BECOMING HER HUSBAND'S BIGGEST MISTAKE

 Alexander's phone buzzed continuously on the table, flashing numerous debit alerts in his face.

 The first two debit alerts took him by surprise but as it went on, a smile crawled up to his face, Lana's way of getting to him suddenly intriguing.

 Several designer brand purchases, expensive gadgets and to top it all, a new car? Her idea of a splurge was very typical, reminding him of his early teenage years and to him back then, his grand style of rebelling against his father.

 Except he was a teenager back then and Lana was now in her twenties.

 Regardless, he found the gesture interesting. Cute, even. She was like a kid who had been given a new toy. And if that toy was going to be capable of keeping her busy and staying away from anything that could directly interrupt his smooth life, why take it away from her?

 Deleting the debit notifications and making a mental note to email the bank manager to stop the notifications from coming in at all, he shoved his phone into his pocket and rose to his feet, glancing at his wall clock as he did. It was currently past eight- two hours past his normal closing time and just the right time he loved to leave work to head over to his favorite bar.

 Massaging his temples with one hand and loosening his tie with the other, he walked out of his office. His receptionist easily taking the hint, she scurried behind him and locked the office door, his leave finally signifying the end of her job for the day.

 With a whistle, he got into his car and tossed his tie onto the back seat, immediately revving up the engine. Inputting the familiar destination, he plugged in his phone and began his ride to the bar.

 He got to the bar in exactly an hour, Alexander stepping out to hand over his keys to the valet. He was a regular at the bar- every single staff already accustomed to his presence.

 He had always had two methods of unwinding whenever he was stressed. One was alcohol and the other was sleeping with random women. And luckily for him, the bar always offered him both in one place making it his favorite place to be several days a week.

 His night wasn't supposed to go any different but for the first time in what felt so long Alexander couldn't even remember, he felt himself hesitate as he reached the entrance of the bar. He hadn't visited in almost a week and he had his busy schedule plus wedding preparations to blame. But now that it was all over, he could return to his favorite place to be and go on with his normal life. Right?

 He clicked his tongue, hesitating once again. This time though he was quickly distracted by his phone buzzing, Alexander glancing at the screen to read another debit notification. Surprisingly, from a bar.

 "We really are on the same page," he smirked to himself, swiping the notification. "Incredible."

 Fueled with a new reminder of the fact that indeed nothing in his life was going to change, he finally took a bold step into the bar, immediately welcomed by the familiar and inviting aura he had missed.

 Music, alcohol, women- the blend was perfect, Alexander nodding to himself as he made his way to his reserved vip spot. Sharing a knowing glance with the waiter, he got comfortable and began feasting his eyes, mentally anticipating what drink and woman was going to keep his company for the night.

 The drink came early, the woman later than he expected. It was unusual for him to finish his first glass without a pretty lady by his side begging for sips and even more unusual when he finish the second glass and still had no lady dying to get him have a taste of her instead.

 With his mood taking a decline, Alexander raised his hand, signaling to the waiter to fill his glass again. Also noticing the unusual shift in things, the waiter rushed over to him and filled the glass, looking around him in search of any nearby company.

 Taking another swig, Alexander scanned his surroundings one more time. The bar wasn't scanty. It had a decent amount of women present yet none of them were swarming towards him?

 He chuckled then shook his head, trying and failing at his attempt to make sense of the situation. It couldn't be because of his wedding, could it? No one actually cared that much about the fact that he now wore a ring around his finger right?

 Before he could try to come up with another conclusion, he spotted a woman finally walking up to him, a smirk making its way to his face. He licked his lips then placed his glass on the table next to him, preparing himself for the encounter that was bound to happen.

 "Hey there, handsome," her tone was seductive, her words almost rehearsed. "Are you alone?"

 He raised his glass and pretended to be oblivious to what was going on, simply taking a swig as he checked her out from the reflection the glass provided.

