Chapter 6

Julius’s Point of View

“Fuck!”

My fist slammed hard against the wall, the impact echoing through the room as anger burned through my veins.

Who the hell did I just sign a contract marriage with?

A goddamn prostitute.

How could she… how the fuck could she do this to me?!

That bitch...Diva, has guts.

She brought a man into my family house… and slept with him.

Right under this roof.

And then, She poured that crimson stain on the bed. A setup. A calculated, disgusting lie.

To make it look like she’d been raped… so I’d let it slide.

“Fuck!” The word tore out of me again, harsher this time.

What if she had been caught?

What if someone had seen them?

What if that bastard Silvester saw it?

What would I have told my parents?

My hands dragged over my face, pressing hard against my skin as the image of those stains flashed in my mind again, vivid and unsettling.

And then…

Fragments of memory crept in.

What happened when I woke up.

The blur. The confusion.

The feeling.

My breath hitched.

Could it be what I’m thinking?

No. No.

That’s not possible.

I inhaled deeply, forcing air into lungs that suddenly felt too tight, trying to steady the chaos inside me.

At least… at least my mother walked in when she did.

Caught me in that goddamn room with that betrayer.

God. That was close.

Too close.

But wait…

My thoughts halted.

What was my mother thinking?

What if... What if she knew it wasn’t me?

 I sighed, "Julius you need to forget about this." 

Just then, what my mother told Diva came to mind.

She wanted to have a word with her.

All through the wedding, my mother had been watching me closely, as if she suspected something wasn’t right. I remember her asking how I suddenly ended up with a woman I was about to marry.

I lied, of course, and she nodded like she believed me. But her behavior at the wedding said otherwise.

Worse, she called Diva, saying she wanted to speak with her. I distracted Diva because my gut told me my mother intended to probe further into the genuineness of our marriage.

When she met us a few minutes ago, she insisted on having a word with Diva.

Christ… I hope things don’t get screwed up for me. God knows I’m not ready to lose the heirship over a silly mistake.

My ringtone blared aloud.

I took my phone out of my pocket and checked the caller ID.

It was Paul, my secretary.

I pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Paul," I said, placing the phone close to my ear.

"Hello, boss," he replied. "How are things going over there?"

"Something happened," I told him.

"And what’s that?" he asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

"You know what, I’ll be at the company soon. When I get there, I’ll explain everything to you," I said.

"What if you just say it now?" he insisted.

"When we meet," I replied dismissively.

"Alright, if you insist. Hmm, I was calling to remind you about the meeting. You know we can’t afford to lose this one," he said.

"You shouldn't remind me about that, I know." I told him firmly.

"Er...just trying to remind you." He said.

I took a deep breath in, "alright. Thanks for the reminder."

"Okay. Hmm, boss, I wanted to tell you something." He continued.

"And what's that?" I asked him.

"I just got divorced." He told me.

I couldn't believe it.

" What! What happened?" I asked curious.

The last time I checked, Paul never mentioned having any issue with his wife.

"When we meet." He said slowly.

"Paul talk to me," I pressed on.

"Hmm... Boss, I tried. I tried my best but she wouldn't stop cheating on me." He said, his voice cracking.

She wouldn't stop cheating?

Was Mira a cheat?

" You mean, Mira?" I asked him, surprised.

"Yes." He told me.

"She cheated?" I asked.

"Yes. Not once, not twice." He said.

" She's been cheating on you and you never told me about it?" I asked him, shocked.

"I didn't wanted to bring in third party in my marriage. My pastor warned me about it." He explained.

"And that was why you didn't told me about it?" I asked.

"I thought that, aside being your boss, I'm your friend?" I added.

"Of course yes." He admitted.

"You know what, when we meet.." I told him.

This isn't something we should discuss on phone. We need to meet face to face.

"Alright boss," he said, then I ended the call.

Knock. Knock.

“Who’s there?” I asked, my eyes fixed on the door.

The handle turned.

The door opened, and a maid stepped in.

“Sir Julius, breakfast is ready,” she said.

I hissed coldly. “I’m not hungry.”

Grabbing my briefcase from beside my laptop, I strode out of the room without another word.

My steps echoed as I descended the stairs into the living room.

I turned toward the dining area.

They were all there.

My parents. My elder brother, Silvester and 

His wife.

Seated, eating, like everything was normal.

Like nothing had changed.

Without a word, I walked past them and headed straight for the door. My hand gripped the handle.

I pulled it open...

“Don’t tell me you’re skipping breakfast today?” My mother’s voice boomed behind me.

I paused.

A quiet sigh slipped from my lips as my hand fell from the handle.

“I have an important meeting to attend,” I said, turning slowly to face them.

“Today of all days?” my dad demanded, his gaze still fixed on his plate, the faint clink of his cutlery cutting through the silence.

“I’m—”

“What about your wife?” he asked suddenly, gently setting the cutlery down.

"She's... She's..." I stammered. 

"She's in her room." 

"Her room?" My father asked, swiftly turning to me.

Oh shit! 

"She's in our room." I said in a rush. 

"I don't want to believe you both slept in different room," my father said. 

What the fuck...