That night, Claire cried herself to sleep. In the morning, however, she told herself she couldn't stay at home. She felt that staying home would only make her more depressed, but she didn't have a close friend with whom she could share her feelings.Growing up, her father had been her closest friend. She was also close to her mom, but her mom was a bit strict. With her father, she could share anything she wanted. She didn't make many friends in school because she was focused on becoming a successful businesswoman like her father, Alex. He was her role model, and she sought to imitate him.However, when she finally realized she could make friends outside, it was too late because she couldn't keep up. Though she had some general friends, there was no one close enough. She eventually preferred it this way because she felt ashamed to share her marital problems, especially after portraying her marriage with Lucas as perfect.While getting ready for work, she heard Lucas arrive and glanced t
Claire spent the night in the hospital. She asked Asher to go back home since he had already seen that she was fine and she did not need him to babysit her. However, Asher refused, insisting that he was going to stay in the hospital with her.Throughout the night, he sat on the chair, staring at her. He only slept when she eventually fell asleep.When she opened her eyes, she saw him still sitting there. For the first time since she met him, she felt touched. Of course, she didn't understand what he was trying to do, but outside her parents, it was the first time she had ever received so much care.It was painful that it was coming from the person she did not expect, and it was also worrying that he was Lucas's friend. But she suddenly felt as though she had found someone she could share her burdens with."Well, he did say he was going to be here for a short time. Perhaps talking with him may help her situation, and it might also help me feel better."After the doctor discharged her th
After Claire spoke, Asher's phone began to ring. He stared at his screen, shook his head, and quickly ended the call.She observed his actions and asked, "Is it something important?""What?" He asked, moving closer to her since he couldn't hear her over the loud music."I mean your phone. You just hung up on someone. Is there something important?""Oh no, nothing really," he replied.He noticed that Claire was staring at him, curious for more information.He continued, "Well, I told you about when I arrived. The first night I came here, I went to a club. I'm sure you must have heard from my conversation with Lucas that I'm a player with a reputation. So, I went to the club and met this girl. We hit it off immediately and had a passionate night together.""In the heat of the moment, I gave her my number, which is something I regret now.""I see. So she's calling you, and you find it disturbing?""Yeah, I mean, I'm no longer interested. The thing is, she was even the one who approached m
Claire and Asher became so engrossed in the movie that and did not say a word to each other until the movie finally came to an end."Wow, that was really interesting," Asher said."Told you," Claire replied, "you should know me, I don't settle for mediocrity.""Well, I just learned that when it comes to movies, you have such an amazing choice."His phone at this point rang, and he looked at the screen to see that Lucas was the one calling him. He stared at Claire for a while and answered the call."Yes, hey Lucas, okay, I'll be right there."After the call ended, he turned to stare at Claire with an apologetic expression on his face."What is the problem?" she asked, "you said you'd be going there, and it's fine. Why are you looking sad?""Well," he said, "I'm sure you already know that that call was from Lucas. He wants me to go out for a drink because he wants to introduce me to his new girlfriend.""Oh, I see. It's fine," Claire said."You know he's my friend," Asher replied, "so I
Asher drove the car and took Claire back home. Once they arrived in front of the house, his phone began to ring. He stared at the screen and said to Claire, "I need to see someone briefly; you can just go ahead.""Although our day didn't turn out exactly as we had planned, I still want to think I had fun," he continued."I had fun too," Claire said. "Although I ended up crying, at the very least, I sang, and it was an experience I had never gotten before.""I'm happy for you," he said. "So, alright, I'll see you later when I get back.""Okay," she replied. "Umm, you're going to see a girl? You said you want to see someone."He laughed. "Well, I know I said I'm a player, but no, this is business-related. If you want, I can tell you about it once I get back.""Oh, no, there's no need," she replied. "Just go ahead and do what you have to do. You can take my car, by the way.""Thanks for this," he replied.She came out of the car and went back home, while he drove away in her car.When she
