Jayden's POV
Family and friendships are two of the greatest facilitators of happiness.
It doesn't really matter how many ups and downs you face together or how often you trash each other and wish to end your relationship. At the end of the day, they make up a great part of who we become.
Being among a group of amazing people I knew personally at different levels just made me feel like I belonged, like I had family to look up to.
There was no other place I'd rather be.
Flavia's birthday night was a huge success. It was definitely one of the best nights of my life. I just loved spending time with the people I loved and sharing life experiences with them.
Everything was classic, legit and luxurious. Her budget for the entire day of celebrating her birthday reached an eight million figure. Around half a million dollars was spent on chocolates only. She was obsessed with delicious chocolate.
Her entire mansion was adorned with roses of each and every type especially her favourite rose, the white rose. The lighting was spectacular and the food was excellent, with a variety of cuisines to tickle our taste buds and the finest wine I had ever tasted.
We had the best entertainment from a special performance from Flavia's favourite band to a spectacular performance by synchronised swimmers. It was amazing.
My eyes followed the queen of my heart throughout the night, watching her and admiring her. She had the brightest smile on her face throughout all the events of the night. In my own eyes, she was the happiest person in the room.
This was her dream, to be close to her family and just be happy. She yearned for her mother's love and tonight, Flavia showered her with her attention and love. She had her by her side since dinner and they were together in almost every picture.
To honour her, Flavia had actually worn a dazzling blue gown designed by Kyra. It was one of the special gowns from the collection they had collaborated on and it was truly perfect and she rocked it.
Kyra had worked really hard on designing that gown. She wanted to design something unique, creative and spectacular. She had outdone herself on that masterpiece.
We were currently in the living room, drinking vintage wine with the piano and violin playing softly and melodiously in the background. We weren't doing anything in particular. We were just casually talking, sharing life achievements to toast to while we waiting for the fireworks.
Everyone but Kylie had attended the celebration which was meant strictly for family and very close family friends. She probably had reasons why she didn't attend.
Kyra was sitting between Flavia and Layton, talking about one of the biggest achievements in her life, our marriage. To be more specific, she proposed a toast to the intense love we felt for each other. We toasted to that and really, I was happy.
She wasn't ashamed to call me hers. She wasn't ashamed of our love for each other. She could proudly declare it among everyone special to her and it gave me the most amazing feelings of joy deep in my heart.
She was wearing a sexy midnight blue lace appliqued one shoulder front split dress with red studded open toe high heels that matched with my formal attire of a midnight blue suit and a red tie. Her make up was simply perfect especially the red lipstick on her delicious lips that made me crave to get close to her, to touch her and feel every inch of her skin.
Self control was a virtue that seemed to disappear whenever my wife flashed one of those seductive and charming smiles of hers at me.
She was wearing the necklace I gave her on the day when I confessed my love to her. She had told me before that of all the jewelry I had given her, that necklace was her favourite. It was special to her and she'd cherish it for life.
It was my favourite too. It was a legacy designed by my mom for her daughter-in-law. It had to be special.
"A penny for your thoughts," I heard Monica say, breaking me from my thoughts. I broke my gaze from Kyra and turned to Monica, who had taken the empty spot next to me on the couch. Initially, she had been sitting across the room on a couch with Nick.
"Hey, Monica," I acknowledged her presence, giving her my attention. "You're looking great tonight. I'm soooo in love."
"Save it, Jay. I bet you don't see anyone whenever Kyra's in the room," Monica replied with a shrug. "But jealous down, she always turns head," she added with newly found enthusiasm.
I chuckled. "My word, I'm beginning to think you're my wife's biggest fan in this entire world." Really, she always sang her praises and took her side in every situation.
"I am. She's a good person and whenever I'm going through bullshit, she's there for me," Monica said with a small smile lighting up her face. "Above all, she saved my life. Had she not been there, I seriously don't know where I would have been. Probably six feet under, right?" she joked, chuckling at the last part of her sentence.
"Come on, Moni. Are you gonna kill the vibe with that stuff we're over?"
