Chapter 2

ZAYDE

Ariana had been distant. I could tell because of how nervous she usually got, the impatient tap of her ring against something, how fidgety she was becoming.

It had been too glaring and I discarded it as small fry.

At first, I thought it was work as usual but deep down, my instincts pointed me in the lane I didn't want to venture down into. And like my mom usually said, “your intuitions are always right.”

Of course, she was right. Maybe I'd been a fool blind to it.

Some days ago, she had replied me in clipped tones, avoided my eyes a few times and even pulled away from my touch. Something was off. My gut twisted every time I thought about it.

I sat at the dining table, staring absently at the meal on it. It was sumptuous alright, but not enticing enough to distract me from the burdens of my heart. When I raised my eyes, I found my mother watching me carefully from across the table.

“Is something bothering you, Zayde?” She asked, her tone sharp as always. She used that tone on me as a kid, one that didn't let me lie to her no matter how much I needed to.

That was how my transparency was born.

“It's nothing,” I muttered. She must have sensed the lie the moment my eyes flickered to the door where Ariana had exited.

An hour and she wasn't yet back.

“Is it Ariana?” She pressed, then served my plate and hers.

I grabbed a fork, glancing at her with a wary expression. “Why would you think that?”

“Cut me some slack, Zayde. I'm your mother, not stupid. I saw the way she tried to dismiss you when you presented evidence of her cheating. That girl has nothing to offer you. I warned you.”

Lowering her voice like she was about to share a secret, she leaned forward. “Before now, she's been…strange lately, hasn't she? Always on edge and always hiding something. I told you, didn't I? I told you she wasn't faithful to you.”

She wasn't wrong. She wasn't entirely right either. It wasn’t the first time my mother had accused her of infidelity. And today, I watched it play before my eyes.

“It must be something I did,” came my weak attempt at defending my wife. “Perhaps if I'd paid more attention—”

“Nonsense, my darling. She's a greedy woman, never satisfied and always seeking to leech unto somebody like a parasite. First it was you, now Gabriel. I warned you about this when you brought her home to me the first time. I know women like these when I see them.”

I had no words. Perhaps, she was right. My mother was a woman and she was the best judge of character.

And that's not because she had been through four failed marriages. Those were the men's fault. She just has an excellent nose when it comes to pointing out the ingenuity in people.

“What if she's saying the truth? What if she been stressed, maybe needed an evening off and she bumped into Gabriel? The roles of an advisor also has a lot of responsibilities.” Even as I said it, the words felt hollow.

“Nonsense!” She scoffed. “I've got friends who at one point in their lives who had far more important roles to important people and they didn't exhibit this level of disrespect to their family.”

“I still don’t believe this.”

“You should have chosen Isabelle. She would have made an excellent wife. But now see what you're stuck with.”

I put the first bite of food in my mouth to signify an end to the conversation. It tasted like chalk and my mother didn't even seem to get the memo.

“Didn't you see the way she—”

“Stop,” I snapped in a loud voice. My fist clenched on the table but she wasn't done.

“Stop what?” She cried, “When a woman starts to act without giving respect to her husband, that's enough signs for you to wake up and smell the coffee.” Then she raised hands in mock surrender. “Besides, I'm just confirming the signs that you refused to listen to.”

The venom in her voice was hard to shake off. My mother wasn't a mean woman who bore grudges unless it was completely necessary.

She usually tried her best to respect everybody she came across and that included Ariana until she started acting up a few weeks ago.

My wife became somebody who didn't know when to back down and let my mother have the last word. She even raised her hand in defense against my own mother!

“You see?” Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “You're thinking about it again. I'd hate to say I told you so.”

“I'm not thinking about that,” I lied. But the image of Gabriel touching Ariana crept in uninvited. Anger swirled like a tornado in my chest.

My mom leaned back with a ghost of a smile playing around her lips. “You're a good man, Zayde and I raised you into a model figure for your sons. You deserve someone who values that. Don't let her make a fool of you.”

