Chapter 9 Voices

After the fast humping, Nathaniel headed back home, assured that he had done a great job with Ari Donna. Fortunately, his home wasn’t too far away from the Sky Gardens Hotels. His decade-old boxy Buchmeyer salon car slowed down at the traffic light just outside their shared apartment.
He heard his phone ring, and when he answered, he almost flew into a panic.
It wasn’t like Regina to be so panicky. Something wasn’t right. It had to be. Regina couldn’t even pronounce a single word properly. Her pulse was racing so hard that it made him worry.
What the heck was going on?
“I’ll be there in a jiffy.” He ended the call without waiting for her to answer.
If he knew, he would have rushed over immediately. But Ari Donna’s hot curves and tight hole were more than he could wish for. If only he could have more.
But one night out with her was just too much for him to handle. She was just as lusty as she was fascinating, and he wondered what was the secret to getting her wrapped around his finger.
It didn’t matter, soon he would be making that bossy lady eat up her words! He smiled deviously.
Darn, just thinking about Ari Donna almost made the thought of Regina’s anxiety almost slip his mind. He speeded up, passing the red light and ignoring the flash of the speed camera as it snapped his vehicle when he drove past.
He was in much trouble, but he couldn’t care. How much was a speeding ticket, compared to his fiancee’s mental health? He couldn’t have anything happen to Regina, even if he knew she would be okay.
Better safe than sorry. He stopped his car in the parking lot of the flat. But before he could manoeuvre the Buch into his designated parking square, he realised there was a tiny car inside the space. He had never seen this car before in the neighbourhood, so why was it taking up his spot?
While the car was small, a two-seater sports car, it was much more expensive than his decade-old car. Few people could own this car model, and the rich netizens of Neon wouldn’t have any business in the middle-class populated apartments located near the suburbs of Neon.
But he didn’t have any time to waste, and hurriedly punched some holes into a prepaid parking coupon with his pen to select the date and time, before parking in a guest space.
Probably, it was just a visitor taking up the wrong parking spot, he thought as he jabbed on the button of the elevator anxiously. The elevator was slow, but it was definitely quicker than walking up a few dozen steps to get to his destination.
He reached the door of the apartment, breathing heavily in between quick pants. He stopped momentarily to catch his breath, noting how everything looked fine.
Voices. He was astonished by how loud and precisely he was hearing people speaking. The first thought he had was how relieved he was when he heard Regina speaking calmly, but then another thought entered his mind.
“Handsome, you got to be careful when coming here. What if we get caught?”
He had never heard her sound so chirpy before. She appeared to be in a jovial mood, unlike how she was normally with him.
But what he was worried about was how intimate she sounded. Who was she speaking to, and what was that person doing in their home?
He didn’t recognise the young male voice that followed. The owner of the voice didn’t seem older than he was. He estimated a youth around twenty-four years old. What business did that person have with his Regina?
“We won’t get caught, sweetheart. I just want to know, how much longer do you want me to wait? We could make things clear, only if you wanted…”
It was like an icicle had pierced through his chest. Was his fiancee cheating with a much younger male? Even if he was wrong first, he knew it was all because of their future that he had chosen this path. But if Regina made the decision to leave him, he didn’t know if he would be able to step out of the darkness. They had gone through so much in their past.
“Ainsley, you better start moving. Nat will be back here soon,” Regina replied firmly, and Nat froze. For a moment, he stood there questioning what was occurring inside the apartment and whether Regina was trying to hide things from him. He was not an idiot but he didn’t know how to react to this sudden discovery.
Was this the end of their relationship? He paused outside the apartment for a very long time. Nat was not a romantic person to begin with, but he had feelings for Regina from the bottom of his heart. He might have betrayed his body, but not his love. Regina had owned his heart.
Until he met Ari Donna. That woman had a strange appeal that he couldn’t get her off his mind. The more times they had each other, the more their connection seemed to get stronger.
He couldn’t explain this phenomenon. But unlike the times with his older female clients, he didn’t feel guilty. Maybe it was just his ego acting up. Who didn’t feel glorified by a wealthy client who gave him her virginity and had such appeal whether awake or in bed?
Nat could have slapped himself. While he was being burdened by Regina’s possible betrayal, why in the world was he thinking about Ari Donna?
Stop it, Nat, he told himself. He brushed aside those random flashbacks of Ari Donna’s luscious lips and her naked body, and pranced up and down the corridor adjacent to their apartment.
It was just hellish keeping his feelings deep inside him! He was breathing so hard and fast that even counting couldn’t extinguish his fire.
Darn, what was wrong with him? He didn’t even remember himself having a fiery temper.
Finally he took a few smaller breaths, and pressed on the doorbell. This was to give them ample time, whatever method they chose to hide or leave. He braced himself for the worst scenario, then tapped on the door.
“Regina!”
No answer.
He called again. And again.
Yet, there was no Regina, that made him dubious. He rummaged the shoe cabinet outside for the spare key hidden under its rough inlay.
Then the door swung open. Regina looked a little weary as she rubbed her eyes. The tension left his shoulders, and he regained his composure.
“I fell asleep.”
Everything about her was so perfect. He smelled the fragrance of the shampoo in her hair and the scent she wore on her body. She felt good to him, but something about her gave him a foreign feeling about her. Like she was no longer his greatest love. His heart was feeling for her but it didn’t feel the same as before.
She had been the Apple of his Eye and his reason to live. But now…
It felt like they were just two people living under the same roof. He cared for her, and she mattered to him, but it wasn't in the same way as it was before. He didn't know when it happened, but that attachment between them was gone.
“Just now…” he spoke up.
“You mean the phone call?” Regina was always quick to answer. He eyed her curiously, watching for any signs of cheating. She didn’t exhibit a single one of them. Nothing was amiss at all. She was the same old Regina that he had once fallen for, because of her silly little antics.
He could even remember the first time they dated and kissed. Now. after the twists and turns they had experienced in life, everything turned out to be so different. Was she still the same Regina he had once loved?
Then where was the man who she had been conversing with? What was his name again?
The name Ainsley emerged in his mind. He watched the surroundings carefully, keen like a hunter. Then he faced Regina again.
"Did you just have an anxiety attack earlier?"
Regina didn't answer. She just stared at him sheepishly. He remembered her chirpy voice and how she spoke to that man Ainsley.
He had to get to the bottom of this, but he couldn't let her know just yet. Trust was highly crucial in a relationship. They were already this close to marriage…
He seemed to hear the voices of the chirpy Regina and Ainsley again, clearly as if they were in front of him.
But he looked at the silent Regina in front of him and turned away.
Just what was going around in his head right now? Where did those voices come from? Was he hearing things? Or was he going mad? There were just so many possibilities in his mind that deterred him from thinking properly.
And then silence encompassed them.