Monica chuckled, taking a sip of her wine. "Let's talk about you instead then. You seem to be living the life at the moment."
"Says the girl who's probably getting engaged anytime soon. Tell me about it, Monica," I said, elbowing her playfully. She smiled and looked at Layton who sat relaxed in his black tuxedo, enjoying his night with his family.
Monica looked back at me and arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"
"I don't know. You two look so mad in love."
"It has only been three months, Jay. We can't make a life decision based on that."
"But I'm sure he loves you," I assured her, placing my hand on top of hers. "I can tell he cares for you."
Monica finished up her wine and we both put our glasses in the waiter's tray and he took them away. Now we fully paid attention to each other.
"He does. I can tell and I can feel it. He's trying his best to love me and make me happy."
"You two are getting to know each other better?"
Monica nodded enthusiastically. "We're dating and I'm okay with that at the moment. I'm enjoying it a hell lot. I wouldn't know what a life commitment would be like, but I know it's not my portion at the moment."
"That's good. At least you're embracing your choices and giving yourself time to build a strong relationship. I honestly wish you two the best. Have fun, okay?"
"Thanks and of course I'll always have fun. That's what life is all about, right?"
"Hmm.. Not always, but to some extent, yes."
"Any plans with Kyra at the moment?" Monica asked me, looking from me to Kyra then back at me.
I looked at Kyra and she looked at me at the same time. Our eyes met and she smiled at me. I returned the smile before looking back at Monica.
"I wanna have a baby with her."
"Awwww. That's really amazing. Please do have one. I can't wait to be an aunt. I'm sure you'll both be great parents."
The enthusiasm in her voice was everything. She had the energy I needed to feel like I was making the right choices.
"I hope so too. I just wish all the drama in my life ends soon. I just wanna be happy," I said with a sigh. I was happy at the moment, but all my problems would be there waiting for me by the time I'd leave the party.
"I heard about what happened yesterday. God, Kevin is seriously taking it too far. I thought with the passing months things had been resolved."
"Nothing has been resolved. He wants to ruin my life. Everything is complicated and it's hard to make out what he could be up to."
I had met up with my PI earlier in the day and we both went through a document of a thorough background search he had carried out on Kevin, listing all his friends, acquaintances and connections.
None of them had anything personal with me. They wouldn't want to destroy me for absolutely no reason unless they were helping Kevin for money or personal gain.
The only enemy left who had the potential to gang up with Kevin to ruin my life was Trevor Martins. I had ruined his life after everything he did to my family, making sure he got the toughest penalty the law could offer. Even if he'd be freed one day, which wasn't any time soon, he'd never get back to the same life status he had before.
There were no records whatsoever of him ever having any relationship with Kevin. We looked into his life from scratch, but just like the first time we had carried out a background search when he kidnapped Kyra, there was little and irrelevant information about his life available.
Someone had been stalking me and following me around in disguise, leading to us believing he was working with or for Kevin.
At first I thought it was Trevor himself after looking through some footage, but my assumptions had been proven wrong. Trevor was still locked up in jail and it had been confirmed that he had never left that place despite his attempts to escape.
It was either he had absolutely nothing to do with this case and I was just being paranoid or he had someone outside working for him and inside informants facilitating his communication with Kevin. There were still many aspects of this case being reviewed. I needed as much information about Trevor as possible because he was much bigger of a threat than Kevin. Kevin was hesitant in executing his plans, but Trevor was a straightforward man.
This entire puzzle was driving me nuts. I needed answers as soon as possible.
"Hopefully this nightmare will be over soon. We've had our fair share of problems already."
I sighed, shaking my head slowly. "Tell me about it."
"But hey, don't worry. You're gonna work this out, okay? Let me know if I can help you in any way. You have my full support on this issue," Monica assured me with a smile of encouragement lighting up her face.
"Thanks, Monica."
Deep down, I wanted to ask Monica more about Trevor. She knew him personally better than anyone else. Maybe she knew some information about his private life that no one else knew. After all, they had been together for something like ten months so she had to know something useful.
