SOMEONE IS GETTING SLEEPY
Marked opened his eyes and whined in pain due to the chronic headache he got from the hangover.
“Shit!” He slowly got on his feet as he collapsed on the nearby sofa. He didn't recall laying on the ground last night. The last thing he recalled was him sending his daughter to bed and him gulping down the wine he held.
“Oh men.” he exclaimed as he recalled his daughter, she must have been late for school. His eyes widened in awareness as ascended the stairs to his daughter's room.
“Eunice?” He called as he stormed into the room.
Just then, realization hit him. Eunice would never oversleep on a school day.
“Oh, thank goodness I didn't wake her up.” He facepalmed himself, the need for sleep still evident in his eyes.
From his daughter, his thoughts drifted to his wife. He wondered if she walked in when he was completely drunk last night.
“That could be the reason I didn't notice her walking.” He spoke and was about to exit Eunice's room when she called his attention.
“Daddy?” Eunice called out.
“Oh baby, did I wake you up?” He slowly turned back like he had been caught red-handed.
“Maybe.” She smiled in a sleepy manner.
“Did mom come back last night?” She gave him a worried gaze, and her weak smile showed she was so sad.
He moved to her side and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
“Go back to sleep, okay? It's too early for you to be up.” His hand brushed through her hair gently and gave her an assuring smile.
“I can't sleep.” She held her daddy's hand in a protective.
“Could you put me to sleep?” Her eyes were pleading for attention. Something her mother was supposed to give. However, her mother hardly showed her affection.
“Okay, baby, I'll do that.” He sat by her side and cleared his throat.
“Would you like to hear our stories?” He spoke and his daughter's eyes lit up.
“Do you remember when you were six, and we went to the pack, and you didn't want to move on because you were afraid of a clown, and you took off running only to end up in the water fountain.”
“Yeah.” She replied, laughing, “I can still clearly recall your face.” She made a funny face that matched her father's expression that day, and both of them laughed.
“Okay dad.” she called when it was her turn to talk, “Do you remember movie night, when you suggested horror?”
“No… don't talk about it.” Dad covered his face in embarrassment, “How were you not scared?” His raised brow matched his confused face.
“I'm tough.” She displayed her muscles.
“That's my baby girl.” He kissed her forehead and carried her in his arms.
“Could you recall your face that day?” She opened her eyes in a horrifying manner and left her jaw dropped.
“You were such a handsome dad.” She teased as she yawned.
“Someone is getting sleepy.” He pulled her closer to his side.
“Yes dad, but can you stay until I sleep off?”
“Yes, anything for you, darling.” He smiled.
Moments with his daughter made him forget every problem, including that of the office.
“Do you remember the daughter-father dance?”
The memory made him chuckle.
“Yeah, we both fell butt hard on the floor and everyone clapped for us, and then we said.”
“We meant to do that…” They both yelled and laughed even more.
Tears had begun to trail down Mark's eyes and his stomach had begun to hurt.
“Oh, darling, we had so much fun.” He replied, hugging his daughter, who had already positioned herself for sleep.
“Yes, we did dad but…” she paused, “Why does mom never come with us?” Her once happy face had been filled with sadness.
“Her work requires much from her, you can't blame her, she's…”
“But you work hard too. I feel she hates me and if she had the chance, she would have wished that I had never been born.” Eunice's sadness had been affected by anger.
“Don't say that. We love you, okay?” He kissed her all over her forehead and tucked her into bed.
“Sleep some more, you need it.” He gazed at her and she nodded.
“Don't overthink again, okay?” He moved towards the door and her voice called his attention again.
“Dad, how was your meeting?”
“Fine, dear, just fine.” He exited the room to avoid any of her questions.
As soon as he left the room, all the pain he felt before came rushing back. Sure, the alcohol helped him pass out, and his daughter made him smile, but that didn't mean he wasn't pained by what he saw.
He walked towards his room, his heart thudding loudly in his chest. He didn't know how he would react if he saw her, but all he wanted to know was why she did such a thing, knowing that their daughter's mental health and their reputation would be at stake.
His hand was already on the door knob, and he took in a deep breath before opening the door. However, the room was empty, and the bed wasn't even properly arranged.
He ran his hand through his hair and brought out his cellphone from his pocket.
“No text and no calls.” He gazed at his phone and sadness washed over him.
He opened his phone and went to the contact list to look for his wife's number, which he saved as 'heartbeat.”
Indeed, she was his heartbeat, causing pain to him when she did wrong and happiness whenever she did right.
“The number you called is unavailable.” The service provider spoke, which made him flare up even more.
He kept calling and calling until he got tired.
Finally giving up, he sighed and took a seat on his bed. He looked like a frustrated husband, and his red eyes showed how exhausted he was.
“The investigator!” It suddenly dawned on him, and he scrolled through his call logs for the investigator's number.
“Hello boss?” The investigator answered respectfully after picking up the phone.
“Yeah, good morning. Do you have any update or any news about my wife's whereabouts?”
“No, sir, I stopped my investigation the moment you asked me to. Our code of conduct doesn't allow us to ignore our clients' words.” His words were straightforward.
“When last did you see her?” The phone was left on a loudspeaker, and he poured himself a glass of tequila.
“Yesterday at the five-star hotel I told you about.” He replied, his voice was like an undercover agent.
“Did you see her leave the hotel?” mark asked.
“No, boss, I just left the investigation the moment you asked me to.” He replied again, “But… I saw her with a man. Tall, fair skinned, supposedly rich.” And added.
“How do you know that?” Mark asked. Sipping his tequila.
“He came in with a polished black Porsche latest model and I felt he might be into something illegal.”
“Like drugs?” Mark asked, more concerned than before.
“I can't quite say. I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to relay anything personal. Remember to cut me off the case.” The man over the phone said.
“You can't say this. I paid you for a complete month and the month isn't over, so I choose to tell you when to stop or not. And right now, I want to know the details.” Mark knew he had the investigator conered and a smirk plastered on his lips.
“So, are you going to talk or should call the agency and tell them my investigator is being secretive with the info I hold dear.”
The Investigator sighed in frustration.
“Fine. I saw them leave at about 1:00pm, hurriedly, as though something had happened.”
“I know what happened alright.” Mark spoke to himself inwardly.
“They both left in the Porsche, which meant that your wife didn't leave with the car she came with.”
“Hmm, okay, where did they go after that?” Mark paced around the room with the tequila in his hand.
“I can't say, but they took the route going towards the North.”
“Where do you suspect they went?” Mark was trying his possible best not to snap. He held his glass in such a way that it almost broke.
“Outside the city.” Mark's face instantly turned dark, and all the hatred he had in the world fell on his wife and her new lover.
“Boss, boss,” the investigator called when he didn't hear a word from Mark.
“Are you still there?” He took the phone away from his ear and checked if the call was still ongoing.
“Yeah, I'm here.” Mark answered. The truth was that he had drifted into thought for a little while, and it was the investigator's voice that brought him back to reality.
“What do you insist I do now?” The investigator asked Mark.
Mark had taken a seat on the wooden chair in his room. His right hand was placed on his chin while the left held the glass of tequila as he thought about the next move to make.
“Obviously, it's certain that my wife is having an affair with someone else.”
“We can't be certain boss, it…” Mark interrupted.
“Don't worry, I am… I know my wife. This is what you're going to do. You'll keep track of that man, especially. I need to know everything about his business, his whereabouts, and his background. Everything about him.”