Chapter 3 - The dinner party.
"Cara! Are you done?"
"Just a minute."
Cara said as she fixed her second earrings in her ear while looking at the mirror with serious concentration.
"Please! We're going to be late and it's all because of you."
Alex shouted from the other room as he paced around the room checking his watch constantly.
"Calm down Alex. I'm almost done."
She said as she reapplied a fresh coat of lipstick on her dry lips and smacked her lips.
She looked around and felt she still wasn't ready yet. She picked up her purse and loaded it with essentials like wipes, lipstick and her credit card.
She had on a strapless fitted red gown with a a high slit and stiletto heels with it. Her hair had been straightened to perfection and it fell in dark brown waves that looked like a melted chocolate river cascading down her back. She had kept her makeup subtle and light, leaving her red lips to be the only bold statement on her face.
She picked up her purse and walked out of her room. Alexander was pacing up and down the living room angrily until Cara finally came out of the room
"You better not make us late."
Alexander murmured as he started walking towards the door.
Cara rolled her eyes in annoyance, he was constantly over thinking everything and worrying too much.
"We're not and even if we are, it's a family dinner! They won't be mad at us."
Alexander was still frowning as he walked out of the door without even glancing at Cara.
"You know I don't like being late."
He said as they walked out of her apartment and into the hallways.
It had been almost two weeks after the crazy incident and Cara had done her very best to forget the incident. Even though it was hard, she still made an effort to forget it. She had thrown herself into work and gave little thought to it even though it still kept coming back to her.
It wasn't something she could easily forget and every day her conscience told her she was wrong for keeping such a secret but revealing the secret would not only bring shame to her family, worse still, it was going to be devastating. Cara knew Nicholas was going to stay away, not only was he going to stay away, she knew he would most likely keep his mouth shut about what was happening and that was what Cara was hoping for.
Alexander on the other hand had been focused on rekindling their relationship and he wanted them to move up their wedding. Cara was still guilty and nervous whenever she was next to him. Sometimes she felt as if she should come clean and tell him what happened but she was so scared about what he might think of her that she decided to keep it to herself.
Calling off the wedding wasn't also an option they could explore, at least not when there was an agreement on ground and there were debts to pay.
Although her conscience didn't let her rest, it kept gnawing at her that she cheated on her fiance. Cara had no one else to blame but herself. She knew how she was with alcohol and she shouldn't have invited Nicholas up to her room.
It was almost two weeks and she had only been able to remember only bits and snippets from the night. She remembered kissing Nicholas first, then remembered how they tore each other's clothes.
After that, there was nothing else she could remember, except for the fact that she was moaning under his touch while he entered her and that was where her memory stopped she couldn't remember anything after that except the morning when she woke up.
"We're here."
Alex said as they stopped at his parents' house. The Greenes lived in a beautiful gated mansion that was twice as big as the one Cara grew up in, it had everything from perfectly manicured lawns, angel statues and a large rectangular pool.
Two days ago, Mr Thomas Greenes celebrated his birthday and he was hosting a dinner with a gathering of his family and a few friends to celebrate his birthday.
Ever since she heard about the dinner she had been nervous because she knew she would see Nicholas again, although she had been mildly relieved when Alexander told her that it was likely that Nicholas wouldn't attend since he was out of the country.
She had prayed and hoped that it was true, because one thing that she was dreading above all was a confrontation.
They both walked out of the car and they walked towards the house, they were welcomed by the family butler first, who took their coats and led them into the foyer.
"Cara! Alexander! Oh it's wonderful to see you two. We were beginning to think you weren't coming!"
Alexander's mother Angela Greene exclaimed as she gave Cara and Alex a hug simultaneously. Mrs Angela Greene was a very pretty woman, looking at her smooth pleasant face and her raven black hair, Cara concluded that Nicholas looked a lot more like his mother than his father.
"Oh we were. Cara made us late."
Alex murmured as he kissed his mother's cheeks.
Cara gave Alexandra a look as she walked into the main living room with his mother next to her.
"It's nice to see you both."
"Oh! This is so beautiful, what a lovely set up."
Cara exclaimed as she looked around the house studying the exquisite decorations that was not over the top but managed to be very elegant.
Mrs Greene smiled with pride welling in her chest.
"I had a long talk with the planner about what I wanted and I'm so glad she listened to me."
She commented as she looked around the living room with swelling proud.
"And thank you! I'm glad you like it. Your parents are here. Why don't you go say hi to them."
Mrs Greene pointed to the far end of the room where her parents were in a deep conversation with another people and she nodded.
"I'll be right back Alex."