I had decided against that idea after a sense of humanity kicked in. Her relationship with Trevor was something she didn't like talking about, heck, it still gave her nightmares. She was working on herself after that relationship and she didn't deserve being forced to remember all the tragic events that had occurred in their relationship, some which we knew and other events which she had chosen to keep private and share only with her counsellor.
We had another round of Rosé champagne before everyone proceeded outside to the backyard for the fireworks. By that time, it was almost ten in the evening and the sky was beautifully lit with bright stars and a gentle breeze blew. It was a magical night.
To make the night more special, I had Kyra right next to me, our arms linked. We had done this together before, watching a firework display in each other's arms. The fireworks were bright and colourful. In a way, they represented how my life had become after I found my priceless wife, loved her and cherished her.
After the fireworks, we were done with all the proceedings of the day. Everyone was just drinking casually after that and playing board games.
I had planned on staying a little longer, but Christian had called, informing me that I had received an anonymous package. I had instructed him to inform me of anything of that sort.
I had to go there and open it preferably on my own without Kyra. I didn't want stuff that'd disturb her peace and happiness. It was better for me to bear the pain, drama and confusion for both of us all by myself.
Kyra walked me to our car after I bid everyone farewell. She was very soft and sweet tonight, not missing a chance to tell me how much she loved me and stealing short and sweet kisses as often as possible.
I sat in my black Maserati behind the steering wheel, holding hands with Kyra who sat on the passenger's seat next to me. She looked at me with a cute sad face.
"Do you really have to leave so soon, baby?" she asked me, giving me a cute pout.
I pecked her on the lips and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I have to, my love. Something came up and I have to be at home right now."
"Of course, Jay. I understand. I would have come with you, but I promised Mom I'd stay a little longer until everything was over."
"I know, baby. You need your time with your family and I won't rob you of that. You can spend as much time as you want with them. You can stay the night and I'll come pick you up tomorrow in the morning."
"No. I spent the whole day here. I'm sure Mom has had enough of me already. I'll just stay an hour longer or less and join you at home."
"Can I pick you up? You can just give me a call," I offered.
"No thanks, honey. I'll manage. A chauffeur will drop me off. Go home and prepare something romantic for us. I've been feeling very naughty all night long. We can make use of that mood tonight," Kyra said, murmuring the last part. I smiled at her. Lately, we had been in the mood literally every day.
I already had something similar to that in mind. I wanted her so bad. I needed her. I'd do anything to have her in the sweetest way possible.
"Don't worry, Princess. I'll put up a sexy show for you that'll leave you begging me to take you," I teased, placing my hand softly on her bare thigh.
"I'm looking forward to it," she replied softly, pecking my lips. "I always look forward to spending the night with you," she added boldly.
"Now give me a smile and a kiss before I leave. I need a taste of your deliciousness," I murmured, trailing my hand up her thigh.
Kyra gave me a coy smile and she pecked my lips again. "I'll give it to you after you answer my question."
I slipped my hand under Kyra's dress and trailed my it up till I felt the fabric of her panties. I gently pushed her milky thighs apart and slipped my hand between them.
"What question?" I asked her, pressing my fingers to her core.
Kyra bit on her bottom lip and she adjusted her sitting position, opening her legs a little bit more. I started massaging her through her panties slowly and tenderly.
"Did anything I wouldn't approve of happen between you and Kylie in the library last night?" she asked me, looking straight into my eyes.
I remained still for a while, not knowing how to react to such a question. We hadn't talked about it ever since it happened and she seemed fine. Was it still bothering her?
Kyra grinded into my hand a little, signaling me to move my fingers. "Why'd you stop, baby? What's wrong?"
I put my free hand on Kyra's face, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Baby, is that incident still bothering you?" I asked her, framing her face. "I thought we had sorted everything out already. I can apologise to you over and over again if there's still a problem."
"Kevin called me and he said stuff about that incident. Of course I didn't believe him, but I just wanted to clarify things with you. I trust your word better than anyone else's."
I frowned. "He wasn't even there, plus nothing at all happened between Kylie and I. That's just the pathetic side of him trying to turn you against me. Nothing happened between Kylie and I. We only talked without any physical contact whatsoever. I..."
