Hesitations

'Sent.'

He muttered to himself after sharing the restaurant's location.

Going home before dinner wasn't part of the plan, so he wandered through the mall to kill time and caught one of the newer movies. 

'Didn't expect that movie to be so good. Good thing I watched it,' 

A glance at his phone showed the time . It read 5:30 p.m. 

'Huh. Time really flies when you're not paying attention,' he said with a shake of his head, soaking in his monetary peace. 

'I should probably head to that place first. It won't look good if I'm late.' 

Next up was booking a Grab. The boulevard was close to the restaurant, so he went that way. 

A little far, a little expensive. Top-notch steak and seafood earned the place five-star reviews. 

While traveling , a message popped up from Effie. 

Her message said she would arrive by 7:00 p.m. 

The thought of what she might wear made him a little excited, but he held back the grin.

It was just a simple dinner with his step-aunt. No hidden meaning. Just a celebration, a small way to thank her for everything she did for him. 

As the car moved through the city, the driver slowed down because of traffic ahead.

Just as he reached for his earphones, something in his peripheral vision made him pause. 

"Stop the car!"

Terrence squinted toward the sidewalk. He wasn't seeing things. 

It really was his uncle—holding the car door open for a woman in a red dress. The two of them were heading into a hotel. 

'I thought he was on a business trip,'

Every warning bell in his head rang loud. Effie's sad expression replayed on his mind, and he started putting the pieces together. 

'I need to know for sure,' he added, keeping his distance as he trailed behind them. 

It was almost a month since he last saw his uncle. With all the changes in his appearance, there was little chance of being recognized. 

So, he followed at a distance, staying hidden but close enough to observed them. 

His uncle grew more touchy, his hand resting intimately on her back. 

No hesitation. 

No guilt. 

They laughed quietly before stepping through the hotel's glass doors. 

'Pretty sure he wouldn't act like that if she were just a colleague,' 

Now that he thought about it, maybe her kind aunt treated him gently because she understood his pain. 

They both lost someone—he lost his parents, and she lost the man who was supposed to love her. 

This frustrated Terrence even more. 

'What are you doing? What will your wife think if she saw this?' his fingers curled into fists. 

They were already heading toward the elevator, so a business dinner was obviously out of the question. 

'I need to get in with them.' 

Fortunately, they stopped halfway. 

The woman turned around and walked back to the reception desk—apparently, she had forgotten something. 

A chance. 

He took a deep breath, then slipped into the crowd, acting like a normal guest. 

When the woman returned, they stepped into the elevator. 

Terrence slipped in right after them, keeping his head low. With his shades on and a few other people inside. 

The elevator made several stops on the way up, the crowd thinning with each floor. When it reached the 12th, his uncle and the woman stepped out. 

He followed, keeping a few steps behind. He acted like he belonged—like he was just heading to his own room. 

When he saw them stop in front of a room, he pulled out his phone and pretended to make a call while secretly recording. 

They looked really excited. Like animals in heat. 

Terrence looked up, just in time to see the woman pull his uncle into the room by the necktie. They disappeared inside, door clicking shut behind them like a slap. 

'I'll beat some sense into him… make her apologize —' 

His fist trembled inches from the door, caught between anger and logic. 

'No... I need to calm down first.' 

The world would fall apart in a few months. Starting a family drama now wouldn't help anyone. 

'Damn it,' he clenched his fist as he forced himself to back away. 

He stared at the carpet as he walked back toward the elevator, hands still shaking. The idea of telling her, of showing her what he saw—it felt right. Like justice. 

But what would she do? 

Divorce him? 

Maybe. 

But there was a high chance that she still loved that bastard. That was the worst part.

What if she was just waiting? Still hoping. 

And if he shattered that hope now, what would be left of her? 

He hated thinking about it. Hated that she might blame herself. That she would think she wasn't enough. 

She was more than enough. It was his uncle who got greedy, and took advantage of her understanding nature. 

'That cheating bastard doesn't deserve her. If it was me...'