If the daggers that Giselle glared at the couple in front of her could pierce a human, they would be riddled with them and the kitchen would have turned into a vicious bloodbath. She gritted her teeth and nodded, resigned and beaten. Celestine and Ian stared at her, first superior and calm, then irritated and annoyed. Maybe they had hoped she would burst into tears or anger. Not today. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Fucking not today. Her teeth made a snapping sound, but nothing broke. It startled Carry enough to take a small step back. The woman didn't want to involve herself. Understandable, Giselle figured and with a quick, precise motion, ripped the contracts from the couple. After filling in the missing information, she signed all of the copies and handed the pen over to Carry. She took a step back. Her face was a mask of neutrality, but it contained a measure of impending doom. Ian successively became more uncertain and his hands started trembling as he signed the contracts. Celestine's face had lost colour and she quickly signed the four distinct stacks of paper.

"Good, I'm glad that this is over and we can move on to happier things", Carry's voice squeaked and handed out the copies to all parties, "Giselle, please leave your keys here and that would be it. I'll be in touch!". The woman resonated a warmth and when Giselle walked past the trio, she briefly felt her hand squeezed. The door fell into its lock and the brunette exhaled. "Fuck, they really managed that", she whispered and peered up through the ceiling towards the firmament. "Right, you fuckers up there! Don't you have anything better to do?", the complaint went unanswered and before anyone else could leave the apartment, she unlocked Annie's and vanished inside. Her insides were in turmoil. The events repeated in her head time and time again. While she felt violated and cheated, she also felt very proud of how she handled this. Last time she had run off, this time she had been stalwart.

The part of her, that felt violated and put her into a victim mentality, wanted a stream of tears to run down her cheeks, but she wouldn't let it. Not today. This time she wouldn't give anyone the gratification. Those fuckers didn't deserve this. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Anger helped her quench the tears that wallowed up inside her eyes and they dried up quickly. And when the anger faded, it was resolve that kept up her decision and she did not falter. Minutes later, after taking a couple of deep breaths, she got up and prepared to head to the bus stop. Her phone rang instead and she fished it from her pocket and looked at the number. It was Carry. "Hello?", she answered the phone reluctantly. "Hey Giselle", a soft voice spoke to her. A faint echo was in the background as if the woman stood inside a large cave. "How are you doing?", the woman inquired and the brunette took a deep breath. "I'd be lying if I said that I was okay". "How about I invite you to coffee? Benefits of a real estate agent, we don't work nine to five", Carry suggested and sounded genuine, "And in case you're wondering, they are gone and I'm about to leave, too".

The woman startled as Giselle pulled Annie's door open while hanging up and the connection dropped. "My god, Giselle, you surprised me!", the hand with the phone pressed against her heart to feel whether it had stopped in a heart attack, Carry boasted a bright smile at Giselle. "Just wait a moment, I'll grab my luggage", the brunette mumbled and vanished in the dimly lit apartment. Clouds covered most of the sky and produced an annoying drizzle, just like the day before. Carry grabbed one suitcase and gestured for Giselle to take the lead. They walked outside and to her surprise, the woman drove a metallic blue Honda Civic, that easily fit the luggage into the trunk. An eery feeling took hold of Giselle. The configuration of this car and Annie's car were identical. The drivers had some similarities, the blonde hair for instance that Annie wore in a bob and Carry in a tight braid. Their attire felt similar, but their build was not as Carry had wider hips and bigger bust and a couple of pounds around her waist. Carry turned on the engine and glanced over. Both had been quiet while walking down the stairwell. Something which the brunette was grateful for, since she had very little interest in all the neighbours learning how Ian backstabbed her. The blonde hadn't shifted into a gear yet and the quiet hum of the engine and AC was barely noticeable. "What!", she asked Giselle when their eyes met. The brunette rubbed her cheeks sheepishly, "I am having this really weird deja vu. Are you by any chance gay?".