"Shhh..." Kyra hushed me, putting her finger on my lips. "Don't worry, Jay. I believe you."
"Please don't talk to that bastard. I hate it. I hate him and his ideas. I don't want him poisoning your mind with his ideas."
"Don't worry. I blocked and deleted his number. Just don't hang around Kylie often," she said, giving me her cute signature pout. "If you do, my wifey instincts will kick in and I'll get jealous."
I pressed my lips to Kyra's and kissed her briefly, increasing the pace of my fingers on her core. "Trust me, it's nothing that can jeopardise our relationship. She's giving me information about Kevin. Well, she hasn't spoken yet, but I think she knows something she's been trying to tell me."
"Be careful with her, Jay. Remember you're mine now, not hers. Don't let her control you. You'd rather be clueless about what's going on than dance to her tune."
"I understand you perfectly well. She's a different person now. She's helping us in a way."
"But she's also Kevin's girlfriend and she loves him. She can change sides any minute. Just keep yourself safe for me so that we can enjoy each other for the rest of our lives."
"Okay, my love. I'd do anything to keep you by my side. Always."
"Do you promise me, baby?" she asked me, framing my face with her hands.
"Always. I promise."
Kyra smiled at me warmly and she gently placed her delicious lips on mine, kissing me. I worked my hands on her body as I responded to the kiss passionately.
It wasn't an urgent or hungry kiss. It was slow, heartfelt and intimate. We savoured each and every second and I loved it. I lived for these moments.
Every inch of her skin was sacred to me. I adored her.
We both pulled away from the kiss together, breathing faintly with our eyes locked. She was breathtakingly beautiful every single day.
"Take care of yourself and drive carefully. I'll be home soon. I love you, Jay."
"I will. I love you, Kyra."
I kissed Kyra goodbye before leaving the Casella mansion. One thing was certain, if I didn't make things right in time, Kevin would end up creating illusions in Kyra's head about my relationship with Kylie.
If anything at all, I was sure I wanted nothing to do with Kylie, heck, not any woman who wasn't Kyra. My marriage was sacred to me. I'd never cheat on my wife again. I had caused enough damage already.
I arrived at my house in roughly twenty minutes. I was almost sure that whatever that package was definitely had something to do with Kevin. Sending stuff was his thing. I didn't have to guess anymore.
I went straight inside once I got home. I didn't know what to expect. How bad would it be though?
Christian was still awake, waiting for me when I got home. He gave me the package that had been delivered in my name. It didn't have a return address. It was a big black box. The colour itself was weird.
I unsealed the red tape sealing the box and opened it with a frown on my face. Something smelled rotten. There was something in a black plastic bag inside the box.
I reluctantly opened the plastic bag, the sharp stench of whatever was inside getting stronger and stronger. I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever was to come.
I opened the plastic and looked at its contents. I shrunk my face in pure disgust and pushed the box away.
A. Dead. Rat. A fucking dead and smelling rat with its abdomen slit open. It was an extremely gross sight. It made me sick.
"Take it away," I commanded Christian who had been standing a few feet away from me the entire time. "Make sure no one finds out about this, especially Kyra. Destroy everything."
A dead rat? What was he trying to prove?
"Yes, sir," Christian replied quietly, moving forward.
I leaned forward, leaning my elbows on my laps. I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands. Nothing of this sort had happened to me before.
At this point, I was speechless, emotionally drained and clueless of the next move to take. Did he really have to be that pathetic?
"I'm sorry, sir, but Miss Kylie is here. She's been waiting here for Mrs Kyra for about two hours now. She's upstairs in the lounge," Christian informed me.
I removed my hands from my face and looked at Christian. He was standing in front of me with the black box in his hands.
"Kylie?"
"Yes, sir. Should I call her downstairs?"
"No, thanks," I replied flatly, getting up from the couch. "I'm going up anyway."
"Do you need anything, sir? Should I look into it?" Christian offered quietly. He knew how much everything happening was stressing me out. He cared and that's why I kept him close.
