Chapter Three: The stranger

Bianca’s POV

It's been months since I slept with that stranger at the club. Since then, I had tried my best to be the best wife to Gideon. The guilt of what happened took weeks before it could finally roll away from me.

Gideon never found out.

That stranger? We never ran into each other again. My life was going perfectly well until one day.

Gideon called me from work one morning with a big announcement.

"Babe? I almost lost the only family I ever had."

"What? How?" I had exclaimed.

"My brother! He got into an accident in another city, and can barely use his legs now."

I tried to sympathize with Gideon until he dropped the bombshell..

"Charles will be coming over to stay at our place for a while until he gets better."

I readily agreed. Well, I could do almost anything for Gideon. That's how badly I wanted our marriage to work, and I was more than ready to accept his brother as my family.

So, we both agreed that I would pick Charles up at the airport that morning.

I was a bit excited that someone would be coming over, because I was always bored and lonely whenever Gideon had to spend multiple days at work.

~

I pulled the car into the parking lot of the airport and shot a text at Charles, Gideon's brother.

"Hey! Ring me up as soon as you arrive. I'm at the waiting hall, wearing a red gown."

I didn't get any response, but I decided to wait anyways. I distracted myself by playing games on my phone in the crowded waiting hall until I felt a gentle tap on my back.

I turned around slowly and my mouth dropped open with disbelief.

There he was.

The stranger from the club. He looked incredibly different. His face was pale, and there was a single crutch right underneath his right arm.

A smug smile lingered on his face as he met my eyes and nodded slowly, "It's a small world, isn't it?" He asked.

I shuffled my feet, taking a few steps away from him, "Oh, you again?"

"Yeah."

I glanced around desperately, hoping that Charles would pop out of the crowd and punch this smirk off this stranger's face before pulling me away.

"Are you stalking me?" I asked, irritated.

He broke into a soft laugh, "I would never do that."

"Look, I gotta go now. I'm here to pick up my husband's brother and..."

"Who? Charles?" The stranger asked. His smile grew wider, and it took everything in me to hold myself back from reaching out to wipe off that smile with a smile.

"Okay!" I yelled in his face, already tired of the uneasiness I felt around him. "I'm certain you've been stalking me. Back off, weirdo!" I swung around and walked off into the crowd.

When I was a distance away, I whipped out my phone to call Charles. At this point, I was beyond pissed off..

Charles answered the call on the first ring.

"I am at the airport already, and your flight has landed. Where exactly are you at?" I barked into the phone.

"Behind you." A strangely familiar voice said.

I swung around with a force, only to see the stranger still at the spot where I had left him.

He held a phone to his ear and was looking at me.

"No way." I muttered, forcing myself to stop thinking of the possibility of this stranger being Charles. "Charles, can you stop pulling my legs? Where are you?"

"Didn't my brother show you what I look like?" The voice on the other end said.

My eyes met that of the stranger again, and I frowned. He raised his other hand in the air, and waved.

"I'm waving at you, Bianca." The voice said on the phone.

I became numb, and my feet felt as though they were rooted to the spot.

"Charles?" I mumbled into the phone, eying the stranger who stood a distance away..

"Seems like you're back in my life, for good."

My heart pounded in my chest as I slowly approached him.

Charles. The gorgeous stranger from the club. The man I should'nt have had sex with. My husband's brother.

My mind raced.

No, no! This couldn't be true. How bad could my shit streak of luck ever get?

Of all people to have a one night stand with, why did it have to be with someone who turned out to be my husband's brother? What if he told Gideon?

Fuck!

Cold swear broke out on my forehead as I drew closer to him.

"My brother definitely had good eyes to go for a woman as stunning as you are." He said aloud, spreading his arm for a hug.

I ignored his arms, and looked him in the eye, "How long have you known that I am Gideon's wife?"

He chuckled, "Pretty long. Before I approached you in the club."

"Wh-what?" My breath hitched.

The insane amount of alcohol I took that night had made it so damn easy for me to not have any control over what I did.

I bit on my lower lip, embarrassed. I turned on my heels to walk away. "Follow me. The car is parked down there. I'll be driving us home."

"One more thing..." He said, causing me to halt. I didn't look at him, rather I focused on a couple in the crowd.

"My brother doesn't know how lucky he is to have a woman so good in bed." Charles said, loud enough for me to hear.

"Fuck. You." I cursed, walking away faster. I didn't care to check if he was coming after me. As soon as I got into the car, I slammed the door and let out a heavy sigh.

What the hell?

What had I gotten myself into? Charles soon got to the car, put the luggage in the trunk of the car, before joining me in the front seat.

Tension hung low in the air as neither of us spoke to each other. I switched on the engine of the car, tightening my fists around the steering wheels.

Just before I pulled out of the parking lot, I turned to face him.

"Charles, I need you to take the advise you gave me some months ago."

"What advise?"

"Keeping everything that happened between us. Gideon must never know of our history together."

He let out a mirthless laugh, "What makes you feel you are in the position to give me instructions, huh?"

My tongue felt tied, as I stared back at him, confused.

Wasn't that what he wanted? Wasn't that what would be right for us to do; for us to act as though that night never happened.

He cleared his throat noisily, jerking me out of my thoughts.

"Bianca, I make the rules here." He said with a low growl. His eyes darkened and a muscle in his jaw twitched, "You wannaknow why? I have the power to tell my brother, Gideon, that his woman was way too drunk that night that she slept with a complete stranger"