I pushed my chair back and stood abruptly.

“You don't look good, honey. What's the problem?” My mom's concerned tone broke through the haze of the rage coursing through me.

It was almost blinding.

“Finish dinner without me and do not wait up.”

If she wanted to cheat, then two could play. Sending a quick text to Isabella, I asked her to meet me at a bar we used to frequent.

Fury was clouding so much in my head and disrupted my thought process every time I remembered the pictures of Gabriel's fingers touching her hair, her waist or his filthy lips brushing against her skin.

I didn't have to wait for long before Isabella walked through the door dressed in a mesh dress that left nothing to the imagination. There were cat whistles as she winded through and around the crowd until she got to where I was.

She frowned as she took in my drunken state. “My goodness! You look wasted. What happened?”

I burped loudly, dropping the glass on the table with a thud. “It's Ariana.” My words were a slur and I should have kept my mouth shut but I needed to get them out anyway.

“And you're drinking yourself to a blinding stupor? You think you won't regret this by morning?” Her voice was filled with an admonition I didn't want to listen to. Not at this point.

“I don't care, Isa.” Burp. “Tonight, I just… I just wanna get over her.”

She looped a hand around my midriff and tried to make me stand. “It's not by getting wasted and causing an embarrassment to yourself. Here, have a bottle of water.”

She handed me an unscrewed bottle. I wanted to protest against drinking but she was already shoving the water down my throat. The liquid was cool and tasted sweet. Immediately, I became more aware of my surroundings.

Together, we walked out of the club. The next second, I was falling onto a soft mattress. Nope, it wasn't my room.

“Where are we?” I moaned into the sheets. Isabella was palming my cock from my pants and it felt good. Too good. The room's temperature suddenly rose to a thousand degrees.

“You said you wanted to forget.” Her sultry voice slipped through the haze of my mind. It sent me into a state of intoxication. “Why use alcohol when you can use me?”

“I didn't— I just need—” I didn't know what I needed. While my conscience battled with my lust, my mind was a blurry haze.

She placed one perfectly manicured finger to silence me. “Shhh. I know what you need and I'm glad you're finally coming to your senses. Took you long enough. But first…”

She gave me a sultry smile, all while her hands wandered to my belt and tugged until my pants dropped to the floor.

“Let's start with a proper warm-up. Shall we?” Then she slid down my body.

The next morning, I woke up in what looked like a hotel room but that wasn't what startled me.

Why was I very naked under the sheets and why was Isabella sleeping next to me?

She must have sensed my sudden movements because she stretched awake, yawning as she did so.

“What happened last night? How- what are you doing here?” I fired rapid questions at her. I needed answers fast and they better not be what I suspect.

She gazed at me with vibrant eyes and tousled hair. “You really don't remember?” When she saw I was serious, she gathered the bedsheets to her chest, color staining her cheeks. “Well, you called me last night saying you needed emotional support and I came to meet you at the bar.”

I remembered that part clearly. Ariana's betrayal and how I needed someone to talk to. However, ending up in the bar was the last thing I could recall. “So how did we end up here?”

She sank her face into her palms. “Oh God!” She looked back to me. “I told you we would regret it by morning. I pleaded that we shouldn't cross that line.”

My heart began beating loud in my chest at her words. I didn't like where it was going. “Don't tell me we…”

She nodded, squeezing her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were wet with tears. “You came unto me strongly, lured me to bed.” Then she started to sob.

“It's okay. Don't cry.” I gathered her to my chest, trying my best to console her as her body wracked with tears. “Look at me, Isabella, please.”

Slowly, she raised her head, sniffling as she did so.

“Let's keep this a secret between us, okay? It was a honest mistake. I shouldn't have forced myself on you. I'm sorry I suggested sex, and it won't happen again. Okay?”

She looked uncertain but she nodded all the same.

Shit! What had I done?