The Subtle Art of Love and War 3

Chapter 19: Cheating

Headline: One of UK's powerhouse couples, Langford-Tiffin, cheating allegations exposed.

What. The. Fuck.

I'm in the middle of a meeting with my father, Uncle Karl and Aris when this fucking scandal dropped like the Nagasaki-Hiroshima bombing. I was talking about Onix and the partnership with Lancaster Telecom, building up to extend an invitation to my uncle and cousin as part of the said joint venture, but then Aris blurted out of fucking nowhere, "You fucking cheated on Jo." Not asking, and with pure vehemence in his glare.

I stopped, confused, and proceeded to gape at him along with our dads. "What the fuck did you say?" was my comeback to the downright absurdity of his words.

"It's all over the fucking internet, asshole. Is it true?" he spat. I don't know anyone else in the world who's more allergic to the word cheating than my cousin. It's like he gets hives just from saying the bloody word.

"Not even justifying the stupid fucking question with an answer you already know, asshole," I said through gritted teeth as I fished for my phone. "But here's one for you, Aris-are you fucking stupid?" My pure annoyance mixed with the sarcasm in my tone.

I scrolled through my phone and bloody fucking hell! A leaked photo of me escorting a heavily pregnant Mary into the backseat of my car from her apartment complex. My hand was against the small of her back. She was holding on to my forearm as she ducked. We were smiling in the photo. All of this, taken out of context, is a recipe for disaster. I'm a married man photographed with another woman who's pregnant whilst my wife has been away to New York and France.

Now, I'm seated across three fuming men. Aris looks like he wants to smack my face on this cherry wood table. Uncle Karl looks constipated in a myriad of expressions-some disappointment, some guilt, some self-deprecation, some anger. I bite my tongue before I could tell him to fuck off because really, fuck him! He's the cheater, not me. My dad sits quietly but his eyes are deadly and they don't relent. I'm under a microscope and as confident as I am, I can't help the way my skin prickles and heats. I don't like this. Not one fucking bit.

I can take everyone else's scrutiny. I don't give a shit if they believe lies about me. I won't even bother addressing them or explaining myself to them. But it's another thing when my father's looking at me like I'm already found guilty and convicted. I regard my father's opinion quite highly. So yes, I'm on the fucking defensive.

"It's not true," I tell dad, meeting his displeased gaze.

"Bullshit," Aris mutters. He throws a dirty glare at his own father, whose jaw locks in a severe angle, before bringing his attention to his phone, fingers furiously typing. He must be texting his girlfriend and delivering the news to Caroline right now. Little whipped shit.

As much as I'd want to flip him the fuck off, I ignore his comment and focus on my father. "Dad, you can't seriously believe, for one goddamn second, that I'd be capable of cheating on Josephine."

"Then explain yourself, Hero. There must be a reason behind that photo and that article," Uncle Karl implores, still looking fucking constipated. He can't stomach another man in our family making the same mistake he did with his wife.

My father stays deadpan and still.

My jaw ticks. That's it. "I didn't cheat on my wife but I can't tell you the context behind that photo on my own because this isn't just about me. It's about me and Jo, us, our fucking marriage," I grit whilst taking my phone out of my pocket. Just as I'm about to call Josephine, my screen lights up with an incoming call from her. My heart skips a beat. How fucking insync we are with each other sometimes baffles me still. I answer her call and put her on speaker, placing the device on the table. "Baby-," I start but she cuts me off right away.