The Designer's Wicked Intentions

by Yvonne Sibanda

  The next day he woke up, he felt refreshed and chided her as she giggled like a school girl, before he decided to check at the factory knowing Aggy would also be at work. He couldn’t call her and preferred to explain everything in person. As it turns out, his lingerie collection was on demand and his employees from ground level at the factory to the retail outlets had been on their toes, supplying the rather huge demand.

  After he was done checking up on everything, he drove to her house so to see her, except he saw her coming out of it, dressed in a simple white pencil dress and Luc opening the door for her to his car. He drove past, muttering a few colorful words before he followed the car.

  "Nice seeing both of you here," Bruce remarked before kissing Aggy on both cheeks. He had a curios expression pasted on his face, with a brow raised over her being with his cousin. He motioned for the waiter and moved away. Luc was at his charming best as she made an effort to listen to what he was saying.

  She drank a bit of wine, dabbed her lips before excusing herself for the ladies. She was in the process of applying a fresh coat of lip gloss when the door was opened and instantly shut. A man in a hoody almost gave her a fright and she was about to scream when he removed it and her breath whooshed out in relief.

  "Ethan, what are you looking for here? This is the lady's." He moved towards her and pulled her into his arms before kissing her. He always knew she wouldn’t resist as her traitorous body gave her away. How she had missed him. She wound her arms around him, reveling in how strong, secure and safe she always felt in them. Finally they drew apart, both breathless. "Aggs, what is this about Luc and you being back together."

  "What is this about you and Abigail intending to get married?"

  He raked his hand over his cropped hair as he usually did when frustrated. "All that is not true love. Fake news"

  She snorted, "And you expect me to believe that?"

  "Why not, it’s not like I have ever lied to you."

  "Well you did pretend to have forgotten when you still remembered everything." He sighed. A knock was heard on the door, interrupting them.

  He held her arms before swiftly kissing her and muttering "Don’t do anything silly, I will come to your place." Covering his head with the hoody, he opened the door and grinned at the old woman who gasped as he passed her and left the place. Aggy smiled to the lady who scowled in return and muttered on how the world was full of perverse people getting it on even in the loo.

  Aggy huffed and shut the door to the ladies. She huffed further thinking on what Ethan had said. Ethan treated her like a teen who always did silly stuff. Don’t do anything silly, she muttered under her breath before pasting on a smile and approaching the table where her ex-husband sat.

  ***

  ETHAN TRIED her phone to no avail. Her door was locked and he couldn't ring the bell fearing to wake the children up. Elsie. He dialed her number and the phone rang. His princess wasn’t picking up also. All of the children were back at home for the holiday. He called Nita, still nothing. When he was about to walk away rather than ring the bell and wake everyone in the house, Luc opened the door, dressed in a t-shirt and boxer shorts.

  "Ethan, what brings you here?" He was shocked, no Aggs, he thought and received a smile from Luc like a cat having received a treat. “Told you I had a head start, we have seventeen years together."

  Ethan clenched his hands into a fist. "Don’t push it Luc, I know Aggy would never take you back."

  "So how do you explain her not attending to her lover at the door then? How come she isn’t taking your calls? She spoke to me man. We are reconciling and she thought it best if I broke it softly to you. Man to man, you know what I mean."

  Ethan could not believe his ears, he was about to retort but didn’t want to make a scene in the middle of the night. Instead Luc closed the door in his face and he sighed out of frustration. He tried Aggy’s phone which turned to be unreachable this time around.

  Greg and Sophie where still at the farm having started their holiday the previous week. Brad and Dominic would be at their spot. He decided to go there and meet up with them.

  ***

  DOMINIC ROARED out in laughter at Brads joke and looked at Ethan who appeared not to even have heard it. They were seated on their usual spot in the club and could view everyone around and below in it. "Bud" he cocked his brow in question. "Aggy has gone back to Luc". Dom snorted while Brad cursed. "Sorry man. Women. They are a complicated lot" Dominic remarked in understanding.

