Chapter 4
1783 Words
The rest of the dinner passed like a terrible dream that Katherine could not wake up from. She couldn't pay attention to the conversation around the table no matter how much she tried. All she could do was sit beside Lucas and act like everything was okay even though it really wasn't.
Her mind was in a mess.
Every time Lucas looked up or glanced in Erica's direction, her eyes followed him and her chest tightened.
Every time he tried to touch, tried to make a joke around her, or even pretend to be in love with her, she felt nauseous.
At one point, Lucas casually rested his hand on her thigh beneath the table, and Katherine nearly flinched from the contact. She caught herself just in time and forced a small smile onto her face before he noticed.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked quietly.
Katherine looked at him slowly. The concern in his eyes looked so genuine that if she hadn't seen them herself, she would have argued that he was innocent.
But, seconds after he asked if she was alright, he glanced across the table and smiled at Erica. It was quick, almost unnoticeable but she had seen it.
The look they exchanged was intimate enough to make her stomach twist painfully. She tore her eyes from him and nodded. "I'm fine." She lied.
Lucas nodded, though he still looked unconvinced. “You’ve barely eaten, my love. Should I be worried?”
The softness of his tone made her want to cry. She forced a small smile to her lips, curling them slightly. "I'm just tired."
That seemed to satisfy him enough because he didn't bother her about that. Instead, he gently squeezed her thigh beneath the table before his attention to the others around them.
Katherine felt sick.
Hours ago, that small gesture would have made her smile. Now, all she could think about was whether those same hands had been touching Erica earlier.
The thought ruined whatever little appetite she had left.
Eventually, dinner finally came to an end, and Katherine almost felt relieved when everyone began leaving the table. She stood slowly beside Lucas, trying to steady her emotions before they overwhelmed her completely.
Lucas placed his hands on her back as they walked back out together. The familiar gesture made her chest ache harder.
"I think we should call it a day." He suggested softly, caressing her back slowly. "You look exhausted.'
Katherine forced herself to nod. "I think so too." She agreed. "I need some sleep."
Lucas pulled her head in, initiating a hug. "I think it's the sea air."
Katherine scoffed internally. Maybe it was the sea air. Maybe discovering her husband was having an affair was destroying her from the inside.
Once they entered the room, Lucas loosened his tie around his neck with a tired sigh while Katherine walked straight toward the balcony doors. The room suddenly felt suffocating.
"You are really quiet tonight," Lucas observed as he poured himself a glass of water. He finished it in two gulps and went to join her at the balcony, snaking his hands around her waist and resting his jaw on her shoulders.
"You feel distant." He pointed, pulling her closer to himself.
Katherine shut her eyes, her insides burning with anger.
She wanted to push him away. She wanted to scream, yell, cry...anything to just show how angry she was.
Yet, she couldn't. She was too numb to react. Too shocked to react.
"I already told you." She said weakly, trying to wiggle out of his hold. "I'm tired."
She turned to him, looking him in the eye. Then, she shook her head and walked back into the room.
"You're being really strange, you know," Lucas said with a sigh. "If something is wrong, just tell me. Being in a bad mood will only ruin this experience for us. We're supposed to make the best of our time here." He said, airing out his frustration as he followed her inside.
'We've not even had s*x once since we got on this cruise ship, Kate. What are we doing?"
Katherine couldn't believe her ears. How could he say all of that when he was probably f*****g someone else?
"Really, Lucas?" She turned to him, her hands placed on her waist.
It was only after she spoke that he realized he had misspoken. He released a strained sigh and held out his hands. "f**k. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, baby."
He walked to her and grabbed her hands. "I just want us to have a really good time here. I didn't mean it like that." He murmured.
"I just want you to stop thinking so much and enjoy your time here."
Katherine swallowed hard as her chest tightened painfully. How could he do this so easily? How could he hold her like this after just kissing another woman just hours ago?
The betrayal hurt already but the lies made it unbearable.
Lucas stared at her for a few seconds before eventually nodding. "Alright."
Minutes later, they were both ready in bed and as they both lay down on opposite sides, the lights went off.
But, sleep never came for Katherine.
