THE HONOURABLE MAN

Episode 58

Bryce chuckles at his wife's impatient gaze while running his thumb on her soft cheeks. "It doesn't matter what I told her, what you need to know is I got Gareth's number so now you can call him and ask him to come," he thoughtfully says.

Kiana throws him a look mixed with suspicion and worry but she shrugs off the mixed feelings as she deems them not worthy to entertain. If her husband doesn't feel comfortable with telling her something's then who is she to force him to? After all he has a right to privacy.

"Okay...well do you think I should tell him the truth that I'm Courtney's sister and I would like to speak to him about her? Do you think he will agree to fly all the way here for that?" She shoots him a worried glance.

"I think the only way he is going to come here is if we tell him the truth," he advises. "Okay then..." she says as she picks up her husband's phone and searches for Gareth's number.

As the phone begins ringing, she anxiously darts her eyes around the room. Her heart starts racing and so does her mind.

"Hello," says, a friendly and modulated voice.

Kiana flashes her husband a promising look and she begins to relax and breathe.

"Good evening...may I know if this is Gareth Wilson speaking?"

"Yes it is...how may I help?" He politely asks.

Kiana nervously wanders around the room while keeping her gaze on Bryce.

"I'm Courtney's sister...Kiana Ray," she introduces.

"Oh yes...I remember you, you are the one who looks just like Courtney isn't it?"

"That's one way to put it," she chuckles.

"I'm surprised that you are calling me, is everything okay?"

She exhales deeply and responds after a brief moment, "I'm not sure but I would like to talk to you in person, it's very important. I wouldn't be calling you if it wasn't. I will cover all costs, the plane ticket, accommodation you name it," she desperately implores.

There is an uncomfortable long silence as Gareth ponders over Kiana's request and the obvious desperation reflecting in her voice.

He figures it would do him good to sit down with Courtney's family and tell his side of the story.

"Let's meet during the weekend, how is that?" He willingly says.

Kiana flashes her husband a victory smile, "Really...are you sure?" Her eyes widen with relief.

"I'm positive and don't worry about the ticket or accommodation. I am a working man I can pay for my own trip," he chortles.

"If you insist Mr. Wilson....I would like to ask for one last favor?" She bites her lower lip as she awaits his response.

"What is it?" He wonders.

"Please don't tell Courtney that you spoke with me or that you will be coming here to meet with me," she begs.

"I wasn't planning on telling her," he confesses.

"Alright then Mr. Wilson...thank you very much for your time...have yourself a goodnight," she bids.

"And yourself Ms. Ray," he says before hanging up.

***

The long awaited weekend arrives and Bryce believes it's best if Kiana meets with Gareth on her own and he remains behind to watch the kids.

It's a beautiful sunny day, the sun shines brilliantly and white fluffy clouds drift across the blue sky. Kiana pulls over at a parking lot and strides to the hotel where she is to meet Gareth Wilson.

She plops herself down in a chair and slightly lifts up her hand to check the time on her watch. She is ten minutes early, she glances at the door every few seconds in anticipation for when Gareth will step in.

She recites the last time she saw him a few days after his wedding. They huddled together at the airport saying their goodbyes, little did they know that would be the last time they hear from Courtney for the next ten years.

She never got to know Gareth very well as she was only around him for a short time but he seemed like a decent man, he was ever cheerful and laughing. It showed without a doubt that he doted on her sister, she finds it hard to believe that he would then turn around and cheat on her.

She try's to recall his appearance, she remembers his dark eyes twinkling under his geek glasses. With his average height and his plumpish body, she never would have guessed that he would end up being the lucky groom. His physical features did make her wonder how her sister ended up with someone with his looks? She never pictured her very picky sister marrying a nerdy man like him.

It then crosses her mind that Gareth is a wealthy pilot. How did she forget? It now makes sense why her sister married him, it wasn't for love but for his wallet.

Courtney has always been a lazy person who never wants to work hard at anything be it school or building a career for herself. It's no wonder she chose to marry a wealthy person to financially provide for her without a need for her to lift a finger.

