Chapter 2: Catching them in the act
Ari felt as though someone had punched her in the guts, knocking out all the air in her lungs. She looked at her husband who was smiling so tenderly at Ariel. His eyes were full of love and affection.
'He had never looked at me like that all these years,' Ariana thought tearfully as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. 'No.. maybe I am thinking too much… maybe …maybe Ariel pulled him there forcefully?'
Ari thought she was overthinking, but then she realized that was ridiculous. After all, no matter what, Noah was her husband. How could he be with her sister, possibly at a club, instead of spending time with her for their wedding anniversary?
Her ears were ringing and her vision blurred as she pushed the chair back and picked up the cake box. But surprisingly, Ari remained focused as she turned around and headed out of the restaurant. Her heels made harsh clicking noises when they struck the marble floor.
The waiter responsible for serving Ari watched her leave and sighed before muttering, "Poor woman. She is so beautiful yet her husband is looking after another woman on their wedding anniversary." Just now he had caught a glimpse of the image on Ari's phone but he did not comment anything as he could see that Ari was already very angry. '
He did not want to pour gasoline into the already burning fire.
On the other hand, Ari did not even hail a taxi as the club where Noah and Ariel were at that moment, was only fifteen minutes away from the restaurant that she had booked.
She walked to the club ignoring the sharp stinging sensation in her feet as no matter how painful it was for her to walk in heels, it was incomparable to the pain that Ari was feeling in her heart.
It was as if someone was clutching her neck making it impossible for her to breathe. Her chest felt constricted and even though it was heaving up and down, Ari felt her lungs burn as if she could not get any oxygen.
While she was heading towards the club, she bumped into a few people but she did not feel the pain. Some even tried to stop her but their partners stopped them as they saw the tears that were trickling down Ari's face. Tears —— which Ari was unaware of herself.
She did not know how she arrived at the club but when Ari arrived at the club, her feet which were striding forward as if she was a woman on a mission paused in hesitation.
Was she really going to do this? Should she really catch the two of them in the act?
'How long are you going to act like a sissy, Ari?' She scolded herself inwardly. Her husband was with another woman on their wedding anniversary, was there anything for her to save anymore? Or was she going to act blind until she grew old and died?
Ari's resolve strengthened as she wiped her cheeks which unsurprisingly were wet before walking inside the club. She knew where her husband was as the one who sent her the message had also sent the room number.
Room number —-79.
With a set destination in her mind, Ari walked to the room and swung the door open.
But the moment she opened the door, Ari's eyes widened and she dropped the cake box that she was holding in her hand onto the floor.
Her husband was standing in the middle of the room and was kissing Ariel. Her elder sister. On their wedding anniversary.
Next to them the men and women who were most likely Ariel and Noah's friends were cheering them on despite knowing that Noah was married.
It was only when Ari dropped the cake box did they all fell silent. Noah pulled away from Ariel who grinned at Ari with a polite yet embarrassed smile. But Ariana knew her sister too well, she could see that her sister was proud of what she had done as there was a proactive glint in her eyes.
She stared at Ari and then said with fake awkwardness, "Don't think too much, Ari. This is just a game, we were playing the Kings game and we were ordered to kiss."
Ari staggered and almost fainted then and there. She quickly straightened up while holding the frame of the door. However, she stopped herself because she was not going to faint because of these two people who definitely did not care about her!
She closed her eyes and turned her breathing even before opening her eyes and turned her attention to look at Noah whose cheeks were coloured in faint pink and her anger that had calmed down surged back up.
"Did you drink so much that you lost your fucking memory? That you have a wife and you were supposed to meet her at the restaurant for our wedding anniversary?" Ari questioned Noah. In three years of their marriage, Noah refused to touch her but he had no problem kissing her elder sister even if that meant cheating on her.
How could Ari not be furious?
"Ah...I forgot…" Noah rubbed his forehead. When he received the text message that Ariel was back he was too happy to even remember his actual wife. He only cared about meeting Ariel and the promise of meeting with Ari slipped his mind.
"Forgot.." Ari was so angry that she was trembling. She clutched the purse she was holding. "You forgot our anniversary? Or did you forget that you had a wife before you cheated on me?"
On her right, sat a man with dashing red hair on the white couch which made his red hair even more vibrant. He was dressed in a red leather jacket, black tee and ripped jeans. When he saw that Ari was ruining the vibe of Ariel's welcoming party, he said crudely, "Come on chill, Ari. This was just a kiss…how could this be counted as cheating? Look at them, they are still wearing their clothes."
"That's right, you are thinking too much," the blonde-haired woman with green eyes said to Ari.
Ari knew this woman. She was Ariel's best friend, Josie and the red-haired man was Ryan, Noah's best friend.
Once the two of them spoke, other people also spoke up.
"That's right. This is not cheating!"
"It's just a small kiss. You are making a mountain out of a molehill."
Ari stared at the crowd that was trying to gaslight her into believing that she was the one who was overreacting.
A blinding rage took over Ari. She raised her clutch bag and flung it straight at Ryan to shut him up.
It hit Ryan's nose with a loud smack! Because Ari did not hold back, the clutch hit Ryan right on his nose, causing blood to flow out.
" Damn you b*tch!" Ryan did not expect Ari to suddenly go crazy. He stood up and cursed, trying to stop his nose from bleeding. He looked at Ari angrily while Josie hurried over to his side, her expression filled with concern as she looked at Ryan's new injury.
She turned to look at Ari and then said, "What is the meaning of this? Why did you hit him so hard?"
Ari however smirked and retorted, "Why are you acting like a baby? This was just for fun. He is only bleeding from his nose," she cocked a brow and then said, "It is not like I stabbed him in the chest? I didn't kill him, so why are you overreacting?"