  "What makes you think that," Brad asked his friends who suddenly appeared to be sharing a bro moment.

  "Take Juliet for instance, she prepositioned me, siphoned from my company and still my dad wants me to marry her." He rolled his eyes while Brad guffawed. "Finally we hear about the identity of Mrs. Knight"

  "She is a handful" he muttered under his breath. "As for you, I don’t think Aggy would do a silly thing like go back to Luc. I am sure you got it all wrong."

  "He is over there, back at the house and Aggy isn’t answering my calls."

  "Maybe she was too tired and fell asleep, didn’t you say she could sleep like a log" Brad asked. Ethan rolled his eyes, before he could retort back to his well-meaning friends Dom whistled. "Are not those your daughters" he pointed to the stage, where Elsie and Nita were dancing with other ladies while the crowd cheered.

  Fake ids, booze, drugs, rang in Ethan’s mind at seeing them while he contemplated grounding them for life. Here he was trying to contend with their father and take over the role and they were busy sneaking out from the house. "Aggy will raise hell when she sees this” he muttered before resignedly getting up and climbing down the stairs for the girls, with Brad and Dominic following behind him.

  ***

  AGGY WOKE up with a start when she heard the shower. She stared at her room in confusion before sighing "Ethan" and plopping back on the bed.

  She tried to recall what had happened the day before, remembering that he had promised to come over so they talk. This whole business had to be cleared once and for all. Call it her trusting heart, but after seeing him yesterday she knew he would never be the vengeful person who would toy around with her feelings.

  This whole Abby business was a huge misunderstanding. The door to her bathroom was opened and out came Luc who managed to make her shriek. "Luc, what are you looking for here. Get dressed please." She turned to face the wall and shut her eyes as he chuckled. "Don’t be coy love; you have seen this body before."

  Ya right in the dark.

  "What happened yesterday?"

  "You can open your eyes now," he advised. "What do you think happened?"

  She opened her eyes slightly fearing she would see him still naked. Completely opened them and pulled her covers over her nightie. She couldn’t remember how she got out of the clothes. Seeing Luc making himself at home in her room answered her question as she opened her eyes widely in horror. "No we didn’t"

  He had dressed up in his black t-shirt and sweat pants. She was relieved that they were clean, having washed them and put them away in the wardrobe. She never wore them after Ethan drenched her with the cold water following the three day not bathing stint after the divorce. "Why not darling. We were married for seventeen years after all."

  "No ways…." she motioned with her fingers drawing a long line in the air, “never."

  "Why not"

  "Duh, for the fact that I am madly in love with Ethan and would never trade out for a one time night with you in the sack."

  "Ouch" he grimaced. She huffed not at all phased at his hurt expression. "Ya we didn't," he finally said. "Get ready. Breakfast should be ready soon. Your two older daughters decided to make a treat for you."

  "Uuuumh, did Ethan drop by. I still don’t know how I fell asleep all of a sudden.” Luc coughed. She looked at his guilty expression. "You didn’t, no Luc you didn't."

  "Well I thought you needed to rest a bit. These two weeks have been hectic for you so I popped some sleeping pills into your d
rink when you left for the loo." She snorted at that explanation, furious at him. Did he suddenly start reading Martha’s books in that area of drugging people unaware?

  "Don't kill me yet" he waved his hands, "Ethan did come with the girls. They had snuck out to the club"

  She yelled a few colorful words in her native tongue before stomping off to the bathroom to get ready and see her two daughters who had prepared the breakfast to placate her. Everything was just chaotic, her love life, meddling ex-husband, mother who termed her the scarlet woman, club loving daughters and they all thought her to be the scandalous one, humph.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  AGGY WAS taking a sip of her coffee after having had an earful with Elsie and Nita. They had grumpily left the kitchen after she told them they were grounded for life. If it meant she would sleep in their rooms and keep watch over them, she definitely would do so.

