The dim glow from the red lights that shone above their heads made Dilly's eyes blurry . For Someone that can barely see without her glasses and contact lenses, she has big brown eyes that stares right into the soul.

Sophia took note of these beautiful features as she sat across Dilly in one of the most expensive restaurants in town.

Dilly blinked from time to time , she didn't know for sure if the red lights was affecting her eyes so bad or if it was the fact that sitting across the table was Sophia Ruben, her boyfriend's wife.

" ex-boyfriend" She reminded herself .

She had broken up with him because she can't seem to live up to the guilt that she felt every time she was with him. She loved him which made it worse, she should not be loving him, it felt very wrong to love him but there was nothing she could do. 

She did not give it a second thought when she replied to Sophia's mail few days back. According to the mail, Sophia Ruben wanted them to talk over dinner at one of the most popular five star restaurant. The restaurant was one of the reasons why Dilly agreed to go to the date asides from being curious as to why Sophia would want to have dinner with her.

Deep down in her mind she knew what it was about.

They had met at a private house party that Sophia hosted a year ago. It was at the same party Dilly met Hank Ruben, Sophia's husband. She had fallen for him instantly without knowing he was somebody's husband although she didn't hesitate to continue her affair even after she found out he was married.

Sophia Ruben was popularly known for her successful modeling agency across some parts of the world. She retired from modeling at a very young age and started an agency to help aspiring models achieve their dreams.

Dilly admired her a lot.

"Dilly?" Sophia's soft but piercing voice jolted her out of her numerous thoughts.

"I'm sorry , I was lost in thought" she faked a smile.

Her palms were sweaty , she picked her glass up and sipped the wine nervously .

As if sensing Dilly's discomfort , Sophia cleared her throat gently , "I know you are sleeping with my husband and I know you are in love with him".

Dilly stared right into her company's eyes ,dumbfounded.

"Well not anymore" she wanted to say but kept her mouth shut. It could get messy.

There was silence for few minutes. The two women seem to be short of words as they kept staring at each other.

"We broke up" Dilly whispered. " it's been three weeks and five days". She wanted to make sure that Sophia knew she had been counting. 

She bit her lower lips. 

"Lovers do not just break up and end things.....I'm sure you know better" Sophia laughed dryly , her face held no emotions and her voice had no hint of pain or hurt.

If she was truly hurt then she did a great job hiding it.

Dilly wondered what more Sophia knew about her love affair with Hank.

"Well that's not why I'm here, I'm not here to hear of your little affair with my husband , it's not my business whether you guys break up or not" Sophia eyed her, sipping from her cocktail with so much class. "I am aware of how you guys feel for each other because I went through his phone. I confronted him and he admitted that it was true"

"I'm sorry Sophia" Dilly muttered even though she was not sure what she was apologizing for . What she feared the most was finally happening.

She had been cheated on and she knew how much it hurt. But this woman was acting like she didn't feel anything or maybe she was just good at hiding her emotions.

"You are sorry?" Sophia laughed out loud "I don't think so Dilly because you were not sorry when you had sex with my husband".

Dilly froze as the words pierced through her.

"Hank will never leave me young woman" she continued quietly . "not for you, not for anybody else".

"I know Sophia" Dilly said determined to hide the tension that gripped her.

"Good . So stop wasting your youthful years with someone else's husband" she fired quietly not wanting to attract attention.

Dilly opened her mouth to talk but she was rudely interrupted by Sophia "my husband loves me and I love him so much".

Dilly scoffed knowing fully well that Sophia had cheated on Hank but she was not about to bring that up . Sophia has every right to be upset , Hank is her husband.

"You can consider me your karma" Dilly thought feeling rebellious.

The almighty Sophia Ruben glanced at her wrist watch and smiled sheepishly at Dilly like they didn't just have the most difficult conversation.

"I need to leave now , I have a meeting in thirty minutes" She got up and left with so much charisma that Dilly watched her until she was out of sight.

