Finish it

Jake had still not let go of Laila's wrist and she was still going strong in her reprimanding of Jake. The commotion had drawn in yet another crowd and they all listened as Laila gave Jake an earful. "How many times do you have to make the same mistake? You either stay with someone and stay faithful or you break up with them. It is not that difficult to understand. You know that has always been your problem, you always think that there is nothing wrong with what you do. You might apologize but it is clear that you don't mean it. Living life like you are some untouchable prince. Well, now you see that you aren't untouchable and now you are forced to face the consequences of at least one of your actions."

Laila was in the middle of this obliterating rant, when someone stepped out of the crowd and her wrist was suddenly freed by someone she hadn't expected to see just yet. Standing before her, looking as dashing as she remembered, was her loving husband Noah. "Keep your filthy hands off my wife." He said with a strong and stern voice. After he pulled Laila's arm away, Noah put his arm around Laila's shoulder as he stood beside her and joined her in glaring at Jake. In a dazed voice Laila said his name, "Noah...?" She looked up at Noah's face with a happy but surprised expression.

Though there was only a day left before she would go back to him, she didn't mind their reunion being brought forward by a day. Not at all. He was looking as handsome as ever, dressed in a sharp suit, clean shaven and his eyes as piercing as ever. She instantly felt her stress and frustration wash away. It was like she had come home, being in his warm embrace. But this feeling of peace didn't last long because Jake had snapped out of his shock from Noah's actions and presence and went back into rage.

"Did you just call him Noah? It's you!? It is all your fault that Laila is talking to me like this. I knew Laila wouldn't treat me like this if it weren't for someone influencing her. I should have known that someone was you." Noah scoffed and said, "You must be joking, right?" But Jake wasn't joking. He was very serious and was determined to let both Noah and Laila know that he was. "No I am not joking. You know damn well that she was supposed to be my wife. Before you decided to weasel your way into our relationship, Laila always saw my true self, my better self and she would forgive me. She wasn't willing to give up on our love because she could tell it was something worth fighting for."

Pointing angrily at Noah he continued, "But ever since YOU butted in, she has forgotten about our love, she has turned cold and blind to it and she has lost that fire in her that I loved so much. No matter what I say now, she snaps at me or laughs it off as a joke. Well, I am sure you will get what's coming. You will receive your punishment for ruining what was meant to last a lifetime." Before Noah was even able to utter a single word in response to his unfounded accusations, Jake turned his attention to Laila and said, "I knew he wasn't just a friend. You chose this little wimp over me? You were always calling me names and accusing me of cheating but you were no better than me."

Laila rolled her eyes in disbelief and truly wondered what had gotten into Jake. He had always been a bit strong headed and blind to his own faults but this was insanity. For the crowd this was a most interesting show. Better than what they could see on primetime on their television and it was all for free.

Laila let out a deep sigh at the irony of his words and in a strong voice she said, "Boy you must be delusional. I NEVER cheated on you, so don't pull me down to your level and for your information, Noah has nothing to do with us breaking up all those years ago. He might have opened my eyes a bit earlier and gave me a safe place to return to, but I was done with you all on my own. You hurt me one too many times and I have heard too many of your excuses. There isn't a single one I haven't heard. Now I am finally truly happy and I won't have you ruin that with your idea of happiness. Besides, I have seen the future where you and I stayed together and let me tell you, it wasn't pretty."

Though at this point Laila was feeling a bit bad for Jake, who was standing there and listening to her words with a look of disbelief, she needed to make sure he understood they were never getting back together. This was not at all what she had planned for today or for her revenge on him. She wanted to do this in private. She wanted him to feel a fraction of the pain she had been through. Not embarrass him in front of a crowd and air their dirty laundry to them all. She didn't plan on turning him into the talk of the town but it seemed he was about to be, regardless of how she continued this conversation. So, she might as well finish it.