a bloody psychopath who will turn into the worst for sure. Well, best of luck. Do consider my suggestion; it’s the only best possible way you could find.” by turning towards me, she said, “Well, we had a blast at our first meeting, don’t you think?” “Of course, how can I forget that?” “Well, you have, as you have not contacted me.” “I should be thankful to you for revealing such a piece of information about your best friend.” “Please don’t remind me I am regretting it. I should be careful next time if there is.” “I will call you.” “I will be waiting; don’t make me wait too long; I miss you, especially our sex,” and “Me too.” With that, she gave a kiss and bid goodbye to us.

“Finally, you are done with that annoying bitch”, “Hey hold your tongue, ok”, “When did this happen I fucking missed so many things for sure”, “A few days back we met at a pub, and it clicked you should be thankful to her whole of your life”, “Like hell I would be, she fucking made me stick with a psychopath”, “Hey you had a huge crush on Patricia; she didn’t provoke any of you, so keep Nora out of it”, “You are taking her side”, “I am not taking anyone’s side, you know we are the best friend, you will always be my priority now let’s concentrate on your fiancée”, “Please don’t use that word, it’s annoying”, “A few days back you were on a cloud”, “Now you don’t start, I beg you”.

We were silent for a few minutes, sipping our drinks. “So, what do you want to do now? Are you going to end everything with Patricia?” “What do you think? Should I give it a try after knowing so much? It would be like knowingly falling on dirt. How the hell did I miss this part when I investigated her?” “Of course, her father used his power to hide it; digging out everything about Patricia took me so much strategy; at last, I was successful. As Nora said, Patricia won’t let go of you that easily, plus she has a backbone. As powerful as her father, now your every step should be more conscious; one mistake may lead to losing everything.”

For the first time in my life, I was afraid of my future and what it would be like if I were stuck with her forever. I can’t even imagine every day would begin with an argument proving my loyalty to her, but somehow, if I cope with her disorder and try to adjust to her low chances of being happy, some other things will definitely come up.

My world is crashing down. “I thought she was the one. Why the hell is it happening to me?” “Why can’t you give her a chance so she may change? Who knows, yeah, she hid this with you, but she got a reason to hide it, right?“. Now I was fucking irritated for not sharing anything with Aidan and blindly ignoring it, thinking as if it were nothing. “I have not told you everything that I ignored, and now it’s hitting me back to back. She started checking my phone without taking permission, unannounced would come to visit me if I was in a meeting, would barge in and ask sorry exit cabin after scrutinizing the room; it had happened 3 to 4 times, and she would always pester me to share live location, which sucks. If I am on a business trip, I should share every tiny detail. Still, she would give me one visit. How the hell am I going to give her a chance? I had ignored them because I thought, due to my playboy image, she was behaving this way. I never thought this was some fucking disorder, and on top of it, she tricked me stepwise and sewed a trap. Now I am caught not getting how the hell I can come out considering her background and adding to that her father”. “Meet her father, as Nora said; you might come up with something based on his response; we will think about our next step.” “He fucking adores Patricia so much; do you think he will be any useful to me if things get complicated?” “It’s already complicated; at least we will get to know the depth of our problem; meet him once secretly.” “Yeah, I will call and fix an appointment with him. I don’t think I am going to like the outcome of this meeting. What if this problem is beyond my reach? Should I end up with her?” “Meet him once; don’t come to any conclusion. We will think of something.” “Is my life fucked up”? “No, at least not yet.” “Wow, thanks for that.”