"Well your husband is all yours now , except that you still have other bitches to fight" she muttered to herself .

Dilly rolled her eyes realizing that Sophia invited her out to a five star restaurant just to warn her to leave her husband alone. How classy!

"She could have done that over the phone though" she sighed.

Something about Sophia Ruben made Dilly curious. She didn't know what it was but it pulled her like a strong force.

She had witnessed few scenarios where Hank had to move out of the house just to be on his own simply because Sophia was 'stressing him out' and most times Dilly always ended up being with him in their usual hideout.

At a point she concluded that he seemed happier around her than when he was back home with his trophy wife. But that was before she found out that she was just one out of many of his mistresses. It's crazy that she still liked him very much.

She could not deny the fact that she missed him so much since it's been long they reached out to each other. She had clearly warned him to stay away from her. Now she had to let him go totally especially after her conversation with Sophia.

The woman had this aura about her that tells you not to mess with her or you will end up in trouble.

Is Hank really worth the trouble ? She doubts.

Ryan groaned as he felt an irresistible urge to take a walk. He felt irritated with having to move into a new apartment, his frustration was mainly moving to an entirely different city. It's been weeks already and he was yet to get used to his new environment. 

All his attempt to meet his sleepy neighbor again proved abortive increasing his frustration. 

A smile crept to the corner of his lips as he remembered her sleepy face when she referred to him as 'grandmaster'. He had caught on the embarrassment on her face and the way she was not able to look at him. 

The urge to take a walk came again , this time stronger pulling him on his feet. He sighed as he wore his sandals and headed out of the house , he followed submissively as the force pulled him along the lonely street that leads to the city's biggest shopping mall.

For some reason , the street was quiet and no one was walking or driving or standing outside. He stopped and looked around in time to see his sleepy neighbor coming out of a fruit shop. She had a bottle of soft drink in one hand and a bag of fruits on her other hand, she was heading home alone. Just as she started to walk down the lonely street, a car stopped right in front of her making her jump in fear.

He wanted to run toward their direction but his feet would not move, he struggled to free himself but the force holding him down was too strong. He was standing beside an old building , nobody would see him. He groaned in frustration.

"Be still" a small voice in his head commanded.

He relaxed his muscles immediately, watching keenly.

Dilly gasped as the left over soft drink spilled on her white dress.

"Oh shit" she was clearly pissed . She flung the empty bottle in the waste bin close to her.

Why would someone drive so recklessly. She was beginning to lash out at the careless driver when Sophia Ruben got out of the car.

"What!" Dilly thought "was she trying to kill me?"

They glared at each other and Sophia smirked , her right palm landing heavily on Dilly's left cheek.

She looked at the Sophia in shock , the woman looked crazy. Her eyes burned with so much anger and rage that Dilly wondered if she was going to strike her dead at that instance.

She was too stunned to talk , she just held her cheek trying so hard not to cry. 

Sophia slapped her again and again making Dilly lose her balance . She staggered backwards , her eyes seeing stars . Thankfully she was wearing her contact lenses because the slaps would have sent her glasses flying in the air.

"You bitch! Didn't I warn you to leave him alone?" Sophia yelled.

"I did , I've stopped seeing him" Dilly whispered. She tried so hard to stop the sob that was building up in her throat . She would not let this woman see her cry , she would not give her that satisfaction.

"Really?" Sophia laughed "then explain this"

She put her phone in Dilly 's face eyeing her with so much bitterness and rage written all over her.

Dilly gasped shaking her head in disbelief as she stared at a picture of herself and Hank hugging tightly. Hank had begged to see her one last time and they had concluded on meeting in an open space. She could not believe her eyes , Sophia had followed them? 

"Are you stalking us now? Dilly laughed in an attempt to annoy the almighty Sophia.

Sophia ignored her question. 

