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‘I wish I could let myself be so overwhelmed with joy,’ I tell my friend.

‘You just need a cock-tales evening. You keep missing them, now that you have your man at home and are otherwise engaged.’

‘We’re taking it easy right now, until he makes a full recovery.’

‘Oh, but if good sex makes you feel good, great sex must be a cure-all.’ Bea sounds just like Luuk, as if she, too, is revealing the latest medical discovery.

‘Of course! First, we break him, then give him sex for a fast recovery!’

‘I mean, if it works…’

‘Shit, I need to leave! I’ll make it right on time, if I choose the route wisely to avoid dug up roads.’

Bea humphs. ‘Looking forward to seeing your beloved supervisor today?’

‘You’re a mind reader, aren’t you?’

It’s been a great breather to not have seen Wanda since I bolted a couple of days ago. But as I start cycling towards UN-tourist, my dread slowly resurfaces, like a monster hidden in the murky waters of a swamp. So I’m not exactly happy to see Wanda standing at the building’s entrance, her expression explosive. I lock my bike and cross the road to get inside, wondering what she might want.

‘Nicely played, Coraline,’ she says, her words dripping with irony, her hands lifted for the sake of theatrics—silent clapping, her eyes two slits spitting fire, and for a moment I’m reminded of the fake mom in the film, wanting to sew buttons on Coraline’s eyes.

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Playing feisty and all, then running to the boyfriend to complain about the bad boss?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Oh, piss off!’ she shouts, and I’m thankful that nobody is around to listen in the empty street. ‘They were right about you all along! About what a sneaky bitch you are, trying to become part of a family that never wanted you, even using your children.’

‘I don’t follow, and really need to go upstairs.’

‘Don’t worry, nobody will complain about you being late.’ Each word is drenched in sarcasm.

‘O…kay.’ I intend to close the conversation, but Wanda isn’t done.

‘I was talking about Johan’s family,’ she throws.

My hand holding my key fob hovers in front of the door. Slowly, I turn to face her, almost expecting Johan to materialize. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Don’t pretend to not remember! You saw me on that day,’ she spits. ‘If it wasn’t for you, Johan would be alive and we would have been together.’

The faint memory of the sobbing woman whose face I never saw becomes clear, like those faded Polaroids people post on social media, which “develop” when you click on them. So this is the famous dream bride for Johan, the woman who was supposed to be everything I’m not. In his words, they had parted ways long before he and I met, much to his family’s grief. Their breakup was supposed to be by mutual consent. Why is she behaving as if I stole Johan from her? Or is this the story she was told? And which part of what I was told was true?

‘But…how?’

‘You certainly don’t believe that it’s a conspiracy of some sort to stalk you; you’re not that important. I happened to get the job at UN-tourist, because it is a small world, sadly.’

‘Is that why you treated me so unfairly?’

‘I treated you like you deserved. Is that why you made sure I got fired? Who did your famous guy talk to?’

It takes a split second for her words to sink in. She’s fired? And blames it on me? Since the masks have fallen, I decide to hold no punches.

‘You know what, Wanda? You are not that important either.’ My words scorch my throat, and I wonder whether dragons feel the same when spitting fire. ‘Believe it or not, I had nothing to do with you getting kicked out, although I wish I had. You’re a shitty person. You treated me based on what you were told by someone who loved manipulating people just so he could feel powerful, and convinced everyone around him that he was the victim. You chose to filter my performance through that distorted loyalty lens of yours without having the faintest idea about what really happened. I won’t pretend that I won’t be happy to never see your sour face again!’

I finally swipe the key fob, wanting to put as much distance as possible between us.

‘Karma is a bitch, Coraline, just wait and see!’ she shouts behind the glass.