Thomas was going crazy.
He was sure that he would be carted to the loony house soon, as he turned over the house in his search for it. He thought he kept it on the coffee table, but he couldn't find it yet.
She was not back yet. So, where could it be?
Had he merely thought of it but forgotten it in his haste to join his partner? He searched some more. The couch? Nope, could he have placed it on the TV? Not there. Did he stick it on the stick-it board in the kitchen? That was ridiculous, he thought after running back to the living room when he couldn't find it.
Thomas sat on the couch and decided to calm down. What good will it be for Reyona to come back home and meet him in a frenzy like this?
"I probably took it with me when I was rushing out, or I didn't write it after all; yes, that must be it," Thomas thought as he stood up and went to the bar to get a drink.
A scotch. Yes, that would be just the thing.He heard the sound of her car as he was on his way to the bar, though, and he rushed back to where he was seated. Then he thought of how weird it would look if he were just sitting down there doing nothing.
"Would she find it suspicious that I am at home by this time of the day?" he thought as he stood up, moved to the other couch, and sat back down.
He stood up again and rushed to the window. He couldn't see her yet; she must be parking in the garage.Thomas tried to remember all the training he gave people and how he always emphasized control over their emotions. He wondered why he couldn't seem to remember any of those right now.
"That slip of paper is somewhere," his mind whispered sinisterly to him.
"Damn it. Now was not the time to lose control, man. You have been handling her fine; don't blow it now. You just need to get Susan out, and all this shit would be over," he thought to himself as he finally decided to go meet her out on the porch."No better time to act like a lover than now," he thought as he opened the screen door.
"Hey, babe. You are home early," he heard from behind him.He thought of how chirpy his wife's voice sounded as he pasted a smile on her. He had not heard her like that in a while, not until she had become insistent about the baby business.
"Yeah, honey. Business was slow today so I decided to close early…Ef, what has got you in such a mood?" He asked as she hugged him suddenly and tightly.
He patted her back and held her at arm's length. She really was a beauty, if only he hadn't met Susan first.
Reyona rolled her eyes as she thought, "It is you, bastard. The fact that I could best you if only just for this once"
Then she said, "What do you mean? I am happy because I am coming home to my love, of course, and to see you waiting out here for me. Even better!" She said it brightly as she moved in to kiss him.
He turned his cheek to her, but she leaned around and kissed him fully on the mouth with a humming sound in her throat."Rey, Rey, hold on, Rey," he said against her lips as he tried to move back from her, but she merely encircled his neck with her arm and kissed him deeply.
She finally let go, and he pulled at his ears as he looked at her with a sheepish smile on his face. "I don't know what this is all about, but..."
Reyona grinned "Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't like public display. I know; forgive me. I was just so happy to see you. Moreover," she said as she looked around and waved her hands at the quiet neighbourhood
"Nobody will see us, you know. They are too busy taking actions of their own to care about a loving couple smooching on their porch. We could even do it right here, and they wouldn't bat an eye."
Reyona was shocked at herself that she could talk like this, and by the look on her husband's face, she saw that he was amazed as well. She had never been so direct with him before—well, maybe once upon a time when they first started dating—but not in a long while in the past eight years.
Things had cooled considerably between them, especially since she started talking about starting a family more frequently.
Reyona knew that it was either this or. Either she became this chatty, chirpy creature that confused him, or she would be screaming right now. The turmoil in her heart only increased as she saw the way he was talking to her as if all was well.
He was pretending like he was not about to leave her for another woman or another family. A family he had denied her. She wanted to pull at her hair, scream, shout, and punch the bastard in his face for his deceit as she looked at the face he had always shown her while he was cheating on her.
How had he done it when she had no clue? Had she fancied herself so much in love that she had been so blind to everything? She trusted the bastard with her life, and this crippling betrayal was all she got? Well, two could play at that game.
Her bright countenance slipped, but she firmly put it back on as she smiled more brightly when he said, "Rey, what has come over you? Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Or is there something you want to tell me?" Reyona thought bitterly as she pulled on his arms and opened the door. "Okay, okay, okay, I know," she said as they entered, and she dropped her bag before she twirled.
She had to do something with the adrenaline in her system. Something that had nothing to do with wrapping her hands around his neck and throttling him.
"I know, no public display. I got you, buddy," she said with a salute.
Thomas gave her a sceptical look as he asked, "Are you sure you are fine, Rey?" She sure was acting strange.
"Yeah, honey. I am Dandy!" she twirled again before she clapped her hand "Stereo, play "I am in love by Starqueen.".
A tinny voice sounded from the sound system: "I am in love" by Starqueen coming up," right before a breezy note filled the room."Do you remember this, Tommy? This was what you played for me the day you proposed to me, and I said yes," she said as she danced back to him.
"Eight years; it's been eight years of light and love, darling. Dance with me."
