Bound by Tension
81

"Uh... H-Hames..." I sat up straight, taking the phone from him. "Where did you see this from?"

"That's not important, just tell me what it's all about." The way his face had twisted into a dangerous frown was making my heart race faster.

"Uh... it's nothing important, can you just ignore it?"

"Ignore it? Ignore the fact that someone just sent a picture of you, my wife, kissing fucking Tyler?"

"That wasn't my fault. I gave him a hard slap that day."

"Then this should be another day," He yanked the phone out of my hand, clicking on another photo where Tyler and I were sitting on a bench, with my head on his chest and his arms around me. There was another photo of him placing a kiss on my forehead and many other photos of Tyler and I in other positions that might've been considered romantic.

"Who on Earth could have taken these photos?" I trembled, my head had started to throb. I thought it was all in the past and neither of us were going to see this anymore.

"I don't know, Imogen!" He barked. "All I need is an answer from you, what is this?"

"Listen, Hames... I... it... firstly, it... it was... I can explain... I..." oh no, why was I stammering?

"Don't stutter, tell me what's going on!" He angrily rose to his feet. "Why were you kissing Tyler? Why? What happened? When? Why were you with him?"

I tried to speak but my voice was stuck somewhere beneath my gut, I was thinking of how to put everything into one place.

"Is it after our marriage?" He asked and I nodded, resulting in a thundering growl from him. "Imogen," he was raising his voice and moving closer to me.

I turned my face away with my hands lifted as he raised his hand. I thought he was going to hit me but he instead raked his hair with his fingers.

My entire body was vibrating, my breath was experiencing a quivering effect and my hands were mostly doing the trembling.

"Imogen," he called in a gentle tone, sitting beside me and holding my hands. "My love, I'm sorry for yelling at you. You shouldn't be so scared in your condition." His face posed a hint of guilt. "Listen, my sweetheart, I promise you that I trust you and you know I can't bear to be mad at you. All I need is your explanation. I'm not mad at you. I trust you with my whole life, I know you didn't and can't cheat on me, right?"

I nodded.

"I'm mad at Tyler. I know this has something to do with him. He has feelings for you and he doesn't care that you're married to me. Did he force you? Did he hurt you? Did he threaten you? Please tell me!" His face became stern again. I was still trembling from how scary he looked.

"Calm down. Do you need water?" He reached for the jug on the nightstand and poured me a glass of water. "Here, have this." He brushed my hair with his fingers.

I was relieved now but my hands hadn't stopped trembling so hele the glass of water for me while I drank it.

"Please give me an explanation," he gently rubbed my back.

After taking a few breaths, I was finally able to speak properly again. "Firstly, it was a month after you were in Dubai. I went on a walk and was missing you then he asked if we could go for lunch. I agreed because I was very hungry, convincing myself that it was not a date, just as friends-"

"That manwhore doesn't deserve to be anyone's friend, especially not someone as important and elegant as you." He returned the glass to the nightstand, clenching his fists.

"He kissed me then I slapped him across the face and left."

"He deserves that and more." He added angrily.

"Secondly," I gulped, "it was when I left the day I first saw Samantha, when I left you." I continued and his frown increased. "I know it was very stupid of me but I was really heartbroken and he was walking when he saw a woman crying on the bench. He gave me the embrace I needed at the moment and I was too weak to protest against it. I was letting my pain and emotions override what was right, I lost my mind, I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to be in the arms of a man that wasn't my husband, like that. I didn't even realize he kissed my forehead. I feel so terrible right now and I'm sorry."

His fists tightened, his palm seemed to be hurting from his fingernails excavating into it.

He furiously rose to his feet, turning towards the door.

I held him back with a furrowed forehead. "Where are you going? I said I'm sorry." My heart started racing again. There was no way he was going to leave me like I had left him.

"I'm not mad at you. Tyler needs someone to smack his head for his brain to function again. How dare he kiss and embrace the woman I call my wife?"

"Please calm down. I'm equally at fault here and I apologize."