A soft tap on her shoulder startles her and jolts her out of her thoughts, she glances over her shoulder and her eyes widen with amazement at the sight of a dashing man, whom she recognizes to be Gareth after a few seconds of staring blankly at him.

The plumpish body has been dissolved to a brawny body with a noticeable muscle definition and shape, his geek glasses have been replaced with lens implants. His lean body makes him appear much taller.

"You haven't changed a bit," he softly utters as he pulls out a chair to sit, maintaining his gaze on her.

"I can't say the same about you Mr. Wilson," she says with a stunned look.

He chuckles, knowing exactly what she means, "Please call me Gareth...there is no need to be formal," he utters.

"Okay....Gareth...I hope you had a wonderful trip...thank you so much for sparing me your time."

"Everything went well....how are you?"

The waiter walks over to their table to get their orders, he jots them down and quickly walks away to give them back their privacy.

***

"I'm doing fine and you?" She responds.

He averts his eyes from her and stares off into the distance, completely lost in thought.

"Gareth...are you okay?" She stares at him with a concerned look.

After a long moment of silence he turns his gaze back to her, "I think I was doing okay until I received your call," he muses.

Kiana's eyes widen with astonishment, she gapes at him waiting for an explanation.

"I'm sorry...It came out wrong...I didn't mean it like that," he frantically apologizes.

Kiana reaches for his hand and covers it with hers, "Hey....It's okay...relax," she whispers softly to him. He stares into her reassuring eyes and begins to calm down and he exhales deeply.

"Why did you ask me to come....what is it that you would like to discuss with me?" He cuts to the chase.

Kiana blinks with uncertainty as she is not sure with where to begin.

"I believe Courtney is keeping something from me. I found her in my home when I came back from Bahida...I don't even know how she found out where I...." she pauses.

"You know what...that's not important. The thing is she said you are leaving her for another woman. That's her reason for coming back to Alandro and she claims you are the reason she became estranged from her family," she states.

Gareth's soft expression quickly changes to a mixture of hurt, shock and anger.

"I can't believe this...your sister is a bloody liar and I guess she will never change," his breathing gets quicker and shallower owing to the anger flowing in him.

Kiana expectantly peers at him encouraging him to go on.

"Your sister cheated on me with her thug of a lover Jeremy Meyers. They tried to...to..." he fails miserably to utter the next words and is on the verge of crying.

"To what?" Kiana arches her brows with anticipation.

"They tried to kill me," he abruptly blurts.

"What?" Kiana chuckles in disbelief and leans back against her chair. Her mind is churning, her sister maybe a lot of things but there is no way she can believe that her sister is guilty of what she is being accused of.

"Do you really have to fabricate stories?" She frowns.

Tension hangs in the air for a long moment until Gareth's speaks.

"I don't blame you for thinking that...I would probably assume the same if I were you. Let me ask you something, doesn't it seem suspicious to you that Courtney would just come back to Alandro without a word after ten years of no communication?"

Kiana mulls over his words, "Well...yeah it does make me suspicious that is why I called you to try and get some answers."

"I caught Courtney cheating and I was willing to forgive her because I loved her more than I should. I only asked her to stop seeing her thug but a few days later an amateur hit man shot at me luckily I managed to duck down and run away and he was caught by the police and questioned. He revealed that it was Courtney and her boyfriend who paid him to kill me so she could inherit everything I have as well as hundreds of thousands from my insurance policy. They were going to be free to be together with me six feet under," he narrates with a heavy heart.

Kiana is at a loss for words, she is beyond astounded and horrified. She lets out a sigh of dismay as she runs both her hands through her hair.

"The hit man provided concrete evidence against Courtney and Jeremy. Her lover was arrested for attempted murder and Courtney is a wanted woman in Roseland, she is only back here to hide away," He adds.

"After being married for so long, how could she do something like that to you? If you don't mind me asking Gareth, how was your marriage like?" She thoughtfully questions.

Gareth falls back on his chair and sighs wearily. He darts his eyes around the room while trying to catch his breath and compose himself.

The waiter returns with their orders and they start digging into their plates.

