Sara counted to ten after they left before grabbing her napkin and tossing it on the table angrily. She fixed her brimming eyes at Donald who squirmed under her gaze. Yemisi, who had only seen the cheerful, vibrant side of Sara since they met, cowered under her seat silently begging her husband for protection.

"Thanks a lot, Donald. What a great friend you are!" She hissed at him, her fists clenched in anger. She couldn't believe it was possible that there was still something going on between Lucas and Karen. She refused to think like that.

Donald shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "What did I do? I didn't send her after him," he defended, realising he had put himself in a jam. Slightly though, but still a jam nonetheless.

"I told you what she did to me, what she did to my marriage and you go ahead and date her?! You even had the effrontery to bring her to dinner where we can all meet. What were you hoping to achieve by doing this?" She spat out in accusation, her thoughts drifting now and again to what happened over dinner.

"You can't blame me!" He cried out, trying to play the victim card. "I know what you told me, yes, but curiosity gripped me and I wanted to find out the kind of woman she was. Falling for her was not part of the plan!" He claimed.

"Oh, shut up cause I don't believe you."

He watched her purse her lips, her eyes darting to the door Lucas had exited through, with Karen trailing behind a few minutes later. He knew what was going through her mind, heck, he instigated what was going through her thoughts. A little bit of jealousy and he could definitely get her back to his side. She'd forgotten she was supposed to be getting her son back not falling for her ex and he and Karen were here to remind her of that.

"You say that as if you've never been in love," he taunted, drawing her eyes and attention back to him. "You and I know you can't choose who you fall in love with. You can ask your new friends to verify for you in case you've forgotten," he added, playing the bait at Yemisi who took it hook, line, sinker.

"Yes, really. We can't choose who we fall in love with. I didn't even plan to fall in love with Daniel. He wasn't even my type but he came into my life and swept me away," she finished dreamily, batting her eyelashes at her enamoured husband who kissed her lips affectionately.

Sara swore.

She glared at the couple coldly before remarking, "your love story sounds absolutely wonderful but this is not what I need in my life right now."

Standing up, she grabbed her clutch and slid out of her chair.

"Excuse me, but I need to go find my ex-husband."

She walked in determined strides following the wisp of air Lucas left in his wake after storming out of the restaurant earlier. She knew he'd not return to the restaurant that night again as he rarely got angry but always chose to go away and brood or bury himself in work whenever he did.

She didn't have a clue where he went but she chose to imagine he went back to his room at the lodge. Since her room was opposite his, she could use this opportunity to seduce him, after their reconciliation of course. Moreover, they were here for such actions.

The cable car ride was quiet and cool and she shivered slightly wishing her charming knight with the expensive jacket had the brain to wait behind for her. Then a dark thought crossed her mind when she imagined Karen was with him trying to calm him down. She shook her head as though to dispel the image and focused on her task ahead.

She reached her lodge just in time to see Karen coming out of it. Though the distance between the two doors was few meters apart, but since her room was locked, Sara could tell which room Karen just walked out from. They met halfway at the living area and paused, staring at each other.

"If you're here to see Lucas, don't bother as he's not in his room. I made sure to check and the door was locked," Karen informed her, a victorious smirk playing on her lips.

Sara refrained from giving her a sarcastic comeback. She didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing her words hurt her. "No, I'm not here to see him. As a matter of fact, my room is also here. Didn't he tell you?"

A gasp nearly left Karen's lips but she caught herself in time, narrowing her eyes as if to decipher if Sara was lying. She had to be, there was no way she and Lucas were already that close. "Really?"

"Yes." Sara was unrelenting. "Now if you'd excuse me, I need to go sleep in my bed." She sidestepped the lady who was still eyeing her and made to sashay to her room. She wasn't sure she could pull off the 'we're together now' idea but she had every intention of rubbing it in Karen's face fully.

"You should know by now that whatever is brewing between the two of you is a ship docked at harbour that will never set sail," Karen said, watching her perfectly manicured nails judiciously.

Despite herself and her pride telling her to ignore the malicious woman, she turned around to stare at her confusedly. "What?"

"You heard me," she insisted. "You must think somewhere in your feeble mind that this was seven years ago when you were 21 and naïve and Lucas was both ignorant and foolish but you're a grown woman now and the rules of the game has surely changed."