"There's no need. It's obvious who's doing this," I replied, loosening my tie. I looked at the box one last time. I could feel anger boil at the pit of my stomach.
"Find him. Track down his location. I don't care how much it'll cost or what resources need. Just do your job. Just give me his address even if it's beyond the borders. I need his address first thing tomorrow morning by hook or crook. I don't know how you're going to do it, Christian, but all I know is tomorrow in the morning you're giving me Kevin Morgan's accurate location."
"I won't fail you, sir," he replied determinedly. I trusted his abilities.
I dismissed Christian and proceeded upstairs, frustration and anger getting the best of me. I felt as if I was going to explode and I felt pain in my chest. I felt suffocated. How did we even get into all this mess?
I met Kylie just before walking into the hallway of my bedroom. She had been sitting on the sofa before she got up to meet me once she saw me come upstairs.
At this moment, I was exhausted and going through a complicated phase of confusion. I wasn't ready to talk to her about everything going on for her to only fuel the confusion and anger by giving me pointless clues.
Kylie was wearing a red strapless mini dress with cutouts and nude strappy heels. She had her signature make up and hairstyle on. By the looks of it, she was either planning on going somewhere or she was coming from somewhere.
"Hie, Jayden, you're home already," Kylie acknowledged my presence, giving me a small smile that had a hint of nervousness.
"I am. You're here for Kyra?"
Kylie nodded, looking straight at me. "Yes. I wanted to talk to her about what happened between us last night and explain myself. I don't want to get you into trouble, plus Kevin said quite a lot about us to her. I want to clarify things."
I averted my eyes from Kylie's, feeling uncomfortable with the weird eye contact. "It's not necessary. Kyra and I already talked about it and we're over it. Thanks for the effort though."
Kylie put her hand softly on my arm. "It is necessary, Jay."
"Does she know you're here?" I asked her, shrugging her hand away.
"She does. We talked earlier today and she knows I'm here. Will she be here soon?"
"I think you should just go home. It doesn't matter, really. There's nothing to explain. Kyra will be here soon, but she's exhausted with the party and stuff. I don't want trivial matters to strain her even more. She'll call you in the morning."
Kylie nodded slowly in agreement. "You're right. This isn't a convenient time after all. I think I should leave."
"You didn't come for Flavia's party. Is everything okay?"
"I'm okay. I wasn't feeling okay. I decided to lie down for a bit."
I looked at her outfit with questioning eyes. She chuckled nervously. "I'm feeling a little better now so I decided to step out for some fresh air. That's why I dressed up."
"Okay. You can get a chauffeur to drive you home if you want to. Good night."
Kylie put her hand on my arm once again. I was getting tired of this. "Are you okay? You seem tense and angry, Jayden."
I placed my hand on top of Kylie's and slowly slid it off my arm, looking into her eyes sternly. "I don't have any peace because of your boyfriend, Kylie. By now you should know he is the cause of all my problems at the moment. Go home. I don't want to talk about it."
"I understand," she replied softly. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Jayden. I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what, Kylie?"
"Everything," she said with a sigh, taking a step away from me. "Just know that I'm sincerely sorry. Good night."
I nodded in response and walked away from Kylie to my bedroom. I needed a shower. It'd probably help me calm down a little, plus the entire incident with the rat made me feel dirty.
I took of my jacket and tie and tossed them onto the bed. I removed my shoes, dropping them on the floor. I needed to shower quickly and prepare something romantic for Kyra and I. She was looking forward to it. I didn't want to disappoint her. Hopefully, she wouldn't arrive home early.
I got into the bathroom and stripped out of the rest of my clothes. I stepped into the shower cubicle, turning the hot water tap on as soon as I got in.
The water was refreshing and it helped me relax and calm down a little bit. It felt good on my skin. It'd have been much better with Kyra showering with me.
The number of times we had made love against the glass walls of this shower cubicle were countless. The way she pressed her breasts into my back and held onto me, tracing my abs with her fingertips was out of this world.
She loved sucking me. Oh, she looked so gorgeous on her knees. This was the first place where she had given me a head. Thinking about her talented mouth wrapped around me made me moan lightly as I felt my member stiffen and harden. I closed my eyes, imagining she we were together at this moment.
