Unpredictable Betrayal : A Sweet of Revenge

Alex feels incredibly lazy to go home. It’s only been a day since Nicole started living with him, and she’s already exhibiting all sorts of behaviors that irritate him.

Despite Alex’s memories of their secret relationship when Nicole seemed so delightful, every time they were together, his mistress often made him both fond and longing. But why does she appear so annoying now that they’re under the same roof?

“Why are you in my room?”

That night, Alex arrived home exhausted and with a headache from thinking about divorce and tiredness from work. He was taken aback when he entered the guest room and found Nicole lying on the bed. After all, there were three guest rooms in the house. Why did Nicole choose the same one as him?

“I’m tired, Nicole. Please go back to your room.”

Alex politely requested. For God’s sake, he was seriously tired and not in the mood to deal with this. But instead of complying with Alex’s request, Nicole sounded petulant.

“I want to sleep with you, Alex.”

“Sleep with me? In this house? Don’t be ridiculous!”

Nicole quickly pulled a face. The petulant expression returned.

“Why ridiculous? Isn’t it normal? I’m pregnant, you know. What if the baby in my belly misses its daddy?”

Alex sighed wearily. What kind of argument was Nicole presenting to him?

“Don’t overdo it. If you’ve forgotten, we’re both staying at Aurora’s house. We should be grateful she accepts both of us. Besides, Aurora and I aren’t officially divorced yet. So, don’t ask for strange things.”

“Who’s being strange?”

Nicole’s earlier petulant demeanor slowly disappeared, replaced by a very annoyed expression.

“Is it wrong to ask for attention? I’m pregnant with your child.”

“Just being pregnant is already wrong.”

“What?”

Nicole shook her head in disbelief. She never expected Alex to say something like that. Alex’s usually affectionate demeanor now seemed to be filled with hatred and deliberate avoidance. Yet, Nicole intentionally got pregnant to attract all of Alex’s attention and have him completely.

“Weren’t you the one who said you’d love me more if I could get pregnant with your child?”

“But not right now! You have no idea, because of this issue, my life is guaranteed to be ruined! You’re too reckless in making decisions.”

“Alex!” Nicole interrupted. She refused to be constantly blamed. “Even if I weren’t pregnant, it’s time for us to be found out anyway. So, learn to enjoy what has happened.”

Ultimately, after a night of argument, Alex chose to move to another room. He was sure his head would explode if he had to sleep with Nicole.

Although he knew his marriage with Aurora was doomed and that Aurora would only get angrier with him, Alex didn’t want to waste any more time making Aurora angrier. Truly, Alex needed compassion. He felt scared and worried, especially since Asher openly threatened him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Bastian suddenly stood right in front of Alex’s desk. Since knocking on the door several times yielded no response, he decided to just come in.

He thought Alex was busy, but when he checked, Bastian found Alex sitting silently, lost in thought.

“My head feels like it’s going to explode.”

Alex’s voice sounded heavy. Countless times he sighed to alleviate the pressure weighing on his chest.

Previously, Alex had told Bastian about being caught cheating with Nicole again. He also shared Nicole’s pregnancy and Aurora’s decision to file for divorce.

Bastian knew Alex’s problems were very complex. But there was nothing he could do except to comfort his friend.

“Why? Is this related to your divorce with Aurora? Or is it about work?”

“It’s about Nicole.”

Bastian smiled. Pulling a chair, he sat himself right in front of Alex. Since his work was also done, it seemed fine now to listen to Alex’s complaints. Besides, that’s usually how it went.

“What’s up with Nicole? You guys are living together now, right?”

Alex nodded. He sounded like he sighed softly. According to Bastian, Alex should be happy. After all, he could easily meet Nicole without having to hide anymore.

“Yeah, the three of us live together now.”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“Must be nice. Wife and mistress living under one roof. Now, if you want to have fun with Nicole, you don’t need to ask for permission to go out of town or out of the country. You can just knock on the door, take off your clothes, and get down to business.”

