71 Another Chance

Inside the platinum suite, Kiba and Meghan slept on the bed. It was afternoon but they were dead tired.

~ring~ring~

A sudden phone call broke their sleep.

"A business call so please excuse me," Kiba gave Meghan a kiss and told her to rest. He stepped into the adjacent room before taking the call.

"Claudia, what happened?" Kiba asked.

[[Data from SBC News Headquarters has been downloaded.]]

"I see," Kiba took a seat on the couch. Even for Claudia, hacking through a news channel's internal servers wasn't easy as data was the lifeline of the channel. To overcome this difficulty, he helped her in planting the required tools at SBC Headquarters.

Kiba swiped a panel on the mobile screen and waved it towards the tv. A moment later, the tv flashed with the information Claudia has gained.

"Anything we can use?" Kiba asked.

[[There is a recording of the video call between Sylvian and Daniel. It took place a few hours after the incident in the wasteland.]]

A media company would always have few cards under their sleeves. Daniel was the same. He recorded his conversation with Sylvan for worst-case situations. 

"Sylvian? The chief supervisor of the city?"

[[Yes. He wanted Daniel's and other media houses' help in fooling the commoners about the incident. To do so, he bribed Daniel with $50 million and clearance for a pharmaceutical company.]]

The screen projected the conversation between Daniel and Sylvan.

"Wow! So Daniel used me to cover up an incident I created!" Kiba couldn't help but laugh at the irony. 

[[The next information we acquired is related to that. The internal logs of the channel states it was Sarah who proposed the idea of using you and Lady Agatha to attract viewers. To be precise, Daniel readily agreed to the proposal so both of them are responsible.]]

"Is that so?"

Kiba's face turned cold.

*****

In his house, Daniel stepped into the living room and sat on the sofa with a smile. He has checked all the security arrangements and was confident that Kiba could never intrude here!

~~beep~

[[Jordi has sent you a video message]] The AI responsible for the management of the house informed.

"Jordi? Quickly play the video!" Daniel commanded.

...

A virtual screen flashed in front of him, projecting the contents of the video. There were two recordings in it: First was the indirect meeting between Kiba and Sarah at the art exhibition, where they didn't really meet. The second showed Sarah's encounter with Kiba on the beach.

Daniel felt his blood boiling when he saw Sarah smiling as she chatted with Kiba. There was no audio sound so he wasn't able to judge what made her smile so much.

At the end of the two recordings, a message from Jordi informed Sarah paid for Kiba's drink! 

"She bought that infamous playboy a drink?!" Daniel couldn't understand why she will do such a thing.

"They only had a brief encounter so I shouldn't think too much!"

Daniel tried to calm himself but then he wondered what if they had another encounter inside the hotel premises! Jordi's team was able to record the events at exhibition and beach by acting as if they were guests recording their stay.

But inside the hotel rooms? Daniel knew how strict Close Horizon was about the privacy of its rich patrons. There was no way he could access the security footages either.

"No! I am thinking too much! There is no way Sarah will fall for that bastard!" Daniel took a deep breath and proceeded to make a drink for himself.

Half an hour later~

~beep beep~

Daniel was savoring a drink when he received a message on his cell phone. His expression turned ugly when he saw the sender's name: KIBA!

He tapped on the screen and the message popped up: "Every smile has a reason, every laughter has a way, every destination has a way, every lock has a key!"

The last two phrases were italicized to imply their importance. Danie;'s eyes turned bloodshot as he realized the innuendo!

"Son of a bitch!"

-----

It was evening when Sarah returned to her home. She was surprised to find her husband in the living room, reeking of alcohol.

"Honey, you are early!" Sarah put her bag on the table and sat across him.

"Can't I come early? Or perhaps you were expecting someone else?" Daniel asked.

Sarah was startled by her husband's questions. 

"What's wrong with you?" She asked.

"With me!?" Daniel's eyes flashed with anger. He pressed a digital option on the coffee table and the virtual screen appeared, displaying the video recordings.

Sarah was shocked to see her personal outings recorded.

"You were spying on me?!" Sarah was incensed. What has she done to deserve such lack of trust?

"It is you who needs to give an explanation and not me!" Daniel pointed towards the recording in which she was smiling at Kiba, "What do you have to say?"

"You are an asshole!" Sarah has enough of her husband's rudeness, "Kiba made a funny remark so I smiled! Or do I need permission to even smile!?"

"You were with Kiba! KIBA!"

Daniel couldn't help but remember the message Kiba sent an hour ago.

"Your mind has rotted to such an extent that all you can think is dirty stuff!" Sarah stopped the recording and vented, "Whenever you speak with a woman or have a private meeting with her, have I ever been suspicious?! No! I haven't! Because I trust you! And I thought the same applied to you! But I guess I was wrong!"

