Chapter 23

(Half an hour ago)
Isabelle put down her phone. She was in the car with Joyce.
“Did your husband message you?” she asked and she nodded while nipping her bottom lip.
"He wants to see me tonight.”
"Why are you ignoring his calls? Don’t you miss him? You have been away for a few years," her friend reminded her with a slight frown.
She sighed, "I do but he needs to have more patience. He should learn how to wait. He has to change his condescending attitude. Anyway things between us will go back to normal eventually.”
"Your hot husband is not a patient man,” Joyce said with a raised brow.
She knew it perfectly. She hadn't told Isabelle about Luke's asking for her location three years ago. She didn't want to cause a rift between them since she promised her friend that she won’t tell Luke her whereabouts. She knew how strong Luke's feelings were for Isabelle but he didn't tell her yet since he probably didn't know how. And she was betting her life that he hadn’t had fallen in love until her. She smiled when she turned the car to the left. They were near Aliyah’s place. She was one of her new friends she met after Isabelle’s departure. They were schoolmate in Sta. Teresita too and she organized the bachelorette party.
"I just hope there is no male stripper at your party,” Isabelle said with a sigh.
"Aliyah said we will just be drinking and afterwards they will give me presents," Joyce replied as they entered the building's parking.
Isabelle didn’t tell Luke about the hen's party. He would go berserk thinking that there was a male stripper. She wasn’t only thinking about his anger. She just didn’t feel comfortable having such a performer. She was still conservative when it comes to other things. Her looks and some aspects of her personality might have changed except for that. She would never forget all the good values her grandmother instilled in her.
There were about eight women in the unit. Oceans of finger food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages were on the table. Aside from Aliyah, she knew two of the women.
"Wow Belle! You look so pretty and sophisticated! I hardly recognized you! " Aliyah complimented her.
"Well she should look really hot! She is after all Luke Contrero’s wife!" Dinah, Joyce’s cousin said with a giggle.
The other women gasped.
"OMG! You are his wife?! Wow!" one of the females exclaimed.
Isabelle just smiled at them while they giggled and made some giddy sounds.
"How is it being a very hot billionaire's wife? Goodness! Lucky you girl! We are so jealous! I wish I were in your shoes!" Aileen said.
She almost sighed heavily. This had been a problem for her before. The mention of her husband's name made women drool and felt giddy. She almost sighed again when she imagined their reaction once they saw her husband in person especially now that he was even hotter. She felt a pang of jealousy. She balled her hands on her sides to stop herself from showing her true feelings. She just shrugged her shoulders but didn't say anything.
"I saw him once in a bar a few months ago. He is immensely hot! He is already good-looking on photos but I have to say that he looked better in person! He is hunky, tall and so yummy! One of my friends wanted to talk to him but he seemed to be a snob! We were all hesitant to approach him and talk to him so we just feasted our eyes on him. We even transferred to a table nearer to theirs,” Dinah sighed while the others made sounds of envy.
“Oh I would have gone to him and had a little chat! I won’t miss such an opportunity!” one of them commented and the rest agreed.
Maybe Joyce noticed that she became quieter than usual so she diverted the topic.
"Let's have more alcohol girls! Help yourself with the food too!" she told the others to distract them.
The women started gathering around the table.
Joyce poked Isabelle’s side and whispered,” Don’t tell me you are jealous!” she joked.
She pouted and said, "I was just surprised to know that he frequently went to bars while I was gone.”
"Duh? You are over-reacting! Your husband is a businessman so it is just normal that he goes out with his clients!”
She knew that but she couldn’t help feeling jealous. She got Joyce's glass of wine then gulped the contents to stop herself from making a comment. She didn’t like it but she felt territorial like Luke. She hated the thought of women drooling over her husband. She was being unreasonable but that was how she felt.
"Come on let’s get more drinks!” she told Joyce so she could forget what she was feeling and thinking.
She proceeded to the table and tried every booze on the table. Alcohol might help her feel better. She wanted to enjoy her first hen party. She should not despise the women at the party just because they found Luke attractive . The alcohol would make her feel less edgy. She was relieved that the topic changed as the other women drank and tried the food.
After a few minutes Aliyah got their attention.
"Listen up girls! I have to get your phones! The party is about to start and we aren’t allowed to take photos much worse videos so give me your phones now!”
The others made sounds of delight before handing their cellphones.
Frowning, Isabelle asked Joyce without the others hearing, “Why aren’t we allowed to take pictures and videos?”
Joyce just shook her head then got her phone too without answering her.
"Let’s just do what she said. Maybe it’s a good idea since some of us might strip from too much alcohol or would do some inappropriate things,” Dinah said and giggled.
She had no choice but to hand her phone to Aliyah too since the others did it without complaining.
“Thanks for being cooperative ladies! Don't worry this is for our own safety! Some of us have boyfriends and husbands and we don’t want any conflicts or break-ups!" she announced with a beam.
Everyone laughed except for Isabelle. She got a bit worried. What she thought was probably right. She wanted to leave but she wasn’t sure if she could still back out.
"Joyce, my good friend, I arranged and planned this bachelorette party for you since I know that you have been wanting a gift like this! Your parents were strict and you don’t have this in Sta. Teresita.”
The other attendees cheered her on.
"Go Aliyah!! Go! Go! Bring it on! " one of them hollered.
“Hush girls! Let’s have a toast for our friend's few days of being single! This party is for you Joyce and for us too! Tonight all of us are single! No party pooper allowed! Let’s all drink! Bottoms up! Let the party begin! " Aliyah announced before raising her glass and drinking the content.
They all gulped their booze including Isabelle. She didn’t want to be a spoilsport. This was once in a lifetime and she was the bestfriend of the bride-to-be.
