Adrian came out of the bathroom and met Scarlett, still sitting at her table with Lily and Josh. Scarlett looked sad, probably because Ethan had to leave and Adrian knew exactly where he was. He threw his face away and told his date that it was time for them to leave. He led the way out after settling the bills, and his date briskly walked behind him.
“Why did we have to leave so early? We didn't even get to eat anything.” The innocent-looking lady asked as they drove out of the restaurant and onto the busy road.
“I'm sorry, but I have something urgent to attend to.” Adrian sounded gentle. The lady did nothing bad to him, but he wasn't interested in her or a relationship with her.
“Oh, so where are we going?” She inquired.
“I'm dropping you off at your house. Please, I don't think I'm ready for any commitment right now, and I wouldn't want to waste your time and give you the impression that I'm into you. I hope you can respect my decision, and please don't be upset.” Adrian said it in the most polite way he could, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
“That's fine; I understand. No hard feelings.” She smiled and turned to look at the road.
The lady gave him directions to her house, and they drove in silence until they got there. They bid each other farewell, and Adrian left for the club immediately.
He was quick to round up all the work he needed to do at the club, attending to all the people that needed his attention, and then left the bar for the hotel at exactly 7:30 p.m.
Throughout the drive to the hotel, he kept on thinking about Ethan, hoping that he had gone to that hotel to see some other woman. Imagine a fucking mother and daughter? That was the very reason why Adrian couldn't bring himself to give Scarlett what she wanted most of the time.
In no time, he arrived at the hotel and started heading for the elevator. The receptionist who was on duty saw him matching towards the elevator and ran to stand in front of him, breathing heavily and looking disturbed.
“Where are you going? Who are you here to see?” She questioned. Adrian gave her a questionable glare, wondering what she was going on about. She knew him; she knew that he was usually here with Vivian.
“You know exactly who I'm here to see, so step out of the way.” Adrian told her in a commanding tone. She gulped and stood her ground.
“You can't go in there, sir; it's our duty to protect the privacy of our customers.” She bluntly refused to leave, and Adrian chuckled. He walked back to the receptionist desk, and she followed suit, sweating nervously.
Adrian pulled his phone out and called Vivian. Luckily, she answered, and he asked her if she was at their usual hotel.
“Yes, I'm at the hotel, but you said you couldn't make it, right?” She asked, and he sighed, listening for any noises.
“Yes, I can't make it.” He answered and ended the call.
He stared at the receptionist, who avoided eye contact with him at all costs.
“Tell me the truth, and this money will be yours.” He said that and brought out a stack of hundred-dollar bills. The receptionist's eyes went wide with greed.
He dropped the money on the counter and then searched for Ethan's photo on his phone, which he presented to her.
“Is she in there with him? Tell me nothing but the truth. Yes or no.” Adrian asked.
The receptionist bit her lip, tempted by the money. She knew she could lose her job for it, but the enticing wad of cash pushed her to do Adrian's bidding.
“Alright, but I promise she won't know that I told you. In fact, nobody can.” She whispered, and Adrian nodded, agreeing to her terms.
"Well, yes, he's the one in there with her. He was here yesterday too.”
Adrian smiled and didn't say anything further. He turned around and walked out of the reception, leaving the money behind. He went to the parking lot, got into his car, and let out a sigh. All of a sudden, he punched his steering wheel, releasing the frustration he was feeling.
He was sure that Vivian was the one who seduced Ethan; that woman was cunning! How could she be so wicked even to her own daughter? There was a possibility that Scarlett was dating Ethan, and she still went ahead to seduce him. Is that how much she couldn't control herself around dicks!?
He was confused about what he should do. He stared at his phone, wondering if he should text Scarlett and tell her that her mom was sleeping with her boyfriend in a hotel.
He was still confused and thinking of what to do when his phone rang, the screen displaying Joey's wife's name. He answered it on the second ring, cleared his throat, and placed the phone in his right ear.
“Hello.”
“Hi Adrian. How are you?” Her sweet voice came, distracting him from the current trouble for a minute.
“I'm fine. Is there a problem?” He asked.
"Well, I wanted to know why you told your date that you didn't want anything serious.”
“Oh..” Adrian scratched his head, feeling tense.
“Because I don't want to waste her time. I don't want to deceive her and give her the impression that I am interested in her.” He answered honestly, letting out a sigh.
“Really? Tell me something, Adrian. Is there someone you like?” She suddenly asked, and Adrian's heart literally missed a beat.
He didn't even know how to answer her question. He wasn't sure whether he liked Scarlett or not; he had been unsure of her feelings and couldn't find any reason why he kept behaving a certain way around her.
Another call came into his phone, and it was Vivian. He saw it as a way to get out of answering Joey's wife's question.
“Gotta go now; I'm getting another call.” She quickly ended the call and answered Vivian's.
“Hi baby. You can come to the hotel now.” She said.
“Cheap slut.” Adrian thought, smirking.
“I see your visitor has left already.” He told her.
“What visitor are you talking about?” She stammered, her voice failing her.
“Don't even lie; I know someone has been there with you.” Adrian scoffed.
“What? Are you jealous? Come on, tell me if you're still coming over!” She pouted, but he wasn't moved at all.
“I don't have time for all this,” Adrian shouted.
He was about to end the call when she started to speak again.
“So when do you want us to register our marriage? That's what you've always wanted, right? Let's register our marriage so that your mind can finally be at peace.” She sounded excited, doing everything she could to avoid Adrian leaving her. He was still the best, after all.
Adrian was too stunned to talk; he simply told her that he would get back to her and ended the call.
He was at a crossroads, confused about what to do at that point. This marriage has always been the plan; it was the only way to get back at Vivian for all she did, and he was supposed to be happy about it. But he, however, seemed sad about the news.
Was he in love with Scarlett? How long can he deny it?