We had so many memories together within these four walls. I always bathed her after making love to her. She liked it.
I couldn't wait to have her in my arms again. She made life easier for me everyday. She gave me a reason to keep on fighting and living.
I was broken out of my sexual fantasy by the sound of the shower door opening. I opened my eyes, smiling. She was home already.
The entire cubicle was filled with steam and I couldn't see clearly. I was facing away from the door so I couldn't see her face. I guessed it was her because only she could join me in our shower. I hadn't even heard the bathroom door open because of the fantasy in my head.
"I was thinking about you just now, my love. You're home earlier than I expected," I said, a smile lighting up my face.
I didn't get a reply. Instead, I felt her wrap her hands around my torso from behind me, pressing her body into mine. The smile on my face disappeared. This wasn't my wife's touch. This wasn't the way her body felt.
I moved my eyes to my chest, confusion and panic engulfing me. Those weren't her hands. Her nails weren't that long, plus the two rings she always wore weren't on her fingers.
Please no.
I tore the intruder's hands off my body harshly and turned around in full panic mode. I walked backwards, hitting the glass wall as I looked at the shocking woman with horror in my eyes.
"What the fuck, Kylie? What are you doing in here?" I burst out furiously, shocked by the current situation. What on earth was she doing naked in the shower with me?
Kylie took a step forward, giving me a look of helplessness. "Jay, I'm sorry. I don't have a choice," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Kylie..."
"I'm sorry," she repeated, throwing herself at me. I tried to push her away, but she held onto my shoulders and hooked one leg forcefully around my waist. "I'm sorry, Jay."
In terms of strength, I had the upper hand. I grasped her firmly by her bare shoulders and pushed her backwards, pulling her forcefully away from my body.
She whimpered in pain as she hit a wall, trying to maintain her balance on the slippery floor. I was outraged. At this point, I could murder a person. I had a lot a shout, a lot of outrageous questions to ask this unbelievable woman and many words to reprimand her with, but this was neither the place nor the time.
God. Why was this happening to me? Everything horrible was happening to me and at this point I could break down completely. She set me up.
What would happen if Kyra was to walk in on us in such an awkward situation? I didn't even want to imagine it. At this moment, the stars were aligned against me. The odds weren't in my favour. I wasn't even given a chance to act or think.
Kyra just had to walk in at that exact moment, her face red with burning fury as if she'd burst out of her skin. She looked at both of us with eyes full of tears, anger and intense pain.
Her hands trembled and her chest heaved as she panted loudly. I stood rooted to the spot, adrenaline flooding my system at full pelt.
"Kylie," Kyra seethed through gritted teeth stepping into the cubicle, "how dare you?"
Truly speaking, I had never seen her so furious and determined to crush someone completely.
"Kyra..." I tried speaking, but she held her hand up, hushing me.
Kylie hugged herself and she squeezed herself into a corner. The water was still running, making Kyra wet. She was still in her beautiful dress. I had no idea what was going on through her mind, but my sixth sense told me it wasn't in my favour.
Fuck. I was in real deep shit. My own hands involuntarily started shaking and my heart started drumming wildly like a caged bird throwing itself against my ribcage.
She was hurting. My heart bled with pain and fury. Why me?
"What the fuck are you doing in here with my husband, Kylie?" Kyra asked Kylie bitterly, raising her voice. I wanted to hold her and explain everything that was happening, but at this moment, I had every reason to doubt she'd want me to touch her.
I could easily tell she was hurt, confused and angry. She didn't know the perfect way to react. She probably had too much going on through her mind.
"I'm sorry, but we couldn't resist," she quivered, looking at Kyra with eyes full of fear. Even after everything I had done for her, she had the nerve to betray me like this?
Kyra didn't say anything. She simply took a step forward and determinedly grabbed a wall mounted hand held shower head that still had water running from it.
"Well, I'm sorry but I can't resist showing you how much of a bad bitch I can become as well if you treat me like bullshit."
★★★★★
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