Chapter 2

My legs gave out from under me, the shock hitting like a freight train. I felt the room spin, darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision. But I could not let myself fall. I lunged for the kitchen table and grabbed the edge with both hands, my fingers turning white from the pressure. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. No, I would not faint. Not in front of these two horrible people who had just destroyed everything.

Ryan pulled his mouth away from my sister Oliver’s breast at last. There was a wet sound as he turned to look at me. His eyes went wide.

"Oh God, no," he whispered. He pushed at Oliver’s hips, trying to get her off his lap. But she leaned down harder, pressing all her weight on him. She shoved his face right back between her breasts, holding him there like she owned him.

She stared straight at me the whole time. I must have looked like a ghost because my face felt cold and empty.

"You look terrible, bestie. Are you sure you going to be okay?" she asked, but her voice had a mocking edge to it.

I could not speak. My throat was too tight, full of tears and anger. And my silence made her smile grow bigger. She wanted to hurt me more. "Do not get so worked up. Ryan told me you are fine with it. I am just helping out while you are away working so much."

That was it. Something broke inside me. A wave of pure rage washed over me, hot and blinding. I gripped my house keys in my fist like a knife and threw them at her face. They hit her forehead with a sharp smack.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Oliver cried out, her hand flying to the red mark.

"Get off my husband, you dirty slut!" I screamed. I ran at them, my blood boiling. I grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled with all my strength. Oliver flew off Ryan and landed hard on her back. Her head hit the floor with a loud thump.

She let out a painful yell, but I felt nothing for her. Not anymore. She was no friend of mine but a dirty traitor.

I turned to Ryan, my hand raised high to slap him across the face. I wanted to feel his skin burn under my palm for what he did. But he caught my wrist fast and held my hand very tight. He pushed me away so hard I stumbled back.

"Stop it! That’s enough. Let me explain," he said.

"Explain what?" I yelled back, my voice shaking with fury. My chest hurt from breathing so fast. I wanted to scratch his eyes out, to make him feel my pain. "You are sleeping with my so-called best friend ! How do you explain that?"

Oliver sat up slowly, rubbing her head and whining. "Why are you acting so crazy Christy?"

"Yes, calm down," Ryan said. He sounded so relaxed, like this was just a small problem on a normal night. "I am only using your best friend to satisfy myself instead of you right now."

"Yes, I am doing you a favor," Oliver said with a little laugh.

I felt sick to my stomach. My head spun. Were they really trying to make me believe this was normal? My own husband and best friend, caught in the act, and they acted like I was the one with the problem?

"You think this is nothing? Tell me exactly what you were doing!" I demanded, my voice breaking.

Ryan just shrugged. "I was having sex with your best friend. Is that not obvious? It is not cheating. I needed someone since you are not able to..."

"You cannot have babies," Oliver finished for him. She stood up and walked right back to Ryan. She sat on his lap again, facing me. She moved her body slowly, like she was showing off.

"Ryan wants a child. You cannot give him one because you are barren. So I said I would help. I do not mind having a baby for him. You can take care of me and the baby after, right? You are good at that."

I stood there frozen, my mind racing. It hurt so much I could hardly think. Ryan with Oliver? The only friend I ever had. I had loved with all my heart, she was just like a sister to me. I had given her money, a place to stay when her stepfather was molesting her, I gave her everything. How could she do this?

"That is right," Ryan said. He put his hands on her waist like it was normal. "You got that big raise. You make plenty of money now. You can pay for all of us and the new baby. You have been doing it for years. You work to support us so what is the big deal."

He was telling the truth, and it cut deep. I had worked endless hours, given up my own dreams, to keep our life going. Ryan spent his days on the couch with video games. Oliver had just graduated but could not find work, so I helped her too. I paid for food, rent, everything. And this was how they said thank you? By betraying me in my own home?

I looked at Ryan with tears in my eyes. "I gave up my whole life for you. I worked every day so you could try to be the businessman you dreamed of. I became the only one making money. And this is how you treat me?"

"You had to," Ryan said, looking down at me like I was less than him. "You cannot give me a baby after seven years. You failed me as a wife. So now we make the marriage open. I can sleep with Oliver or any woman I want. You can do the same if you find someone. It is simple."

"Yes, open marriage," Oliver said happily. "You keep working hard for us. I will give Ryan the child he wants. It is fair for everyone, right bestie?”

The words hit me like punches. I wanted to scream and cry and hit them both. They should feel ashamed, sorry for what they did. But they sat there smiling, like cheating was a fun new idea. Ryan decided this without even asking me. It made me so angry I shook.

"No! There is no open marriage!" I shouted. "You have no money of your own. You cannot even buy food without what I earn!"

"So what?" Ryan laughed. "Just because you pay bills, you think you own me?"

"Your job is to make up for not having babies. That is the least you can do."

"And what do I get from you?" I cried. "A husband who does nothing?"

"You get me," Ryan said with a big smile. He patted his chest. "I am healthy and handsome. I have a good body. I will be rich and a famous businessman one day. And I never hurt you. I am the best you can have."

"He is right, Christy," Oliver said. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Ryan has always been so good-looking. I have liked him since I was a teenager. You look so plain, like a tired office worker and you still managed to bag him."

"Because I am an office worker!" I yelled, my face hot with anger. "I work to pay for you two lazy people!" In my mind, I saw myself pouring fire on them, watching it all burn. Then I could sleep without this pain.

But I took a deep breath. I stepped back and squeezed my hands into fists to control myself. "I do not want your stupid open marriage. I do not care if you sleep together. Go do it somewhere else, like on the street! Get out of my house right now!"

"This is our house. We are married," Ryan said. He thought I had lost my mind.

"Married?" I laughed, but it sounded sad and broken. "After what you did? I will send divorce papers tomorrow. You will see how hard life is without my money!"

"Divorce?" Ryan's eyes got very wide. "You want to leave me?"

"I will not keep a cheating, lazy man like you! You are worthless to me!"

"Oh, that is a bad idea, Christy," Oliver said. She made a sad face, but her eyes were happy. She ran her fingers over Ryan's stomach. "Do not divorce him. Remember what you promised your mother on her deathbed ."

Those words stopped me cold. I remembered the promise. It felt like ice in my heart.

"Yes," Oliver said softly. "You promised your mother on her deathbed that you would be a good wife to Ryan. She wanted you to have a baby for her to see. A grandchild."

"You know your mom has a bad heart. If she hears you are divorcing because Ryan made a small mistake all men make, it will kill her."

"That is why I am here," Oliver went on. "You need a baby to keep your promise to her. And it can be an open marriage."

My face lost all color. I felt faint again. In all my anger, I had forgotten about Mom. The guilt hit me hard.

"Our parents have been close friends since before we were born," Ryan added. "Do you want to ruin that over something small like this?"

"Do not act like a child," olive said, like she was the smart one. "I don't want to marry Ryan. I am just sleeping with him to make a baby for you. It is like I am helping you have a child  for money. Give me one million dollars, and the baby is yours. I will walk away happy."

"Do not forget our marriage papers," Ryan said with a nasty smile. "They say we split everything in half, even if only one of us works. So this apartment stays with me."

I had no more fight left. They were two against one. Their words kept coming, each one stabbing my heart and confusing my thoughts. They made it sound like cheating was a normal, modern thing. Like everyone did it, and I was wrong for being upset.

"So, do you still want a divorce?" Ryan asked. His smile was full of meanness. "You should think about it again."

I stood there, tears running down my face. My chest ached with hurt and sadness. I felt trapped, like a bird in a cage. Everything I loved was gone.