Chereads / BILLIONAIRE'S BETRAYAL'S REDEMPTION / Chapter 13 - The Lounge

Chapter 13 - The Lounge

Ariella stands and waits anxiously for Duncan to pick her up. When he arrives, they drive together to the Lovry Lounge where Scarlett and Asher were reportedly spotted. Upon arrival, Ariella marches inside with determination, scanning the dance floor and the surrounding tables, but she finds no trace of Asher and Scarlett. 

Duncan, trying to keep up with her, says, "Maybe they're not here. It was either a false alarm or they've already left."

Ariella shakes her head, her voice firm. "No, I know they're here. They must be here. I can feel it"

"What do you plan to do when you find them?" Duncan asks.

"Just let me find them first," Ariella answers, her eyes narrowing as she heads toward the private rooms.

Duncan follows her closely, continuing to voice his concerns. "Is this really necessary?"

Ariella ignores him, her focus undeterred as she opens the first private room. Inside, she sees people sitting, drinking, and dancing. She closes the door and moves to the second room, where she finds a couple kissing, at first she is shocked but settles her heartbeat when she realises they are not who she is looking for. Frustrated, she closes the door and heads to the third room. Duncan, sensing her growing desperation, grabs her hand to stop her.

"Are you seriously going to open all the doors here?" he asks.

Ariella looks pointedly at Duncan's hand holding hers. With a firm gaze, she silently communicates her displeasure. Duncan sighs and releases her hand, raising his hands in surrender. "Fine, do whatever you want," he says, stepping back and letting Ariella continue her search.

Undeterred, Ariella opens the third room and finds it empty. She moves to the fourth door, hoping that this will be the one. Her heart pounds in her chest as she grips the handle, ready to confront whatever lies behind it.

Ariella opens the fourth door but there's still nobody there. She goes to the last fifth door and finds people celebrating what looks like a birthday party. She closes the door, apologizing, "Sorry," and stands there, feeling lost.

"Where could they be?" she wonders aloud.

Duncan looks at her and says, "You do realize that Asher is a snob?"

Ariella looks at him, confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means he wouldn't just hang out with regular people. He'd be in the VIP private rooms," Duncan explains.

"There are VIP private rooms?" she asks, suprised.

"Of course. Upstairs."

"Why didn't you say that before?" Ariella chastises him as she regains her composure and determination, heading quickly up the stairs.

They're not in the first door. They're not in the second door. But the third door is the lucky one. When she opens it, she finds Asher sitting next to Scarlett, but there are more people inside. Stephen Summers and Devon Townes are there with them.

Stephen Summers and Devon Townes are Asher's best friends. These three men come from the top richest families in the country, Asher being the wealthiest of the three. Ariella and Stephen don't get along because Stephen was always Team Scarlett. When Asher wanted to marry Ariella, Stephen kept urging him that Scarlett wasn't dead and would come back one day. But Asher had already come to terms with Scarlett being gone and wanted to move on. So when Asher and Ariella got married, Stephen held a grudge against her and never liked her from the get go.

Four pair of eyes turn towards them, as they all look at her and Duncan in surprise.

"Ariella," Asher says in surprise, standing up from Scarlett's side. Scarlett looks at her with disdain, Stephen glares angrily, and Devon remains nonchalant, acting unbothered by their sudden appearance.

Asher moves closer to her. "Ariella, what are you doing here?"

"I came for you," Ariella answers defiantly, trying to read the room. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be having dinner with me, but you were seen coming in here with Scarlett."

"Oh, Stephen thought it would be a good idea for us to hang out with Scarlett. You know, the four of us grew up together, and we thought it would help her feel more comfortable, feel at home." Asher explains, a bit defensive. "What are you doing out of the house? Shouldn't you be resting? I thought the doctor said you should be resting and not running around at night."

"I've had enough rest. What I want is my husband's attention," Ariella retorts, her voice filled with frustration and hurt.

Stephen interjects, "Should you be having your marital discussions out in public like this?"

"Should you be interfering in other people's marriage discussions in public?" Ariella shouts back at Stephen.

"Okay, okay, hold on. We were just having fun here before you barged in and made everybody feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, are you feeling uncomfortable now, Stephen? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Ariella shouts, her anger rising. "Because you should be feeling uncomfortable. Hanging out with a married man and this...

," she says, motioning towards Scarlett.

Scarlett interjects, "Okay, stop it, stop it, stop it, guys. All I wanted today was to just hang out with my friends like the old times and have fun. This is not what I had in mind when I wanted us to hang out."

The four pairs of eyes stare at Ariella and Duncan, standing on the other side of the room by the door. The two groups separated frtom each other, with Ariella and Asher looking at each other and drawing a line. 

Asher stares at Duncan like he hadn't noticed him until everybody stared at them and asks, "Duncan, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay away from my wife? Ariella, didn't I tell you to stay away from Duncan? What the hell are the two of you doing here together at this hour?"

Before Ariella can answer, Duncan beats her to it. "Don't start blaming me. I was doing you a favor."

"A favor?" Asher asks incredulously.

"Yes, a favor. I found her calling an Uber to come here and I felt bad for her condition. I thought it would not look good for you if she came here all alone with no one to look out for her. So I offered to drive her here because she was determined to come here and find you doing this.... whatever this is."

Asher leaves Ariella's side and walks towards his brother. "What do you mean by this…..? What's in your mind? Come on, say it. I know you want to."

"You want to hear what I think?" Duncan says, "Are you sure? Can you handle it, big brother?"

"Spit it out," Asher says, going toe to toe with his younger brother.

"I think it's disgusting and I'm appalled that the Blackwell's golden child, married with a pregnant wife, is out here with his mistress, running around with her, showing love for her and kicking his own wife out of the house while he brings in the mistress and stays with her inside their matrimonial house. Very, very low, disgusting, and not worthy of a gentleman."

"What did you just say to me?" Asher asks, grinding out the words through his teeth. Scarlett shouts from the back of the room. "Did you just call me a mistress?"

"I said exactly what I said. And you're all disgusting."

"Did you say I kicked my wife out of the house?" Asher asks, his voice rising with anger. "Are you the one who went to the media and told them that I kicked my wife out of the house?"

"I wouldn't do that, but if the shoe fits—" Duncan begins, but before he can finish his sentence, Asher hits him hard.

The room erupts in chaos. Stephen and Devon rush to separate the brothers, while Ariella stands frozen, tears streaming down her face.

"Duncan, stop!" Ariella yells, trying to pull him away from the escalating fight.

Asher, still furious, shouts, "You have no right to speak about my marriage like that! You don't know anything!"

"And you don't know what it's like to be married to someone who disrespects you every single day," Duncan retorts, wiping the blood from his lip.