Chapter 6
1288 Words
Katherine watched blood drain from Lucas’s face as he stared at Zane.
She could tell he recognized him as soon as he saw him even before the introduction was made. His eyes shifted quickly to Erica. The movement was so quick that Katherine would have missed it if she hadn’t already have her eye on him.
Lucas smiled nervously and stood on his feet, rubbing his hands on his trousers before stretching them out for a handshake.
He held Zane’s hand longer than necessary. “Lucas Carter,” he said slowly then cleared his throat and lifted his chin. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Ashford.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Zane said easily before glancing toward Katherine. The look was brief enough to convince the onlookers that they had never met before. He nodded at her like he was greeting the wife of an acquaintance, then turned back to Lucas.
“I should get back to breakfast with my wife.”
He walked off without another word, leaving Lucas staring at him with an expression Katherine couldn’t read.
“Is it me or do you look surprised to see Erica’s husband here?” Katherine asked, smiling briefly as she watched Zane sit down, barely saying a word to Erica.
“I didn’t think he’d be here. He’s a busy man.” Lucas replied without thinking and Katherine raised an eyebrow, chuckling slightly.
“You didn’t think he’d be here?” She laughed. “Lucas. He is her husband. This is a couple’s cruise. Why else would Erica be here if she won’t be with her husband?”
Lucas realized his mistake a little too late.
“Zane Ashford isn’t the type of man to have spare time.” He answered quickly, turning to her with a smile, one that masked his true emotion.
“I see.” Katherine nodded, smiling to herself.
Lucas wasn’t as smart as she thought after all.
He went quiet after that, poking at his food without really eating it, something he did when he was bothered.
Katherine watched him from across the table, watching the way his eyes kept drifting toward Erica’s table even as he tried to pretend he wasn’t looking.
******
By the time the breakfast was over, the tension between all four of them had heightened. And when they all made it down to the pool deck that same afternoon, neither of them acted like they knew their partners were involved with each other.
Lucas spent the rest of the day acting like nothing serious had happened while Erica did the same from her lounge chair, scrolling through her phone while Zane sat on a chair beside her, deep into a phone call
As soon as Erica spotted Katherine walking towards them, she put down her phone and moved towards them.
“Katherine.” She greeted with a bright smile, already leading Katherine to their side of the deck.
“We keep bumping into each other,” Katherine said, forcing a smile.
“It is a small ship,” Erica replied and then turned to Zane who had dropped his phone and was now focused on them.
“I don’t think I have introduced my husband to you.” She added and Katherine could already tell her intention.
As much as she hated the woman, she couldn’t deny the fact that having a husband like Zane Ashford was a huge flex.
“We’ve already met,” Zane said before Katherine could respond, his voice calm.
Erica's smile faltered for the briefest second. "You have?"
“We have,” Katherine confirmed, her lips curling slightly. “We ran into each other at the bar.”
She felt Lucas go still from where he stood beside her. His hands tightened around her waist as he lowered his head.
“You didn’t mention that earlier.” He said.
Katherine shrugged and took a seat, reaching for a drink from one of the waiters walking around. “Didn’t I?” She asked, sipping her drink. “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”
Lucas’s jaw tightened and Katherine watched him do the math silently behind his eyes. She had told him she went for a walk. She hadn’t told him she spent an hour with the husband of the woman he was having an affair with.
"Small ship," Zane said, filling the silence before it could stretch too long. "Speaking of which, Lucas, I never got the chance to thank you properly."
Lucas blinked. "Thank me?"
"For whatever you've been doing in those sessions with Erica." Zane's smile didn't waver. "She's been in a much better mood lately and our marriage has never been better. I don't know what you said to her, but it's working." He paused.
“I have to admit, even our s****l life has improved. Greatly.”
Erica's spine went rigid for half a second before she recovered, laughing softly and hitting his arm. "Zane." She cautioned.
"What? I'm allowed to appreciate my own wife. I’m sure Mr Carter doesn’t mind."
Lucas's expression hardened. Katherine knew that look very well so she knew he was anything but comfortable.
Instead, he forced a smile. “Of course I don’t. If anything, I’m glad.”
The moment was cut short by the arrival of two men in plain expensive T-shirts.
“Mr Ashford,” one of them greeted cheerfully, extending a hand. “My sources told me you were onboard but I didn’t believe it. Had to confirm for myself. It’s an honor.”
Zane laughed humbly, greeting them both as they led him away to greet the other businessmen who were on board.
Katherine watched all attention turn to Zane Ashford while Lucas remained unnoticeable beside her.
Before, she wouldn’t have cared about his status but after seeing how he had chosen to act, she was starting to realize that she had made the mistake by marrying someone below her status.
"You're lucky," she said to Erica, just loud enough for Lucas to hear. "Not many women get a husband like that."
It was a simple sentence that had a hidden intention and when she saw Lucas’s hand tighten around his glass, she realized she had successfully delivered her point.
Erica's smile went tight, stealing a glance at Lucas before returning her attention to her husband. “I guess you can say that.”
*******
The tension followed them back to the suite that evening, thick enough that Katherine felt it before Lucas had even shut the door behind them.
"What was that today?" he asked, tossing his jacket over the back of a chair.
"What was what?"
"You and Ashford." He crossed his arms. "You never told me you knew him. You never told me you were with him last night. And now you're standing there telling Erica she's lucky to have him?"
Katherine turned to face him, unhurried. "Lucas, I said one sentence."
"It wasn't just the sentence." His voice climbed slightly. "It's the way you looked at him. The way he talked about the two of you meeting like it was nothing."
"Because it was nothing." She held his gaze, calmer than she'd managed in days. "We talked for an hour. That's all."
"An hour you didn't think to mention."
"I didn't think I needed your permission to talk to someone." She let the words settle before adding, almost gently, "You're overreacting, Lucas. If anyone heard you right now, they'd think I was having an affair."
That shut him up quickly.
He didn’t react. He couldn’t.
He only looked at her like he was trying to figure out if she had made a careless mistake or if it was done on purpose.
- Writer
