Lucius laid awake in bed in his low rent apartment on the bad side of town. It was the only place he could afford on his low salary. It had been three days already and even though he couldn’t eat three square meals a day he was relieved. These past days had been good.
No degrading words, no unnecessary labor and definitely no cleaning his mother-in-law's cat's piss. Plus, he avoided being mugged last night when he was coming back from work and considering where he was staying now that was a win.
It was almost 7:30 am and work would start soon. He stood up and got dressed since he had already had a bath. He left the house when he was all done and traversed the winding and slightly dangerous roads of his new neighborhood.
Lucius turned the corner and went straight into Kravis Bar. It was his shortcut and was slightly less dangerous since the bar was a legal establishment. By 7:57am he was at work.
Evening came by quickly and before going home he had to pick up a new phone. It was going to be low grade but nevertheless, it was better than not having any. He took a cab to Wilson street where he would get the phone.
GADGETS AND ELECTRONICS. That was the name of the building spelled out in neon lights. Lucius went in, spent some time browsing and then decided on a phone. He went up to the cashier, paid and left but before he could hail a cab and Lamborghini pulled up in front of him. Normally, Lucius would wonder who in their right mind would drive such a car into this place but he had an inkling that he already knew who it was.
The window rolled down and he saw his least favorite people. Valerie and the man she cheated on him with, Xander Woods. They both sat smirking at him. Valerie spoke.
“Oh, how low you have fallen. It’s been only three days but you look like shit.”
Anger was creeping into Lucius but he chose to stay calm. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of fighting with them.
“Nice to see you too Valerie.”
She rolled her eyes and tapped her long nails on the door.
“You know, you really should have reconsidered this whole divorce thing. You look like you could die without being married to me. Anyway the papers will be ready at my office tomorrow so be there by 10 am. Oh, and have you watched the entertainment news recently? You should, it’s really good stuff.”
She winked and they drove off splashing water from the rain earlier before on Lucious. He squeezed his shirt and water came out.
“Fuck. Could this night get any worse?”
He had no idea what was about to happen.
•••••
“Yes, finally.”
Lucius exclaimed as he turned the phone on and saw that his number was still intact. He didn’t have anyone to call but he still wanted to have his old number. It was the only number he could remember.
He set up all the apps he needed on the phone and made sure everything was in good shape. When he finished a thought occurred to him. Since he didn’t have a television he would watch tik tok or something to get his mind off what happened earlier that night.
Lucius opened tik tok and while he was in the middle of the first video that showed up on his for you page, a notification popped up.
VALERIE WILDE HUSBAND HAS AN AFFAIR
His eyes widened and he sat up straight.
“What the hell?”
He clicked on it and what he saw shocked him. It was an interview of Valerie with one of the most famous entertainment reporters in the world. Marisa Klear.
“It’s good to see you Valerie even though it’s under bad circumstances. How have you been through all this?”
Valerie nodded and gave a small smile.
“I have been doing well considering everything. Work has been hectic but it helps me take my mind off these things.”
“Okay. Now, I know it might be hard but I have to ask. What happened between you and your husband? Why is your marriage on the rocks?"
Lucius watched in disbelief as Valerie started to cry on the video. Marisa held her hand.
“We had been having some fights over the years but it became really bad recently. Lucius, my husband, had been coming back home late almost everyday. When I asked where he was he said he was working late at his part time job and that I shouldn’t ask anymore questions. I kept it civil at home but he kept on drinking and staying out of the house.”
She started to sniffle and took a tissue to blow her nose.
“So, one day I decided to follow him. I went to his workplace and they said that he wasn’t at work that day. I checked his GPS and saw that he was in Crenshaw. We have an apartment there so I thought nothing of it. I went over and headed into the building. I saw clothes on the floor so I went to the bedroom and I saw… I saw him and a woman in my matrimonial bed having sex.”
The water works increased as Valerie broke down in front of everyone.
“I confronted him and he said that he never loved me and he was only married to me for my money. I love him. How could he do that to me?”
Lucius paused the video and went through the comment section.
Men truly are SCUM.
How could he cheat on such a catch? He must be
stupid.
Guys I heard he’s poor. Like really poor.
Guess he was just with her for the money. I don’t think he’ll get a cent now though.
Do you think they’ll get a divorce?
I mean who knows what she’s going through.
While Marisa tried to calm her down Lucius turned off the phone and threw it across the room. He had had enough. He held his head in his hands.
“She has the audacity to spin the story on me. She cheated on me. What the hell is her problem? Couldn’t she just leave me alone?"
It was a long night as Lucius couldn't sleep a wink after watching that humiliating video.
2023-08-11 23:01:55
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