Thomas held her as they moved to the gentle beat of the song. He didn't want to remember that day. No, not now."Are you sure you are fine?" he asked his wife again. Reyona tilted her head back as she looked keenly into the eyes she had come to love so much. The eyes she had believed she would stare into for the rest of her life. "Yes, honey," she said breathily. "I am dancing with you, the love of my life, ain't I?"Thomas nodded. He had no idea what else to do but to nod. He knew he should let it go. He should let her have her moment, but he couldn't shake off the niggling feeling that something was not right. He had to ask her. Reyona saw the look that entered his eyes as they moved without missing a step—the way they have moved for years. They were so perfectly synced, and she thought that he was not so closed off with his expressions after all.She must have been the one who had not noticed. She knew he wanted to ask something, just as she knew what he wanted to ask, so she laid
Thomas looked at his friend like he had just informed him that the apocalypse had already happened. "What do you mean by you have sold it? Both? How is that even possible?" he asked his friend, Lance. The latter beckoned on the waiter to bring beers over to their table. He looked over at Thomas. "The usual?" "I don't care about crappy beer, man. What do you mean by that?" Thomas fired back at the man, who seemed nonchalant about his plight. "Cool your jets, man. I have been up and about since morning, and I am not about to miss out on a cold beer because you suddenly changed your mind. '' He turned to the waiter. "Just give me a chilled Guinness, thank you. '' My friend here would be having none." "You got it," the waiter said before going back to get the order. Lance Pratchet loosened his tie before sitting more relaxed in his chair. Work had been hectic recently, and his ex-wife seemed to think he plucked money out of the air with the way she had been on his neck about alimony.
Lance Pratchet gaped at his friend when the latter looked at him incomprehensibly. He had never known Thomas to be a prankster. The man might be an asshole in Lance's book because of what he had done to his wife of many years, but bros had got to stick together, and that was why he had agreed to help him with the sales of the two properties that Thomas had acquired with the help of the wife he was leaving for his side chick. Lance had never liked the bimbo-looking babe with her voluptuous body and wiles that had hooked his friend for years, but Lance did not really like females these days anyway, not with the way Alexa had frustrated his life throughout their three years of marriage and continued to do so since they finalized their divorce a year ago. She had gotten everything she planned with her friends, and they had accused him of being abusive. Fat, dark bruises had shown up in graphic details in court, and with a long line of witnesses to corroborate her claims, Lance knew t
"The transaction went through. Sorry about the delay. There was a little transactional error with the mule account. Check out the account now." Reyona set aside her phone as she got the message and looked up at her assistant, who was standing in front of her. The lady was telling her about one company that would like them to handle their audit this year. The owner of the company intended to use the audit to test the strength of ReyDexter LLC. If they are satisfied with Reyona's company, they intend to hand over their portfolio to them and make them their official accounting firm. Reyona was a Certified Public Accountant who had realised earlier that she would rather have a firm of her own than be in a company where she only dealt with the company's finances. Reyona loved challenges, and she believed that one way she could get them in her chosen profession would be to have a company of her own where she could handle the cases of the different companies, as she believed that no t
Reyona was sleeping, or at least trying to sleep, when she felt the bed depressed, and Thomas stood up and went out.She waited for it as she heard his phone vibrate where he had kept it beside him. He wouldn't put his phone so close to him like that normally, as he had said that the radiation from the phone was not meant to be kept anywhere near the brain, especially in sleep.Reyona knew that today was a special day, though.She was sure he was expecting something, so she didn't comment on his out-of-habit move; she had merely curled up against his side, laid her head on his chest as she took his hand, and wrapped it around herself before kissing him good night.She smiled to herself as she heard the phone vibrate, and he checked if she was asleep before gently removing her arms from around him. She had thought briefly of tightening her arms around him to see what his reaction would be, but then she decided to let him go. The show was about to start anyway.He had been on edge since
Thomas looked back sharply when he heard her voice. Damn it. He had not realised that he had spoken out loud. That was why he left the bedroom for the living room, after all. He should have just gone downstairs to the sitting room or the library. Yeah, the library would have been okay. With all the volumes of books in there and the soundproof padding his wife had installed in there as it doubled as her workspace when she wanted to as well, he could have shouted all he wanted and she wouldn't have realised. He knew that his shout was inevitable, even as he blamed himself and turned in the direction where he heard her soft footsteps. He knew he couldn't have helped his reaction, not even if a gun had been put to his head when he opened his email earlier. Even a hardcore guy would have reacted as he did. Thomas was no hardcore guy. Just a 35-year-old man looking for a soft landing in life. Ah, what would he do? He thought as he recalled the message that was burning a hole throug
Reyona tamped down the revulsion in her as she said those words. She could feel bile in her throat as she closed her eyes tightly. Who could have believed that there would be a day on earth when she would feel her skin crawl at the thought of intimacy with her man? What did she know?Theirs had never been a super passionate "get wet with just a look at you" kind of sex life, but they had a healthy sex life. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, and she could turn to him whenever she wanted to do it with the assurance that he would accommodate her and vice versa.She remembered a saying that a man's penis could be separated from his heart. She couldn't remember where she heard the saying from, but she remembered that the person had said that a man could be having regular sex with a lady while, in his heart, he held someone else dear."It is just how they are wired; just because he is fucking you every day does not mean he loves you. You are just that. A fuck buddy."Reyona released t
Thomas groaned as he held his wife closely to himself. He could feel his eyes crossing behind their lids. He had no idea what had come over her, but he was not about to mind. Not when his libido could reap the benefit. She was all he had for now anyway. Susan was not available for all their games.Even though he had always been careful with her and only went to a limit when it came to their bedroom activities, unlike he did with Susan, he loved the fact that she was taking the initiative to introduce this. Most of what she did these days made it seem like he didn't know his wife that well, not that he'd been paying much attention before.He had been trying his best to be a double agent with such carefulness that his cover would not be blown. He loved this new side of her.His eyes jerked open when he felt her hands wrap around him, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he wondered when she had pulled the drawstring of his pyjama bottoms.He was close to bursting, and he felt he sh