LUCA.
I was on a call with a colleague from work when Tony walked into the house. He picked up the remote control and reduced the volume of the television. He shot me a glare and I flashed him a smile, while he just rolled his eyes at me and sat on the chair beside me. He dropped his briefcase on the chair and began to remove his suit and tie on the spot.
“Yeah, thank you. Have a nice day,” I said to my colleague and hung up the call. Then I dropped my phone on the stool next to me and turned to face Tony. “What’s up, bro? You look frustrated.” I said to him, trying to make him laugh.
“Dude, you were on a call and you had the television’s volume increased to the highest. How were you even hearing what the person you were speaking to was saying?” He asked me.
I shrugged. “Maybe because I have good ears, unlike you,” I said and he nudged my shoulder playfully.
“Dumbass.” He said and rested his back on the seat, staring at the ceiling.
I turned to look at him as it looked like he was lost in thought. I wondered what he was thinking about. It was either going to be work or he was thinking about his girlfriend again. Speaking of his girlfriend, I found the information he wanted me to look for, but I wasn’t sure if to tell him or not. It was something he wouldn’t take lightly, and I didn’t want anything to bother him at this point. At the same time, he needed to know about it sooner or it would cause more problems soon.
“Dude, are you okay?” I asked, turning to look at him once again.
He remained in the same position, but his eyeballs rolled to look in my direction. “Yeah. Why’d you ask?” He asked me.
I shrugged. “Nothing. Just wondering why you aren’t saying anything. You’re not always this silent.”
He chuckled lightly. “I’m cool, man. I’ve just been thinking of a lot of things concerning Lara lately. For some reason, I’ve been suspicious of her.”
I moved on my seat to look at him squarely. I was fully interested in this discussion we were about to have. It seemed like he had already found out about what I found out, but I needed him to say what he knows first. That would let me know if to tell him what I know or not. “What’s that? What did you find out about her?” I asked curiously.
“Not that I found something about her per se, it’s just that she’s been doing a lot of suspicious things lately. All her actions, calls, texts and even the visitors she has, have been suspicious.” He said and sighed. On his face was a look of confusion, as if he was trying to explain himself, but didn’t know how to. “I feel like she’s cheating on me.” He blurted out.
My eyes went wide open in surprise. Not because I didn’t already find out that she was indeed cheating on him, but because he found that out himself. For him to have found that out, she must have been doing things that must have left a lot of suspicions for Tony. And that was what I needed to know, the things she has been doing that made him suspect her. “Lara? Cheating on you?” I asked and scoffed. “Why would she cheat on you?”
He shrugged. “Well, I have no idea about that. I mean, I care about her a lot, I shower her with love. I buy stuff for her without her asking me, I give her money. Dude, attention and everything a woman can ever want in a man, I give it all to her. If you ask me, I don’t think I’m lacking in any way whatsoever.”
“In bed?” I asked with raised eyebrows, trying to ease the atmosphere with a joke.
He poked my shoulder once again. “You should trust me about that. She even says a lot that I’m very good, compared to other guys she had been having flings with.” He said and paused. “And for someone like Lara to say that to a guy, you should know it’s damn true.”
“So, literally, she’s had a lot of guys before you?” I asked him with raised eyebrows.
He scoffed before replying. “What do you expect? It’s normal for a lady like her. I mean, look at me too. I’ve had tons of ladies before her. The best thing is that she’s the one my heart chose.”
“Hmm,” I said. Trying to look for his trouble, I said. “Beth?”
“Dude, stop.” He said and rolled his eyes. “Don’t even go there. Let’s focus on the matter at hand.”
I chuckled. “So, you were saying she’s cheating on you. Do you have proof?”
He squinted his eyes a bit as if he was trying to remember something. Then, he let out a sigh and said, “I remember a time she introduced some guy to me as his cousin. I met him in her place, but I could tell that something was off. I could smell sex in the room when I walked in. I never make mistakes in that aspect.”
I burst into laughter immediately, making him stop what he was saying and look at me in a confused manner. He was wondering why I was laughing. “Wait, did you just say you can smell sex? Bro, really?” I asked and laughed again.
He shook his head as he watched me laugh. “Sometimes I wonder how you are even smart when it comes to business and academics, cause you act like a dumbass a lot of the time.” He said.
“Whatever,” I said when I was done laughing. “Why didn’t you confront her then? Or maybe the guy?”
“He left immediately after I arrived. He said he was about to leave when I came, so I didn’t stress about it. Also, some days back, they were having a girls’ night or something, and a guy visited her. He said he was there to see her.” He said scoffing. Then, he sat up and faced me squarely. “I mean, if it was truly a girls’ night, why would she invite a guy over?”
“Did you ask her later on?”
“She told me he was there to see Janet.”
“And did you believe that?” I asked him with raised eyebrows.
“Not one bit, man. I remember that guy as someone that frequents the club a lot. And I’ve seen them together a lot of times before we started dating.” He sighed and rested his back on his seat once again. “I’m just tired of it. Why would she cheat when she’s carrying my baby already? It still doesn’t make any sense to me. And I don’t want a situation where I’ll confront her and I’ll find out that I was the one that was wrong all along.”
“Well, if you ask me, I don’t think you’re wrong,” I said.
He turned slowly to look at me, trying to process what I had just said. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, sitting up once again.
“The number you told me to check, I have-”
“My God!” He exclaimed and suddenly held my hand tightly, which made me glare at him to release my hand. “Damn, sorry. I was just tensed. What did you find out?”
I cleared my throat and sighed, about to tell him everything I was able to find out from Rita about Lara and Damien. “You… might need to do a paternity check on the baby,” I blurted out.
“What the fuck?” He said with a confused look on his face.