Chapter 3 A Heartfelt Betrayal

• That evening, the Luthers were taken aback when Adrian showed up at their lavish mansion. Since he was aware that they had never wanted him, they assumed he would avoid them.
• "Great! The druggie is back, isn't it?" Scott, the first son of the Luthers, scoffed as soon as he sighted Adrian.
• "Seems he recovered quite quickly, urh.." Claus teased as he saw his wounds were already healing. Adrian received medical attention from his mother at her house that morning following his release from jail. He made the decision to go see the Luthers that evening in order to convince them of his innocence.
• Adrian hurried to meet Grandma P as soon as he saw her, seated in her wheelchair with two servants by her side.
• "Gr-gr-grandma P, you have to believe me. I never stole anything from the Williams and I never do drugs either."
• Grandma P looked at Adrian, her expression filled with pity. She was aware that he was a kind, modest, and responsible man who would never act in such a way.
• She took Adrian's hand in hers and softly robbed them. "I believe you, but you have to prove yourself worthy and innocent to the rest."
• Adrian nodded in understanding of her statement. He stood up before turning to face Scott and Claus. "Where's Valerie? I wish to see her."
• "Don't you dare ask for my daughter. I don't ever want to hear you mention her name. Just forget the fact that you were both married." Daphne interrupted as she got down the grand stairs with her scornful eyes fixed on Adrian.
• "Please mom! I just want to see her and explain things to her." Adrian begged.
• "Really?" Daphne asked scornfully as she approached Adrian. Her eyes widening and her face filled with contempt as she stared at him.
• "Yes,"
• Adrian replied, "I also want to appreciate you for bailing me out but I really do need to see Valerie."
• "If you truly want to prove that you're worthy to have my daughter then you must work as a delivery man in our food company for a whole month,"
• "You always proved to be hardworking and can do anything for my daughter right? Why don't you do that for a month? Let's see if you're truly worthy to have her."
• Daphne suggested and Adrian could hear Scott and Claus bursting out in laughter.
• "Gerald obviously ought to have given him that post a long time ago. Isn't that what he did back then in Mexico? I heard he delivers. Urh.. was it pizza?"
• "No, condoms actually." Claus added and both brothers continued with their insane chuckle.
• Ever since Late Sir Gerald made Adrian his son-in-law, he stopped him from working as cleaners in factories and made him work in his Food company. THE LUTHERS RESTAURANT was one of the best and prestigious high ranked restaurants in New York with a staff strength of half a million. Sir Gerald's father was the founder of the restaurant and it was now in Luther's possession with Scott being the heir and CEO of the company. Adrian worked as a manager in the advertising department and was in charge of overseeing and handling adverts of the company on all platforms.
• Adrian accepted to work as a delivery man for the Luther's company. He decided to endure all the humiliation and unfair treatment he got from them because of his love for his wife.
• ***
• "You have one more order before you call it a day, idiot." Claus said that evening after Adrian returned with his bike.
• Having delivered fifty items that day, he appeared worn out and fatigued.
• He got off his bike and put it against the wall before approaching Claus.
• "You have an order from Grandville hotel, phase 2 at Madison Avenue." Claus smiled mischievously as he handed Adrian the address card.
• "Room 909,"
• "Get on with it. Start moving!" Claus teased as he watched him draw closer to his bike. Adrian fastened his helmet and drove off, hoping to surprise Valerie with a gift when he get home after work hours.
• Adrian parked his bike in front of the opulent, luxurious hotel, which resembled a multi-story penthouse. The hotel had a famous Iconic structure that appeared tremendously deserving of being the biggest and largest hotel in New York. Only the rich could afford to book a room in such a hotel and he wondered who it was that placed an order for a food delivery from the Luther's restaurant.
• Adrian smiled and grinned, hoping someday that he would be able to afford to treat his wife with a nice vacation at an extravagant hotel like Grandville.
• "Room 909," Adrian muttered as he looked at the card in his hand and a placard which contained the room number on the wall.
• Gentle gasps and moans could be heard as he drew near the door. He was conscious of what was happening inside, and a slight smile spread across his face.
• It took a few minutes for the door to eventually open after several knocks.
• Stanley's face came into view and Adrian assessed him from head to toe. He was in a striped boxer and was sweating all over.
• "What a phenomenal timing. Good to see you, Adrian." Stanley admitted with a smirk as he stared at a shocked Adrian.
• Adrian was expecting a look of anger and disgust from Stanley but he wondered why his countenance was somewhat mischievous.
• "H-here is your package." Adrian said as he placed the package in Stanley's hand but to his dismay, he refused to collect it from him.
• "Why don't you give that to my partner?" Stanley suggested with a mischievous smile as he opened the door a little, making Adrian see the face of the lady he had been with.
