Zuri stood there alone, dazed and uncertain, watching the space where Asher had just been. She touched her lips, and the taste of his kiss still lingered.
"Asher, you bastard," she cursed under her breath, furious with herself for falling for his tricks again.
She sighed heavily, biting her lower lip, and vowed not to give in so easily next time—if there was even going to be a next time. Would there be? Zuri wasn't sure. It was the first time he had kissed her in five months. Did that mean she would have to wait another five months just to feel his soft lips again?
She shook her head, trying to brush away the temptation. ''Now isn't the time to think about that,'she reminded herself. There was something far more important, something she could not afford to ignore.
She moved to the lavish white couch opposite the enormous windows, where plenty of sunlight poured into the room. Her untouched breakfast and coffee sat cold on the table.
Moments later, two maids quietly entered the penthouse and began cleaning.
Zuri barely noticed them as her focus was entirely on her phone. She scrolled through Asher's Instagram and TikTok, searching for any trace of Lyla. She needed something, anything, to reveal who this woman was.
But to her surprise, two accounts named Lyla were in Asher's followers.
Her heart raced as she clicked on each one, examining every detail she could find.
The first Lyla's profile was disappointingly sparse. It featured just one photo, a shot taken on a beach. In the picture, she was half-turned, her hair blowing across her face, but her smile was unmistakable: warm, carefree, and directed at whoever had taken the photo.
Zuri's stomach twisted. She could almost imagine Asher standing there, capturing that joyful expression, while she awaited his return.
However, the second Lyla's profile turned out to be more devastating. It was a private account. The grey lock symbol glared back at her as she tried to click through. This profile might hold the answers she needed, but it remained stubbornly out of reach.
She set her phone aside and leaned back as if trying to calm herself.
She hadn't even gone through his entire phone history, just the messages from Lyla, who had texted him at 3 a.m. last night. The memory of that message made her seethe. All she wanted to do was pull every hair from Lyla's head.
Her thoughts deepen. So, the Lyla whose name had appeared on Asher's phone was actually another Lyla?
'Is he having an affair with two women named Lyla?'
Did Asher not know she checked his phone last night? Was he speaking the truth when he told that story about his friend's wife?
The more she tried to piece things together, the more her thoughts became tangled.
She rested her forehead against her fingers, closing her eyes as she tried to clear the fog.
One had only a single post where the face was unclear, and the other was hidden behind a private account. And beyond that, there was nothing, no clues, no answers.
'Two women, one name, and Asher.'
Zuri's brainstorming session was interrupted when her phone buzzed. The name on the screen said, Mom. It did not ring twice, and Zuri picked up the call.
"Mom, I think Asher is cheating on me. No! It's not what I think. I know he is cheating on me."
"Divorce him. Take half of his property and look for another rich man." A vicious voice came from the other end.
"MOM! I AM SERIOUS."
"So am I, my daughter. You know I never joke about money."
Zuri sighed heavily once more, reflecting on her thoughts as she sought guidance from her stepmother, Sandy, her mother's sister.
Sandy entered Zuri's life when she was just 11 years old. After Zuri's mother passed away from lung cancer, Sandy took over as her mother after a year of grievance. She did not want Zuri to face difficulties if her father married a troublemaker, so she became her legal mother and married her sister's husband.
Sandy had a unique outlook on life. She believed that money was true love, except for her daughter, Zuri. No one ever gets bored of money; in fact, it only increases greed. You want more and never get tired of it. The more money you have, the more possessive you become . Money can buy happiness, and it never fails to fulfil your wishes. Everything else is just an illusion, but money is real.
"Mom, if you are really going to give such advice, I am hanging up the call, and alone, I will torment myself to find out about those two women who share the same name."
"Wait, there are two women? And they have the same name? Since when did my son-in-law become this entertaining?" Sandy's voice sounded surprised."Are you sure you are talking about Asher Voss? You did not marry a second time without my knowledge, right?"
Zuri did not feel like responding to her mother's unwanted question. She maintained the silence until Sandy was ready to listen to her.
"Alright, alright, you win. I am listening."
Zuri informed Sandy what had been happening in her life for five months, and without intervening a single time, she listened to her daughter, whose tears started to flow while narrating her five months of loneliness until today.
"I should have noted the number of Lyla. I searched on Instagram, but I couldn't find much information about them. I can't follow Asher also. I don't want to show him that I am freaking out and like a lunatic following him."
Zuri cried, only became louder."Tell me, Mom, what should I do?"
"I think he got bored of his monotonous life and is now looking for entertainment outside. Zuri, you, too, can look for entertainment outside. But I would suggest divorce. I am against cheating on partner path."
It only annoyed Zuri, listening to her mother's suggestion, "Then why did you not get a divorce from Dad?"
"Did you think I did not try after you got married? I can't believe his eyes only follow me. He never looks at another woman. Even though I tried to push him to other women to get a divorce from him."
There was a moment of silence before Sandy continued on a more serious note, "And I was in a dilemma, thinking that you married a man just like your father. My son-in-law truly disappointed me."
"Mom, I can't even say right now, whose side are you on? Mine or Asher? If you are sad or happy. Should you not be flaring with anger on Asher and cursing him?"
"Would that have made you feel better if I did that?" Sandy replied, frustrated. She didn't understand why her daughter had whined about such matters. Had Zuri forgotten who she was?
"Zuri, how did you handle all those girls at the university when Asher was single? And what happened to his friends who were against you?"
Zuri listened to her mother in absolute silence though her fingertips quietly tapping on the arm of the couch.
"When you managed so well back then, and now you are married to him with half of his property in your name, what are you afraid of?"