Tricia stopped, turning toward him with a look of pure venom.
"How could you do that to me?!" she cried. "How could you have looked at me everyday and blatantly lied?! Ya know what's really funny?! I had just about convinced myself that I was being paranoid about your bizarre behavior around Natalie.....I had even given you a number of chances to tell me the truth....and you still lied to my face! I feel like a complete idiot!"
Hayden looked at the ground, "Tricia....I....I don't know what to say. I'm very sorry that you found out this way."
"Well, an apology is kind of irrelevant at this point," Tricia snapped. "...because the truth is, you are not sorry for hiding the fact you and Natalie were once a couple....you're sorry because I found out at all. Clearly, you had no intention of telling me and that makes me even more suspicious...
"--I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel insecure about my having to work with her again," Hayden replied, knowing he looked weak and cowardice.
Tricia looked at him with an incredulous expression, "Don't do that! Don't make it seem as though you were trying to protect my feelings! I really have nothing to do with this at all! This is about you and whatever relationship you had or still have with Natalie"
"That relationship was in the past," Hayden answered.
Tricia just looked at him, "that's bullshit -- are you kidding me? I don't think its all just things from the past-- you were in there yelling at her about her boyfriend because you were jealous!! How can you stand there and say its about the past?! I feel even worse now than if you had told me the truth from the beginning...." -- she looked at him for a moment, "just level with me...are you still in love with her??"
Hayden shut his eyes and opened them again looking at the ground.
Tricia shook her head, feeling tears well up in her eyes again.
"THAT is why you didn't tell me the truth. She's clearly not just an ex-girlfriend from the past- don't patronize me like that--"
Hayden stood there utterly speechless. He felt like a huge coward. He just didn't know what to say.
"Tricia...I'll admit...I'm confused....but I do know that I love you."
Tricia shook her head, silent for a few moments. Her independence would not allow her to falter to any apology, not at the hands of someone who had lied to her. She then spoke up, "...well, I'm afraid that's not good enough. Love isn't enough, Hayden. Telling someone you love them doesn't erase lying -- because its your actions that tell more about you than your meaningless words."
Tricia looked at the ground, tears falling freely now. "How could this happen? We had a good relationship...at least I thought we did..."
"We did...we do...and we still can," Hayden spoke up. "I just have to sort things out first."
Tricia looked up, the tears staining her cheeks but had stopped falling, "no....I'm going to make things very easy for you now. You want Natalie?? You can have her....if you feel lost and torn between the two of us, I'm going to take that burden away- you're no longer going to have a choice, at least not where I'm concerned."
Hayden shook his head," Tricia, don't do this."
"Hayden, I have to," Tricia said. "I'm catching the next flight back to the States....my things will be moved out of the house by the time you get back".
Hayden clinched his fists, feeling utterly powerless. "Can we please talk about this?"
"What is there to talk about? I just can't be with someone I don't trust...and I don't trust you anymore...once you have lied to me about one thing, I can never believe you haven't lied about other things or won't lie again. My trust in you is completely broken....I've made your choice for you -- go....go run to Natalie. It's where you want to be anyway," Tricia said, bitterness evident in her tone.
Tricia stormed to her car door, opened it, got inside and drove away as quickly as possible, leaving Hayden standing there feeling hopeless, powerless and completely despondent.