Chapter 18

“Goodbye, my babies. Take care, and remember, Mommy always loves you!” I exclaimed happily to my little children on the phone. We were having a video call.

“We love you too, Mommy! We love you too! I can’t wait to see you!” Janice said before ending the call.

That was my little daughter. Lukel was the name of her twin brother. Yup, those were my two adorable children.

They were both in Canada, living with Andre’s parents. I had decided not to bring them along for various reasons.

I was lying down on my bed when I heard a knock on the door. “Come in, it’s not locked.”

The door opened, and Andre stepped foot inside the room, dressed in his pajamas.

“You’re still awake?” I asked, sitting down on the bed.

“Yeah, I’m not feeling sleepy,” Andre answered, walking close to me. He looked kind of tired and exhausted. “Does your leg still hurt?”

“Not that much. The pain has gone down.”

“Oh, right,” he said inaudibly. “There’s this company I just finished discussing with, and we’re going to start a project with them, probably around next week.”

“Business discussions; no wonder you were asleep,” I teased him.

“It’s not that; I’ve just been thinking too much,” he explained.

“What’s the problem?”

“Well, there’s this lady who I’ve been spending so much time with lately.”

“The one you’re texting always, right?” I gave him a silly laugh, accompanied by a grin.

He laughed softly. “Yes, the one I’ve been texting always.” The cast on his face didn’t look so good, and I didn’t like that at all.

“Come sit down next to me.” I patted the bed. Andre sighed and settled down on the bed, a few inches away from me. “I think the big man’s more comfortable now, right?” I joked.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said softly, smiling narrowly. I could tell that was a forced expression.

“Okay, so tell me what’s going on? Did anything bad happen to this lady? Did the two of you get into a heated argument or something?”

“No, no, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” I asked him curiously.

He exhaled deeply. “Turns out she has a man.‘

I stared at him for a moment. “Wait a minute, hold on. So the girl you like, spending most of your time with, is in a relationship?”

“Yes, I found out today,” he answered. “And you want to know the most confusing part? This lady kissed me on several occasions.”

“Say what now?” I raised an eyebrow.

“We’ve kissed about five times, and I thought she was into me. But I didn’t just want to jump into a relationship. I was actually waiting for the perfect time.”

“And when was the perfect time?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“You were waiting for the spirit of your ancestors to tell you, right?”

“Oh, please stop it.” He playfully pushed my face. “I just wanted us to spend more time together and get to know each other better.”

“I see,” I said, nodding. “So how did you find out that this girl is in a relationship?”

“She told me,” Andre answered, his expression turning sad. “After all the wonderful moments, I… I just don’t even know what to say.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

“I’m sorry, friend,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, and you want to hear something else that’s crazy?” He looked at me. “Both of us had sex this one time.”

“Hold on a minute. You guys had sex?”

“Yes.”

“And she claims to have a boyfriend?” I took my hands off his shoulder and stood up right away. “That means she was cheating on him with you.”

“Great, so I’m the side chick here.”

“You’re not a girl.” I furrowed my brows at him.

“Yeah, whatever,” he said nonchalantly. “But it’s just so painful, you know. It was like she was playing with me.”

“Yeah, she was definitely playing with you.” I nodded with my arms crossed. “And I’m pretty sure she was after your money. Did you spend a lot on her?”

“Let’s see. I took her to the mall, bought different clothes for her, got her a new phone, and then…” he trailed off as he stopped counting with his fingers. He looked at me. “Yeah, I spent a lot on her.”

“Yup, I hope things are becoming clear now.” I sat next to him. “She was just using you for your money;

she never really liked you.”

“Wow, I can’t believe she would do that,” he uttered in a low tone, thinking about this lady, I’d say.

“But you’ll just have to. I mean, who doesn’t know Andre Jones?”

“I met this guy today, and I introduced myself, but he just gave me a confused expression.”

I stared at him for a moment, with my mouth partly open. “Okay, but still, most people know Andre Jones, owner of The Vitality Group, a billionaire. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with someone like that?”

Andre laughed, shaking his head. “Don’t start praising me right now.”

“I’m just stating the truth. That girl was acting friendly all because of the money. She’s a gold digger, and you need to cut her off as soon as possible.”

“That’s going to be so hard, you know.”

“I know, but you have to do it. Or else you’re going to keep getting your heart broken. And if there is anyone else who’s acting that way, cut them off.”

זיי guess you’re right,” Andre said, tilting his head.

The doorbell rang, and we looked at each other in confusion. Who would visit us so late at night, especially when it was raining heavily?

“Are you expecting anybody?” I asked Andre, and he shook his head, still trying to figure out what was going on.

The doorbell rang again.

doorbell rang for the third time.

“Just hold on, will you? I’m coming!” I yelled loudly and approached the door. I opened it immediately, and I wasn’t expecting to see this guy. “You?” I exclaimed in absolute wonder.

LUKE’S POV “So you’re cheating on me, huh? And you have the nerve to do it at my house?” I snarled at Harriet, giving her a threatening look. At this point, I could just grab her neck and choke her to death.

These people were really carrying out disgusting acts at the wrong place, which was really, really annoying. First, it was those useless individuals at my company. Now it was my own woman, the person who claimed to love no one else but me. Wow, you never really know what goes on behind your back.

“Don’t blame me! I needed someone to satisfy me since you didn’t want to,” Harriet fired back at me.

“Well, that someone should have satisfied you in his house!” I snapped. “You know what? Just get out of my house.”

“But it’s raining outside.”

“I don’t care. Just get the hell out right now! I don’t even want to see your face again.‘

“Hold on, what are you trying to say?”

“What does it look like I’m trying to say?” I retorted.

“Are you breaking up with me?”

“I have no time to answer your questions. Just get out already.”

She moved closer to me with a whisper: “Eight years, Luke. Eight years of being in a relationship with you. You want to end everything just like that?”

“I said leave.” I grabbed her arm and dragged her to the door. “And don’t ever come back snarled the moment she was outside, and then I shut the door.