C9 SOLEMN REGRETS

“Mr Aston! It's such an honor to see you here.”

That was the last thing Bailey expected to hear from a man who was a few seconds away from his destruction. The fact that he was standing happily in front of Carlos, who looked ready to strangle him, was rather baffling.

“I can't say that feeling is mutual, Mr…”

“Mr Jones, Sir. Noah Jones. I work in the customer service department, Sir.”

“Shit! He works for your jerk husband. That's messed up, girl!” Ava whispered the best she could, but that was impossible as everyone heard her.

“So, Mr Jones, may I ask why you're touching what's mine?”

Carlos’ voice was deeper than normal as he towered over Noah, looking like a predator stalking his prey.

Bailey quickly shifted away from Noah, making him frown in confusion.

“Come here, Bailey,” Carlos ordered, his angry eyes descending on her.

His emerald eyes were dark as she could see a tempest brewing in them. She was a bit reluctant, so he dragged her towards him, pressing her tightly to his side, staking his claim over her.

Bailey gasped as her body quickly reacted to his, her heart beating fast and certain sensitive parts waking up as her imagination ran wild. If anything, she was secretly happy at his possessive nature.

That was when the penny dropped. Noah looked terrified as he realized he had been hitting on his boss' wife.

“Oh…um…I can explain. It's not really what you think, Sir. I…”

“You're fired, Mr Jones.”

“If I may ask, why? I didn't know she was your wife and I don't see how that affects my working capabilities.” Noah spoke up with a stoic face, shocking the onlookers.

“Oh, look! The wimp has a voice.”

Miguel was barely done speaking before Ava swatted him over the head with her clutch, earning a glare from him.

“You may not ask.”

Carlos looked ready to tear Noah to pieces if he dared challenge him. So, after an intense eye lock between the men, Noah left without a word.

“I'm sorry, Noah,” Bailey called out as she felt the guilt clawing at her.

“Trust me, you will be even more sorry once we get home.” Carlos threatened, looking so angry as he held himself from spanking her.

***

“I'm not surprised about tonight. I mean, once a whore, always a whore. Forgive me for ever giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

Carlos stripped off his jacket nonchalantly, heading towards the bar after saying such venomous words.

Bailey was shocked because he wasn't in the position to point accusing fingers at her. He was at Vivian's house!

“I didn't do anything with Noah. We had a nice conversation going on. We danced and laughed. That's it. So, could you give him his job back?”

She knew that arguing with him was pointless. It would yield nothing but frustration and Noah wouldn't get his job back.

“Do you expect me to believe that if Miguel hadn't seen you two and acted the way he did, you wouldn't have had sex with Jones?”

Carlos scoffed, sipping his wine and typing away on his phone. His greatest regret at that moment was leaving Vivian. But the sight of Bailey, still in her sexy dress was messing with his head.

“I never planned to have sex with Noah. Not everyone is like you, Carlos.” Bailey snapped.

She hated the way he made her look like a cheap whore. She knew she had to make him stop now, their marriage was still young.

“Like me? Bailey, you keep forgetting that I wasn't like this. Guess when I became manwhore?”

Bailey knew he would bring that up and she hated it because she knew it was all her fault. If only she had waited and had been patient with him, she wouldn't be in this dilemma. They would have long been happily married.

“Answer me, Bailey. Guess!” His voice was deadly quiet as he approached her. She could hear the hurt clearly in his voice and this made her feel even worse.

“Five years ago.”

“And what or better still, who made me this way?”

Bailey's heart broke at the way he looked at her. The pain was still evident. He hadn't recovered from her actions five years ago.

“I'm sorry, Carlos. I…”

As usual, she couldn't explain or justify her actions. Every single time she apologized she condemned herself even more.

“I'm glad that you know your wrongdoings at least. One thing I can promise you is that I will never stop. Don't ever expect me to be faithful to you. Ever.”

Turning abruptly, he left her to weep and condemn herself.

“I'm so sorry, Carlos,” Bailey muttered as she recalled how she had destroyed the love they had once shared.

Bailey was fidgety as she walked into the restaurant. The nauseous aroma of grilled steak hit her and it took every willpower not to run out of the place.

“Calm down Bailey. You're staying for just a few minutes.”

She walked to their favorite spot, giving herself a pep talk and preparing for the inevitable.

As expected, Carlos was seated at the usual table. He looked tense and Bailey was scared because she was about to spill worse news.

“Hey, babe.”

He pulled out her seat like the perfect gentleman, giving her an appreciative once over.

“Carl.”

“Don't look so gloomy. I have a surprise for you. Shit! I wasn't supposed to say that. Uh…dinner first?”

Bailey arched her brows in suspicion. Carlos was anything but a stutterer or a rambler. He was too arrogant for it.

“Here's your steak, ma’am.” The waiter served her. This was her favorite steak dish and that was why the restaurant was their favorite.

But tonight, grilled steak made Bailey nauseous. She couldn't bear to look at the food. She just needed to get her sins off her chest.

“I'm guessing they finally messed up your steak. Let's see how steak beats shrimp.” Carlos teased her, caressing her fingers.

The waiter appeared immediately and cleared the dishes at Carlos' command.

Bailey's eyes flooded with tears as she couldn't forgive herself for what she had done. She had made an irreversible mistake. And Carlos wasn't known for a forgiving trait.

“Are you okay, Bailey?” He asked, but she couldn't speak up. How could she tell him that she had cheated on him? How could she ever get him to forgive her?

“I'm okay. Just wondering why you asked me on an impromptu date.” She giggled nervously.

“I know I should have asked you a day before. But it had to be today, my love.” He replied, pecking her.

That was her undoing as she almost broke down in tears.

“Excuse me. I need to use the bathroom.”

Without waiting for a response, she fled to every woman's favorite hideout.

If only she had waited for him that fateful night. If she had been more cautious, none of this would have happened.

But Bailey couldn't hide away forever. So she applied a little makeup to hide her teary face before returning to the table.

But, before she could make it to the table, she stopped in her tracks at the sight that greeted her.

Carlos was smiling widely, kneeling on one knee with a glittering diamond ring in his hand.

“Bailey Whitney, will you marry me?”