Bound to Lust

Sneers and Snickers

With a bottle of wine in one hand and a bouquet of white roses in the other, Noah was ready for dinner with the people he considered his true family. He was in a really good mood despite everything because soon he would be divorced from Melanie and be a free man. A few minutes after ringing the doorbell Rosa opened the door smiling and looking a lot more healthier than before. He leaned and kissed her cheek.

"Are these mine?" she playfully asked eyeing the flowers.

"Sorry, grams.Maybe next time but you can have this" he replied with a laugh handing her the bottle of wine instead. He draped his arm over her shoulder and walked inside with her. A surprised look spread across his face when he saw the twins. They stood up when they saw him as a sign of respect.

"Hey you guys,Nathan and Ethan!" he said still surprised. They laughed and shook their heads.

"Ethan! Nathan!" they replied pointing to each other.

"Sorry, I haven't had enough time to make out the difference" Just then the one person he hoped he would never see again was strutting towards him with an arrogant look. Instead of a scowl which was expected, he smiled. His good mood was too great to be ruined by Ben's presence. He knew now he had always had Adeline's heart so Ben wasn't necessarily an adversary and what better way to rub it in his face than to be nice. "I must say I'm quite surprised to see you here"

"Yeah but I really can't say the same for you though." Ben replied coyly

"I know" he looked past Ben's shoulders to see Adeline throwing him an apologetic look and felt more at ease. Without another word, he strode towards her,handed her the flowers and said "These reminded me of you"

"Thank you" she replied with a heartwarming smile. Right then Ben's heart broke.

"Where's Benjie?"

"I'm here!" Benjie cried out as he ran in from the kitchen with an empty juice box whose contents he had spilled on himself to hug his dad.

"Your son is one heck..." Raina begun as she came from the kitchen as well but stopped when she saw Noah "Hello sir!" she greeted

"Hello! Sorry I don't think I know you"

"Of course you wouldn't. I work in your large company. I'm Raina"

"It's nice to meet you,Raina"

"You too, sir!"

"Please call me Noah"they shook hands and before anyone could make another comment, Rosa came out and announced

"Dinner is ready"

"Finally!" the twins rejoiced making everyone laugh. They all head to the large dining table which was laden with all kinds of dishes ranging from salads to roast beef. Ethan as usual passed a funny comment which got them all laughing again and it seemed this dinner was off to a good start. Benjie was placed in his high chair between his parents and a plate of minced meat with vegetable rice was set before him.

"Let's say grace, please..." Rosa requested at which everyone bowed their heads in solemn silence "Thank you,Father, for such a blessed moment as this as a family. Amen"

"Amen!" they chorused in response

"Ok, now dig in."

"This is delicious, Rosa" Ben complimented after a couple of bites making Noah look between them wondering when they got to that first name base

"Thank you Ben but I definitely didn't do it alone" Rosa replied with a hearty chuckle.

"Don't be modest. Adeline can't have contributed tremendously to this wonderful meal, believe me, I know it but for Raina I really can't say much."

"Really, Ben! After all I've done for you" Adeline retorted playfully

"Exactly, I'm speaking from experience. You can ask the twins"

"I would rather we weren't dragged into this" Nathan chipped in with a mouthful of roast beef. Everyone's laughter rang in the air except for Noah's of course. His pleasant demeanour was waning fast.

"I love your cooking,Adeline. Just ignore them" he said looking straight at Ben

"Thank you, Noah. It's good to get some appreciation around here" she replied not sensing the irritation in his words or that it wasn't really meant for her. Ben caught on the fact that he was getting irritated and decided to bait him some more.

"Anyway, where is your wife, Noah? Since this is a family dinner she should be here, right?" Adeline threw him a warning look but he ignored it.

"We're separated" Noah calmly answered

"Already! but you haven't been married for long. I believe as a married couple you two should try and work out your difference at least for the sake of your unborn child. It's like you're abandoning him. You did it once, it's only fair you don't repeat it."

"Ben!" Adeline exclaimed and turned just in time to see the hurt  flash across Noah's face.

"Point noted, Ben" he replied and ate the rest of his meal in silence. The once pleasant atmosphere was replaced with a gloom one, the only noise to be heard was that of the cutlery against porcelain plates and Benjie's happy munching. After awhile, Noah dropped his fork on his plate and wiped his hands and mouth with a napkin. He drank the rest of his wine then pushed his chair back causing everyone to look at him. "This really was wonderful but I have to go now."

"Won't you stay for dessert?" Adeline pleaded but he shook his head

"Maybe next time."

"There won't be a next time. Come with me" Rosa interjected and got up as well. She pulled him along with her to the kitchen. Adeline then turned to throw Ben a disapproving look and with her plate got up as well to the kitchen. Rosa was talking to him as she gave him a plastic bowl with a slice of her raspberry cake. She then nodded to Adeline then left with the rest of the cake to serve the others.

"I'm really sorry..." Adeline begun to apologise but was cut short.

"You don't need to apologise. It's not your fault okay"

"But still..."

"It's fine. I only need you to make him aware you're mine only." He then leaned in and kissed her gently before walking out with a satisfying smirk. He nodded slightly to Ben who had been watching from the entrance then went out into the night. 

       With his pride back in place, Noah drove to the house he shared with Melanie and was surprised to find the whole mansion in darkness. Usually Melanie would be home by then pretending to be the lovely wife who waits patiently for her husband's return. He tried the door and it was opened. Finding that strange, he tread cautiously inside and called out her name but there was no response. Feeling the wall for the switch, he found it and turned it on but everything looked the same. He then climbed the stairs to their room. He opened the door and what he saw shocked the hell out of him

"Melanie!"

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Thanks for being patient with me and oh I dedicate this chapter to zoebuisekwildcard. She kinda brought me out of my retirement. Thanks for reading...^_^