Masuk(Aaron)My butler wasn't smiling when he made that call. It's a secret number. Only for emergency. And two people alone have it. Steven…and him.So, when his clear commanding voice warned me to come home or lose my wife, my sanity tethered at the edge of a hill. It took a second more for me to realize my fault.I haven't called her.Not once in two days, and somehow, I had missed calls from days ago. Two from her number. I look at the time frame of the call and flashed back to my activities within the hour.I was with Samantha, and I had just stepped out to speak with her doctor. Within that hour, Samantha had my phone.“ Tell me you haven't done anything stupid,” I barked at her over the phone, hands on the wheel, driving home like a man whose house has caught fire, and his lifesaving is locked inside.“ You had my phone when my wife called. What the f*ck did you do?” I bellowed, forgetting everything the doctor had said about her illness. She fragile. And a worse meltdown could be t
"It's Ethan!” She announced like a lottery win.“ What?” I literally screamed it, attracting people's attention for a second. I flash a faux smile for onlookers and shifted my attention to the call. “ Wait…why did you call him a pervert?”She giggled again. “ Well, that's the main gist…right when you stepped down from the car, I zoomed in on him masturbating while watching you go in.”I gulped, cheeks hot, and knuckles white.“ Can you believe it?”“ Man is crazy for you…”She rattles about so many observations, but my mind settles on Ethan. I imagine him on his seat, and what kind of desire would have spurred him into action by merely looking at me.“ I took photos,” she chortles a laugh. “ I could send them to you.”My throat dried up. The pull to say yes is so strong that I'm literally caging a yes from escaping the fold of my lips. “ No need. Get rid of it…”“ What if you need it someday?”Tempting, right?Not falling for that. “ What can I possibly need his nude for someday? Blac
He adjusts uncomfortably on his seat, taken aback. My smile fades back into gloom. By now, I'm certain that Maya would have captured the interesting moment when he leaned towards me. One down, more to go.“ I'm being stalked, Steven.” I started off from neutral grounds, gradually pulling him in. “ Every second I step out of the house, there are cameras shuttering all around me. Now, you and I both know that my marriage is private…”He scoffs, tilting his head. “ Your marriage,” he scorns. “ That's by the way, Nicki. Are you saying that you suspect I'm involved?”Laughter burst out uncontrollably from my lips. I paused and pointed at him, jokingly. “ You have a way with words, and I totally admire it…no, Steven. I don't suspect that you are involved. I know you're the mastermind.” My smile faded before the latter part of my statement, and moments later, color drained from his face.“ Keep up, will you,” I say and took a sip of my cappuccino.“ I don't feel safe, Steven. And when my saf
“ Steven is bringing them together again.”It hums in my ears, sending light shivers all over my body. I feel those words vibrate in my ears, carving itself into my heart. “ And it's not Steven alone. Your sister is in it too,” she adds, eyes dwelling on me with pity etched into her gaze. I know what it means for me. And for Maya as well. Impending homelessness.But I wouldn't break a sweat if it was about that alone.Aaron is mine! My husband, and lover. It strikes harder with his voice in my head, echoing his assured loyalty. “ He won't do it,” I tell myself, the assurance steming from how much our marriage means to him. But on a second thought, I sigh. Not resignedly. If Aaron changes overnight, I know whom to blame, and right now, I need to keep that man so busy with his own problem that he wouldn't dare look into my personal life. And for Samantha, God bless her soul if she thinks I will watch quietly from the sideline.“ Have you ever shopped?” I asked Maya, stirred into f
(Nicki)Getting up to a text from Lisa is like waking up on the wrong side of the bed. I roll my eyes as if I could dislodge the irritable feeling in my chest. Aaron is gone. I presume it's about his uncle. And she? She can go to hell.Without looking at the message, I tossed the phone on the bed and got up to pee. But Maya's voice filters into my ears. She's yelling at someone over the phone. I sighed resignedly. She's different. So different it feels like a total different person. One moment I reminisced how we both arrived here, and the next moment, something she says snaps my attention like a broken twig.“ This is not what you promised me…no, I don't care if she is his lover. I wouldn't care if she is his mother. You said I would replace her better. You should think of living out your promise.”My feet dried up, frozen in space. The hum in my ears intensifies. I didn't need a prophet to tell me that she's referring to me.Neither do I need anyone to tell me that it is connected
“Nine courses, nine carry-overs. Damn!” He rubbed his chest, feeling a slight bulge below. He cocks a smile, turning in his swivel chair. “ Bold of her to walk into my office intending to seduce me,” he scoffs, raising the bottom of a ball pen to his cheeks. “ Let's see,” he tapped his chin, flashing a mischievous smile. “ How will she reward me?”It's been weeks, but Aaron hadn't forgiven Lisa for the bland disrespect. The image of her shirt had irked his nerves but the second he picked Nicki's scent, he pretended to go along with her to get back at Nicki for calling him paranoid. He promised Lisa a gift, but he never said what it would be.Turning three sixty degrees, he forwarded the results to his personal inbox on WhatsApp. Coming off the chair, he took a second look around, and loped out of his office. At the door, he meets his assistant, and his smile quickly faded. Taking a cue, she withdraws, stepping backward until there's enough room for ten more people between them.“ It'