She said as she slipped away from him and walked towards her parents. She quickly scanned the living room for signs of Nicholas and heaved a heavy sigh of relief when it appeared that he wasn't going to be around for the celebration.
"Cara!"
Her mother exclaimed as she stretched her arms wide to hug her daughter.
"Hey Mum."
Cara said as he mum enveloped her into a bone crushing hug. She had to pry her mother's hands off her.
"Mum that's enough."
"Now now. Don't crush my little girl, let Daddy have his turn."
Her father said while chuckling as Cara went over to give him a hug.
"Daddy..." She said as she hugged him tighter, she had always been a Daddy's girl since she was little.
"How are you doing? It's been so long."
Her mother said as she gently touched Cara's hair and Cara rolled her eyes.
"It's only been two weeks."
"Yes, more than enough time for us to meet you. How's Alex?"
Her mother asked and Cara showed them Alex who was talking to his father at the other end of the room.
"He's good. And you? How have you been?"
She asked as she looked at her father. she was directing the question to him and he knew what she meant.
"Oh, everything is fine. So far, Thomas and his son are keeping up with the agreement. We've been having some meetings, the company's going to be fine."
"Oh thank God!" Cara said as she heaved a sigh of relief and her mother smiled with her.
"Alex mentioned something about you not wanting to move up the wedding, what was that about?"
Her mother asked and Cara shot a glare in Alex's direction even though he was too engrossed in a conversation to have noticed.
She didn't want her parents to worry too much and she knew that her mother was already very worried about with the concern lacing her voice
"Mum, don't worry about that. We're fine."
She said as she massaged her mother's shoulder but her mother still looked largely unsure.
"Are you sure? Is there a fight or an argument between you two?"
Cara sighed, even if there was something going on between the two of them, her parents wouldn't let her do anything about it, the only thing they would tell her to do about it is to suck it up. They would also tell her to try as much as possible to work out her differences with Alex and a whole bunch of other stuffs.
"She already said nothing is going on between them Catherine. Stop worrying so much. She's probably stressed with work and the wedding planning."
Her father said and Cara smiled apologetically. At least he understood what was going on.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Devine."
Alex said as she crept up next to Cara and wrapped his arms around her waist, Cara stiffened first before relaxing into his touch. She didn't know why he liked to surprise her by touching her when she was unaware, she didn't find it romantic, she always found it annoying.
"Oh hello Alexander. How are you doing?"
Her mother asked with her smile and Alex returned the smile with a cocky grin of his as he wrapped his hand around Cara's waist possessively.
"Oh I'm good. There's been a lot going on at the office so you can imagine how stressful it can be."
Her Dad nodded in approval.
"True, I understand, it's no easy feat being a CEO."
Alex nodded eagerly, he always liked it when people made reference to his CEO status.
"Yes, there's a lot of work to do, not to mention I have a lot of plans I'm working on."
"Just always make time to rest so work won't take too much of a toll on you. Trust me I'm talking from experience."
Her mother said as she threw a glance at Cara's Dad who in turn rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry Mrs Devine, that's why I have Cara, she's always there for me."
Alex said and Cara forced herself to smile. After they mingled with the other guests, they gathered round the living room for a speech and a toast by a close friend of Mr Thomas Greene. Cara was starting to relax a little when it became increasingly clear that Nicholas was not going to make it to the dinner party but she thought wrong.
While they were all busy cheering and clinking their glass, Nicholas Greene sauntered in with his date and stayed at the back of the living room till when the toast was done.
He was unarguably late and it was all because it had taken him an unreasonably long amount of time to find a date. The girl next to him was one he had met on only two or three occasions, she had seemed elated at the fact that she was invited to his family's dinner and he had promised her another date if she was well behaved at the dinner party.
The first person he had spotted in the crowd was his brother Alex in front of Eddie Burne. Their father's friend who was making his usual long and boring speeches. Nicholas always called the man a walking sleeping pill. Everything he did bored him.
It wasn't very hard to find Alex's beautiful fiancée Cara next to him. She was wearing an eye-catching red gown that deliciously clung to every curve and dip of her body. Her chocolate brown hair was glossy and long and her skin looked radiant from afar. He doubted that she had seen him and even from afar, staring at her was already making him nervous.
He had never forgotten that night, no matter how much he tried to it was always a constant replay in his head. Some parts about that night was filled with holes and the memory was hazy at best but he didn't stop him from thinking about it all day.
One of the reasons he was so hesitant to attend his father's birthday dinner had been because of Cara.
Few minutes later after the clinking of glasses and the boring speech was over, Cara turned to leave for the dining room. She looked up and found Nicholas standing at the other end of the room and her heart skipped a beat.