Deceitful Relations

Most people say their wedding day is the happiest day of their lives but not Nicholas. Not when it was the day he lost his freedom to an emotionally abusive woman. Not when he knew Lyra didn’t love him and most likely never will. The fact that she only had a look of contempt when she laid eyes on him on their wedding night was proof enough. So was the fact that she kept her last name and especially the multiple affairs she was having. He knew about them, and she knew that he did but also that he wouldn’t dare say anything. After all, she was behind the funding for the orphanage he grew up in. One mistake from him, and she’d stop. Which is why he entertained her every whim without complaint.Although their marriage was purely for business, and they wouldn’t be able to love each other or at least learn to, it still hurt him to know that his own wife was doing more with other men than with him. He was greatly aware of the difference in treatment. To them, she was like a nymph, but to him

He had noticed that Alexis hadn’t been herself the last few days. Normally, she said whatever came to mind, but she’d been as quiet as a mouse and always had a far-off look in her eyes. He always answered with an “I’m fine” whenever he asked if she was ok. Later that night, he accidentally stumbled across her crying in her room.“Lex, what’s wrong?”“He dumped me,” She hiccupped.He quickly went to grab a box of tissues before sitting next to her and letting her cry on his shoulder. He thought it’d be best if he waited until she had calmed down enough to talk. He patiently waited for an hour, and even after she had stopped, he waited in case she still had more in her.“Why did he dump you?”“I told him that I’m letting you stay here for a while, but he didn’t like the idea. I then told him I’m just helping you out, but he accused me of always putting you first.”“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed…”“You don’t have to apologise. It’s not your fault.”“You should tell that to yourself

Nicholas stared at the card for a while before picking up his phone.“That was fast,” Myrine said. “I see that you live in Athens too. I’ll send you my location. Drop by when you have time so we can go over the details. I’m sure you’ve noticed I have a taste for extravagant things, so you’ll definitely know my place when you see it.”“Ok.”After work, he went straight to the location she had sent him. He found her already seated and waiting.“Sorry I took so long.”“No, it’s fine. Have a seat.”“Ok,” He sat down.“There’s not much to say. Besides your services, I need you to not mention our deal when we’re “together”. You’ll also have to memorise these notes,” She handed them to him. “It’s just the standard things like how we met, how long we’ve been dating and so on. Nothing too hectic. Our first appearance is at a dinner party tomorrow.”“Already?” He asked while paging through them.“Yes. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I just need your measurements before you leave and for

During Nic’s break, Alexis stopped by. “So, how did last night go?” She asked. “It was fine.” “That’s it?” “I wasn’t much of a participant, but more of a background character so yeah.” “That’s a shame. But maybe next time you’ll be a bit more proactive. Anyway, you went out for fun, so that’s something. As they say: progress is progress no matter how small.” “Lyra was there.” “What!?” “Yeah. She came with someone else.” “Sorry. I...” “It’s fine. It was just surprising to see her there.” “What did she say when she saw you two?” “Nothing. She went on as if nothing was wrong the whole night.” He purposely left out the reason behind Lyra’s behaviour. “Weird,” She commented. “Not as weird as Myrine finding out my banking information.” “She did what?” “We weren’t seeing eye to eye about me getting paid, so she took matters into her own hands.” “So, she got a hold of your banking details?” “Yeah.” “It’s probably for the best anyway because you’re insane for not wanting to