I waited for James at the restaurant. He was running late. I thought as I glanced at my watch for the third time for the last ten minutes. Since I knew James well enough, I found it weird.

“Noel, Are you going to call him?” Felicia asked me.

I just shrugged and leaned back. “It is snowing, he could be held up by traffic.” I replied. Punctuality has always been one of his virtues. In fact, I was always guilty of making him wait. So I was more curious than worried about James where about.

I glanced at Felicia. She looked so beautiful in the lavender turtleneck and red and black chequered skirt. I always wondered whether I was a lucky to marry her. In fact, the question has been at the back of my mind for a few months now.

I spent more time with Jac now. However, I found it strange that she never asked me why I worked overtime ever since the day I stayed at Jac’s place for a night. It was as though she was afraid that if she made a fuss again, I would stay away.

It was as though she knew where I was.

I could still remember the morning that I came back with the bouquet of Carnations, she looked so forlorn sitting at the couch with a white Gardenia in her hand. With bloodshot eyes, she looked at me and muttered the word ‘sorry’ before she started sobbing.

That was two weeks ago and I could still feel the pang of guilt each time I think about it. I brought her out more often, hoping that it would reduce that guilt. And try to stop the love that I had for her from fading away quickly.

There were some difference between her and Jac. Jac possessed more confidence than Felicia. With Felicia, I felt as though I was taking care of Felicia. With Jac, I treated her as my equal.

Although it is true that Felicia’s beauty still surpasses Jac’s, it has come to the point where I start pondering whether her beauty was enough to keep me legally tied to her.

“Are you okay?” Felicia’s voice broke through my thought.

I looked at her, puzzled by her question. “I am fine. Why?”

Felicia frowned before shaking her head. “Nothing, it is just that you have a very serious face, with your eyebrows all bunched up. It’s not because of me right?”

I shook my head. “No it isn’t.” And I don’t want to answer that question again for the tenth time this evening. I added mentally. It seems as though she was getting more insecure of herself. I never thought that it could be because of me.

However in James’s company, it is a different matter all together. She is very relaxed around him, as though her insecurities disappear when James comes into the picture. But James wasn’t the marrying type. In fact, he laughed at me when I asked him why he never settled down. He told me all the good ones are taken.

“Are you sure you are not mad at me?” Felicia asked.

“Why do you say that?” I asked back.

Felicia shrugged and tugged on her napkin. “You are frowning at me.”

There we go again. “No, I have a lot of things in my mind. Don’t mind me.” I said.

“Since that is the case, I must as well go to the ladies instead of being subjected to your frowns.” She said as she stood up and walked off.

Apparently she minds. I thought as I stared at the entrance once more, wondering whether she was PMSing. But I pushed the thought aside when I saw James coming towards the table along with Jac.

I sat up slightly, trying to keep my composure cool, not to raise James’s suspicion. I considered myself very fortunate that Felicia was away for a while. It bought me some time for me to figure out how to introduce Jac and Felicia and how not to create a big fuss over Jac’s arrival with James around her.

I never introduced Jac to my wife before and I had no intention to do so, until now. And I believe it is a cruel twist of fate. I stood up and grinned at James. “What took you so long?” I asked.

“My sister took forever to get ready.” James laughed and looked at Jac. “She couldn’t decide whether to wear a black dress or a black long sleeve blouse with jeans. I honestly have no idea what is the big deal over black clothes.” He nudged Jac. “Care to share?”

I watched the friendly banter between the both of them and couldn’t help but smile. It was just like James to joke around. And it was just like Jac to take it in stride. I was about to speak when I heard Felicia’s voice. “Oh my gosh!! Jac!!”

I caught Jac’s surprised look before smiling. “My goodness, Felicia fancy seeing you here.” She said as she hugged my wife. I just found it strange. I never introduced the both of them before. Could James introduced the both of them before?

“Noel, this is my best friend in high school.” Felicia said with a smile.

Shit! I thought as I pasted a smile on my face. This is so screwed up. “She is my secretary.” I said. “A good one.”

I watched Felicia’s eyes widened and grinned. “Goodness, what a coincidence.” She said. I didn’t detect a single trace of suspicion from her voice and I could only sigh in relief.

“You have met James before right? He happens to be Jac’s brother.” I added on. I noticed that her eyes widened even more before mouthing an ‘oh’. Was I imagining or was her cheek getting red?

“Hey Felicia.” James said, still in the teasing tone. “You are looking more and more beautiful each time I see you.” Even so, I could hear that his voice was filled with admiration, and it bothered me a little. But I had no time to evaluate it as I turned to Jac. “How are you?”

We both knew that the question was redundant. I saw her just this afternoon at her home, talked to her about the dinner engagement at night with my wife and her brother. What shocked me was that she tagged along with James. I always thought that Jac was a smart lady. Apparently I was wrong.

“I’m fine. However I am quite pissed that my brother decided to pull me along.” Jac answered jokingly.

I smiled, sensing Jac’s frustration. “Sorry about this. It was just suppose to be a business engagement. However I guess you could join us, since you are my secretary and James’s sister.” I was reminding Jac what role she had to play in front of Felicia. It wasn’t a good time to spill the beans about my relationship.

I watched her lowered her head and nodded. I knew I hurt her when I said that. However, I had no choice, since James and Felicia are here. I didn’t want to try my luck and see what James would do to me if he finds out that I was sleeping around with his sister.