Asher kept holding Claire in his arms until she finally fell asleep. Once she was asleep, he carried her into her bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. Afterwards, he picked up his phone and called Lucas."Where are you?" he asked, and Lucas answered the call."Elm, I'm at the club with Vivian. Why, is there a problem?""No, there's no problem. It's just that I'd like to see you.""Okay, then just come over. Let me give you the address."Lucas forwarded his address to Asher, and the latter got ready and drove Claire's car to the bar to meet with him. He arrived at the bar and noticed that Lucas was alone."I thought you said your girlfriend was here.""Yes, she is. She went to get something. She'll be right back.""Okay, that's fine."At this point, Vivian finally arrived. When Asher turned and saw her, his eyes widened in shock. She also seemed surprised when she saw him."You?" Asher asked.She smiled, pretending not to know him. Lucas stared at the both of them in surprise."El
Asher wanted to end his call with Vivian; however, she said, "Come on, Asher, don't be like this. Think about it, isn't it fate that brought us together? I mean, yeah, since we had a one-night stand, I've been trying to get through to you, and you haven't been taking my calls.But someway, somehow, we still met again. You know when Lucas kept speaking about his friend, Asher, it never occurred to me that it could be you.""Well, I could say the same," Asher replied. "When I heard about Vivian, I didn't think it could be you too because there are so many Vivians in the world. And considering the way Lucas spoke about you, I thought you were head over heels in love with him. So, I couldn't reconcile that Vivian with the girl I met that night. And you gave me the impression that you were single.""Yeah, because look at my relationship with Lucas; I've been practically single. Come on, that isn't the kind of love I want for myself; he's all bound up with Claire, and I'm planning on removi
Claire smiled, "Hey Asher, you said it was okay for me to go get ready, and here I am. Or should I cover the jacket, what do you think?"He got up and walked over to her, "I think you look really stunning! I mean, this gown does more justice to your curves than the very first one you wore.""I thought as much," she said, "to be very honest, I'm freaking out right now. You were the one who selected it for me, but it's not really my kind of dress.""Trust me, you look amazing, very sexy and beautiful. You look desirable too.""Thank you," she said."Uhmm, I just need to give you a heads up. Your Lucas called me earlier; he wanted to know what happened. I told him I had moved out, and he asked if it was okay for him to stop by. I gave him my address and told him it was okay. I hope you don't mind. I mean, him coming to see you here might be...""Oh, forget about Lucas," she said. "I really don't mind. He can walk in here and see whatever he wants to see. I couldn't care less anymore.""O
SIXTEEN MONTHS LATERClaire already closed the files on her desk and got up, about to walk out of her office.At this point, she heard a knock on the door of her office. She walked over to it, opened it, and came out of the office.She was shocked to see her employees standing in front. "Surprise!" they all said, holding balloons, flowers, and cakes."Happy first anniversary," one after the other, they all wished her.She stood, staring at them with a smile plastered on her face. She had barely breezed into the office to sign an important document before coming out; she didn't know her employees were going to surprise her once again.It reminded her of how her last anniversary had gone. However, this time, it was different because she was happy."Thank you all so much," she said. She walked closer, took a bite of the cake, and said, "Wow, this is really delicious. You all should have fun, enjoy yourselves, and take the day off."Her employees all cheered happily while she hurried out o
Lucas sat in his house, waiting for feedback. Although he knew that Claire was eventually going to tell her parents everything, he was hoping that they wouldn't want a divorce since it was going to be a stain on her reputation. Also, the fact that Asher was his friend would make her convince them to give up on Asher.He was waiting for a call from either Alex or Claire. That way, he could properly tender his apology and ask for a second chance.However, the person who called him was none other than his father."Come home right away," his father said.He looked at the time; it was already late. "Is everything okay?" he asked."Mr. Cooper just left the house. Come back right away," his father insisted.The moment he heard that Alex had been to his house, Lucas rushed out of the house and went to see his parents.He walked into the living room and sat down. Seeing the expression on his parents' faces, he asked, "Did something happen? What is the problem?"His father shook his head. "I'm
Luna stared at both Alex and Claire, wiping the tears from her eyes. She still could not understand what was happening."What's going on here?" she asked."Claire, I don't get it. I thought you got married to Lucas because you both were in love with each other. Why would he start treating you so badly from the first day of the marriage? And why did he think you forced yourself into his life? There are some things that sound really strange. Please, I'm lost here," Alex said."Hold on, I'll tell you everything, Luna," he proceeded to tell her how he forced Lucas into marrying Claire, and she screamed."Why would you do that? No, that is wrong. You should not have done that," Luna said."Calm down," Alex said. "It has already happened. It's all in the past. It was a mistake we made, and unfortunately, Claire suffered for it."Luna shook her head. "All this time, you went through so much, Claire, and I didn't even know. I can't believe I slapped you. I can't believe I accused you. Oh no."
