4. Behind Your Back

Flora's POV

It is at this point that the confusion of the entire matter finally descends upon me making me grimace intensely as I stare at the glass cup in my hand.

Exactly I really should ask myself that question. Why the hell am I attempting to drink myself to a stupor or because of the bastard I threw my heart away for?

I shouldn't be weeping for him. He doesn't even deserve to have one tear drop down from my eyes for him. God, I detest the fact that I have just been played for a fool.

I don't even know what to think. I feel extremely infuriated. The fact that none of his co-workers and even his bodyguard had even considered me as Mrs Vance is what is more infuriating.

Does this mean that all the while, Victoria Hale has been Mrs. Vance they have known all through our years of marriage?

"Earth to Flora," Lucas calls immediately forcing me to look up quickly at him.

The warmth in his eyes makes my heart feel so soft as he takes two steps close to me and places both of his hands against my shoulders.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong? Please, I am right here. Feel free to speak to me. I do not like seeing you in this mood." he says as I finally look up at him unable to bear the powerful amount of his care tearing through all the threads of my heart.

I have never for once imagined that he would care for me in this way. He never even bothered to look at my side all through those years back in high school, crushing and tripping for him crazy.

I don't even know what to say. I feel extremely confused. I bite my lip and attempt to walk past him but then he stands in my way.

"Please, Flora, okay? I can't leave you like this. Just speak to me."

" I don't feel like talking to anybody."

" Okay then just make me an exception because I promise you you will need my advice right now."

"What are you? some heart-fixing counselor or what?" I ask and I watch as a snicker escapes his lips.

For some strange reason, it also forces me to laugh, and within a few minutes,s, we are holding each other as our laughter echoes throughout the air, forcing all the other surrounding us to look at us with curious gazes.

The moment our laughter had died d, he finally looked at me with a soft expression on his face. Then he gestures towards a close by table.

"Do you want to sit down and talk about it? I could buy you a soft drink."

I look at him for a short while nibbling at my lower lip.

I sigh. He is so persistent right now.

I am not really in the mood to discuss this with anyone, but seeing him right now standing in front of me after all these years suddenly feels like fresh, cool living water from the realm of the heavenly descending and pouring over my body.

The sight of him alone is making my insides giddy. Heaven knows that I have never been so elated and happy about anything in my life more than this right now.

After a very long well of thinking about it, I finally give in and nod my head slowly.

He smiles charmingly at me and then suddenly wraps his arm around my waist directing me to one of the closest sit a few meters away from us.

I feel electricity spark through my spine directly from the spot where he had touched me.

Oh lord. Why the hell am I suddenly feeling like a childish silly little teenager?

I can't believe I am still feeling this way even after all these years.

We finally sit down, and I relax at my spot, gazing at My table as I gesture towards the waiter to make an order.

"What do you want to eat? The bill's on me."

I shake my head immediately. " I don't feel like eating anything."

"Please," he says immediately forcing me to bite against my lower lip.

He then one of his oldest tricks that he always does whenever he feels like someone is not willing to succumb to his wants.

He suddenly pouts like a cute little puppy in need of milk and it somehow makes my heart twist with guilt.

Good Lord!! I still can't believe he is doing that even at his mature age.

I decide to turn it against him and use my palm to cover my mouth as if I am trying to stifle laughter.

He suddenly looks embarrassed as he looks around himself.

"Why are you laughing?" he asks, but I finally allow the laughter to come out loud, still using my Palm to cover my mouth.

"Honestly you have no idea how childish you should look doing that. I can't believe you still carry that trait with you."

"Oh, so you do remember me bearing that sort of trait, isn't it? Have you been stalking me all those years?"

I suddenly choke on my saliva and quickly look away from him batting my eyelids rapidly.

"You wish," I reply and he laughs.

What the hell? This guy sure knows how to get to me and turn my organs against me.

I open my mouth, about to say something, when my phone suddenly rings on the table a few meters away from me.

I pick it up to see that it is Damien's name on the caller ID, and with a frustrated expression on my face, I end the call without picking it up and slam my phone loudly against the table.

That single gesture attracts the attention of all the other customers in the bar as I place my elbows against table and cover my face with my palms.

There is a very short silence at our table for a little while before I finally feel his warm, soft,t, smooth palms against my hair and, pulling my hand gently away from my face.

"Please beautiful." He says and I flush slightly.

Jeez. How the hell is he managing to make me happy in this heartbreaking moment?

