USELESS HUSBAND?, TRY ULTIMATE GOD FATHER

Chapter Two

Charlotte smirked faintly as she yanked her hand free and said, “Watch me.”

She walked away with Fabio. Chris stood there, staring long after they were gone.

He turned to the balcony, his knuckles white against the railing.

A laugh floated from inside. He didn’t know why, but it felt aimed at him.

Three years of loving her deeply and this is all he gets.

He wasn’t just going to stay there and wallow in pity. He cleaned his teary eyes and walked in back slowly, the music hitting him full force now.

He stopped near the hallway, unsure of what he was even waiting for.

“Uhhh… Look who we have here…” the voice said mockingly.

He turned to see Lucas, watching him with open curiosity.

“Lucas, I’m not in the mood.” Chris said.

“I’m just looking out for my brother-in-law, you know.” Lucas said with a smile.

Chris frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lucas leaned closer. “As I was passing through the restroom just now, I was hearing moans of people and it seemed to belong to Fabio and your darling wife.”

Chris widened his eyes, disbelief washing over him.

Lucas let out a laugh.

“I don’t believe you.” Chris said, shaking his head.”

Lucas chuckled. “I’m not telling you to but you know, seeing is believing.”

He gave Chris a little pat on his shoulder and laughed as he drank the wine in his hand.

Chris’s steps slowed.

His chest felt tight as he walked back toward the party, eyes scanning faces, searching.

“Charlotte wouldn’t do that to me.” He said to himself.

But his heart could not just let it slide.

He did not storm toward the bathroom.

That was the first lie he told himself.

He paced instead. Slowly at first, then faster, his polished shoes tracing invisible lines across the marble floor.

Guests drifted past him in clusters, laughter trailing behind them like loose threads. No one noticed the way his jaw tightened, or how his fingers curled and uncurled at his sides.

He smiled when he had to. Nodded when spoken to. Pretended the air wasn’t burning his lungs.

“It means nothing,” he told himself.

But the image refused to leave his head.

Charlotte walking away with Fabio, her hand wrapped tightly around his.

When he reached the bathroom door, he didn’t hesitate. He knocked once, hard, and pushed it open.

The sight stopped him cold.

Fabio stood near the sink, his jacket open. Charlotte was in front of him, her fingers at his waist, focused, careful.

“What is going on here?” Chris demanded.

Charlotte spun around. “Chris! What are you doing?”

Fabio winced theatrically. “Easy, man. I hurt my fingers earlier. Your wife was just helping.”

“Helping you zip your trousers?” Chris snapped.

Charlotte’s eyes hardened. “Lower your voice. He injured his fingers.”

“This is inappropriate,” he said, his chest rising. “Whatever this is…stop it.”

Fabio didn’t move.

“You should wait outside.” He said gently.

Charlotte didn’t argue.

Then she turned to Chris, “Enough,”

“Chris, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I’m your husband,” he said quietly.

“And right now,” she replied, “you’re acting like a child.”

He searched her face for something. Maybe remorse, hesitation, anything.

There was nothing.

Chris stormed out of the bathroom as he felt a heavy lump in his throat.

The world around him seemed to spin and as if that wasn’t enough torture, he saw Fabio and Charlotte enter the party back with their arms intertwined.

Observing the scene before her, Veronica stood, a satisfied smile on her face, and tapped her glass.

“I’d like to make a toast,” she announced.

The room fell silent.

“To my brilliant stepdaughter,” she continued, smiling broadly at Charlotte. “A woman of vision, strength, and excellence.”

Applause followed.

“And,” Veronica added, turning toward Fabio, “To excellence. To loyalty. And to those who protect what we build. Cheers to other prosperous years ahead!”

“Cheers!” the crowd’s voices rippled through the room.

“Thank you, everyone.” Veronica chuckled then she added, “Oh, how I wish my dearest Charlotte was married to a gentleman like Fabio. This night would have even more perfect”

Fabio lifted his glass. “It is only a matter of time, Veronica,” he added. “It always reveals the right choices.”

The laughter felt endless.

Chris sat frozen.

When the last guest finally left and the hall quieted, Chris found Charlotte in the sitting lounge.

They sat close, voices low.

“Why is he still here?” Chris could not help but ask.

Charlotte sighed. “Chris, because he’s important.”

“To whom?”

“To me,” she said. “Fabio is my new investor. He will help the familia go forward and I’m doing what I have to do. Don’t read the meaning into everything.”

Then she added, “At least someone is trying to help me here. All you do Chris, is cause trouble.”

Chris lowered his head. “Sorry if all I ever meant to you was trouble, Charlotte. I’ll leave.

Fabio smiled faintly.

“Don’t be insensitive, Chris. We were just talking about business.”

Chris didn’t respond.

He just walked out of the venue to sit in the car.

He waited for over three hours before Charlotte finally came out.

It was their anniversary that day. Their special day.

But all he feels is pain and anger.

He was nothing in front of Charlotte’s family or even the guests they called to the party.

When Charlotte came out of the venue, she said nothing to Chris.

“Drive.” She said coldly to the driver.

The drive back home was silent, the kind that pressed against the ears. No music played. No phones chimed. Chris watched the city slide past his window in streaks of light.

The moment they stepped inside the house, the silence shattered.

“Oh! look who is here? The useless son-in-law of the Woods family” Veronica said mockingly.

“Look at you. You are so pathetic. Hopeless. A waste of space.” Lucas added as he shakes his head in disbelief.

“I just have a question for you.” Bianca said as she stepped forward.

“What were you thinking when you spilled drink on his expensive dress?” she asked.

Veronica smirked, “He was trying to make a scene to see if Charlotte will pay him attention.”

They all laughed. Even Charlotte.

Chris’s chest heaved. Something in him snapped but he couldn’t find the right words to say.

They were right.

He is indeed useless with nothing to his name. Only brilliant ideas that make no progress, and empty bank accounts.

If only his developing app will work this time. If only the investor would get back to him.

Chris sat alone on the couch, absorbing the weight of it all.

Was fortune about to turn or was this another trap?