" He asked to see me, he called and begged to see me one last time...." she continued. 

"Hank promised me he was not going to call or text you again , so how would he have asked to see you... you liar" Sophia said with disdain.

Dilly's anger was beginning to take the best of her , this woman really thought she could just go about hitting people the way she pleases. 

Ryan stood still, watching the drama unfold. It was amusing that they are actually arguing over a man? He laughed but not loud enough for them to hear.

Surprisingly, he felt upset that the older woman hit his sleepy neighbor across her face. That was so unfair. 

"Dilly I bet the next time I come to warn you, I'm getting you locked up" Sophia spat, with that she turned to walk back to her car. 

"You should be less worried about me Sophia, there are four more girls you need to beat up since that's what you're really good at" Dilly fired at her.

Ryan's mouth opened in surprise at Dilly's outburst. He was not expecting that. He might have to interfere before it gets messy. He wondered what type of a man would make two beautiful women go crazy at each other. He would like to see what this man looks like. 

Sophia stopped in her track . Heat rose up to her face as she rushed back to Dilly and grabbed her by the throat.

"What did you just say?" Sophia's eyes were wide open. Dilly could see the raw hatred in them making her flinch a little.

"You heard me right. He has four or more other mistresses. You might as well beat them up too" she laughed in spite of herself.

Sophia was about to hit Dilly again but she stopped mid air all of a sudden. She moved backwards in great fear looking at something behind Dilly.

"Hey babe let's go home" Ryan grabbed Dilly's hand from behind and started to pull her away.

She snatched her arm from him scared that he would hurt her too just like Sophia did.

"Calm down" he whispered "I saw what happened."

"ohh" she flushed in embarrassment. She looked over at where Sophia stood wondering why she kept looking at Ryan with so much fear in her eyes. They watched her walk back to her car and drive away quietly. 

Dilly looked up at Ryan suspiciously "what did you do to her? She suddenly became quiet after you came here"

He just shrugged . "You should say thank you instead I guess, I came here to save you".

Dilly sighed softly "Thank you, next time i can fight for myself"

"You are not coming home?" He called after her as she began walking in the opposite direction towards her best friend's house. 

She ignored him and just kept walking. Her thought shifted back to the fear in Sophia's eyes after he appeared. He must have cast a spell on her. She shook the silly thought off her head.

They definitely know each other, that was the only reasonable explanation for what had happened.

Ryan watched as she walked into the dark ends of the lonely streets, He punched thin air as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"That was so close" the tiny voice in his head mocked.

It was just like every other Saturday in Sophia's mansion, quiet and dry except for the couple and two maidservants. Saturdays used to be buzzing with guests and family members but Hank put an end to it few years ago without giving anyone a solid explanation, not like he owed them any.

Sophia knew very well why her husband put a stop to the usual weekend merriment , so she didn't hesitate to stop her hostess duty. Lucky for them , their family and friends were quite willing to understand. Even though no proper explanation was made, everyone respected the couple's decision and stopped coming around except they were invited by either Hank or Sophia on rare occasions.

Hank and Sophia sat in the big living room downstairs, they were both engrossed in the political news that was showing on the extremely large television screen, a big bowl of popcorn sat in their middle.

Sophia stole a quick glance at her husband, for the past few days he had not been talking to her. Just one word replies when necessary. Over the years, communication between them had been messed up but lately he had not said so much to her. 

Could he have known that she went to attack Dilly. She knew she was overthinking because Hank was not the kind of person to keep tabs on her. He didn't care that much . Well except his little puppet had told him that she got attacked.

She shivered as she remembered the man that came to save Dilly, did fangs really grow out of that man's mouth? 

She tried to make herself believe that she was either hallucinating or she had imagined things. She actually did not see what her mind was telling her that she saw, that only happens in movies. Nothing like that exists in the real world. 

She shifted towards her husband as she tries to get herself to forget the incident. 