After more driving about for a while, Claire finally calmed down. She thought about everything that had happened and made up her mind on what she was going to do. But first of all, she wanted to have a conversation with Asher because she felt that her mom had spoken very rudely to him, whereas he wasn't at fault for everything that had happened.For some reason, she couldn't help but blame herself. Perhaps if she hadn't hidden things from her mom, Asher would not have been yelled at or belittled.She drove back to the house and was surprised when she got in to see the damage that had been done to the door which led to Asher's room.She went into the room and saw Asher sitting on the bed. He quickly got up the moment he saw her and said,"Claire, you're back."She nodded and walked over to where he was."I'm sorry," she said.He held her hand, pulled her closer to his body, and hugged her."No, Claire, don't be sorry for anything. You did nothing wrong. It's just a misunderstanding. Yo
When Luna arrived, she saw Lucas in his car, which was parked right in front of the house.She came out of the car and met with him. "So, this is really not a joke. I mean, the fact that you're here...""It's not a joke," Lucas said, pointing at the door."Okay, alright. Let's go."They walked toward the door, and Luna wanted to knock; however, Lucas said, "No, I... the last time I came here to confront them... I... got one of the keys. So, I think it would be better if we just go in."She looked at him. "Are you sure about this?"He said, "Yeah, in the end, he is still my friend, so it wouldn't be a big deal."She folded her arms and waited for him while he put the key into the key holder and unlocked the door.He pushed the door open, and his eyes instantly caught Asher and Claire on the couch. He turned to look at Luna and said, "Right this way."At this point, though, Asher and Claire were so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn't realize what had happened. Her eyes we
Seeing that his words were not moving Claire, Lucas picked up the divorce papers she had placed on the table and turned them into shreds.She smiled."I thought we were having a peaceful conversation. Why did you have to tear the divorce papers?""Well, this is me telling you that I'm not going to give you that divorce, Claire. I've told you that I want us to work on our marriage. Couples face problems, but the important thing is to find a way to resolve them."She smiled. "Haven't you been listening to everything I said, Lucas? I don't hate you. I don't even think it's possible to hate you. So, everything I say to you does not result from hate. I'm just saying that between the both of us, it's no longer possible. Maybe, just maybe if Asher hadn't come into the picture, I... I may have reconsidered giving this, whatever this is, another chance. But as I told you, once I've given up on something, I don't go back to it.""Just in case you're not observing, I tossed my wedding ring the d
Lucas's words did not surprise Asher. The moment Claire had returned and told him about what Lucas tried to do at home, he suspected that this would be Lucas's next line of action."What exactly are you asking me to do?" Asher asked Lucas."I think you understand exactly what I am asking of you," Lucas replied. "I want my wife back, Asher. You've ruined my relationship with Vivian. You can claim that you didn't know what you were doing, you didn't know she was my girlfriend or whatever it was, but the fact still remains that that relationship is ruined because of you.""Go ahead, I have given up on Vivian. You can have her; she's all yours. But Claire? Leave her alone. Claire is mine; she loves me, and we both know that she has loved me for so long. She doesn't love you, Asher; she's just using you as a rebound. I am telling you this from one man to another. For the sake of our friendship, leave Claire alone. After all, I asked you to go after her, so now I am asking you to give me ba
After leaving Asher's house, Lucas was fuming with anger. He drove straight to Vivian's place of work. Once he arrived there, he called her to come out, and she did. He stood by his car, staring at her - the woman he had loved for so long. She ran up to him and hugged him."Hi baby, you came to see me at work? Meanwhile, what happened? You didn't go to work today?""Cut the act," he said. "How could you do this to me, Vivian? I have loved you for so long. I did everything I could to make you happy, and yet you cheated on me with my friend. As if that is not bad enough, you've been calling him, seeking his attention, and telling him there's nothing going on between the both of us?"She rolled her eyes."Oh, I see you finally found out.""What? That's your reaction?""What do you expect me to do? You have your wife, someone at home. You don't expect me to keep waiting for you until I get old.""How can you say this, Vivian? You know that my relationship with Claire means nothing, and yo
As she heard Asher and Lucas' voices from outside, Claire stood in front of the window, staring at them from inside. Although they couldn't see her, she could see them. She didn't understand why Lucas suddenly seemed so upset. She knew it wasn't about her and kept wondering.Meanwhile, Asher was enjoying this. Initially, he never wanted to rub it in Lucas' face, but after the way Lucas insulted Claire inside the house and kept making sarcastic remarks about her, he couldn't bear it anymore."I didn't want to say anything, Lucas, but why would you say I'm not your friend?" Asher said to him. "This is not fair. I just explained what happened to you. At the time, I was single, and I thought the girl in question...""No! Do not tell me this," Lucas interrupted."Listen to me, Lucas," Asher continued, "what I'm trying to say is..."Lucas charged at Asher this time and punched him in the face."How dare you? Okay, let's forget about everything else. Was there a need for you to bring this up