“Come on, spill it,” Ethan, unable to take the silence any more, blurted out. “What’s on your mind?” “Nothing.”  “Oh, come on. Don’t feed me that crap. You brought me here and for over twenty minutes, you’ve done nothing but brood and sulk, yet you tell me nothing is wrong.” He shuffled his feet on the ground. “There is no problem, or do you want to invent one?” “How is Emilia doing?” “Fine.” “Look, Lucas, I know it is none of my business, but I know things are not exactly the way they should be, but no matter how bad it is, I still think I should deserve your confidence. It’s about Emilia, isn’t it?” He ignored the question; instead, he beckoned on the waiter. “More beer, please.” “No, no more beer. You’ve had enough beer for today.” Ethan stopped the barman. He hit the table hard. “So, I can’t even have a beer?” “Not that, you’ve had enough for today. You don’t drown your worries in beer. They never solve problems.” He glared at him.  Ethan glared back. “What’s the problem?” He shook his head vigorously. “Ethan, I wish I’d listened to you, I wish I had. Now, look at the mess I’ve made of my life.” “What are you talking about?” “Ethan, I married another man’s wife.” He gave him a pat on the shoulder. “I know, buddy. But you can still make it work.” “Make it work?” he roared. “How do you mean?” “You can make a fresh start.” “Lord, why me,” he moaned loudly. “Look,” Ethan said seriously. “This is not the time for crying over spilled milk or trading blames. You have to find a way out of this mess.” “But how?” he asked bewilderedly. “Ethan, tell me, how do I get out of this mess? What will people say if they find out we are separating?” “No, no, no, no,” Ethan said hurriedly and shook his head vigorously. “Divorce is definitely out of the question.” “What do I do, man? I need to save my marriage.” “You don’t have a problem.” “What do you mean by that.” “You only need to understand your wife.” The skin around his eyes furrowed. “Understand my wife? What do you mean by that?” “You see, your wife is young, naïve and exuberant. She is the outdoor type too. Give her what she wants.” “What does she want that I am not giving her?” “I don’t know.” He thought it over. “Okay, thanks, man.”
  Chapter 13 He surfed the net leisurely, desperate for juicy news he could share on his blog. Unable to find anything of interest, he decided to visit his Facebook page and know what’s up there. But just as he was about to exit, he saw a notification from one of the online newspapers about the death of a young woman killed by a hit and run driver. He clicked on the link and Chi’s picture popped up on the screen. The report said the car was stolen from its owner at gunpoint in broad daylight and that the police was still investigating the case.  “Unbelievable! This is impossible,” he muttered aloud. “Killed by a hit and run driver and the police couldn’t apprehend the killer. What is this country turning into?” “Is there any problem?”  “Just take a look at this,” he said and gave her the phone. “I’ve already seen it,” she returned casually. “You’ve seen it?” he was surprised. Emilia never gets to listen to news or read papers except fashion magazines. He read on. ‘However, she was last seen with a man of about 27 years old two days ago at the beach.’ The newspaper article went on to give a detailed description of Lucas and made a clarion call for anyone with useful information about his whereabouts to contact the nearest police station. His heart began to race. So Captain was not only going to attempt snatching his wife from him or ruining his career, but he was also going to incriminate him as well. He began to shake like a leaf under the wind. He could clearly see the trap he was in. He should have known it; he should have listened to Chi. The doorbell rang at that instant and he started.  “I’ll see who’s there,” Emilia said and went to the door before he could react. It was the mail runner. “Mrs. Abia, I presume?” “Yes, please.” “Good. You have a parcel.”  Her eyes lit up. “A parcel? From who?” “Actually, it’s for your husband. Please, can you sign here?” he showed her where to sign. She signed and took the parcel. The mail runner bowed and left. “Who’s that?” “It’s the mail runner,” she said from the doorway. “You have a parcel.” “A parcel?” he frowned. “From who? Let me see.” He took the envelope from her and tore it open. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw its contents. Inside the envelope were photographs of Chi and himself in different positions and locations. There were over twenty photographs in all. “What’s that?” He shoved the contents back inside hurriedly. “Em … nothing. It’s a …”  She snatched the envelope from him and pulled out the contents. A couple of pictures fell to the floor. She picked them up and took a closer look. “You lying, cheating bastard,” she hissed and flung the pictures at him.
***
The slivers of sunrise shone through the interlock of tree branches above, making tiny, irregular patterns on the sun-baked sand. He sat wearily under a tree, staring unseeingly at passersby. His mind was in chaos. His well-fortified empire was on the verge of total collapse. He felt nervous and jittery and cast furtive glances around unconsciously. He knew he could be arrested any minute for a crime he did not commit. He turned the hand written note listlessly again as he contemplated his grim future sadly. Go to prison for a crime he did not commit or accept Captain’s proposal. None of the two seemed the lesser evil, he thought, biting his lips in agony. There was no misgiving or doubt in his mind that if he did not comply with Captain, he would send the photographs to the police or make it viral. He also knew that Captain was behind the newspaper and police reports and that he was merely buying time. Come to think of it, it wasn’t such a bad idea. Besides he would be handsomely rewarded. And the way Emilia has been spending money like a drunken sailor; he has no doubt that it was only a matter of months before he was declared bankrupt. He shuddered. He was in a complete fix and there seemed to be no way out of the quagmire.  Shrugging, he stood up from the garden stool and like a zombie, walked into the house. Straight, he went to the bar and poured a stiff whiskey and gulped down almost half of the content in one long pull. Just as he was about to refill the glass, the door opened and Emilia breezed in, all glee, all smiles. “Hi there,” she called out, “Guess what?” He said nothing. “Oh Lucas, you can’t believe this…I mean, Captain has asked me to accompany him to Italy to pick up items for my shop. I mean, is it not something to cheer about?” He froze and blood made for his face. This same Captain who is now planning to ruin his life could also attempt snatching his wife too. He should have known it; he should have seen it coming, all those attentions, all the gifts, and all the money. He pulled himself together. “What was that?” he asked quietly. “I…I was saying that …that Captain has asked me to accompany him abroad so …so I can pick up items for my shop.” “And what does that suppose to mean?” “Oh, Lucas, please.” “Please for what? I mean, what’s this nonsense all about? Tell Captain to go to Hell, do you hear me? I’m your husband and I wouldn’t like him interfering in our lives. In fact, from today, I wouldn’t like to hear his name mentioned in this house again and I presume he be nothing more than a faded old dream, do you hear me?” “Oh, don’t make me lose this opportunity because of your jealousy.” “Oh, shut up. Will you?” he said angrily. He was trying so hard to avoid hitting her. “Don’t shut me up. You are jealous just because he is better than you.” Something snapped in his brain and he hit her. “How dare you say…say that? How dare you talk to me like that?” he snarled and hit her again and again. She fell on the floor and a tiny blood drifted out of her nostril, and so their lives drifted apart. One week later, she was on board Nigerian Airways to join Captain in Italy.