After taking a few spoons, he is ready to continue the dreadful conversation. "Looking back....the truth is Courtney never loved me. I was desperate to have her and for some selfish reasons she agreed to be my wife. Although I don't have any proof I'm sure she started cheating on me from the very first year of our marriage. That was the only way she could survive being married to someone she didn't love," he pauses to swallow.

"My job gave her plenty of time to fool around. She used to criticize how I look and I thought maybe that was the problem, my nerdy appearance. I started working on my body, I lost the extra pounds and had implants to rid me of the nerdy glasses. I taught myself how to dress nice...I tried to change a lot of things about myself for her but it didn't make any difference," he laments.

"Oh Gareth...I'm so sorry to hear that but why did you stay in a loveless marriage for so long...I mean you didn't have any children to stay for?"

"Because I loved her and I didn't want to lose her. I was comforted by the thought of having her in my house and being intimate with her....I know that sounds crazy and stupid," he looks away feeling ashamed.

"No...no it isn't...you made vows to her for better for worse and until death do you apart, you can't beat yourself down for respecting them." She flashes him a reassuring smile.

Hearing her words makes him feel comforted and he is able to take it easy on himself. Ever since he found out that Courtney tried to have him killed, he has been feeling like a complete fool for staying years with a woman who never showed him any love. Now that someone has told him he wasn't wrong to honor his wedding vows, he feels proud of himself for having stood by his vows through it all.

"Thank you for your comforting and reassuring words Kiana," his eyes shine with hope.

They carry on devouring their food in silence, both of them are deep in thought as their forks scrap on the plates in front of them.

Kiana steals a quizzical glance at Gareth, she watches him staring into his glass of wine before sipping it pensively. She notes the budding sadness and confusion in his eyes.

"Gareth," she softly calls out and the sound of her voice brings him out of his thoughts.

"Yes," he forces on a composed expression.

"You still love her don't you? ....Is that why you agreed to come here?" She questions.

There is a twinge of pain in her heart, she bleeds for him, she cannot imagine the kind of pain he must have endured. Courtney is her sister and therefore she feels the need to apologize to Gareth for the pain her blood sister has caused him.

He locks eyes with her and observes the hint of empathy flashing in them.

"Yes...I still love her but that's not the reason I came here," he states.

"Oh?" Kiana widens her eyes and expectantly stares at him.

"I guess I wanted her family to know the truth...I knew for a fact that she wouldn't dare tell the truth but instead she would tell lies and make me out to be the bad guy....I guessed correct...I can't believe she told you I was leaving her for another woman," he furrows his brows as he scoffs.

"I don't know what else to say besides the words "I'm sorry"...."

"You don't have to apologize for Courtney's mistakes," he quickly utters.

"She is my sister.... I feel obligated to," she insists.

He averts his eyes away from her and takes his glass of wine into his hands as if to sip from it but then he puts it back and sighs.

"Thank you...I can see that you are nothing like your sister," he smirks.

"So Gareth...do you intend on having a word with Courtney before you leave?...Is it possible that since you still love her you will forgive her and maybe stay married to her?" She dares to ask.

Gareth is caught off guard by her question, he gasps and clears his throat. She gets the impression he hadn't yet asked himself the question.

"I think it would be best if I don't see her...and yes I still love your sister but if I have learnt anything from what's happened is sometimes love just isn't enough, it's not true that it conquers all," he blinks.

Gareth insists on paying the bill and together they slip out of the restaurant. He walks her to her car and like a perfect gentleman he rushes forward to open the door for her.

"Thank you so much for seeing me and again I am truly sorry for all the pain my sister has caused you. I'm just glad I know the truth now and trust me I'm going to give her hell," she glowers.

Gareth gives her details of where he will be staying for the rest of the day just in case she needs to meet with him again for any reason. He also informs her that he will be flying back to Roseland the next day. He warmly thanks her for listening and for her comforting and encouraging words.

As he walks to his own car, he conceives he made the right decision by agreeing to meet with Kiana and exposing Courtney for who she really is as well as clearing his name.