 She looked good enough to keep his company for the night. Had similar features with the same women he had been with for the past couple of weeks but he didn't mind. All that mattered to him was how they were on the same page- neither of them had any intentions on making a big deal out of whatever was going to happen between them that night.

 "Your glass is empty," she pursed her red lips as she leaned closer towards him, skillfully grabbing the wine bottle and in the process, seductively making her way to his lap. He didn't budge, allowing her have her way as she wrapped her arms around his neck and took the glass to her lips, taking a sip before handing over the rest to him.

 "Why aren't you saying anything?" she whispered loud enough to him, her breath tickling his neck. Pushing her body closer to his, she tilted her head and just as she was about to whisper in his ear, had her eyes dart to a corner of the room, her body immediately tensing up. "Shit."

 "What?" Alexander finally spoke up, watching her whole countenance suddenly change. She was no longer whispering suggestive words to him and was instead slowly pulling away, her arms leaving his neck and in no time, her whole body leaving his. "What are you-"

 No questions were answered, Alexander simply left with more questions as she literally ran off and didn't return. Not even after ten minutes had passed. Or fifteen. Or even thirty.

 "What the fuck is going on?" Alexander cursed, finishing his eighth glass by himself. "What the fuck is seriously wrong today?"

 His chance to once again come to a serious conclusion was once again interrupted, this time by a familiar face he actually wasn't expecting. Tightening his grip around his glass, he looked up, actually surprised to see Joan standing in front of him.

 "Do you mind if I join you?"

 He stared at her for a while, feeling the alcohol get to him. he might have been a bit tipsy but he wasn't yet drunk. He still had total control over his mind to know who was standing in front of him.

 "What are you doing there?" he was genuinely curious. "Aren't you La-"

 "Joan, yes!" she flashed him a smile then took her seat next to him without his permission, immediately placing her hands on his thigh. "You remember me."

 "You can say that," he nodded, moving her hands away from his thigh with his glass. "I'm used to women being desperate but you were a different breed of desperate so you can say you stood out."

 "I'll take that as a compliment," she tucked nonexistent strands of her hair behind her ears and drew closer. "I'm glad you remember me at least. I missed you."

 He looked at her and arched his brow, suddenly appalled. Truthfully, when he hooked up with her he had no idea she was Lana's friend and on the realization, he still wasn't bothered cause clearly Lana had bad taste in friends or clearly had no idea what friendship entailed. But now that she was sitting next to him, his thoughts were taking a whole different turn.

 "What are you doing here?" he asked her again. "Why are you here?"

 She shrugged. "Because I missed you."

 His brows climbed higher. "I thought you were friends with Lana."

 Her expression didn't change. "Well, not anymore."

 "Well, that's a relief."

 "Right?" her eyes suddenly lit up, Alexander's fixed on her in utter curiosity. "You don't have to worry about-"

 "You seem to be mistaken about something, Josie," he emptied the final contents of the glass down his throat and immediately rose to his feet, running his hands through his hair as he did. "I didn't fuck you back then because you were Lana's best friend."

 "It-It's Joan-"

 "And it's definitely not because I felt anything towards you."

"What?"

 "I fucked you because you were desperate," he reached for his car keys and the second he found them, took out his phone to call a chauffeur. "You were thirsty for me and I completely understand that so I gave you what you wanted. Why? So you'd stay away from me?"

 "If I'm going to be fucking you again, it should be because I want to. Cause honestly, being thirsty the first time is cute but the moment it's more than a one-time thing, it gets embarrassing. And don't you think you've embarrassed yourself enough?"

 Joan froze in her seat, her cheeks heating up. Every fake smile and seductive catchphrase she had rehearsed slowly vanished from her face and mind, her fists balled as she grabbed onto the hem of her dress.

She pressed her lips together, struggling to come up with new words. A desperate plea, an excuse- anything. But before she could even manage to do that, Alexander was out of the bar, his chauffeur waiting and ready to drive him home.