Her mind was made up. No one, not even this man, her angelic gift from above, was going to get close enough to hurt her again. Her heart had suffered enough bruises and cuts to last a lifetime and she would be damned before she allowed it to happen again.
But a part of her wanted to believe, if only for a moment, that his sugar-coated words could be true; that she was gifted with both his heart and his mind. There were always those doubts though ... those self-defensive words that crept into her heart just when things looked too perfect. "If it seems too perfect ... then it's not." And this was too perfect ... he was too perfect. But she blindly allowed it to continue, for her mind to be fooled into thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could be the one. Her heart ached to be loved, to be healed from those past wounds that had hardened it so and here before her, was her beacon of light. He shone brightly out among the others, as if sent straight down from heaven above to heal the girl that cried out in pain when alone with her dreams.
She was falling in love ... that much was obvious; not only to herself, but to those around her. They noticed that something different in her mannerisms; the endless smile, the extra bounce in her step, the light in her eyes. It was beauty to behold because for so long she had that dull expression that comes from being trampled beneath the feet of uncaring men. But now ... now her fire was returning and it was glorious indeed. Everyone said so.
But still there was that part of her, that anger that simmered beneath her skin, never too far from her thoughts, over the past heartache and lies that had come her way down this lonely path of love. Even as she sat for hours on end in conversation with him, getting to know him better and allowing him to get to know her, she couldn't help but look at him at times and wonder if he was a master at lying through his teeth. She was starting to think what man wasn't a liar, a thief of hearts, an untamed rogue that could care less of the disasters he left behind in his wake.
In still moments though, she allowed herself to believe ... to dream ... to hope. Perhaps he was the one that would make it all better, to make her past stop haunting her in tormenting moments and allow her to blossom beneath his care and attentions. He was everything that she had hoped for and he was so down to earth, realistically speaking. Financially, he was in control. He had a good head on his shoulders. He was confident about his goals and his abilities to make her dreams a reality. They had so much in common. Would it be so wrong to let him in close?
Over the next few weeks, they spent more time together and she allowed herself to believe. It was almost an unfamiliar feeling, this surge of hope that sprang through her and she tried so desperately to tread cautiously as her trampled heart began to soar. She should have been more careful but she carelessly wanted to believe. He doted on her, put her up on a pedestal that she had forgotten even existed and she began to believe his honeyed words. All she began to see was him and even as she began to thrive on the moments that she spent in his arms, somewhere in the back of her mind screamed out in horror to beware! But all that seemed to matter was him and the time that she spent with him ... moments lost in one another's arms, endless hours on the phone, exchanged e-mails back and forth and countless other times spent in one another's company. Her hardened heart was beginning to soften. But then the impending happened and everything changed from bittersweet moments to betraying hatred.
A supposed moment between friends, an innocent display of affection perhaps; things that would have come across as normal exchanges between two people in passing were seen as blatant unforgiving crimes in the heart of a doubter. That jezebel that called herself friend wrapped around his arm like the two-timing whore she really presented herself to be ... the love of her life, the protector of her heart, the healer of her wounds was now in the lovely clutches of her lies. And he loved it ... it was apparent in his smile whenever he saw her. These things were pointed out innocently enough through the eyes of another that longed for the bleakness of where she used to be. Hatred grows deep with support from others that feel the same shame of its solitude. It's true what they say about sorrow needing its throngs of supporters.
The pain was unbelievable. This was betrayal in its purest form. She couldn't see past the picture that had been presented to her. Even though the information had been told in words, in an ugly whisper in her ear, presented so innocently as though she was stupid enough not to see what was going on ... in her mind, it was as clear as a beautiful portrait had been painted with quick sure strokes that could not be denied. He was playing her and anger rose to the surface as quick and sure as a single shot to her heart. He would pay. She could feel the cold icy fingers of nothingness close in around her heart, securing the steel band in place once more. He would pay. The glimmer in blue eyes turned to stone, the warmth of her smile fading into a tight line across lips that once shimmered like the sweetest of berries. He would pay.