  The girls had the audacity to state that their father could have been lenient with them. Ok, she could see right through to them and the game they were trying to play.

  Luc thumped the paper on the counter and remarked, “Middle page.” She looked up at him, wondering what he was on about. “I should warn you, it’s not good.” She opened the middle page of the paper and spit her coffee out.

  The famous designer Ethan Ross was set to marry model Abigail Conrad in a private affair, date and time was set for the last Saturday of the month of May, meaning a month from now. Aggy sat dazed not believing a word of it. What was going on?

  A photo of him still with his glorious long hair that had corn rolls and with Abigail’s arms wound around him, kissing was pasted on the article. “These days people can Photoshop a picture” Luc settled down next to her and soothingly remarked. “How do you know Aggs? Don’t you think you have placed too much confidence in him and he has been lying to you the whole time?”

  “It’s impossible. Ethan loves me and has never lied to me. Besides Greg, Garret, his parents, they would have mentioned something before.” Luc shook his head pityingly as Aggy still remained naïve to how people behaved in the world. “I hope for your sake, Ethan is what he pretends to be.”

  “Excuse me,” she stood up and walked to her room. She didn’t understand what was happening and felt confused in what to believe. For eight years she thought she knew him and now when she was ready, things just kept on popping up to make her think it was never meant to be.

  She heard the doorbell ring and Luc talking with the familiar male voice she knew as their voices rose. Moving towards the girls play room, everyone seemed to be on their best behavior. Elsie lay on the couch reading a novel. Nita was wearing the atrocious reading glasses and was staring at the computer.

  Wendy had been rather cranky since she had got her first period and was sleeping on the other couch. Aggy had been relieved since she was thirteen compared to Elsie who got it at ten. Laura, Lorraine and Wendy were playing house at the corner. She knew it was all for show when they heard her walking towards them. They couldn’t be that well behaved.

  “I know I said you are grounded,” she pointedly looked at Elsie and Nita, “Which you are, but now I need you to go out with your sisters for some ice cream.”

  The girls squealed in delight and rushed for the door. They disrupted the men who were arguing as they came out of the house to Elsie’s car. “Don’t forget to buy one for Wendy.” She motioned to her daughter who was still sleeping on the couch before handing Elsie the money. “Will you be fine mom?”

  She noticed Elsie seemed to worry over her welfare. “They is nothing I can’t handle. Remember you are still grounded for life, if you do anything else I will hound you even in death.”

  “Geez ma,” she giggled and ran towards her other siblings. Aggy followed behind and watched them drive off before turning to the two men bent to confuse her. “Will you get into the house and stop making a spectacle of yourselves, behaving like women fighting over a man.”

  “They is no way this man will ever be near you or my daughters,” Luc retorted as Ethan glared at him. “Go back to your fiancée.”

  “Aggy, that article is a lie. I have no idea what is going on.” Luc snorted. “Yes I did ask Abigail to pretend to be my girlfriend so I could see if you were really serious about us. It ended there.” He grabbed her hand and held her beautiful face. “Get your filthy hands off my wife.”

  “Ex,” both Aggy and Ethan retorted and watched him walk angrily back into the living room.

  “So that was photo shopped.”

  He grimaced, “About that….” Removing his hands from her face, she moved a bit further away. “No Aggy it’s not what you think. Let me finish please.” Already she seemed like she was about to cry. “The pic is a year old love. You were married then and I wanted to settle down.”

  “You dated” she stared at him accusingly realizing for the first time the fool who told her would wait for her, dated someone else. She knew she was being unfair since he had to settle down also at some point yet she felt betrayed. The Ethan she always had in her mind was devoted to her alone and saw no one else. And to think he dated.

  Those kisses they had shared no longer felt special and reserved for her. So he was right about being with Abby at Greg’s cabin after all. Did it mean he slept with her? Clutching at her throat, she felt betrayed. “Aggy,” he frowned. He stared at her outraged face and knew she was shutting him out. “Why didn’t you tell me before about Abby? So when you signed her up, you already knew her.”

