Unfaithful: Web Of Betrayal

The moment they arrived in London, a call came in. The family lawyer informed them that their brownstone house in Lancaster had burned. The lawyer would contact the insurance company, and an investigation was underway.

Declan left the matter to his lawyer’s hand. He told them they could not return because they had just arrived and Olivia was not feeling well. They will have to do all interviews and communication through video calls.

A few days after that, the news broke. Bodies were found in a family home in Chestnut. A mother and an 8-year-old boy they assume were her son were found in their car. It seemed like they had been dead for a few days.

The police were looking for the husband. The scene indicated that the two deceased people had died from asphyxiation, an apparent murder-suicide inside the car. However, the car was already turned off when they found them. Someone was already there and failed to report the incident. Gil Isaac was now a wanted man.

They turned the house upside down to get clues about what happened with the mother and son. It became quite the news.

Declan and Olivia watched as it unravels on the TV. They had nothing to say to each other. They only hoped nothing in that house would lead the police to Declan. Things were about to get worst before they get better. At least, that’s what they were hoping for.

At the same time. The deal with Brian Murphy was still happening in London. Declan was making his own news on the other side of the world.

Champagne. Caviar. A feast that felt so inappropriate and in poor taste of what was happening in their lives. But they had to put on a happy face. It was a victory but not a celebration.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

After what they had done, all the money and the success that Declan had finally achieved became distasteful. How could they ever be happy with what they know they did?

London was going to be their new home. That’s what Declan said. They will leave their lives in Lancaster behind, including his mother and brothers. Everything he was going to do would be for his marriage and Olivia. Whatever the cost, whatever the challenge, Declan knew that his place in the world would be with Olivia. The things he did, however cruel and evil, were all because he didn’t want to lose the one thing that meant the world to him.

Declan bought a house in Warren Mews, London. An area that felt like the countryside in the heart of the city. A neighborhood that’s similar to Lancaster, where they’ve lived. A secluded area of cobbled streets and cute houses, precisely the kind that he knew Olivia would never have any problem calling a home.

He pictured their lives there as he dreamed of before moving into their brownstone years ago. Everyone deserves a new start every now and then. And he was determined this time would be for the better. It will take some time for Olivia to return to being herself again, let the chaos and despair subside, and he will be there every step of the way.

He’ll arrange to have her business transferred to London. The success of his deal with Brian had made all that possible. He’ll make her forget about Roman and fall in love with him again.

—

OLIVIA

The house was gorgeous. Declan knew she would never refuse the kind of life that a house in that neighborhood offers. Luxury had always pleased her compared to mediocracy and a life of modesty. She was a queen even before she had become Declan’s. It was how she knew it would never work with Roman.

She didn’t deny that what she felt for Roman was love. Another kind of love. Something more romantic, which contains moments of sweetness and melancholy. Something that felt more like young love.

But she loved Declan in a way she couldn’t love anyone else. A love that stays no matter how bad things get. It’s the kind of love that knows how much they were made for each other and kept them together through better or worse.

Despite the nightmare. They stayed together. Their marriage vow prevailed. Deep inside, she always knew that Declan was the person she could depend on to protect her, to take care of her, and who loved her more than anyone.

Six months after the ordeal, when the dust had settled, she was getting used to their new life in London. Declan started his new company. She was running her own business with Urban Aesthetic and Ludus with a new staff set while managing her headquarters in Lancaster.

She loved London. She even picked up a Londoner morning routine though it’s not much different than hers in Lancaster. She didn’t touch her phone until she would arrive at work. She took a quick morning walk before her first coffee, prepared her breakfast to eat later at the studio, and then commute there by whichever transportation was available. Declan dropped her by mostly, but she also enjoyed taking public transport because she needed that extra walk.

It was a typical morning for her at the Urban Aesthetic. A row of new emails came into her inbox. She put her hydro flask on her desk and clicked on the first new email on the top.

She jotted down noteworthy information from the emails she received. Forward them accordingly to relevant departments. She checked her list of things to do in her journal and added new items for tasks yet to be dealt with.

One email was from the fertility clinic she visited with Declan a few days prior. The results were in. She was pregnant. They didn’t go through the IVF treatment, which they have long agreed not to. But they did make some effort with a more holistic approach. And there it was … positive.

She couldn’t hold her laughter from escaping. She couldn’t believe it. They were finally pregnant … again. Her first instinct was to pick up the phone and call Declan. She put the phone down when she saw a familiar name on the list of senders in her email.

Roman Murphy.

Gaby once called her to tell her that Serena, his fake girlfriend, was asking for him at Ludus and then Urban Aesthetic in Lancaster. But no one knew where he went. The email reminded her that he was still alive and well somewhere in the world. Hiding, perhaps lurking. He was good at that. Being invisible and roamed the world on his own. She contemplated whether to click the email or delete it completely.

Her heart pumped louder and faster. She sat back on her chair and tapped her finger on her desk. She took a deep breath before facing her computer again. She clicks on the check box next to the email. And click the trash bin.