Sara opted to ask her what rules but decided not when she saw Karen was still trying to drive home her point, and a fleeting thought wondered why she was listening to this woman.

"Tell me honestly. Have you ever heard of the term 'faithful Lagos married men'? No, because it does not exist and Lucas, unfortunately, is the president of the playboy association. Too bad he's Igbo or he'd have been president of the Yoruba demons too," she laughed at the thought but Sara did not get the gist. She hated what this woman was implying.

"What are you saying? That Lucas cannot be faithful?" She refused to believe this crap.

Karen laughed again, placing a delicate finger on her lips. "How do I put this? Let's see. You want him all for yourself, obviously, but my dear, that is a dream. It cannot happen. If you want to be happy with him, you've got to learn to share him. He's a man and he has needs which you won't be able to fulfill always. So you let him be himself when he wants to and everyone is happy. That way you won't worry about painful heartbreaks and cheating scandals and ugly divorces. You can be a pretty little wife with your adorable son and a rich husband by your side and the female population in Lagos can be happy. Its a win-win for everyone!" She exclaimed, smiling at her.

Technically, this was the best plan right now. This wasn't seven years ago when she had blindly fallen for and married a playboy and then had her heart broken two years later. This time she would go in with her eyes wide open and be prepared for anything he would dish out. She eyed Karen surreptitiously wondering what was her gain in helping her out.

"I can assume you're saying this so I will willingly give you space to seduce him any chance you get, right?"

"That's not true," she replied, scrunching up her nose as though she found the notion offensive. "But even if it isn't me, it will be some other beautiful lady. Don't tell me you believe Lucas only works whenever he takes all those business trips he always does. Even right here at this seminar, he's not exactly doing work-related stuffs. He has another room booked at the Tinapa for some rolling around in the sheets," she informed with a wink and watched as Sara's eyes bulged at the news.

She then faked a gasp, covering her mouth in accordance. "Please don't tell me you didn't know! I thought since you guys were dating and all, he'd let you know he preferred Tinapa but if he didn't tell you, it could only mean one thing." She concluded now, allowing the story to sink in slowly but surely into Sara's brain. It was the little seeds of doubts that did the greatest harm.

Sara knew there was a tint of lie to all she had told her but for the life of her couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. But she had to admit hearing Lucas booked another room at Tinapa without her knowledge raised eyebrows and suspicions. Was that why he booked different suites for them? Was it also possible he was the owner of the car she saw this afternoon? Then her brain reminded her of their discussion from earlier this evening. He had been with a woman at a different location from here, her rapidly wandering thoughts found Karen's face. It couldn't be true!

"How did you know this? How did you know he has another room at the Tinapa?" She quizzed, her mind coming up with a million different answers, none of them was pleasant.

Karen shrugged as if the answer should be obvious. "Duh, I stay at Tinapa and I saw him there going up to his room. We met, had lunch then he invited me to meet him in his room later, in room 234. But just as I was about to, Donald called me to come for dinner. He even gave me his card and all," she explained flippantly, muttering at how unfair it was that a prospective toss in the hay with Lucas was ruined by a boring dinner.

She reached inside her black purse and pulled out her phone suddenly and checked the time. It was already too late and she'd done her job exceedingly well. Donald would be thrilled to know their collaboration was beginning to yield fruit. But she hid her excitement for later. She glanced at Sara's shocked face and rattled out.

"I didn't even know it was this late. Damn, Donald must be worried about me right now. I have to go meet up with my date in order not to raise up suspicions. Think about what I told you, about sharing Lucas I mean, that guy knows what he's doing in bed and I still want my taste of him before I'll finally settle down. Goodnight, dear." And she turned and strolled out of the lodge in quickened steps.

'Goodnight' got stuck in Sara's throat as she fought against the anger bubbling up inside her like molten lava. She didn't want to believe Karen's words but the facts were all too glaring and she'd be a fool to not see it. She gulped to hold down her tears and looked around the lodge. Her eyes caught his door and she walked to it. She tried the knob but it wouldn't budge, the dead giveaway that it was locked. The wall clock chimed 11pm and she knew he was not coming back to their lodge tonight.

