Chapter 31
Sweet Subterfuge
Travis did not want to argue with her. He replied softly, âIâm still working at the company. Is there something you need?â
âTravis Hardy, what kind of motherfucking bullshit are you talking about!â Amber cursed loudly. âI already asked your other colleagues, and they said you left an hour ago!â
Travis panicked. He hadnât expected Amber to have set a trap for him to fall into.
âTell me the truth, where are you now?â Amber demanded. âAre you in some cheap bitchâs bed?â
âIâm not,â he quickly denied. âWhat nonsense are you thinking? I was just tired from work so I went out for a drink with my friend.â
âWhy did you lie about working overtime then?â Amber persisted.
After juggling his marriage to Larissa and his affair with Amber for so long, Travis had long mastered the skills of coming up with excuses on the spot.
âI just didnât want you to misunderstand! Your emotions have been so unstable lately. If you get too worked up and drive yourself crazy, Iâll be the one to suffer!â he said softly.
Amber knew how he used to deceive Larissa. She wasnât going to fall for it that easily.
âWho are you drinking with? Have him answer the phone.â
Travis looked anxiously around the empty bedroom.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. He said to the empty air, âMy wife wants to talk to you.â
After a few seconds, he said again, âJust answer it. If you donât, sheâs going to get suspicious.â
âJust help a brother out, will you?â
His oneâman show went on for a while before he told Amber, âHe said he doesnât know you too well and feels too embarrassed to answer the phone.â
âHa!â Amber mocked him coldly. âTravis, do you think Iâm that stupid exâwife of yours who takes your words at face value? You have half an hour. If you arenât in front of me by then, Iâll break everything I can find at home! You know as well as I do that Iâm capable of doing that!â
Travisâ frustration resurfaced.
He didnât want to go back, but he had to.
The house was rented under his name, and most of the furniture inside belonged to the tenant. If he let Amber destroy everything, he would be the one paying for the damages, and it would not be a small amount of money.
Given their current financial situation, they would pretty much be broke when he was done paying for the losses.
He rubbed his aching temples and, before he left, hoisted Larissa onto the bed.
Larissa didnât think she would ever return to the bedroom she shared with Travis when they were married.
In fact, she could not remember how sheâd gotten there at all.
She wandered around the house and found that her and Travisâ personal belongings were gone. All that was left were large pieces of furniture too heavy to be moved and some cheap decorations.
The house was very dusty. It was evident that Travis did not live there.
The only cleaner places in the house were the bed in the main bedroom, and a corner on the living room couch.
Larissa did not know if sheâd done that or if someone else had.
When she returned to the hotel, she asked her assistant, âDid I go home by myself yesterday?â
âOf course not.â Her assistant didnât know why she would ask her something like that, but she informed Larissa honestly. âYou were very drunk yesterday, and we didnât know where you lived, so we gave your husband a call. He was the one who brought you home.â
âMy husband?â Larissaâs face paled in shock. âAre you sure it was my husband?â
âOf course.â Her assistant nodded. âDidnât you used to have a picture of you and your husband as your lock screen? I recognized his face, and the person who came to pick you up last night looked exactly like that picture.â
Larissaâs temples pounded. She felt as if her brain was about to explode from all the newfound information.
She just didnât know if it was the aftermath of her hangover or her fear of the possibility of having spent the night with Travis.