178 Just Answer The Question!

Fred was in a relaxed seating position, sipping a glass of red wine and reading a news magazine at the restaurant section of the five-star hotel where he was lodged in. He had just finished eating a sumptuous lunch of sweet lobster chunks baked into a delicious plate of Mac and cheese.

He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn’t notice Tom enter the restaurant until Tom was a few inches close to his table.

“Hey, little bro!” Fred raised his head and smiled sluggishly at Tom. “I thought you had changed your mind about coming around. As you can see...” He gestured to the already cleared table, “...you just missed lunch. I tried waiting for you but I guess I was too hungry.”

“How convenient!” Tom scoffed and briskly took the seat opposite Fred. “Anyway, I didn’t come here for the food.”

“Learn to relax, bro,” Fred took more sips of his drink. “Don’t take life too seriously otherwise your will crash.”

“It’s funny you say that, what has your reckless living brought you, huh?” Tom sneered before turning his attention away from Fred.

He signaled with his right hand and a male waiter came swiftly to their table.

“I’ll have whatever my brother is having,” Tom said in a friendly but dismissive manner.

“Ok sir, coming right up!” The waiter bowed politely and excused himself.

.....

“So, how is work?” Fred tried to change the controversial mood at the table.

“Fine!” Tom replied curtly. He couldn’t explain why he was mad at Fred but his inner being was a disaster waiting to happen and he blamed Fred for this.

“What about the urgent business you had to attend to? Have you concluded it yet?” Tom questioned while critically examining Fred.

From Fred’s relaxed composure and carefree expression, Tom doubted if he was indeed working on anything urgent.

“Well, my business is...” Fred was interrupted by the waiter.

“Sir, your drink!” The waiter gently placed the glass of red wine on the table, bowed politely, and left.

Tom took a sip of his drink, savoring the taste and richness of the wine in his mouth before swallowing it. His slightly piqued face brightened up and his tensed muscles relaxed.

“Nice!” Tom licked his lips and took more sips of his wine. “This is really nice!”

“You know me, I always go for the best.” Fred raised his glass in the air and beamed.

“Sure!” Tom concurred before dropping his half-finished glass of wine on the table. “Back to business, you were saying...”

Fred chuckled at Tom’s seriousness.

“My urgent business is progressing at a snail’s speed. It seems that I’m going to be in Amzone city for a while.” Fred said nonchalantly while observing all of Tom’s reactions from the corner of his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you intend to relocate to this city.” Tom blurted out his fears in disgust. He was worried that Fred was responsible for Denise’s awkward behavior since the previous day.

–

Ever since the previous night, Denise had remained cold as if something was eating her up within. She had not been herself since Fred visited and left abruptly.

Another thing that greatly bothered Tom was when he made love to her. She was excessively demanding and insatiable that he was forced to beg her to stop. She angrily stopped but became bitter afterward. She even refused to shower with him and slept in the guest room.

However, by morning, they settled their difference and sealed them with an early morning romance before leaving together for work.

–

“Amzone city is a beautiful place and it’s not meant for just one person, is it?” Fred raised an eyebrow. “I can decide to relocate here and build an empire for myself here.” He smirked at Tom’s alarmed expression.

“Fred, please be serious. You can see that I’m not in the mood for jokes. When exactly are you planning on leaving the city?” Tom probed further. He didn’t want to believe that Fred meant his first statement.

“To be frank, I have no idea.” Fred waved his hands as a way of dismissing the numerous questions. “As soon as I’m done with my business, I will let you know.”

Tom breathed down his frustration and decided to ask the relevant questions that made him call Fred for the meeting.

“Fred, I need you to be honest with me.”

Tom rested his hands on the table and interlocked them. He stared keenly into his brother’s eyes and said:

“What did you discuss with my fiancee on the way to her place of work yesterday?”

“Nothing.” Fred shrugged his shoulder in reply.

“Nothing? Are you kidding me right now?” Tom’s eyes flared in annoyance. He felt that Fred was lying to him.

“Hey, bro, you don’t have to get yourself worked up over nothing.”

Fred tried to reason with Tom in a calm and friendly tone.

