The evening was getting darker. But the spirit of the party was heating up. Liam didn't know how his event organizers did it, but dancing poles had been set up and three strippers were on the platform, doing their thing. The DJ had gotten high, because the song he dished now had shifted from mild to hardcore.Liam had empty bottles of wine and glasses seated before him on the table, also ashtrays filled with burnt up cigars, some half smoked.The colors of the lights — multicolored and swirling — danced around his eyes, the loudness of the jam, the strippers moving their bodies ever alluringly, the sight of his many friends getting drunk and high on stone: all of these brought a sudden nostalgic feeling to Liam. His clubbing life."Where had it gone?" was the question that popped into his mind. He tried to recall the last time he hit a club as he used to, but he couldn't. His life, of late, had been centered mainly on his work, and trying to keep his family together. Well, that wasn't
Liam did not move a muscle until Elena had completely parked her car. Even after that, he still did not move; he waited like a lurking leopard for them to come down from the car."Your husband doesn't look happy," Rosa whispered. Elena, whose heart had already begun to bang violently in her chest, said nothing. What in the world was she to say to Liam?She lingered in the car, pretending to be immersed with the activities of getting the Lambo into a perfect parking state. She expected Liam to shout her name, to summon her, but he didn't. He was looking like a statue, waiting for her. For them."We've got no choice," Rosa said. "He'll just talk.""Rosa, what is your problem?" Elena snapped. "You shouldn't even have the courage to say anything in regards to us.""I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Gosh."Elena was slurping up confidence from her anger, and the assurance that, if anyone was in trouble, it was going to be Rosa. It was Rosa who led her away from the party without informing Liam. Yes.
Liam knew he would only be deceiving himself if he claimed he didn't notice the tension in the car as he drove his wife's best friend down the road.The scent of her perfume filled the car, even drowning the air freshener oozing from the dashboard. Liam tried to keep his eyes on the road, but they would always wander back to her laps, which were conspicuously bared. From time to time, her fingers drummed on her laps, as though they were a keyless piano. She was humming a tune, which Liam found himself reclining to listen to.He fought it, fought really hard. Told himself he was just giving her a lift to a hotel, nothing more.But it was only easy to say these things to himself; the problem came from stopping himself from the raging hormones and wild thoughts.He found his lips moving. "How close are you to Elena?" he asked. Perhaps talking to her about Elena would help keep the guilt alive. "We've been friends for years," she said, absentmindedly. "She's cool.""Okay." The car now m
Stephan called Elena that morning, at around 7 am and offered that they go out on a dinner together."I can arrange for a flight to the US now," he said, confidently, "and by evening, we're seated at dinner.""C'mon, Steph," she said, trying to laugh, "that's not possible. I'm married now.""And?""My man does all those things." Liam hadn't taken her out since they got married. But he would, only if he wasn't preoccupied with going after her best friend."You know I heard that conversation that night?" Steph said. "And you can no longer lie to me that you're happy in that marriage."Elena's matrimonial defenses emerged. "It's a matter of time. The family's going through some hurdles now. He'll come around.""I don't think he'll completely come around. People don't lose their inborn character just like that. I studied psychology and I know the human temperament too well."There it went again, Elena thought with renewed fear, the suggestion that Liam would never throw away his old life.
Liam set the rum glass down on the counter with a slam."Another," he grunted to the barman.The barman gave him a studying look, probably wondering again what Liam with his flashy Jeep outside was doing in such a lowly bar. He poured him more rum.Liam was on his sixth shot and as he tried to lift the seventh glass to his mouth, the images in his vision collided violently with each other. The glass slipped from his hand to the ground, shattering with a loud sound. The people sitting and standing by stared at him. It wasn't often that a man who had the look of a billionaire would come to such a bar and break tumblers. They began to whisper amongst themselves. Someone took out their phone to record the scene.The barman muttered something under his breath and trudged over to clean the mess up. Liam just sat there, staring at his fingers. They were reddish at the tips.He was aware of the attention around. He knew the barman was saying something to him, but Liam couldn't get himself to
"You can stop here, please," Elena said to Luke. "I can walk in on from here."He smirked. "You don't want your family asking me personal questions, I get?"Elena laughed even though nothing was hilarious about it. She just didn't want to be seen in a fancy car anymore. Chelsea would surely pick up a like of argument from it later on. "Of course you'll talk to us like that," she'd say, "after all, you came in a million dollars car.""Thank you," Elena said and climbed out. A glance at her wristwatch showed it was 7:30 am. She figured she did arrive early enough.She gave Luke a little nod as he reversed and drove away. She stood still for a while, collecting her breath and mind. After months of not seeing her stepsisters, what did they have in store for her? Would they attack her physical looks first? Elena didn't think there was anything wrong with her own looks. Rosa had said she was thinner, but that was a lie.Anyway, whatever they came up with, Elena believed she could handle it
"Thank you," Elena said, taking the mug from her. The scent of the coffee was very calming. She sipped and shut her eyes a bit to take in the feeling. The bittersweet taste left a satisfying residue on her tongue. "Thanks," she said again. "I needed that.""Father mentioned that you had got married to Liam Hemsworth, CEO, EliteCorp," Jennifer said after they'd settled down. Her face held no expression and her voice sounded bland. Was she admiring? Or being spiteful?"Yes, I did. It's kinda bad none of you were close enough to attend." Elena chose her words carefully. Even the slightest wrong use of a general idiom could spell trouble.Jennifer shrugged. "It was what it was. But I'm glad it was a success. You have a good eye, I must say."Compliments from people like Jennifer are nothing but gems. "Thank you, dear," Elena said. It was a good thing their father hadn't told them anything related to the real circumstance behind that marriage.There ensued an awkward silence as Elena hunte
Liam stared at the chubby young woman as she approached him. She had the expression of one who was ready for a fight. "Wait a minute," she said to him. "Who do you think you are in the first place to order us like that? Who? Please tell me." Liam watched her spread hands, and for a split second imagined what it'd be like to tear through her with a ferocious kick to her bowels. That would really be an epic way to shut her up and exert who was in charge here. He saw Chris moving towards her. Beside him was a female bodyguard, who Liam had just met and shook hands with. "Now, ma'am," the female guard said, "you'd have to keep your voice down and get into the car with us." Liam saw Elena still perched in the middle of all this, her face knotted in worry. Liam still couldn't believe Elena would do such a thing as fund embezzlement. Even if she would, how? Well, the investigation would tell. "You don't tell me when to shut up or keep talking!" the plump lady shouted, slapping off the