  “Hello, you appear to have forgotten you were with Luc and when I wanted to tell you, the whole thing about Jasmine came into light.”

  “For eight years, I thought I knew you. I could trust you and you omit to tell me they is a woman in your life. Wait a minute, is Greg aware, Brad, Dom, Garret.”

  He nodded and she heaved out a long breath. “Wow. I guess I am indeed the other woman breaking up you happy relationship.” This time Ethan lost his patience. “Woman you don’t know what you are talking about. I can see what you are doing Aggs, pushing me away again and looking for an excuse not to be with me. Yes I dated, so what. You were married. Did you think I would stay without being with someone for life, till you made up your mind to be with me?”

  She clutched at her throat and edged a bit further to the door at the same time outraged at what he was insinuating.

  “I am not giving excuses,” she yelled while Ethan sneered like her husband, “Its either you believe me Aggs or you don’t. I have tried to be patient love, for how long do you want me to be while you play around with both me and your husband.”

  A tight slap sounded and Aggy stood shocked at what she had done. “Get out and I don’t want to ever see you again.” Tears ran down her face as she gulped in a few breaths through her mouth. Ethan glowered. “I guess this is for good then,” he harshly said, turned and walked away.

  She closed the door to her house and wept for having lost her best friend for good this time around. A warm embrace engulfed her yet it felt different as she realized it wasn’t Ethan but her ex-husband. Everyone was right. She was a shameless woman.

  ***

  SOPHIE HUFFED after settling down on the bed and removing her shoes. “I have never met such two miserable people in my life,” she giggled and lay on the bed. She was back at the farm having dropped everything and gone to see Aggy after she didn’t answer any of her calls.

  She spent the night over at her house before she travelled in the morning back to the farm. Her dear husband finally told her about devoted Ethan and the dare posed to him. “How could you guys do that? Now I am left without a girlfriend because of you. She has lumped me with the rest of you deceivers.” Greg had roared in laughter, having seen the damning photo in question. Ethan the eunuch was no longer that in Aggy’s sight. “I just think Aggy is just being too irrational in all this.”

  “Is they another dare I should know about?” she cocked her brow and he winked at her from the couch, still holding on to the newspaper he had been readi
ng. “The goal behind the dare was to make a person do what they wouldn’t ordinarily do in their right mind.”

  She huffed at that.

  “I was failing to get over you, Dom thought if I replaced you with a fling, it will help get you off my system. Ethan was pining over a married woman for God’s sake. So he had to try out a happy and healthy relationship with a single girl.”

  “It’s surprising no one was aware of it?” Sophie said.

  “The people who knew him were aware, and you know Ethan is a private person. He dated Abby; they broke it off when Aggy divorced Luc.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes, “Very typical of Ethan, always ready to rush to her at the drop of a hat.”

  “Abby was furious at first, she really loved him. But we were honest enough to point out that a guy who would drop everything to run off to another woman wasn’t worth it. Ethan was a hopeless case. They actually became good friends and started working together after the whole incidence.”

  “Don’t you think she is the one who leaked the story? You might say she was cool about the whole thing; maybe she has been the one sending out the articles, the photos, and the detailed information. Ethan after all has the whole package. The money, the fame, the business and he is a marshmallow on the inside. He can make any woman feel special.”

  “Are you saying I don’t,” Of everything she had said, her husband just picked up on that, she rolled her eyes. “You stopped paying special attention to me when we got married. Ethan even had my late aunt blushing like a teenager.” At that, Greg roared in laughter as indeed the old woman had rather been attached to Ethan while Aggy curiously listened to her stories.

  “Ya, Ethan has that side that appeals to women; he is a good listener also. I have heard that you girls when asked for a description of your ideal man, you write out a male version of you.” Sophie huffed and took a pillow that she threw at her husband.