• To Adrian's shock it was none other than his wife, Valerie.
• "Va-valerie!" He said with shock as he dropped the package abruptly on the floor.
• She was in a white lingerie, looking hot as she posed beside Stanley. They both gave themselves a passionate kiss right in front of Adrian.
• Adrian's eyes widened with his jaw dropping, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
• "How dare you touch my wife you idiot!" Adrian yelled, unable to contain his cool as he dragged and pinned Stanley to a wall.
• "It's good you came to your senses. Don't you think you've been a fool all these while to not realize that she wasn't interested in you?" Stanley admitted as he continued to look at Adrian with contempt and an asymmetrical smirk on his lips.
• Stanley gripped Adrian's hands and dropped it immediately. He dusted his body from Adrian's touches, and looked at him with pure disdain. "Don't you try to touch me because you disgust me."
• "Va-valerie! I've always loved and respected you. Never have I believed that you could do this to me. Why have you done this? Tell me, why?" Adrian yelled, his eyes prickling with tears with his heart shattering like a thousand pieces at the depth of her betrayal.
• "I never loved you Adrian," Valerie confessed, her aura filled with pride and her face, void of emotion.
• Adrian couldn't believe his wife could betray him.
• "What do you mean you never loved me? You loved me, wasn't that the reason you agreed to marry me? You were with me despite the humiliation you received from your family just because you chose to be with me. What happened now?"
• "Something happened, Adrian. Something did happen. And what happened was that I'm no longer the stupid, naive Valerie you once knew. My instincts are clear now and I know my union with you has no future because you're nothing but a LOSER!"
• "You, you called me a loser, Valerie?" Adrian muttered, his eyes widening at every betrayal in her words.
• "Yes Adrian. Stanley was right about you all these while. You're not just a loser but you're worthless and a waste of sperm. You try to prove to be someone responsible but it turns out you're nothing but a drug dealer."
• "I'm not a drug dealer. I was set up and someone among you did try to make a fool out of me. I'm sure of that. If you can finally show me your true colors by stabbing me at my back, I believe the whole scheme of portraying me as a thief was done by not only you, but also your family." Adrian yelled, his face getting red and filled with rage as he watched Valerie laugh sardonically.
• "How can you prove that we attempted to frame you? Why not engage the services of a lawyer or a detective if you are so determined to piece together all that happened? You don't even have enough money to pay for a security guard, much less for a licensed investigator." Valerie said, then grinned.
• She paced around and halted behind Adrian. "I knew you were crazily in love with me. I knew it would be difficult for you to divorce me and that was why I came up with this method to end things fast between us. All thanks to my lover, Stanley. He's so brainy, don't you think so?" Valerie admitted before approaching Stanley and giving him a short kiss.
• Adrian clenched his fist, his breath coming out in short spurts. He was boiling in rage and the anger on his face was clearly visible.
• "So-s-so you really wanted to divorce me all these while?" Adrian asked, turning to face her.
• "Yes! And I'm glad that aim has been achieved. Seems like I didn't really cheat on you after all, because we are divorced already." Valerie revealed, chuckling in between.
• "What do you mean divorce?" Adrian asked, dumbfoundedly.
• "A moment," Valerie smiled before getting some documents on the table.
• She fling the divorce papers at Adrian's feet as she muttered, "Those are your copies."
• Adrian skimmed through it and he realized his signature was there, proving that he consented to it. When did he ever sign it?
• When he saw the speck of dried blood on the paper, his mind went back to the police station and he remembered how he was given multiple papers to sign when he was dripping with blood from his wounds.
• "So that's it. My presumptions were right after all. You all set me up and planned all of these to happen beforehand." Adrian said with gritted teeth as he crumpled the paper angrily.
• "Ppt! No one set you up okay. You got yourself into drugs because you were desperate to get rich. Regarding the papers, you are welcome to let out your frustration on that one because I have enough photocopies." Valerie pointed at the crumpled paper in his hand and said, smiling.
• Adrian was right after all. Both the Luthers and the Williams had everything set up. Although Valerie had helped her father stuff Adrian's car with bags of cocaine, Adrian was not aware that Richard Williams' purportedly stolen goods had been retained in his pocket.
• Knowing that getting divorced from Adrian and marrying Stanley would bring her great rewards, Valerie consented to all of these actions by betraying Adrian.
• "We'd also love to invite you to our wedding, Mr Loser!" Stanley revealed in a mocking tone as he dropped some beautiful cards on the table.
• Adrian couldn't utter a word. He was completely speechless.
• "Our wedding will be held in the next five months. You'll be our most welcomed guest, Adrian." Valerie smirked before taking off a ring off her finger. She threw it at Adrian's face, signaling an official end to their relationship.