Aliyah filled her glass and Dinah’s. The alcohol was almost touching the rim of their glasses. She was now feeling light-headed and started to lose her inhibitions after her third drink. She was giggling with the others. After a few moments, the door opened and a hunky man came in. Everyone made some noise of excitement. She was expecting a male stripper but his sight still surprised her. But it was only for a few seconds before she started to loosen up. The booze was working after all. She told herself that it would be her first and last time to attend such a wild party. The male stripper was good-looking too. He was in a denim jacket with a white shirt inside.
"Girls! Let’s all meet Aaron! He is our stud for tonight! You are free to do what you like with him! You have my blessing! I paid a lot of money to him so no worries! !" Aliyah said which made the other women scream from joy including Joyce.
Isabelle didn’t scream but she grinned and shook her head slightly. She was a bit drunk but she won’t do anything to the man that could anger Luke. She would just watch.
Joyce was asked to sit on a chair which was placed at the center of the living room. She even covered her eyes playfully as the man started to sway to the music while going around her. The others cheered when Aron started to remove his clothes. He took off his jacket first and handed it to Dinah who was giggling. His shirt was next and he gave it to Aliyah. He handed his jeans to Joyce. Now the girls were screaming like crazy since he was only in his black briefs. Isabelle was giggling with them but she was not looking at the man. She had her eyes on the girls who were cheering happily. She felt if she looked at Aaron, it was like cheating on Luke. Besides, her husband was way hotter than the male stripper. She only wanted to feast her eyes on him which she felt would be very soon. She knew that he couldn't wait to kiss and touch her too. She felt giddier just thinking about him and how they would pleasure each other. She was pulled back to the present when the noise intensified. It was a good thing that the walls were soundproof. She saw Aliyah kissed the man on the lips and Aileen hugged him from behind. Everyone was having a wonderful time while she started to walk towards the table with drinks. She needed more booze. She couldn’t do what the others were doing to Aaron. She was after all still very old-fashioned. She was caught by surprise when Aliyah pulled her and made her sit on the chair which Joyce was occupying moments ago. Her mouth was slightly open from shock.
"Go Aaron! Dance for Belle!" came Dinah’s voice.
Aaron’s smile became a grin. She wasn’t aware that he felt lucky to dance for her. She had no idea that the man found her to be the prettiest in the room. He started dancing in front of her. Since she drank more than she was used to, after a while, she also began to giggle like the rest. She just remained sitting though with her hands on her lap.
"Touch his abs Belle!" Aileen shouted.
Her eyes widened in disbelief because Aaron moved closer so his abdomen was a few inches from her face. She raised her hands to push him from her. She turned her head to the other side to avoid looking at him. Then Aaron was suddenly pulled away from her with a lot of force before she heard a very angry curse. Luke punched the stripper on the face. The women screamed but didn't leave the room. She on the other hand was frozen from surprise.
"YOU F*CK*SS!!" her husband cursed before hitting Aaron again.
"Luke stop!!" Joyce yelled.
When the other females realized who the angry man was, they stopped screaming. They stared at Luke in awe. Then she heard Luis’ voice asking him to stop. He came from behind him. Luke furiously pushed Aaron to his bodyguard.
"Throw that bastard out !!" he ordered savagely and of course Luis obeyed him.
The women were quiet while witnessing everything. One thing was obvious though, they were hungry for her husband. They had already forgotten how he hit poor Aaron. They were all gawking at him. She was jealous but she couldn’t stop them from admiring Luke. Her husband looked really hot in his business suit minus the jacket. His face and neck were red but he looked more attractive. He was now walking threateningly towards her. She felt that the women had stopped breathing as they anticipated what was about to happen. The music also stopped. The silence of the room and the way her husband was walking and looking at her as he came closer, caused her to swallow as fear engulfed her. His anger now was even greater compared to the last time she told him her conditions at the hotel. Suddenly she felt the effect of alcohol left her system. Luke was really pissed off. Though she wasn’t doing anything wrong, in his book, she was caught red-handed. Trouble alert!
He was now in front of her. His mouth was barely opening when he spoke, "What the f*ck is that?!" he hissed.
She felt her heart was about to come out as it beat so hard and quick.
"B-Babe..." she called in a very small voice.
Luke snorted. He was furious as hell. Seeing his wife touched another man's body while she tried to avoid him, her husband , made him want to be extremely violent. And she hadn't called him babe since she got back to the country. And now she called him babe out of fear?
THAT IS JUST BULL!! His mind screamed.
He grabbed her arms to pull her up. Everyone in the room were hardly breathing while they were all looking at them .
"I could break your lovely neck for letting an almost naked man dance in front of you! And you fucking touched him!" he furiously accused her.
He didn't seem to care that there were other people in the room.
" I-I w-was ppushing him from me..." she explained nervously.
He pulled her closer to him, "Why didn't you just f*cking ask me to do that?! Is that what you want! SHIT!!" he cursed. His voice was thunderous.
"N-no! I-I didn't know..."
She wasn’t able to finish her sentence when he pushed her none too gently onto the chair. His eyes never leaving hers as he began to loosen his tie then unbutton his shirt.
"W-what are you doing?" she shrieked and threw the females in the unit a glance. They were all wide eyed as they excitedly stared at Luke. Some of them even began walking closer to them for a better view.
"If you like watching a man strip for you then I will be the one to do it! " he said coldly before taking his shirt off.
The women gasped and some of them released giddy sounds when they saw Luke’s magnificent torso. She couldn't believe that he would do such a thing. She wanted to poke their eyes including Joyce’s. She hated the fact that her own best friend seemed to be also drooling over Luke.
"NO!" she said angrily.
The women screamed in delight when he started to unzip his pants.