Cheating Wife

"You slept with my father?” Burke Carrington’s deep voice reached Silver Lorraine through the fog of her sleep.

The words made no sense to her, though, so she stirred and tried to open her eyes. A cold jar of water hit her face almost immediately, and the blanket ripped off her naked body.

Silver gasped, sputtering awake with a cough.

“What the hell?" She muttered, pushing to a sitting position through the wet sheets.

She blinked at the fierce, stormy, blue-eyed man staring down at her. Her heart raced, and she reached up to push back the curly black hair now plastered to her damp cheeks.

Something was wrong, Silver knew this much. Burke wasn't a man quick to anger; he was loving and kind, a rare contrast to the people who raised him —It's why Silver married him.

But right now, Silver couldn't recognize him.

“Get up!" He barked, his sharp voice intensifying the pounding of her heart.

Burke paced to and fro, chest heavy with every breath. His head ached, and so did his heart. He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to remain calm.

Everything he thought he knew was a lie —Silver was a cheater.

“Don't break in front of her.” He muttered before turning sharply to face the now-irritated woman.

“What is this, Burke? What is going on?" Silver inquired with a fire that would have made Burke feel guilty if he hadn't seen the video himself.

They were in each other's arms, Silver's hands locked around his father's neck as she rode him.

Of course, he didn't see her face because her back was to the camera, but Burke knew that body like he knew his own; They were each other's first, and they've been together since they were teenagers.

Angrily, Burke flung the evidence that had confirmed Silver was indeed the one in the video at her. They were images of her and Bartholomew Carrington leaving the hotel after the deed.

“There! Go ahead! I'm sure you have a good reason and I'm just itching to hear it.” Burke spat sarcastically.

Silver blanched, her hazel eyes widened, and her thin lips trembled as she scoured the scattered images to pick one.

Burke was further troubled by her reaction. He had hopes… he wanted to be proven wrong.

“Oh, no." She wailed, and the last shred of optimism Burke held on to dissolved.

He watched her scramble off the bed, fumbling to wrap herself in a robe.

“You have to let me explain!" She begged, trying to grab his left arm, but her touch suddenly disgusted him, so he sidestepped her.

“Get out!" He snapped, pointing at the door.

Silver gulped. This couldn't be happening; Burke wasn't supposed to find out, not like this, and he misunderstood everything. She didn't go into that hotel to commit adultery; she went to help salvage the family's reputation.

“Burke, you have to listen to me. I didn't go there to…”

"Oh sure you didn't intend to betray me— you just weren't content with having only the son, so you thought you'd fucked the father too, right?” Burke harshly cut her off.

He picked up a vase and smashed it on the floor. Their wedding frame went next, and he cut himself in the process. Silver moaned at the sight of his blood.

He ran frantic fingers through his dark brown hair and tugged at the ends painfully, neglecting his injury.

“Burke…”

“Fuck! My mother was right about you; you are a gold digger! I can't believe it took me this long to finally see the truth." Burke exploded, pointing accusing fingers at Silver.

Those words ripped Silver's heart out of her chest and squashed it into dust. She gasped, holding her chest from the pain.

How could he think so little of her?

"What? How could you say that, Burke? I didn't marry you for your money, you know that!” Silver passionately defended herself.

Burke faltered, his jaw clenched, and their eyes met, sparking a tiny hope in Silver, but he shattered it just as quickly when he shook his head and stalked towards her with dead eyes.

“No!" She exclaimed and grabbed his shoulders, hoping to shake some sense into him, but he remained unfazed.

“Get out of my house," Burke said coldly. Silver froze, blinking to be sure she was not hallucinating.

This couldn't be happening.

She barely had time to process when Burke grabbed her roughly and began to drag her down the marble stairs despite her struggle.

Silver screamed, thrashed and begged him to stop, but he wouldn't listen to her.

Downstairs, Felicia, Burke's mother, rushed out of her room in a white plush robe, her grey hair neatly combed, and her green eyes gleamed. There was trouble in paradise, and she couldn't be happier.

“What is this?" She asked, pretending to be concerned.

“Burke, what is going on?" Tatiana, Silver's mother and the family housekeeper, came out of the staff quarters in her old uniform, her tired face wrinkled from a frown.

Burke ignored both older women and didn't stop until he reached the door and pushed it open. He pulled a whimpering Silver up and shoved her out of the mansion, slamming the door immediately.

“That woman is not to be allowed into this house ever again!" He declared with a finality that no one understood but couldn't question.

On the other end of the door, Silver stood with her head down, gripping her robe tightly as chill settled into her bones. Her mother came out a few seconds later and ushered her to a cab.

“Go home, I'll meet you first thing tomorrow morning, and I will get to the bottom of this. Don't you worry, child.” Tatiana consoled her daughter, but Silver feared this wasn't something her mother could handle.

Still, she dared to hope. She entered the car and bid her mother goodnight with no clue of what the future held for her.

When the cab stopped in front of the small house Silver grew up in, her whole life flashed before her eyes.

The first day, her mother took her to the Carrington mansion.

The day she met Burke.

The day Bartholomew enrolled her in the same school as Maya, after her father died, and because she and Maya had grown close.

The day she and Burke became friends.

The day he asked her out.

Their first kiss and sex, then engagement, and finally marriage.

Burke had been a constant part of Silver's life for as long as she could remember; she couldn't imagine living without him now.

This was rock bottom, Silver knew it.

But still, she gathered the strength to walk into her previous home and locked the door.

She cried all night; it was all she could do.

The next morning, Silver was still crying when her mother returned from work. She urged her to eat, but Silver was too distraught to get the meal down.

“He wouldn't talk to me, Silver," Tatiana told her daughter. Silver nodded and sniffed. The end was near.

The bell rang, and Tatiana stood up to answer it. When she returned a few seconds later with wide eyes, Silver knew things had gotten worse.

“He sent the divorce papers.” Tatiana choked out.

It took a minute to gather herself. When she did, Silver took the document from her mother and went to her room, where she spent most of the morning thinking. By noon, Silver had come to a decision.

She fetched a pen and signed the divorce papers. With a sigh, she stood up and began to pack the little items she still had in her old room.

When Silver stepped back into the living room, Tatiana shot up from the couch she had been taking a nap on.

“No!" The woman cried in denial.

“I have to go, Mama," Silver told her mother with tears streaming down her face. Tatiana shook her head, unwilling to accept the cruel fate that life was dealing her again.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Tatiana ran to it, praying with everything she held dear that it was Burke. It wasn't. It was Bartholomew. Tatiana's stomach dropped.