Chapter 90 Crack beneath the surface
He checked his screen, and it was his Dad. He picked up.
“Hello, Dad.”
“You sounded down, are you alright?”
“Yeah, Dad, please if it's not urgent, let's talk tomorrow.”
There is nothing much to talk about. I want to meet Lucas. Invite him to dinner next weekend.”
“What? Oh I mean okay” Alex accepted even when he knew the possibility was slim.
As he cut the call, his thoughts ran to the earlier, the hug, the forehead kisses, the hand-holding. “Yes… It looked intimate.” Alex muttered.
But something about the situation nagged at him now. Lucas had tried to speak more than once. But he never gave him a listening ear.
Then an unexpected doorbell rang. Alex ignored it. It rang again.
With an irritated groan, he dragged himself up and opened the door.
“Wow,” a familiar voice drawled. “You look terrible.”
Alex frowned. “Jason?”
His younger cousin stepped in without waiting for an invitation, eyeing the whiskey bottle on the table. “Rough day huh?”
Alex scoffed and poured another drink. “Stay out of it. What do you want?”
Jason leaned casually against the wall, studying him. “I feel like spending the night and chatting with my big bro. Is it a crime now to miss my special one, hmm?”
He strode over to the fridge and picked out a soft drink. Then walked back and settled into a couch opposite him.
“Let me guess. Is this about a guy?”
Alex shot him a sharp look.
“Ah,” Jason nodded knowingly. “Definitely about a guy. Is it Lucas?”
Silence stretched between them before Alex muttered, “He has a girlfriend.”
“And?”
“And he’s been deceiving me,” Alex snapped, though the conviction in his voice wavered.
Jason crossed his arms. “Did you catch them in bed?”
“No”
“You caught them kissing each other, romantically?”
“No,” Alex responded slowly, his brain rethinking.
“Did he introduce her as his girlfriend?”
“No.”
‘I don't get it. Why did you say he has a girlfriend? Did he tell you she was?”
Alex hesitated before he responded, “…Yes.”
Jason raised a brow, thought for a while. “Did you by chance accuse him of having a girlfriend?”
Alex's eyes snapped up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, did he accept he had a girlfriend, after you accused him of having one?”
Alex’s jaw tightened. “Yes, that was right.”
Jason sighed and leaned closer from his chair. “Big bro, you’re a businessman. You don’t make decisions without investigation. Why start now?”
Alex stared into his glass, his head rumbling with a little confusion.
“You saw something,” Jason continued calmly. “But you didn’t confirm it, you reacted rashly.”
Alex’s grip on the glass loosened as he stared at Jason, the anger in him flickering into something far less certain.
“And now you’re drowning yourself in alcohol over an assumption?” Jason shook his head, unimpressed. “At least find out who the girl is. Be sure he’s actually cheating. Besides, you two just started out. You need to learn how to trust people, especially Lucas.”
The words hit harder than the whiskey and the room fell into a heavy silence.
Jason exhaled sharply. “You know what? Give me the picture of the girl you saw him with. Let me check who she is.”
Alex hesitated only a second before grabbing his phone. He logged into the restaurant’s security system, pulled up the footage, and paused at the clearest frame of Emily’s and Lucas’s faces. He zoomed in, screenshot and sent it.
“Its done.” He muttered with suspense in his voice. Then Jason’s phone buzzed almost immediately.
For the first time since the confrontation, doubt hit Alex fully hard and mercilessly.
What if she wasn’t his girlfriend?
What if I just destroyed everything?
The whiskey in his hand suddenly tasted sour. He set the glass down.
Jason clapped his shoulder lightly. “Investigate first and self-destruct later.”
A second later, Jason’s expression changed and his eyes widened in surprise.
“Wait.”
Alex’s heart skipped. “What?”
Jason stared at the screen in surprise “This is Emily. Jessica’s friend.”
Alex’s head snapped up. “You know her?”
“Not personally,” Jason replied quickly, still staring at the picture. “But Jessica introduced her once. Emily West… or something like that.”
As he spoke, he was already dialing Jessica's number.
Alex stood there, confusion mixing with a growing sense of dread. Before Alex could gather his thoughts as he heard West or something, the call connected. Immediately Jason put it in the speaker.
“Hey, Jessy,” Jason said without preamble. “I just sent you a screenshot from the footage. Do you know the guy in that clip with Emily?”
There was a little pause. Then Jessica’s voice came through clearly, slightly puzzled. “Yeah. That’s Lucas. Emily’s older brother. Her only brother, actually. Why?”
The world tilted. Alex shot to his feet so fast the chair scraped violently against the floor.
“Brother?” he breathed.
Jason slowly lowered the phone, staring at Alex as the color drained from his face.
On the other end, Jessica’s voice continued faintly, “Is there a problem?”
But Alex wasn’t listening anymore. The accusation, the anger, the breakup, the look in Lucas’s eyes when he said, “It’s over.”
His stomach dropped. “Oh goodness…” Alex whispered.
He hadn’t just overreacted.
He had just shattered the man he loved over his sister. Regret washed over him like hot water. Suddenly he started sweating. “How do I fix this,” he said walking to and fro the sitting room. I need to fix this. Jason, I've fuck up. Will he talk to me, hmm?”
Jason dropped his phone on the table, stepped closer, his voice steady but firm.
“He might not forgive you today,” he said quietly. “But there’s tomorrow. And the next. And the next. If you want him back, then you have to keep trying.”
The words ignited something desperate inside Alex. Without another thought, he grabbed his phone and dialed Lucas’s number.
It went straight to voicemail.
He tried again and again but switched off. A cold wave of panic surged through him. Instantly, he snatched his car keys from the table and strode toward the door.
“Big bro, wait!” Jason rushed after him. “You can’t drive. You’ve been drinking, you’re a bit tipsy.”
“I’m fine,” Alex snapped, yanking the door open.
“You are not fine.”
“I need to find him.” His voice cracked, raw and unfiltered. “I can’t lose him, Jason.”
Jason froze.
Alex turned, eyes red, breathing unevenly. The strong, composed businessman was gone. What stood before him was just a man unraveling.
“I love Lucas,” he admitted hoarsely. “I love him.” His hands trembled. “Oh goodness … what have I done?”
He just realized the gravity of what he had done. The weight of it crushed him all over. The accusations, the anger, the way Lucas’s face had fallen before he forced himself to say, It’s over. Alex felt like crying.
Jason softened instantly. He stepped forward and gripped Alex’s shoulders firmly.
“Big bro, you need to calm down. Listen to me,” he said calmly. “Firstly, you’re not driving like this. Secondly, panicking won’t fix it. You need to think.”
Alex dragged a hand through his hair, pacing worriedly.