2

Chapter 2

Patrick Banks

~•~

As I sat down in my office, I couldn’t help but wonder how we got here. My eyes darted over to the picture frame that stood beside the computer on the table.

Her blue eyes shone brightly in the photo. That was one of her features that had captivated me the first time I saw her on the television screen.

I knew I needed her in my life.

Valarie’s beauty still took my breath away, even in a photograph. I started reminiscing about the days we would laugh together as we attended different events.

I remembered our love. I remembered the first time we met outside her dormitory. I remembered when everything was still perfect. I couldn’t help but wonder how everything went wrong.

Valerie didn’t seem unhappy. I thought I gave her everything she wanted. But I guess I was wrong. Everything was great between us, but she went ahead to ruin it.

Everything felt so surreal. I wouldn’t have believed if anyone had told me that Valerie would end up betraying me.

Even though I felt insecure at times because of her line of work, I still trusted my wife. She assured me that she would never do anything to hurt me.

But then, I realized that people lie.

The worst part was that she was acting clueless about everything. She wanted to have a conversation with me badly, but I just couldn’t do it.

I wasn’t ready to watch her lie to my face anymore.

She had been doing it for a while, but I knew better now.

Valerie had been sitting in the lobby for over an hour. A part of me felt guilty for making her waste her time. But she deserved it.

After what she did, I shouldn’t even care about her feelings anymore. The receptionist had called me several times to remind me about my wife who was waiting for me downstairs.

I gave her the same response every time.

“I’ll let you know when I’m free, so you can send her up.”

I didn’t want to see Valerie, and I hoped that ignoring her would just make her leave. But Valerie was determined to see me. She didn’t mind waiting.

She had tried to talk to me several times at home, but I always brushed her off. I didn’t want to speak to her, but she was still persistent.

I was trying to wrap my head around the whole situation and needed space to think. I barely went back home just to avoid her.

As I sat down there, lost in my thoughts, my phone buzzed on the desk. I glanced at the screen, expecting it to be the receptionist again.

But it was a text from Valerie instead.

[ So you intentionally ignored me and made me waste my time in the lobby. We need to talk, we are married. You can’t ignore me forever.]

I exhaled heavily as I read the text.

Yes, I couldn’t ignore her forever, but I wasn’t ready to speak to her. Did she forget that she was married before she betrayed me?

I leaned back on my chair, rubbing my temple.

Everything about the whole situation was draining. I didn’t even want to think about it anymore. I needed a distraction.

I picked up my phone and called my best friend, asking him to meet me at a bar. Fortunately enough, Jordan was free and ready to meet up with me.

I still had a few more hours before my work for the day ended, but I couldn’t stay until then. I told my assistant to reschedule whatever I had left for the day.

Soon enough, I was seated in my car.

It dawned on me that I didn’t respond to Valerie’s text. I drafted a quick response and sent it before driving out of the office.

After a short drive, I arrived at the bar where I asked Jordan to meet up with me. When I walked inside, I made my way to the counter where the bartender stood.

Jordan hadn’t arrived, so I ordered a drink while I waited for him. “Give me a shot of tequila, please,” I instructed the bartender, who responded with a nod.

“Patrick Banks.” I heard Jordan’s voice echo from behind me a few moments later. “Trouble in paradise?” He asked with a smirk as he sat on the empty stool beside me.

A relieved breath escaped my lips as I saw Jordan. Jordan’s presence was like therapy to me. We had been best friends since we were little, and he always knew how to cheer me up.

I nodded. “Yes, man, trouble in paradise.”

Jordan chuckled. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Without hesitation, I shook my head. “No, I don’t want to think about it.”

I didn’t come all the way to the bar to talk about my problems. I just wanted to get drunk and escape my reality.

But I knew Jordan wouldn’t let me get drunk in public. The last time something like that happened, it was a total disaster, and people on the internet didn’t stop talking about it for weeks.

It even cost Valerie one of her roles in an upcoming movie.

I knew what I had to do to make her forgive me.

“Give us a shot of your strongest drink,” Jordan told the bartender when he placed the shot of tequila in front of me.

I nodded in agreement. “Yes, we want the strongest drink.”

My throat burned as I drank the tequila, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t as bad as the emotional pain I felt in my heart. I just wanted to numb the pain.

Jordan brought up a conversation about random stuff to lighten up the mood, but I still couldn’t stop thinking about Valerie.

“You know you have to talk about what is bothering you if you want to move past it?” Jordan narrowed his eyes at me when I asked for another drink.

I waved my hands in the air dismissively. “Trust me, you don’t want to hear about it,” I responded with a chuckle. I honestly didn’t want to tell anyone about it until I was ready to speak to Valerie about it.

“Okay, fine. I think we should head back to your house before you start acting funny.” Jordan stood up from the stool and gestured for me to join him.

“I’m not drunk.”

“I know you aren’t drunk, but you will be if we stay here any longer.”

I stood up and followed Jordan to his car. My driver would pick up my car later because I wasn’t in the right state of mind to drive.

As we drove into the city, my phone buzzed with a text message from Valerie’s sister.

[ Have you done it yet?]