Chapter 4.

The bartender, a man in his late thirties was mixing a drink when Cassandra approached the counter. She leaned in slightly and slid a bill across the counter, lowering her voice to ensure nobody else heard her, "I need a favour," she murmured.

The bartender glances at the bill and then at her. He had heard that phrase more than he could count. "Depends on the favour," he whispered too, as he slipped the bill into his jacket pocket.

Cassandra shot him with a sweet smile as she pointed at the table where Krystie sat. "You see that blonde woman in the red dress at that table, drinking with friends. I need her drink to be a little special."

The bartender's expression hardened, pushing the bill back from her jacket pocket. "I'm very sorry madam, but I can't help you. We don’t do that here."

Cassandra smirked, unfazed. "Oh, come on. It’s harmless." She passed him a liquid in a small bottle. "Just a little something to loosen her up a bit. You look like a man who understands business." She placed a bunch of notes on the counter and watched.

The bartender stared at the bundle with mixed emotions. On the other side, there were the bar rules, and on the other side, his debts. The amount of money before him was more than what he could make in one year of working as a bartender. It was enough to clear his debts and keep him going for a few days.

"It's okay if you don't want to, I'll find someone else to..."

"No, it's okay, I'll do it!" The bartender cut Cassandra short and stacked all the notes in his pocket. He poured a glass of beer, added the liquid and winked at Cassandra before he left to deliver the drink.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes as a wicked smile flashed across her lips, "You’ll regret crossing paths with me Krystie. I'll take everything away from you and make you pay for having everything in your life, while I had to struggle all my life yet still got nothing."

Cassandra straightened her back, stealing one last glance at the table. As soon as Krystie emptied her glass, she turned and walked away, she had something more to take care of.

Meanwhile, the bartender walked to the table and flashed Krystie a warm smile as he placed the glass before her. "Excuse me, miss, someone asked me to bring you this!"

"Sorry, who?" Krystie asked squinting her eyes at the man.

"He is seated there, a tall, young handsome man," the bartender turned around in a random direction pointing at no one in particular, "he said he is an acquaintance."

"She is drunk. I'll drink it up for her," Mark offered but before he could reach out for the glass, Krystie picked it up and drowned all the beer in a go, her mind replaying with the man she had just kissed earlier.

Alex felt hurt when he saw Krystie kiss another man. He had been with her for many years ever since they were in high school. She had confessed her feelings to him first, and every time they would fight she would always apologize first even when she wasn't the one at fault

One thing irked Alex up, though. She had never allowed him to be intimate with her, and the farthest they had ever gone was kissing, and that happened only once when he had proposed to her. Otherwise, it was always hugging as she had insisted that she was not ready yet. And the thought that she didn't even think twice before kissing that man tore him up.

Alex had initially thought that after the engagement she would willingly give herself to him, but how wrong he was because nothing changed.

'Maybe she only wanted to make me jealous,' the thought ran through Alex's mind, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself, it didn't add up. That man kissed Krystie back like they had known each other for some time. Krystie had already confessed that the man was her new boyfriend, and he felt cheated and heartbroken to even think straight, so he left the bar immediately.

Alex sat in his car and raked his fingers in his hair. He had always felt guilty of cheating on her when, in the real sense, she was the one who had been cheating on him all along.

He regretted coming to this bar to begin with. He would rather not have known about it because the truth was somehow harsh to handle.

Alex could remember when everything had started when they were in their final year in college, and Cassandra had approached him. She wanted to be cast for a role in a certain movie in his company, which he was willing to give her for the sake of Krystie, but when she had requested the female lead, and he had showed hesitation, she had walked to him, unbuttoned her blouse seductively, and he had fallen for the temptation.

Alex had once sworn to confess everything to Krystie, but then it turned out to be a habit that the idea totally slipped his mind. He had lost count of the number of times he had slept with Cassandra, and he felt ashamed to even confess it as an accident.

Alex punched the steering wheel angrily because even today, he had fallen for Cassandra's plan games. She had called him to the bar in the name of the wanted to apologise to Krystie and convince her not to break up with him, but she didn't even try, she only made things worse. She had promised that she would make sure he would have his way with Krystie tonight and had also claimed that she had a little solution to make things easier for him, but now he didn't even want to believe her lies anymore.

Alex was still deep in his thoughts when he felt a tap on the window. Thinking that maybe Krystie was back in her senses and had followed him to amend things, Alex plastered his signature smile and opened the window, and immediately his smile faltered.

"What? Not happy to see me?" Cassandra leaned in cockily, her half-covered upper part at his display such that her mounds were inviting him to touch them. Alex didn't feel the attraction anymore, instead, pure disgust.

"What more lies are you here to tell me?" Alex inquired, his eyes red in anger. "I didn't realise how a slut you were. Now get away from my face before I destroy that surgery-made face of yours."

Watching him that furious, Cassandra took a step back, she had spent so much to finally get that look. She would make him pay later, but not at the expense of her face.

Blinded by his anger and jealousy, Alex started the engine and drove to another bar. He needed to let off some steam, and he couldn't bear to be in the same bar as Krystie as she flirts with another man.