Thirty minutes later and dressed and feeling refreshed, she sat on her bed and dialed his phone. It rang unanswered for four times and she wondered where he was or what was keeping him occupied. She dared hope he was alone and not with female company. She placed the fifth call to his phone randomly, knowing he still wouldn't answer but wishing on a blue moon that he would. She was about to give up hope when it was answered.

"Hello, Lucas, where are you?" She asked, almost whispered since it was already late and he might be asleep considering he was pretty occupied with work-related issues during the day.

"Hello, sorry, but Lucas cannot answer the phone right now. You see he's very busy," the voice, a female's, explained and dropped the call but not before Lucas's laugh, albeit slurred, filtered through the phone's speaker. He was obviously drunk and with a woman.

+++++++++++++

Sara did not sleep well last night and was up before the crack of dawn, her swirling thoughts helping to keep her wide awake. A romantic getaway was quickly turning into a disaster weekend. The rate at which something that was supposed to bring her and Lucas together was rapidly becoming the very thing that will tear them apart shocked her tremendously but she refused to accept it. He deserved the benefit of doubt and she would give him that. She'd let him have that chance to redeem himself.

She heard the rattling of keys at a door and sat up instantly on her bed. He was back from wherever he spent last night, partying with a woman her mind reminded her, but she pushed it aside as it would not help matters. She deserved an explanation for what happened last night, he must know that, but thinking he could sweep it aside and attend his seminar instead had her making a quick dash for her door.

She pulled it open and walked to the edge of his opened door, and found him removing his clothing, not the black dinner suit but a navy blue chinos and a grey shirt. His back was turned to her but surprisingly he didn't look drunk. Well, he never did, she admitted randomly, he always held his liquor.

"How was the party last night?" She quizzed and he swung around sharply, knocking the breath out of him, and then her when she saw his naked muscular chest. Damn, he was well defined, she thought wildly then shook her head, dispelling the racy image.

"Hi," he mumbled but when she kept mute, he averted his eyes and scratched the back of his head nervously. "What party?"

She raised a brow that he thought he could sweep it away. "I called you. Late, last night."

His eyes bulged and he nodded, touching his trouser pocket randomly for his phone. He pulled it out and scrolled through it, searching for the evidence. "You actually did," he concurred, pursing his lips as he thought of how to lie his way out of the mess he had gotten himself into.

"Where were you?"

His eyes snapped to her voice, at the accusation coating it like steel. "I bumped into an old friend and we talked about business and had a few drinks for old time sake's. Look, about last night at dinner, I'm sorry for my impromptu disappearance. It wasn't exactly my cup of tea," he apologized ruefully.

From all he said she made her own conclusion. "Is this old friend a female? Was that why she answered your phone? What happened to you that you couldn't answer your own phone?"

He stepped back out of reflex from her twin daggers called eyes. She was definitely angry about something. "Like I said, I was busy with business ideas," he began slowly in case she didn't hear him the first time.

"I'm not deaf, Lucas, and you did not answer my question!"

Alright then, she did hear. "Yes, a lady friend. We clicked and had drinks."

"When you say lady friend, did you mean Karen? Was that why dinner was so awkward for you because you couldn't deal with using two women at the same time?"

He frowned now, concurring that she was angry about something else entirely and he realized with a pang that last night's party had just added fuel to the fire brimming inside her. "I did not do..." He began tentatively but she cut him off.

"Tell me why you have a room at the Tinapa resort at this point in time? Is it for random rolling in the sheets with your numerous flings?! What is this charade you have going on?"

He stood perplexed at her rants. Surely she was still angry about his disappearance last night?

"Tell me if you planned to sleep with Karen yesterday? Was that message you sent to me for her instead? Huh, answer me Lucas. Are you guys together too?!"

He had heard enough of her insults. How could she think him capable of degrading himself like that? He had pride above all else.

"Stop asking me questions as if you're my wife cause you're not!"

~~~~~~~~

(Oops, he probably shouldn't have said that 😱), and I obviously need a lesson on the art of ending chapters on a cliffhanger. Smh 😟

Another update for my lovely people. Yay!!💃

So, he has another room in another resort for rolling around in the sheets. Who would have guessed? Damn, Lucas, I'm disappointed. I taught you to conceal your affairs better. 😒😏

Do you believe what Karen said about having lunch with Lucas?

Drop your votes on that little star and tell me what you think about this chapter.

Thank you 😍😘