"In fact, the whole drama never happened.....let's pretend it never happened" she thought. She would not admit it but she had been filled with regrets at her action towards Dilly, not because she felt sorry but because she had put her reputation at stake. What if people had seen them? She was way too classy to have acted that way. What if Hank had seen her? What would he think of her?

But this man right here is her life partner and she would do anything to protect their relationship. 

"Babe , I need some money to get new clothes and shoes" she whispered in an attempt to get his attention. She grabbed his hands playfully, her heart sank when he retreated. 

Now I can't even hold you?

"Okay" he nodded .

"Would you want anything from the store? I think I will be shopping Prada this time around , first thing tomorrow morning" she said not giving up.

"No " he answered , his gaze was fixed on the television screen.

"Babe...I'm getting a new set of lingerie too , I'll get them in color red and white. Your favorite colors" she attempted to hold his hands again but he gently snatched his hands away from her.

"Do whatever you want Sophia" he glared at her. "I'll send you some money."

They both knew that the money was not the issue , she could buy those things for herself and more if she wanted but she just really needs her husband to be nice to her or pretend to be.

He was not ready or willing to pay attention to her and she knows that so well but it's her marriage and there is no giving up at this point. They have come too far to give up on their marriage. They have so many joint businesses. Even though they have tried to no avail to have kids , they are still very committed to the marriage. She was not so sure about him anymore but she still wants to be his wife so bad.

It was obvious that he no longer loved her and Sophia could not stand the thought of that.

The television went blank before her as she reflected on the early stage of their marriage. They were so in love and were the envy of other couple because they displayed their affection even in public without bothering about their surrounding.

However things became messy when he caught her cheating. She had cheated on him with her supposed financial manager. 

She sighed deeply .

After the incident, she had tried so many times to understand why she had done it and brought so much disregard to her husband. But she could not figure it out , she just wanted to explore and rebel for the fun of it. She wanted it to be her little wild secret but it had ended up ruining her 'perfect' marriage.

She thought about what Dilly said the last time they met . Does he really have four other mistresses? She dare not confront him about it for the fear of upsetting him.

She loves her husband so much and she would do anything to protect her marriage even though it means having to beat up all his mistresses and putting them all in jail.

Four years back, If anyone had told her that she would have to go about fighting young girls over the man that is supposed to be hers alone, she would have argued. 

Her husband went from being the most loving man to being cold as ice but she was willing to take every hit as it comes. She knew that some day he would see her effort and things will go back to the way they used to be.

She turned just in time to see him walking out of the living room. The political news was over and he was leaving without saying a word to her?

"Babe" she called after him.

She wanted to follow him but decided to stay back.

"Yeah?" He stopped and turned to face her.

She scrutinized him , his face held no emotions. The warmth and love she used to see in his eyes were no longer there.

It had been that way since he caught her cheating , but it got worse after Dilly broke up with him.

"Do you really love that bitch this much?" She was going to say .

But instead she forced a smile and said "you look worried , are you alright?"

"Yes I am" he answered.

"Let's have dinner at the new restaurant in town , I've been there once" she said still smiling even though her face was beginning to hurt from the fake smile.

"No thank you" he replied coldly and walked out of the living room.

Her heart sank as she watched him go away. She missed the Hank that she had fallen in love with , she missed getting drunk with him and making love right away.

She followed right after him not willing to give up. 

"Please baby, just this once, I miss you....." her voice was shaky. Her eyes stung with tears as she looked at him pleadingly. 

He stared at her not knowing how to react. "Okay if that's what you want" He shrugged. 

She threw herself in his embrace as the sob that had built up in her throat forced its way out. It felt good , she had not cried like this in a long time. She knew he hated to see her cry but she was not willing to control the tears, she let it pour out as her shoulders shook.

The gesture got him fixed to the spot, he resisted the urge to wrap his arms around her. He just stood there and allowed her cry on his chest.