She lay beside him for what felt like hours, staring at the ceiling while her thoughts consumed her entirely. Every time she closed her eyes all she saw was Lucas kissing Erica.
At some point, she heard Lucas’s breathing deepen beside her.
He had fallen asleep.
He looked so peaceful while she was losing her mind. It almost made her laugh.
Quietly, she slipped out of bed and grabbed a light sweater before leaving the suit.
The cold night air hit her skin the moment she stepped outside. Katherine wrapped her arms around herself as she wandered through the nearly quiet hallways of the ship.
She didn’t know where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get away from that room. Away from him.
Luckily, she didn't have to wander around for so long before she finally found a bar. She was thankful that only a handful of people occupied it. It was the kind of calmness she needed.
Maybe a drink would help numb the mess in her head.
She approached the counter slowly and sat down at one of the empty stools. “Give me anything. Something strong.,” she told the bartender quietly.
“Rough night?” a familiar voice asked beside her. Katherine paused before turning her head and her eyes widened slightly when she saw who it was.
It was the same stranger from before.
He sat a short distance away from her, a glass of whiskey resting untouched in front of him. Tonight, without the tension from earlier clouding her thoughts completely, Katherine finally looked at him properly.
He was striking. Sharp jawline, seductive eyes, expensive watch, Armani suit, and an aura she recognized.
'Fuck.'
It finally hit her. How had she not recognized him before?
"Ashford. Zane Ashford." She whispered.
Zane smirked. “So you know who I am now.”
Of course she did.
Zane Ashford of the great Ashford family, the richest in the country. He had inherited Ashford Group from his father, Marcus Ashford, making him one of the most influential men in the world.
She had heard a lot about that family from her father and heard a great deal about them from her father.
They had never met personally but his face was almost impossible to forget as he was even given the title of the most eligible bachelor across various magazines almost every year before he finally got married.
“You’re Zane Ashford,” she said softly.
"That is me." He said, flashing her his signature smirk that sent a strange flutter to her chest.
Katherine looked away quickly before strange thoughts entered her head.
For a moment, neither of them said anything, only sitting in a comfortable silence. Surprisingly, Zane did not pressure her this time. He did not mention Lucas or Erica immediately. He simply sat there quietly beside her, almost as though he understood she needed the silence.
Oddly enough, Katherine appreciated that.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” she finally admitted quietly. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
“You were upset.” He said calmly but she shook her head.
“That doesn’t excuse it.”
Zane shrugged slightly. “I’ve seen worse reactions.” He confessed and Katherine let out a small humorless laugh.
The bartender placed her drink in front of her before walking away again.
Katherine stared down at the glass quietly. “I think part of me already knew,” she admitted after a while. “I just didn’t want to believe it.”
Zane remained silent, allowing her to continue.
“I loved him so much that I never questioned anything,” she whispered. “And now I feel stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” Zane said calmly. “You trusted your husband. That’s not a crime.”
Katherine swallowed hard at the unexpected kindness in his tone. For some reason, hearing that from him almost made her emotional again.
“What are you planning to do?” Zane asked after a moment.
The answer came too quickly. “Divorce him.”
Zane leaned back slightly in his chair, studying her calmly. “That fast?”
“What else am I supposed to do?” Katherine asked bitterly. “Stay with a man who’s cheating on me?”
“No,” he replied evenly. “But if you’re going to leave him, do it properly.”
Katherine frowned slightly. “What does that mean?”
“It means right now, you have nothing except your word against his,” he explained and Katherine looked at him, frowning.
“I saw them very clearly,” she argued.
“And Lucas will deny it,” Zane pointed out calmly. “Erica will too. Your husband is a lawyer. He will twist all of this into something else and make the divorce favor him.”
Katherine fell silent because deep down, she already knew he was right. Lucas wasn't a top-rated divorce lawyer for nothing. Cases like this were his forte.
Katherine looked down at her glass again. “So what are you saying?” she asked quietly.
Zane leaned slightly closer then, his voice calm and controlled. “I’m saying you shouldn’t act emotionally.”
“And what should I do instead?” She asked weakly and he scooted closer to her. Then, with a determined look, he said.
"We make them pay for betraying us." He said calmly. "We work together and expose them."
- Writer