“As I said earlier, we discussed nothing on the way to her place of work. If you think that I’m not telling the truth, you can call on Denise to confirm. On so many occasions, I tried initiating a conversation with her. However, she turned me down severally.”

Tom scrutinized Fred in a scowling manner like a detective trying to piece together a difficult puzzle. He noted that Fred was telling the truth the whole time; as the humor in Fred’s eyes had disappeared.

“So you’re trying to tell me that you guys never talked at all until you left?” Tom relaxed in his seat but his eyes did not leave Fred for a second.

“We didn’t talk all through the ride to her office.” Fred’s forehead furrowed at Tom’s questioning.

“However, when we go to her office, I gave her a piece of necklace that she dropped mistakingly on the night we met.”

“Did you buy her that necklace?”

Rage started to slowly seep into Tom’s veins as he thought of the way Denise had caressed the necklace, the previous night. His gaze gradually darkened and his nostrils flared up at an assumed answer.

“No, Tom!” Fred replied in a slightly raised and piqued tone. “If you were listening to me earlier, then you’d have heard me saying that she dropped it on the night we met. The necklace was a gift her late parents gave her on the eve of their death.”

“Hmm...” Tom sneered.

He slowly took his wine glass from the table and gulped down the remaining content with the twinkling of an eye. He thought long and hard as his riled gaze did not leave Fred for a second.

“Tom, let’s not...”

“One more question, before I leave.” Tom intentionally interrupted Fred. He didn’t want Fred to sweet-talk him into changing the topic.

“Shoot!” Fred sighed in frustration.

“Exactly what time of the night and exactly which place did she lose the necklace?” Tom spoke between gritted teeth as he imagined what Fred’s answer will be.

At this question, Fred lost his cool. He abruptly stood up, causing Tom to do the same.

“Tom, I think we need to draw the line here. Enough of all these unnecessary questions. It’s not going to take us anywhere pleasant.”

“Just answer the question!” Tom glowered at Fred. He clenched and unclenched his fist as rage poisoned his whole system.

Tom and Fred’s awkward standing in the middle of the restaurant and the high-pitched conflict attracted a lot of dinners and waiters at the restaurant.

Some brought out their phone and started recording as they awaited an imminent action between the two handsome men; who both had a striking resemblance.

“Tom, we are attracting a lot of attention to ourselves,” Fred said pleadingly which was in contrast to his riled glares. “Let’s end this irrelevant question and leave this place, please.”

Tom moved menacingly across the table towards Fred and held him forcefully by his shirt collar.

“Just answer the goddamn question!” Tom boomed in a deep raspy voice, bathing Fred’s face with showers of his saliva.

“You wanna know! You really wanna know the details, you stubborn idiot?” Fred tried to release himself from Tom’s clenched fist that was almost choking his neck.

“She lost it on the night when I was f**king her brains o...”

Fred did not finish his statement when Tom left fist landed on his face, causing him to lose his balance. He staggered backward and fell on a table; which shattered under his weight.

Tom was about to pounce on Fred and cover his face with more punches but was stopped by the hotel restaurant staff members; who pulled him away from the humiliated and slightly bruised Fred.

“You bastard! You f**king bastard! I will castrate you if I see you around my fiancee again.” Tom boomed like a drunken man. Although, his intoxication wasn’t wine. It was a perfect blend of fury and resentment.

Fred was helped up to his feet by a friendly dinner and some waiters. He wiped his bleeding nose and mouth on the sleeve of his shirt and straightened out his slightly rumpled clothes.

“Are you alright, Sir?”

“Do we need to call the doctor?”

“Do we...”

“I’m fine!” Fred said curtly. He raised his hands and all those trying to attend to him stopped.

“Sir, you need to press charges on that lunatic?” One of the restaurant managers standing beside Fred suggested in an upset tone.

POW!

historical

The manager found himself falling on some of his workers; who were swift enough to catch him; otherwise, he would have found himself on the fall.

“That lunatic is my brother.” Fred darkened eyes and chilly stares frightened the life out of the managers and every other person hanging around.

“Next time, don’t stick your mouth in things that don’t concern you.” Fred spat out and walked away angrily.