"Stop lying! Only a whore would hang out with Kiba!" Daniel retorted in anger. The moment he spoke, he regretted his words. He knew he has crossed the line.

Sarah's eyes turning misty.

"I didn't mean th--" Daniel wanted to apologize but just then, his private number rang. He wanted to cancel the call but he then noticed it was from his chief secretary. Someone who would never call on this phone unless it was an emergency.

"Sarah, I didn't mean what I said!" Daniel quickly apologized and then picked the call. In seconds, his expression turned unsightly.

"I have an urgent meeting!" Daniel said while rushing to the exit.

"STOP! You better give me an explanation first!" Sarah tried to stop him but Daniel didn't listen as he left the house.

Sarah couldn't understand her husband any longer.

"He is no longer the man I loved..."

After handing her kids to the nanny, she left the house...

****

Love Heart Beach was located on the outskirts of the city. It was a beach accessible to all; frequented by rich and poor alike.

Sarah absentmindedly walked on the beach. This beach was her asylum whenever she felt lost or broken.

"Daniel... just why?"

Sarah looked at the setting sun and wondered about her husband's recent behavior.

"Could it be midlife crisis?"

She wondered as she walked further. She paused when she saw a man sitting on the sand.

Kiba!?

He seemed to be lost in thoughts as he threw a stone across the water. The stone bounced on the water surface before sinking in, creating a few ripples in the process.

"Life is like a stone..."

Kiba muttered to himself. Sarah was some distance behind him and she could hear his words.

After her conversation with Daniel, she didn't want to meet Kiba. But now seeing a playboy like him alone, that too lost in thoughts about life, she couldn't help but become curious. She felt there was nothing wrong with striking a conversation.

"We meet again," Sarah said as she arrived near him.

Kiba's eyes were filled with surprise as she sat next to him.

"Ah! I'm meeting the gorgeous lady again!" Kiba remarked. "It seems the goddess of luck is on my side!"

"You are not with your girlfriend?" Sarah asked. In all the previous encounters, she recalled he was with Meghan, and from what she could tell, they were very close!

"You mean Meghan?" Kiba asked. Sarah nodded so he continued, "Well, she has a modeling assignment so I came here to clear my thoughts."

"Clear your thoughts?" Sarah was surprised.

"Thoughts about life," Kiba threw a stone into the water surface again, "I wonder why we are born only to die?"

"That's hard to answer!" Sarah pointed out the difficulty.

"Sometimes I feel we are like the stones used in stone skipping," Kiba looked at the stone as it bounced on the water, "We bounce a few times only to sink!"

Sarah also observed the sinking stone and found the similarities he spoke.

After thinking for some time, she replied, "Perhaps just like stones we exist to create ripples! Ripples that change the world!"

"That's some deep perspective," Kiba observed with a smile. "Though to be honest, I don't understand what you meant!"

"I only spoke some gibberish so don't think much!"

Sarah also smiled as she replied. She has always been fond of philosophy about life so she was glad to find another person sharing her interest.

Silence settled in and they both stared at the sea.

"Where are your friends?" Kiba asked after some time.

"I came alone," Sarah replied with a bitter expression. "Just like you, I also came here to clear my thoughts."

Kiba brought his eyes on her and asked, "What thoughts can affect a pretty lady like you?"

"I had a quarrel with my husband..." Sarah glanced at the evening sky as she answered, "He has been an asshole lately!"

Kiba looked back at the sea. He turned silent and didn't respond.

Sarah was startled by his silence. People would often respond after the types of thoughts she expressed.

So she couldn't help but say, "Are you not going to speak things like my husband is not an asshole? Or maybe he is!"

Kiba let out a barely audible sigh before answering, "For me, this is a conflict of interest so I can't comment!"

"Hmm?" Sarah stared at him in surprise.

"The lady I so admire is married! You can only imagine the conflict I'm facing!" Kiba bitterly explained.

Despite her troubles, Sarah couldn't help but smile.

"You were right when you claimed you are always like this!" Sarah remarked. 

More silence followed and the two enjoyed the fresh sea breeze. 

After a few minutes, Kiba said, "You only quarrel with those you truly love!"

"!!" Sarah was startled.

"Give your husband a chance to explain himself," Kiba added further.

"I did give him a chance," Sarah bitterly replied. "But instead of explaining, he made some excuse and rushed outside!

"Perhaps he has a reason," Kiba looked at her in the eyes as he continued, "Maybe he's involved in some trouble and having a hard time expressing himself."

"I..." Sarah was shocked. As she contemplated his words, she felt he might be right!

"Give your husband a chance to prove he is the man you married!" Kiba concluded by adding, "You are his wife so you owe him this much!"

Sarah nodded in agreement. With a sincere expression, she said, "Thank you!"