I looked away, only to catch James studying me. It was as though he was expecting me to do something. “Have a seat.” I said when I realised that the both of them were still standing.

We ordered our meals and chatted the night away. I was relief when it was coming to a close. Even though Jac and Felicia were chatting like long lost friends, I wondered whether Jac unconsciously spill the beans.

I also felt a little uneasy because James was watching me very closely throughout dinner, as though he knew something that I didn’t. And it was time that I should probe. “James, I need to get something from the car, could you join me?”

I was glad that James picked up the subtle message and nodded. “Sure, I need to smoke anyway.” He said as he got up gracefully and headed out. I followed him and waited till we were out of hearing range from the ladies before I started. “What made you bring your sister along?”

James looked at me and sighed. “Look man, you won’t want to know the answer.” He replied before stepping out of the restaurant and took out a cigarette. “Do you want one?”

I shook my head. I was trying to quit smoking. “We have been pals since university. It is bothering me that you are watching me like a hawk the whole evening and yet you are not going to tell me what you are thinking.”

James stared at me before laughing. “That is precisely the reason why I don’t want to tell you anything.” I watched him light up the cigarette and puffed out a breath of smoke. “But since you asked, I will give you the answer. I know you are screwing my sister and I am not pleased at the moment. But I won’t do anything because I am guilty of screwing your wife.”

When I heard the first part, my heart stopped but when he carried on, my blood started to boil. Damn him! I thought as my vision blurred with rage and my mind barely registered what James continued saying.

“But don’t you dare try and pull a punch on me. I was tempted to find you and dig your guts out. How could you play with my sister’s heart and break Felicia’s? Why the hell could you just leave my sister alone?”

Fury threatened to overtake me. So I took a deep breath and controlled my anger. “Then why the damn hell are you touching my wife?”

James smirked. He still dares to smirk at me! I wanted to punch him at his nose. “We are both willing parties, exactly like how you and Jac are. I know she loves you. So she will be very sad if I murder you. But the both of us had discussed about this and she decided to end it now.”

I stared at him, unable to make sense of the last part of the sentence. “I just saw her this afternoon, she seems fine.” Come to think about it, she was fine but a little distant. Suddenly a thought occurred in my mind. “Whose idea was it to come?”

“Jac’s.”

My brain churned. “Whatever for?”

“To meet up with Felicia.”

My heart started to race. “And why does she want to do that?”

James smiled sadly. “She wants to figure out whether to quit or to continue the charade.”

“Then what are her options?” I asked, getting worried over what she would tell Felicia.

“If she feels guilty, she will quit her job and move away. If she can live with the guilt, she would continue the current arrangement.”

I stared at him. “Then what are you going to do?”

James puffed out another breath of smoke. “Me? If she moves away, I will stop screwing your wife. If she stays, I will be with the two ladies, trying to piece up their broken hearts each time you break theirs. Unless you decide to give up either one of the ladies, then that is what I am going to do.” He gave me a dirty look. “If you ever think of one moment to lay a punch on me, let me remind you that I am bigger size and have a black belt in Taekwondo. On top of that, I haven’t laid a finger on you yet regarding my sister’s situation. However if you throw the first swing, I would be more than happy to return the favour.”

I took in a deep breath and counted to three to rein my temper in. He had a point. I should be grateful he didn’t call me out and break my bones when he found out what I am doing with Jac. But damn, I felt as though he poached my territory when he sleeps with Felicia. “How long have you known?”

“Two and a half years ago.” James said as he threw his cigarette into the snow. “Let’s get back now. We stayed out long enough to cause the ladies to worry.”

I nodded and followed him in. From the distance, I could see Felicia and Jac still engrossed in the conversation. So nothing bad had happened yet, if not Felicia would be throwing a fit. I thought as I sat down next to Felicia and grinned at her. “So what have you ladies been talking about?”

Felicia smiled at me. That was a good sign. It means she doesn’t know anything yet. “She was just telling me how good you are- things that I have already known.”

I couldn’t help but smile and looked at Jac. She returned my stare and nodded. “It is true. Even when we work late- which is often, he would always make sure that I reached home safely. You are lucky to be married to such a good man, Felicia.”

If I didn’t know better, I thought Jac was being sarcastic. I glanced over at James and saw him closing his eyes and rubbing his temple and I realise what that means.

“Are you okay?” Felicia asked, looking at James, her face filled with concern. If you asked me five minutes ago, I would have thought that she was merely concerned about her husband’s colleague. Now, I know better.

“I’m fine.” James said with a smile. “It is just that I realised that business is a mess.”

A random quote from James earned a weird look from the two ladies. “What do you mean by that?” Jac asked, looking at me before staring at James. “Is the business in trouble?”

James shook his head. “No, it is just that I realised that I have a lot of work to do.”

Jac chuckled. “James, you always have a lot of work to do. You can’t expect Noel be the only one working overtime.”

That earned a laugh from James. “That’s true.” He said before glancing at me. “I have to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

There was no mistake behind James hidden meaning. I thought as I took a sip from my glass. Let the charade continue

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This is it. The end! Applause. I was so glad to have written this last chapter up and bring this mad story to a close. This is extremely different from the stories that i wrote in fanfiction. But I guess i never knew i had such weird sense of humour. Hope you enjoyed the story and thanks for the critiques that you have provided. I will work harder when i write the next story. Thanks again.

Joyful-x