Belong (Seven Year Itch #3)(3)
“Right back at ya, stinker butt.”
Ten minutes after the call, I was on my way home. It was late, and I hoped for her sake, Harper had fallen asleep. I glanced down at the folder on the passenger seat; the one containing more proof than any suspecting husband could need for closure. My heart hurt thinking about it. I’d devoted so much to my marriage. I’d been the man she needed.
In hindsight, I think there was a part of me who always knew it would be easier for her to connect with other women. Of course she’d be able to open up to someone who didn’t have a dick. Still, it didn’t hurt any less.
Thinking back to a time when I was young, fantasizing about being with two women, and then being able to experience it brought everything around full-circle. I’d dabbled in threesomes and taboo sexual encounters. I’d had my fun, carrying the memories with me, but this was different. The person I loved didn’t love me back, not the way I needed her to.
When I stepped inside the house I got this eerie feeling in my gut. Something was off, and it wasn’t the news I came bearing. Something else was going to happen, and I feared I wasn’t going to like it at all.
Chapter 2
An illuminating light was coming from the bedroom. I followed it down the long, narrow hall, taking a pit stop to check on Harper. She was sprawled out on top of her covers, a book in her hand for me to read. I moved it to her bedside table and lifted her up to be able to tuck her in. If I didn’t shove the sheets under the mattress each night she’d kick them off and end up freezing, and in my bed.
Once I’d gotten her situated, I stood there watching her sleep. She was peaceful, without a care in the world. I envied her for it. If only being an adult were so easy.
Since I knew I was delaying the inevitable, I headed in the direction of my bedroom to seek out my wife.
Veronica was sitting on top the mattress. She was wearing a silk nightgown, which wasn’t out of the ordinary for my wife. She smiled when she saw me standing in the doorway. “I tried to call you several times.”
“I was caught up in something.” I kicked my shoes off and started to walk toward the bathroom. “What did you need?”
“I wanted to know when you’d be home. Harper kept asking for you.”
I continued our conversation while turning on the shower. “I thought we agreed to put her to bed at a decent hour.”
“She refused. You know how she gets. She didn’t want to close her eyes until she knew you were coming to tuck her in.”
“She was sound asleep when I checked on her. I’m sure she’d be fine. You probably told her I was coming just to go against me.”
I heard her footsteps coming into the bathroom. “I beg your pardon? What’s gotten into you? If you had a bad day at work don’t bring it home with you.”
I turned to face her; to look into those elusive brown eyes and give her a piece of my mind. She’d hurt me, betrayed me, but I stood there just staring, like none of it mattered. “When did you stop loving me, Veronica?”
My question wasn’t meant to stir up a fight or to cause pain to my already affected ego. I wanted the truth. I deserved it.
“Why would you ask me that? I’ve never stopped loving you, Chad.”
She reached her hand up to stroke the side of my cheek. My eyes traveled across the exposed skin on her shoulder, up to her neck. I imagined her psychiatrist in the photos I’d gotten, kissing her there. It was difficult not to break down in front of her. I’m not sure what was more upsetting; the idea of losing my wife to another woman, or the thought of them taking my daughter away from me. Desperate to cling to hope, I pulled my wife in my arms and kissed her. She didn’t resist, so I kept at it, almost forcing myself to enjoy what I was doing.
I was angry.
I’d been angry for weeks, ever since the day I overheard her phone conversation. At the time, I hadn’t known who she was talking to. I just knew it was someone she could be having an affair with. Words like ‘he’ll never know’, and ‘our secret place’ were mentioned. I’d been agonizing over what to do since that day.
After hiring someone to follow her around, and feeling like shit about it, I now held the proof I never wanted to find to be true. My wife was involved with someone else; someone I couldn’t begin to compete with, not unless I got a sex change for starters.
As devastated as I was, I continued on, my lips lingering around her ear, while my hands worked fast to remove her thin nightgown. She was naked before we separated for air, those eyes that drove me crazy seeking out what would come next. After kicking off the last of my clothes, I backed us up into the hot shower. For some reason I felt the need to prove she was mine. My mind was a disarray. I wanted resolution, but also a guarantee I wouldn’t lose everything dear to me with one swift kick. I needed to know there was still something between us, something worth fighting for even if my heart shattered into a million tiny shards.
Veronica pushed me away, leaning her own body against the cold tile wall instead of being in my warm welcoming arms. “You’re being strange. What’s wrong?”
There was a moment before I responded where I considered letting it go; tossing the photographs away and pretending nothing was going on behind my back, but I struggled to accept I’d have to share my wife. “I know what you’ve been doing, Veronica.”