"I'll make sure he pays, he'll receive the worst beating of his life till he goes into a coma."

"Hames, stop it. He won't do it again."

"Are you trying to cover up for him?"

"Of course not. Please sit." I added more effort to pull him back to sit beside me, holding his shoulders.

"If I don't go, I'll send hefty men to go over and break his bones, every one of his fucking bones!" He sounded so serious and that scared me even more.

"Calm down and do nothing. Think of the consequences of your actions; you might get arrested and I'll have to spend the rest of my life alone as a depressed single mother. Don't make such terrible mistakes, think first." I cupped his face. "Do you know how my brain experienced dangerous sparks after seeing how he kissed you, touched you. He has no right to do that, you're mine." He held my waist.

"Why are you so obsessive?"

"I agreed that I'm obsessive and very possessive of you because I can't bear to live without. I can't stand you being with any other man, I can't even think of it, especially not that asshole, Tyler."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have seeked comfort in someone else's arms." I felt the need to apologize again, surprised that he wasn't mad at me.

"I should be mad at you but I'm not able to. It'll hurt me more to stay mad at you. How can Tyler have feelings for you? He should never cross paths with me ever again else I won't be able to control myself."

There was silence between us for a while till I was calm again and broke it, "You scared me."

"I'm very sorry. Please go to bed, I shouldn't have expressed anger in your presence." He hugged me. "I hope Tristan isn't mad at his daddy for yelling so much." He kissed my bump.

"I think he is." I smiled. "Never scare me like that again, I was going to pass out."

"I won't. I'm very sorry I did, it wasn't my intention to scare you, I'm just very mad at Tyler that he still wants a married woman." He showered tickling kisses on my face.

***

~ NIKITA ~

My palms felt sweaty as I waited in his living room, for Kade to return from wherever he went.

One of his maids strolled out of the kitchen with a tray of two cups of orange juice, handed one of the cups to me and dropped the tray on the center table.

I simply nodded, surprised at how familiar her face looked, like someone I knew in middle school.

She smiled at me then took her leave. After a few minutes, Kade strolled down the stairs and sat on the sofa across the one I sat, taking the second glass.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, I was talking to a very important person."

"Okay, no problem." I grinned. It felt like I was grinning too much so I quickly changed my facial expression to a very blank one.

"Do you have any information to pass across, like last time?"

"No."

"Oh, because I was kinda surprised to receive your message that night. By the way, you weren't present during Hames and Imogen's baby gender reveal party, I expected you to be there since you're her best friend." He took a sip of the drink. Wow, he realized my absence, this made me internally do a happy dance.

"I had to attend to something urgent." I placed one of my legs over the other. He might probably notice how hot I looked and compliment me or fall head over heels for me, who knows?

"Has-" He was interrupted by a loud knock on the door, a very aggressive one. "Why is anyone knocking so aggressively when there's the presence of a doorbell?" He said to no one in particular.

In a jiffy, a maid ran out of a room to open the door.

"I was wondering if "

I was cut off by the loud bark of a true bitch, "Kade!" If you guessed Jovi then you were totally right.

She stormed towards us with her hands tightened into balls.

What on Earth was she doing here? I thought they had broken up.

"Kade, I can't take this anymore. You have no right to break up with me, I'll scrape your skin off your body. I know it's only because of that useless..." she trailed off, scanning me from head to toe and gasped. "You!" That was a very sinister way to growl a word.

She ran to me and before I could do anything, she jumped on me, hitting me non-stop. "It's all your fucking fault, you bitch."

"Jovi!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet and quickly pulled her away from me.

I ran to stand behind him as a wall of protection against her.

"Why? She's the reason we're separated, right? I love you and she has fed you with lies you easily believed." She stormed towards me again.

I could've pushed Kade aside, rolled my hair into a rough bun and pounced on her, making sure to break every bone in that goddamn body she possessed but I decided to go with the girly side, squeaking behind Kade while holding his shoulders. It was an opportunity to touch him and be this close to him.