CHAPTER 3

Franklin Howard:

"You're right. We would have gotten married, but it's not too late to divorce your sister now. She isn't up to my standard, and I do not like her," I said, as the waiter brought our dinner, and Amelia smiled.

"How about me? I have always admired you. Honestly, that night, I felt sad seeing that Natalie drugged you and used you as her target to escape from our parents' home. She's just wayward, and I had always admired you then, hoping we would become married," Amelia said, tears gathering in her blue eyes.

I sighed. "Don't worry, I will end my marriage with Natalie, okay? And she can move on with her life with whomever she pleases; I do not care," I said, and Amelia grinned.

"Does that mean you will consider dating me now? I really do love you, Franklin," she asked me, looking at my face.

Amelia was very beautiful, and with her blue eyes shining, I couldn't say no to her request. I wanted to date her. I used to like her then. She was taller, like a formidable model, with slender legs, a slim waist, and an ample bosom.

Those days, my father sent me on some errands to meet Mr. Liam Jackson, and from there, I would catch a glimpse of Amelia. Similarly, whenever our families had any end-of-the-year event, like New Year festivities, Christmas, or birthday celebrations, my dad would still invite the Jackson family to our home, I would get to see Amelia.

Presently, as I got married and moved away from my father's house where I now live with my wife, I hardly attended these end-of-the-year celebrations, as I felt ashamed to be in the same location as my wife. I would travel abroad and give excuses to my dad why I couldn't show up.

The waiter soon arrived with our meals, and I got up from the table to excuse myself.

"I'm coming. I want to go and use the restroom," I told Amelia, and she smiled.

"Okay," she said, while the waiter left after positioning our meals on the table.

I knew I wasn't supposed to leave my meal, but Amelia was like family to me, and I trusted her. I quickly waved away the negative feeling that had settled in the pit of my stomach as I left for the restroom to relieve myself.

I stole a final glance at Amelia before I entered the restroom, seeing her smile at me.

I hurried into one of the men's restroom to relieve myself. There were several cubicles for the men to use, knowing that their restaurant could get crowded with lots of patrons at night.

As I got out of the restroom, wanting to leave—not expecting that I would become pressed, simply because I didn't have the time to relieve myself at home—I bumped into Michael Austin, my best friend in the city.

Michael wore a crisp white shirt paired with black jeans similar to mine, as he wore black canvas shoes.

"Franklin! What brought you here, bro? Hold up, let me use the restroom quickly," Michael rushed into the restroom to relieve himself too, while I waited for him to come out.

"Franklin!" Michael and I shook hands, and I asked him, "What's up with you, Micheal? What brings you here?"

Michael chuckled and replied, "I was just bored at home. You know, I do not have a wife or girlfriend, so I came here to see if I can see any beautiful lady to hang out with."

Michael had a darker complexion compared to me, who was fair.

"That's fine. I have to go now, as I came here with my date," I replied, wanting to leave and not wanting to mention that I came here with my wife's half-sister.

"Your date?" Michael looked surprised as he stopped me, his eyes narrowed at me.

"Yeah, can't I go on a date again?" I asked him. He frown, laughed and replied, "Of course, hahaha, you can go on a date, Franklin. But with your wife, I guess. Who did you arrive here with?"

"Come, let's go out and meet with her. She will be waiting for me," I replied. Though Michael didn't seem happy to hear that I came here on a date and not with my wife.

I haven't gone on any date with Natalie. I hadn't taken her out for shopping. I just planned to divorce her, and as the matter was still ongoing in my mind, I hadn't discussed it yet with Michael, even as he was my best friend. I knew he wouldn't support me in divorcing Natalie, as he kind of had a soft spot for her.

Michael and I were the same age. He owned several hotels here, thanks to his wealthy parents, as he was a billionaire, and his father was a senator.

We exited the men's restroom and went back to the private parlor to join Amelia there.

As I approached the chair where Amelia sat, just as I saw that the waiter had completely served my request, I quickly introduced Michael to Amelia.

"Hey, bro, meet my girlfriend Amelia Jackson. Amy, this is Michael Austin, my childhood best friend," I introduced Amelia to Michael, as I moved to take my seat in the room, wanting to be quick with my dinner and to return home on time to my unwanted wife.

"Hi," Amelia said to Michael, as she stood up from her seat and extended her right hand to him for a handshake.

Michael only stared at Amelia's hand and didn't accept her hand for a handshake.

"Franklin, isn't she your wife's elder sister? Are you fụcking both your wife and her sister now?" Michael asked me, his anger evident, and that actually pissed me off. As he shouted so loudly, despite the fact we were in the private hall.

Some other patrons looked at our table in shock, despite the dimly lit light in the room, while Amelia appeared tense.

"Shut up, Michael! What has gotten into you? I am not fụcking Natalie at home, and whatever relationship that I have with Natalie and her sister, it is none of your business," I barked, pissed off that my best friend, like supporting my wife over me. He never found any fault in Natalie and would often disagree with me if I told him that Natalie was ugly and not my spec.

"Really, I had thought you arrived here with your wife, and here you are, actually fooling around with her sister. Don't you feel any shame, Franklin? And if at all you want to cheat on Natalie, must you cheat on her with her sister?!" Michael shouted, seeming to gather more attention from the staff working in this restaurant, as we weren't the only ones using the large parlor, and with Michael raising his voice at me, he seemed to have disrupted the eerie atmosphere of this private parlor.

"Michael, you can leave and not lecture me on how to live my life," I told him, seeing Amelia looked embarrassed.

Michael looked at us, just as I told Amelia to sit back, and he turned around and left.

I treasured my friendship with Michael, but he was getting on my nerves each time he disagreed with me about divorcing Natalie. He most times told me that I was blind to see how beautiful she was.

"I apologize to you on my friend's behalf. He's always like that, picking on Natalie's side, that I'm beginning to think if he's sleeping with her behind my back as the cheap woman that she is," I told Amelia to ease her tense mood.