Chapter 3 3. Caught

Back in the lounge room, Chris handed Zack another towel which Zack used to rub his wet but now clean hair.

Zack had taken a shower and changed out of his work clothes into simpler clothes, which consisted of a white tee and blue jeans.

"You will have to take a proper shower after getting home. I think it would take a few days for the smell to get off," Chris complained. "Who orders food like that anyway? Can you believe they made a soup out of garlic?"

"How am I supposed to continue working smelling like this? And I was hoping Emilia and I would get to eat dinner together ," Zack grunted in annoyance.

He smelled the dampened towel which now smelled of garlic before throwing it on a nearby couch and, using his fingers, tussled his hair.

"I could never understand why people cheat on their spouses. Especially the ones they made vows to," Zack shook his head. "Because it's fun?" Chris grinned.

"It's my fault, the whole scene that was caused, and what my wife did to you." A voice came, making both Zack and Chris turn their heads towards the door, and it was none other than the cheating husband.

"What brings you here?" Zack asked the man.

"I stayed behind to apologize and take responsibility for what happened earlier. I know you were just trying to do your job, so I am sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," Chris folded his arms over his chest and looked at the man squarely, but the man ignored him and went over to Zack.

"I happened to overhear your conversation just now, actually. Five years ago, if I saw anyone cheating on their partner, I would have cursed them to the ends of the earth," the man sighed, his eyes looking sad. "But now, it's only moments like that I'm able to find peace. Samantha and I were going on vacation next week, and even that is ruined now," the man put his hand in the pocket of his suit before bringing out an envelope. "I also overhead something about you wanting to have dinner with your girlfriend, I am sure she will appreciate this," he extended an envelope towards Zack. "I hope this makes up for it."

"If you don't want to be with your wife anymore, why not divorce her, then you can date anyone freely. And please, I don't want that, I was doing my job anyway."

"I wish it was that easy. But please, I implore you take this, else it will go to waste," the man insisted.

Zack was about to say no again, but Chris beat him to it and snatched the envelope away from the man. "Someone has to pay for the emotional damage," Chris stated while waving the envelope in the air.

The man nodded grimly and walked out with his head down. "I can't believe he tipped you, and why is the envelope so flat?" Chris rubbed the envelope between the tip of his fingers, but Zack was already feeling pity for the man who looked really sad.

Was the man the bad person in the relationship or did he end of with a bad partner? Zack wondered. Just then, the manager of the restaurant, Mr. Alfred, a 50-year-old man came in.

"I hope you accept his apology, Zack, Smith is a very good man I promise," Mr. Alfred told Zack.

"It's not like he dumped the soup on me anyway," Zack shrugged, taking the envelope from Chris. He opened the envelope and peeked into it's contents, his eyes widening. "Hey, what's in there?" Chris asked him.

"I think he gave me the best idea to celebrate this year's anniversary," Zack smiled.

"That's great," Mr. Alfred patted Zack on the back. "Why don't you take the rest of the night off? I don't want you serving my customers with that smell anyway," he said, wrinkling his nose.

"I appreciate it, sir," Zack said happily, putting his coat on before saying bye to the two and leaving, Even though Mr. Alfred was his boss, Zack liked the man for his kindness and integrity. Not only was he nice to the workers, but he also always put them and their dignity above everything else when it came to the rich people they had to deal with, some of whom were rude. Like today's instance, for example.

As Zack boarded the taxi, he recounted how Mr. Alfred came to his rescue, appearing on the scene just as the woman splashed wine on his face, with two security guards and having them drag her out before warning the security not to ever let her into the vicinity again.

Now, Zack was excited to go home and present the gift to his girlfriend, imagining how happy she would be. It would be the first time they would go on a date in months.

A few minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of a modern, but small and humble house, which consisted of a bedroom, living room, kitchen and a bathroom.

Zack paid his fare before stepping out of the taxi and heading towards his house, wondering if Emilu was back from school.

He checked the time on his phone, and today he was home two hours early. Using his key, he opened the front door and entered, closing the door behind him and turning the lights on.

The house was quiet at first, and he was starting to think that Em wasn't home already, when he heard moans coming from the bedroom.

Emily must be home already. He innocently thought to himself. Then, was she pleasing herself? It must have been the hardest for her, being at the end of her school year, preparing for exams and what not. Zack remembered when he first met her and how her cuteness exuded shy and innocence.

He decided to give her some space to finish, and was about to head to the kitchen to drink water when he heard groans, which was unmistakably that of a man.

As much as he wanted to believe that she was watching an adult video, the creak of the bed convinced him otherwise, and with each step he took towards the bedroom, he could feel his heart beating louder and louder. But why was he feeling so much fear when he did nothing wrong?

But when he finally opened the door to the bedroom and was met with a less innocent picture of his three-year old girlfriend, Zack had never felt so much rage. Emily was the first to turn towards the door and when she noticed him, she looked more displeased than anything. "Babe," she patted her boyfriend on the chest to bring his attention back to reality.