" don't cry. I beg you you are too pretty to be doing that right now. I am here for you. Whatever the problem, just speak to me, please." he says softly, and for some strange reason, it makes me just want to cry.

I feel the sudden urge to just walk up to him and sit on his lap and hug him so tight and crazily without any intention of letting go forever.

It is one of the things I had written down on my bucket list for a very long time but have never gotten the chance to do so.

This is because, well, back then, he was the lord of all. The school's most popular kid and, let me say, the cutest guy that girls consider as someone worth dying for.

I don't know. I don't even know what to think about it right now.

Seeing him in front of me begins to stir up some old feelings that I have fought over the years to bury deep down and never remember ever again.

"Baby girl." he suddenly says softly, forcing my heart to skip a beat. "just talk to me, okay? I promise you where I came from. I am a problem solver, and it is one of my many astonishing qualities." he says,s, relaxing back against his seat and adjusting his tuxedo.

"Cocky Much," I say while trying to use my blonde hair to obstruct my face.

This forces an unexpected sweet laughter and never expected to come out from him.

"You are still so cute and funny as I remember then," he says forcing me to flush slightly.

Did he consider me cute then?

"Okay, fine, fine. I'm going to talk." I say, and he laughs out loud, giving me a gesture that shows that he has already won the show.

"Yeah right. whatever." I say and brush a few strands of my hair away from my face placing them behind my ear.

"Do you care to tell me who the jerk is that you are getting angry over?" he says, gesturing toward my phone.

I look at him for a short while, thinking of how I'm going to relate to him, the most embarrassing story of My Life.

I bite down against my lower lip and chuckle before gazing back down at the table.

"Well, surprise, surprise. The jerk is my husband, or should I say my ex-husband because, well, at this point, I don't think I can call him my husband right now." I say.

Slight tears begin to drop out of my eyes.

Heavens know that I am fighting deep down within me to battle the tears to keep it locked up within me but I can't.

I loved that man so much. I gave him my whole heart. I stood by him even when it seemed like he had nothing at all before luck smiled on him, and he suddenly became one of the richest and most well-known individuals in the business world. I gave him my entire world. I gave him every fucking thing.

But what did he do for me in return?

He replaced me behind my back with another woman introducing her to his employees as his wife while I've been in his house all these years doing what?

What the hell is my purpose in his life? I don't even know. I can't even think about it right now.

Lucas looks a little bit confused. He furrows his eyebrows.

"So wait you mean to tell me that the jerk who is getting you annoyed is your ex-husband or your husband? I don't understand. Do you care to elaborate on this for me?"

I sigh and rub my fingers against my temples.

"Okay, I'm just going to calm down a little bit and break it down for you." I finally say, placing all my fingers on the table and biting against my bottom lip as I think rapidly about how I'm going to put it to him.

"He is my husband. We have been married for about two or three years now, and well, I'm not going to lie, I don't hate him. God knows I have loved him with all my heart, with all my pain, all my belongings,s, and my entire world. Lately, it felt as if things haven't been going easy between us because he has been kind of harsh and always gets angry over slight issues, so I decided to make things up with him today by giving him a surprise visit in his company with a bouquet. but guess what I met instead?" I asked, relaxing back against my seat and folding my arms.

He lets out a heavy deep breath and stares at the ground.

"Let me guess. You saw another woman in his office, isn't it?" he says, and I nod my head briskly.

Wow, he is already aware of that? What does that mean? Does that mean it's already a common sin in the business world? Is he also a victim of that, or is he also a perpetrator and has so many women in his office for him to know this?

All this thought passes through my mind as I observe him with a deep frown.

He looks up at me with a sort of sorrowful expression on his face which I did not expect to see.

"My honest sincere apologies for all that. I honestly don't know what to say right now. Trust me I feel bad for you. This is one of the things I have observed with most of the well-known billionaires in This City."

" Do you want to know the most funny thing?" I ask, cutting him short, and then he raises an eyebrow with curiosity.

"What is that?" he asks quickly as I lean against the table and nibble hard against my bottom lip, which is still trembling from the pain tearing deep into my inner organs.

"I stepped into his company to realize that every single office employee did not know me as his wife. Rather they know the other lady in his office as his wife."

He chuckles and shakes his head as if analyzing the issue within himself.

"Well, all that can only mean one thing," he says quickly, forcing me to frown deeply.

"It simply means that this is not something that just happened recently. It has always been going on for a very long time behind your back and you never knew about it."

Fuck!!!