Bastian then laughed. He couldn’t forget about Alex, who often asked for his help to arrange all sorts of needs, from accommodations to tickets, hotels, and everything else if he wanted to have fun with Nicole.

“The reality is not as nice and easy as you think.” Alex smiled bitterly. His face showed no sign of happiness at all.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

As the person who held all the secrets, even helped facilitate the affair between Alex and Nicole, Bastian knew very well how his friend had been infatuated with Nicole from the start. Like someone under a spell, Alex did many things to please his former personal secretary.

From buying luxury items, dining in expensive restaurants, staying in star-rated hotels, not to mention vacations abroad, and finally? Alex went as far as to search for loopholes in the company’s expenses to buy Nicole an apartment not far from the office.

All Alex did was to continue to be with Nicole. And when caught cheating, just a few months later, Alex dared to start the relationship again. It seemed like he didn’t want to be separated.

And now, when their relationship was once again revealed, and they could live together more openly, why did Alex seem unhappy?

“Why do you look so stressed out? Aren’t you happy to live with Nicole?”

Alex shook his head immediately. He took a deep breath once again.

“Before, when we were secretly seeing each other, you know I always looked for opportunities to meet and spend time with Nicole. I felt like every moment spent with her was always enjoyable. But now that we live together, I don’t enjoy it. It feels like something is missing.”

“Cheating does stimulate adrenaline. That’s where the excitement lies, right?”

Alex shook his head.

“You don’t know yet that Nicole’s behavior is getting out of hand.”

Bastian laughed again.

“Oh, really? What’s wrong with Nicole?”

“She’s becoming too clingy, Tian. I’m tired of dealing with her excessive demands.”

“But wasn’t Nicole always clingy? Didn’t you yourself say that you liked her because of her clingy attitude? Unlike Aurora who has always been independent and never wanted to bother you.”

Alex nodded. He didn’t deny that. It just felt different now.

Before, he liked it when Nicole was affectionate towards him. Alex felt like the most needed man.

“But now Nicole is going overboard. Just imagine, at Aurora’s house, she asks to sleep in the same room with me. Not to mention other demands. I’m fed up.”

“It’s natural because she’s pregnant. I heard that pregnant women’s libido is much higher than usual. Maybe because of that, Nicole wants to be with you all the time. So, just be understanding. Besides, you should be grateful because she managed to conceive your child. I bet your mom must be happy, right?”

Alex didn’t deny it. Among all the people who knew about Nicole’s pregnancy, his mother seemed to be the happiest. But didn’t his mom think, when he eventually divorced Aurora, that their comfortable life might turn into misery? Or perhaps his mother had forgotten that since his father’s departure, their lives had been fully supported by Aurora.

“Ah, I don’t know. I’m confused. I’m happy to have offspring. But not with Nicole. For God’s sake, from the beginning, I just wanted to have fun. Not to get into a serious relationship or even become her husband. That’s not what I wanted.”

“But it’s all happened now.”

Alex nodded again. His face looked tired. Resigned to the bad fate that might happen after this.

“Yeah, that’s why now I’m enjoying the remaining time at Lumire.”

“Where do you want to go?”

Alex suddenly laughed dryly. Didn’t his friend know that his career at Lumire was over now?

“Are you pretending not to know or are you mocking me? I got caught cheating, Bastian. Asher has warned me to resign immediately after the divorce is finalized. I don’t know where I’ll work and live after this.”

“But don’t you have savings? And besides, you’re entitled to demand a fair share of the marital property, right?”

“Yeah. I do have personal savings,” Alex nodded. “But when it comes to marital property, I feel ashamed to demand an equal share. Most of the assets I have come from Aurora.”

“So, are you just going to accept your fate?”

Alex nodded again. His face looked bleak. Resigned to the possible bad fate that might follow.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. His head was spinning too much to answer any more of Bastian’s questions. One thing was for sure, he was aware that he was slowly crumbling under the weight of his own actions.

***