After I Left, He Fell Apart

He knew I wasn't asleep. Seven years married, I'd long since gotten used to having him there when I slept, and eventually I couldn't drift off at all unless he was beside me.He knew it too, so no matter how busy work got, he always came home to sleep next to me.But these past few months he'd come home later and later, and some nights he didn't show up at all.I'd wait for him, from dark until dawn.I got worse and worse, until the only way I could sleep was with pills.And now, with him right beside me, I felt like we were miles apart. The Adrian who only had to be near me for me to rest easy didn't exist anymore.I turned my head and saw the small set of teeth marks at his throat, the woman's lipstick at his collar.Adrian leaned in. “What's wrong? Isn't this your favorite cake?”I pushed him away. “It's late. Cake will just make me fat.”He grinned and bent down to wrap his arms around me, his low voice in my ear. “I want to fatten you up, soft and round, so you're nice to hold. No

Five days until I left for good.I didn't want to take a single thing connected to Adrian, so I went to the mall to buy a few daily necessities to bring with me.What I didn't expect was to run into the very last person I wanted to see, here of all places.Adrian was picking something off a shelf. A girl came bouncing up to him with a pair of matching cups in her hands.I recognized her at once. His assistant, Vivian Shaw.“Let's get these. And then let's pick out a big bed for our place, so we can do whatever we want on it.”She bit his arm, lost in some fantasy of the two of them living together.Adrian stroked her hair, indulgent. “Sure. Let's grab a few sets of sheets you like. We'll be changing them a lot every night.”Her face went red at that, and she swatted his arm, all coy. “Stop it. That's your fault.”The two of them teased each other exactly like newlyweds.A salesclerk came over and smiled. “A lot of newlyweds like you go for a bigger bed. Would you like me to show you so

Watching his back recede, an ache spread through my chest.I won't deny it. He was once the man who loved me most in this world, the man who would have thrown away his life for me.He gave me the most beautiful moments of my life. He also gave me the deepest, most unforgettable pain.His being good to me didn't change the fact that he cheated.Adrian, I didn't hate you. I just couldn't talk myself into loving you again.After Adrian left, he never came back into my room.By the afternoon all the IV drips were finished, and bored out of my mind, I wandered the hospital.Without quite meaning to, I ended up at the obstetrics ward.My phone buzzed.“Penny, so you took some pills to win Adrian's attention. So what? One phone call and he came running to me anyway.”“Oh, and look at this. You always wanted Adrian's child, didn't you? I'm so sorry. Looks like I'm the one who gets to make that wish come true for you.”Then she sent a photo. Her pregnancy test results.“A human like you should

Adrian's POVI lay in bed with Vivian Shaw nestled against my arm, soft and clinging. Everything was peaceful, and yet some faint unease gnawed at my chest.She noticed me drifting and pouted, displeased. “You already spend so little time with me, and now your mind's on someone else.”I frowned, irritated. “Know your place. Penny isn't someone else. She's my wife.”She looked up, eyes brimming. “I know. From start to finish I'm just your mistress, kept in the dark, never able to compare to your real wife.”Her tears stirred a strange agitation in me, but for the sake of the child she carried I held my patience and soothed her. “Enough. Don't cry. It's bad for the baby.”She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “Will our child grow up a bastard too, hidden away in the dark?”I knew exactly what she was after. I pushed her aside, my face hard. “When the child is born, I'll give you a generous allowance. But Penny is never to know it exists. You understand the consequences if she does.”The color

Nothing I said now would help. My only chance was to find her, apologize, and pay for what I'd done.I didn't stop to think. I bolted out of the courtyard, and in my panic I crashed straight into a delivery man coming the other way.The package hit the ground, and its contents spilled out.My whole mind was set on finding Penny. I didn't care what it was. I went around him and kept moving.Then a voice behind me called out, “Excuse me, is this Miss Penelope Carter's residence?”At the name Penny, I felt struck by lightning. I turned, disbelieving, to look at the delivery man.“You know Penny?”He looked confused and gave a blank nod.A thread of hope shot through me. I rushed back and grabbed his shoulders, desperate. “Do you know where Penny is? Tell me. Please.”“Just tell me, and whatever you want, I'll pay it.”He only stared, baffled, and that was when I realized how worked up I was. I forced the flood of emotion down and asked again.“Sorry. I got carried away. Can you tell me wh