Desperate

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"Winnie are you sure you are fine?" I ask for the third time.

"Yes, I am." She replies without looking up. Winnie has been on her laptop throughout for the past few days. The reason is quite obvious though. She is either looking for a date or a husband. Looking at her now, reminds me of the good old days.

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Winnie and I have been best friends since college. We did everything together, we even rented a place together during college. We also got transferred to the same place for our internship program. We had everything in common, except that now I'm married and she's not. Ever since I got married to Kent, Winnie changed her attitude towards me. She became cold and withdrawn. She always brought up excuses just to avoid hanging out with me. It seemed like the pressure of getting married, has finally gotten to her. Since Kent's business required him traveling abroad, it gave me enough time to spend with her. I have been staying at her place for a week now, and all her focus has been on her laptop.

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"Hey Melody, come over here." She beckons to me excitedly. Standing up, I move to sit beside her on the bed.

I can't help but notice her excitement,"You sound so happy, care to share?"

She points towards her laptop screen. I follow her hands with my line of sight only to stare at my worst nightmare on the screen. Before I am able to say anything, she cuts me off, "Wait Melody, before you say anything let me explain..."

I can't help but scream, cutting her off in mid sentence, "No, no Winnie you got to be kidding me. Not this guy again!!"

Winnie replies, ready for argument,
"He has changed, he is no longer the guy you used to know. We have been chatting for months now and we love each other. He even proposed to me."

Shaking my head in anger, I reply, "He did what? How can you be this stupid! He doesn't love you, he is just using you."

Shit, shit I didn't mean to say it out loud, "Winnie, I...I didn't mean..."

Winnie looks at me with tears visible in her eyes, I can see that she's hurt by my words. She stops me from completing my sentence,
"Melody, how can you say such a thing? how can you be so cruel? now that I have found somebody that loves me, you are now trying to ruin it."

She looks down and bursts out into tears while covering her face. Oh gawd what have I done. I quickly try to correct my mistake, "Winnie..."

I hug her while patting her back,
"It's not that I don't want you to be happy, but Harry was my ex boyfriend and I know him better than anyone. He is a liar and a fraudster. Have you forgotten how I almost ended up in jail? That was the worst moments of my life and I don't want you to experience that."

Melody looks up at me while sniffing and says, "I know he did a lot of bad things, I know he framed you when the police caught him with some hard drugs. But that is all in the past. He is a changed man now. I just want you to be happy for me."

I can sense her desperation but I just choose to ignore it, "Okay, fine. I won't stop you from following your heart, but please be careful."

She wraps her hands around me and whispers, "Yes, I will."

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Opening the fridge, I take out a bottle of water to drink. I am just coming back from dropping my two daughters at school. Walking into the parlor, I switch on the television to listen to the news while scrolling through the pictures of Winnie and I. It has been 5 years since Winnie got married to Harry. How time flies. Although I can't say that I was thrilled during their wedding. I was only happy that Winnie was finally happy. Harry even looked odd to me, he was always jumpy and would always turn back as if someone was after him. When I told Winnie about my concerns, she had ignored me and accused me of trying to ruin her happiness. She said I was just being paranoid, so I decided to back off. While scrolling through the pictures, I keep hearing the name "Harry Handers" from the news which caught my attention. Dropping my phone, I swiftly turn my attention towards the television while increasing the volume.

"Mr and Mrs Handers were both arrested earlier this morning at their residence on an alleged case of fraud. His wife Winnie Handers have been released due to lack of evidence. Investigations are still ongoing at the moment."

I'm in shock. I quickly dial Winnie's number. She picks up, she is weeping uncontrollably while saying, "I should have listened to you, I really should have listened to you."

I try to console her, "Stop crying the harm has already been done. People make mistakes, nobody is perfect. It is going to be alright, you just have to be strong. When there is life, there is hope!"

I can still hear her sniffing at the other end of the line.

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