Chapter 3 :: Return of the Fiancee

Nathaniel stepped into the elevator and clicked on the twelfth floor. This was where he lived in that crusty old apartment with Regina White, his fiancee. 

Regina had been his old-time girlfriend, a travelling journalist but with her high maintenance, considering how much she spent on designer clothes and makeup wouldn’t pay the bills. He had mortgaged some old properties from his parents, his inheritance so they could buy a bigger home.

Right now, the apartment they lived in belonged to her stepbrother, Sirius White. He didn’t know much about her brother other than that his mother was dead and his father married her mother. Her decision to take on her stepfather’s surname was a conscious one that she made in order to cut ties with her irresponsible biological father, also a gambler.

Nathaniel and Regina had been high-school sweethearts. They had never quarrelled, never broken up, or even disagreed about anything in life. As a result, everyone regarded them as the ‘model couple’ back in school. He distinctly remembered their little affairs back in the sciences laboratory after classes. He hadn’t had her for the first time, but she was the first girl he had ever dated and loved. His first. 

So, when he saw the stain on the sheets after waking up with that bossy yet sexy female client, he felt a totally unfamiliar feeling. The glorious feeling of having won the first prize, yet only got to hold the trophy for a few seconds.

He needed to have more of it!

But this was life, after all. He had to get home to Regina. The reasons for him becoming a gigolo was because of her lavish spendings. As a man, it was his duty to take care of his wife, her mother had said. And he had to, because he loved her! 

No matter what, he would never allow circumstances to lead to her finding out about his new ‘career’! He didn’t know how she would react if she ever found out. She might even kick him out of the apartment, or even send her parents’ dogs after him. Nat feared dogs.

The client today had just asked him to be her dance partner. Fortunately, he didn't have to expose his body to her, otherwise the aftermath of last night’s adventure would have been revealed. He was relieved. 

As the elevator ascended to the twelfth floor, he glanced quickly at his phone screen. Two apparent purple ticks appeared next to the wealthy client’s name.

He originally thought for someone that rich, she wouldn’t allow him to threaten her with proof of their adventure. 

But now she had purple-ticked him! Was she not concerned about her reputation? Or was she that open-minded?

Wait, she had been a virgin. He should have brought the sheets home as a memoir of what he had experienced. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

The door of the lift opened and he strode towards the apartment unit that he shared with Regina. As he expected, Regina was there, relaxing on the couch and watching her favourite sitcom. Her long blond hair was rolled up in a shower cap and she was wearing a bathrobe. As usual, she had made great efforts to care for her hair.

A sparkle over her flawless skin also informed him that she had not forgotten her skincare, either. His eyes wandered over to her figure. Just then, he remembered the wealthy woman’s naked body again and stopped dead in his tracks.

Something in his mind made him feel the woman was unforgettable. But he didn’t know what it was, or why it distracted him while he had his eyes on Regina.

Surely, he wasn’t going to cheat on Regina emotionally?

He knew what he was doing already by serving those women was already cheating, but there was a bigger worry in his mind. He was way more terrified of her finding out about his retrenchment than for him to feel burdened by his cheating. 

There were plenty of ways to make it up to her in the future, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t kill her. It was all for a better purpose. Knowing how independent she was, they wouldn’t be able to afford the bills by relying on what Regina earned as a journalist. 

Furthermore, they were so young. He was twenty-six and Regina was twenty-three. There were more opportunities for him to find employment in the future.

“Hey, Reg.”

Regina looked up when he approached the sofa. She looked up and smiled at him. He found her still so adorable, with her round eyes and tiny nose. She had thin, kissable lips and an hourglass figure. In comparison with the wealthy client, she was like a teenager.

Darn. He needed to wipe the wealthy woman’s image out of his mind, or it would bother him all day. 

“Hi, Nat. How’s work today?”

He had heard those words from Regina over the phone too often for him to hesitate with his lies.

“It’s been tiring.” This wasn’t a lie. His body ached after what happened last night. But of course, he had to make it sound realistic.

“We had tender documents to submit to the government. They were building a new security building.”

He hadn’t told her how he had been retrenched from AD Systems as a senior sales representative. He had worked in that company for about three years before that fateful day of receiving the notice from AD’s human resources department. He could remember vividly the contents of the letter.

It had clearly detailed all his responsibilities and how he had failed to meet KPIs. But the main reason for his retrenchment was apparently stated. They were rolling a new system in, and they wanted to cut those low-performers.

He had just missed his quota by a small figure. He blamed the CEO, who he never met, to be heartless and money-minded. Like everyone else, he was a human, he had parents and he had bills to pay! If not for his retrenchment, would he have ended up in this state?

Speaking of that CEO, she seemed to be a low-profile person and only the higher-ups had ever seen her. He imagined that she was an ugly witch who no man would ever take a fancy to. Although he wasn’t sure, these thoughts actually made him feel a lot better.

“That’s nice. Why don’t you sit down?” She waved her perfect fingers and signalled for him to take the space beside her on the sofa. He obliged and sat down. Was there something she wanted to discuss with him? Her messages had sounded urgent.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about our future plans.”

As they were engaged, it sounded proper that she was talking about their future. If only he had a good paying job now, it would be ample for him to provide for her. Then she wouldn’t have to keep going overseas for work. Settling down with Regina had always been his dream.

He didn’t expect it all to turn this way, but he adapted quickly. What he earned now in a night was equivalent to his half-month’s pay as a sales executive, excluding commission.

“Are you referring to our marriage?” He asked, looking sympathetically at his fiancee. “I know, your career is important to you, and I don’t mind waiting a few more years. After all, we are both so young. I respect your decision.”

“Which is why I came back early today,” Regina announced with an engaging smile. “I want to talk about our future plans, because I decided to do the right thing.”

“The right thing?” he repeated after her, confused.

“Yes, the right thing. I know it’s been difficult for us to maintain our long-distance relationship, when I’m just in Neon for five days in three months. Which is why I made the ultimate decision.”

She added sweetly, “Darling, I resigned.”