"Renee, if you’re not comfortable staying here, we can eat somewhere else,” Jason suggested in a soft tone as he watched Amelia and Andrew in their seats, not far away from their table. Renee’s jaw clenched, but she tore her eyes away from the two. She looked at Jason and shook her head. “No. I won’t let them ruin our lunch.” Jason nodded. “That's good.” “Do you think he knows about the affair?” Renee asked Jason, referring to Andrew. Knowing the type of person Andrew was, Jason highly doubted that he knew about the affair. If he did, Amara would be on the streets and not on a date with him. “I doubt it," Jason answered “You’re right. I kind of feel bad for him; maybe I'd even tell him if he weren’t so awful. Knowing him, he’d probably laugh in my face and say I was trying to ruin his marriage,” Renee said. “You’re not wrong." Jason agreed. “What were you about to tell me before they asked in?” he asked. Renee let out a bitter chuckle. “Funny enough, it actually has to
“Andrew, do you know why Bruno and I separated?”The words were at the tip of Renee’s tongue, and her mouth was watering to say them. Jason noticed the look in Renee’s eyes. How they burned to tell Andrew the truth and shut him up. If she couldn’t do it, then Jason would be glad to. He exchanged a look with her and subtly asked if he could, and she nodded.“Andrew, do you know why Renee and Bruno separated?” Jason said the words came out louder than she intended, her tone dripping with disdain.The moment the words left Jason’s lips, they went straight to Amara’s ears. All the hairs on her body stood up, and before she knew what she was doing, she practically ran up to Andrew.“Honey, please, I want to leave.” The words spilled out of Amara’s lips in a hurry, her voice shaky.Andrew’s eyes darted between Renee and Jason, even to Amara, who was slightly trembling. Andrew suddenly got the feeling that something was going on that he was unaware of.He furrowed his brows. “But you were t
“Amara! You can’t keep my son from me!” Bruno slurred as he entered the restaurant.Jason’s eyes darted to Bruno, then to Renee. He expected her to have the same look of shock and confusion that he had, but she didn’t. She looked displeased to see Bruno, a frown present on her face, but she also looked completely unfazed by what Bruno had said.On the other hand, all colour had drained from Amara’s face, and her eyes were glistening like she was about to cry.Andrew stood up from his seat and glared daggers at Amara. "Amara, what the hell is that man talking about? Why is he asking you about a son?”“I..I…don’t…” Amara stuttered. At that moment, she wished the ground under her feet could open and swallow her whole.Bruno walked to the group, bumping into a few tables and murmuring apologies as he did. His eyes were bloodshot, and the smell of alcohol was potent on him."Amara, you can’t do this to me.” He grabbed the collar of her shirt and shook her slightly.Suddenly, it was like a
“Bruno assaulted me,” she said through choked sobs.“What?” Andrew blurted out, his eyes widening.Jason and Renee exchanged looks of disbelief, taken aback by Amara’s lie.“You bastard!” Andrew held Bruno by his collar. “You’re going to spend the rest of your miserable life paying for what you did to my wife. You hear me?”“You and your wife are insane! Do you really believe her?” Bruno slurred as he pushed Andrew’s hands off his collar.“Bruno, she's lying,” Renee said.“Shut up!” Amara shouted. "Andy, honey, look at me.” She put her hands on each side of Andrew’s face. “Who are you going to believe? A drunk, a jealous woman, and a lowlife nobody like Jason or your wife who loves you?” She said it with a sad smile.Andrew looked into his wife’s eyes and sighed. He wanted to believe her."Oh, please save the loving wife act,” Renee scoffed.“Andrew, listen” Jason started, “Amara has been cheating on you with Bruno.”“That’s not true. Bruno assaulted me. He forced me to be with him.”
As Andrew drove to the address that was texted to him, his mind reeled with thoughts of the events that had just taken place.He and Amara never had the perfect marriage, but one thing about them was that no matter what, they stayed together. It was the two of them against everyone else.Amara was always willing to do anything for Andrew. That was why, with the choker, she lied just to back Andrew up; it wasn’t just to humiliate Jason, although that was part of her reason, mainly because she wanted to stand by her husband. She always wanted that.Which is why Andrew couldn’t think of a reason why she would want to be with Bruno.Bruno wasn’t richer or from a more prestigious family; actually, it was the opposite. Bruno was pretty average; he only entered high society through his marriage to Renee.Andrew felt like his head was on fire, and he needed to hose it off. Out of all his uncertainties, there was one thing that was for sure.“She knows too much; if I divorce her, she’ll talk.
The name of the hotel that Andrew was sent to was The Haven Retreat. It was a small hotel, nestled in a tranquil area of the city.Andrew checked his phone once again to confirm what room the meeting would be held in.“Room 40,” he read aloud.As Andrew walked to the room, he made the conscious effort to only think of the business he had in the hotel and not about his cheating wife, who was sitting in the passenger's seat of his car.Finally, he reached the room and lifted his fist to knock on the door.After the second knock, the door swung open to reveal Kent, who had his phone pressed to his ears, seemingly in the middle of a phone call.Kent gestured for Andrew to come in as he stepped aside to allow Andrew to enter the hotel room. As Andrew stepped into the room, his gaze landed on a bottle of scotch on the table, and he did not hesitate to pour himself into a glass. He drank it as he watched Kent, waiting for him to finish his conversation.“I’ll fill you in later, Roland,” Kent
The door of Room 40 swung open, and a young man clad in a crisp black suit walked in. His jet-black hair was styled in a quiff, and round glasses framed his face. He entered the room and nodded at the three men who were there waiting for him.“Anatoly welcome” Stefan greeted the man.“Thank you, Stefan,” the man replied with a thick Russian accent.“Who is the one to take charge of the company?” Anatoly asked. He snapped towards the bottle of scotch, and Andrew and Kent exchanged a look at each other before Andrew passed him the bottle and a glass.“I am,” Kent answered proudly.“So then you’re going to be our puppet," Anatoly smirked, then took a sip from his glass.Kent frowned, displeased by being referred to as a puppet, but he didn’t voice out his displeasure.“Lighten up, it’s just a joke.” Anatoly burst into laughter when he saw the look on Kent’s face. “We’re partners,” he said, then walked up to Kent and patted him on the back aggressively.Kent let out a chuckle, then shifte
“Jason, Marcus most likely isn’t Andrew’s son,” Renee admitted. “And I’m sure he’s Bruno's.”Jason finally understood why Renee had been that way. Cheating on your partner was one thing, but having another family with the person you were cheating on them with was a completely different kind of pain.It was a pain that Jason knew well.It felt like the lunch with Renee was bringing back feelings that he had tried so hard to bury and sink back up to the surface.Everything he felt when he saw Lana, Diana, and Christopher for the first time seemed to come back. Jason didn’t want to feel hatred for Diana; he wanted to be indifferent towards her and not feel anything at all. But every time the image popped into his head, he couldn’t help the rage that built up inside of him.Then there was Christopher. Even though he was obviously making an effort to mend his and Jason’s relationship, or at the very least get Jason’s forgiveness, Jason couldn’t fully let go of all that happened between th