Chapter 174 043
THE bar was dimly lit, the kind of place that swallowed secrets whole and washed them down with alcohol. Low music hummed in the background, something jazzy and slow, as if it knew men came here not just to drink but to unload the weight of their lives. Charles sat slouched on a leather stool, a bottle of beer already half-empty in front of him. Marcus leaned back comfortably, one arm draped over the back of his chair, while Julian sat opposite them, elbows on the table, eyes sharp and curious.
They weren’t with women tonight. No laughter pitched too high, no perfume lingering in the air. Just three men, drinks sweating on the table, and a story begging to be told.
Marcus was the one who brought it up.
“So,” he said casually, lifting his glass, “let’s talk about this morning.”
Charles groaned immediately.
“Ah, come on, man. Don’t start.”
Julian’s head snapped up.
“This morning?” He glanced between them. “What happened this morning?”
Marcus smirked, clearly enjoying himself.
“You really don’t know? He didn't tell ya?” he laughed.
Julian shook his head slowly.
“No. But judging from Charles’s face, this should be good.”
Charles took a long gulp of his drink, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and muttered,
“You are enjoying this too much.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Marcus replied, chuckling. He turned fully to Julian. “So guess who showed up at my office first thing this morning? Like, early-early. No appointment. No warning.”
Julian raised an eyebrow.
“Charles?”
“Bingo.”
Julian laughed. “What for?”
Marcus leaned forward, lowering his voice as if sharing classified information.
“He came to beg for my house keys.”
Julian blinked.
“Your house keys?”
Charles lifted his hands defensively.
“Alright, before you twist it—”
Julian cut him off.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He looked at Marcus again. “Your house? As in the same house he has been parading around as his own?”
Marcus nodded.
“The very one.”
Julian burst out laughing, slapping the table.
“No way! You are kidding me!”
“I wish I was,” Marcus said, laughing too. “Man walked into my office like his life depended on it.”
Julian turned to Charles, eyes sparkling with disbelief.
“Bro… you are still doing that?”
Charles sighed heavily.
“I didn’t plan to. It just… happened.”
Julian scoffed.
“That is what you said the last time. And the time before that.”
Marcus laughed.
“He even had the nerve to say, ‘Guy, please, I just need it for today.’”
Julian whistled.
“This Amelia thing is still going on like that?”
Charles looked away, jaw tightening.
“I needed money, bro.”
Julian leaned back, crossing his arms.
“Ah. There it is.”
Marcus lifted his glass again.
“Exactly. He didn’t even pretend it was for love.”
Charles shot him a look.
“Don’t make me sound heartless. It’s not that deep.”
“You are heartless,” Julian said with a grin. “But continue.”
Charles exhaled and finally spoke, his voice lower now.
“She insisted. I asked her for some money, just help you know, and she said before she would send anything, she wanted to come over. Spend a day. Cook. Play house.”
Julian shook his head slowly.
“Let me guess. ‘Act like a wife.’”
Charles glanced at him sharply.
“She said that.”
Julian chuckled darkly.
“Of course she did. That woman is predictable.”
Marcus laughed.
“Word for word. He told me exactly that.”
Julian took a sip of his drink, eyes narrowing.
“So you ran straight to Marcus.”
“What choice did I have?” Charles snapped. “I couldn’t take her to my place, you know.”
Marcus raised a brow.
“Your place that doesn’t exist?”
“Exactly,” Charles shot back.
Julian laughed again.
“Unbelievable. And Amelia still thinks that house is yours?”
Charles hesitated for half a second too long.
Julian caught it.
“Oh my God. She still doesn’t know?”
Marcus sighed theatrically.
“That was my shock too.”
Julian leaned forward.
“Bro… I’m shocked, but not shocked. I just didn’t think you would still be playing her at that level.”
Charles rubbed his face.
“I wasn’t planning to. I swear. I thought she would just send the money and that would be it. But she insisted on coming over. Said she wanted to ‘see where I live’ again.”
Marcus chuckled.
“And that was when panic set in.”
Charles nodded reluctantly.
“Exactly.”
Julian shook his head, laughing under his breath.
“You are dangerous.”
“Don’t judge me,” Charles muttered. “You have done worse.”
Julian lifted his hands.
“Hey, I never pretended another man’s house was mine for this long.”
Marcus raised his glass.
“Cheers to that.”
They clinked bottles, laughter spilling between them.
“So,” Julian said after a moment, “did it work?”
Charles frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Did she send the money?”
Charles took a deep drink before answering.
“Yes.”
Julian let out a low whistle.
“Damn.”
Marcus shook his head.
“See why I said yes? Man was desperate.”
Julian smirked.
“Still, Marcus, you are enabling him.”
Marcus shrugged.
“I warned him. Told him to take care of my house and not let anything crazy happen.”
Charles nodded quickly.
“And I did. I swear.”
Marcus snorted.
“Until another woman showed up at the door, right?”
Charles froze.
Julia's smile faded.
“Wait— what?”
Julian’s eyes widened.
“Hold on. Something happened?”
Charles groaned, dropping his head back.
“That is a whole other mess.”
Julian leaned forward sharply.
“What do you mean, another woman?”
Charles stared at the ceiling.
“Marcus’s girlfriend.”
Julian cursed under his breath.
“You are joking.”
Then he burst out laughing.
“No way! She showed up?”
Charles nodded.
“In person. Heavy makeup. Short dress. Loud mouth.”
Julian laughed harder.
“Oh, I would have paid to see that.”
Marcus ran a hand through his hair.
“So Amelia saw her?”
“Unfortunately,” Charles said quietly.
Julian’s laughter slowed.
“That is bad.”
“She thought the girl was my mistress or something,” Charles continued. “There was shouting. Almost a fight.”
Julian groaned. “Jesus Christ.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Now that is spiraling.”
Charles looked at them both.
“I didn’t expect any of this. I swear. I just needed money.”
Julian leaned back, studying him.
“At what cost, though?”
Charles didn’t answer immediately. He lifted his bottle, stared into it, then drank.
Marcus broke the silence.
“You know this can’t go on forever.”
Charles scoffed. “I know.”
Julian added,
“Especially with Amelia. She’s not stupid.”
Charles laughed humorlessly.
“You should have seen her face today. She was angry.”
Marcus raised a brow.
“Angry enough to leave?”
“No,” Charles said quickly. “But angry enough to demand I talk to you. About leaving your stuff around. About bringing women over.”
Julian laughed.
“Ahhh! The irony.”
Marcus chuckled despite himself.
“So she is starting to notice cracks.”
Charles nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
Julian lifted his glass.
“Man, you are playing a dangerous game.”
Charles sighed.
“I know. But right now, I’m surviving.”
Marcus clinked his glass against Charles’s.
“To survival, then.”
Julian followed suit.
“And to lies that don’t explode too soon.”
They laughed, the sound rough and edged, the kind of laughter that came from men who knew they were walking on thin ice but refused to step back.
As the drinks kept coming and the night deepened, their laughter grew louder, but beneath it sat something uneasy, an unspoken awareness that sooner or later, everything they joked about tonight would come knocking, demanding its due.