The betrayal

Jane’s POV

It was quiet when I walked into the house, the blinds all drawn and the sunlight basking in, just the way I liked it. I leaned on the window in the living room, taking a look at the space that had been my home for the last three years.

I couldn’t let it go. I couldn’t let a simple mistake ruin a lifetime of vows; a simple misunderstanding get in the way of love.

Shawn was distracted, but he loved me. I knew that. All I had to do was make him see me again. And I had to forget Vegas and everything that happened in it. It was something I should never have done. I would talk to Shawn about it.

And I would ask him about Lydia.

We both needed to start on clean slates.

Pulling away from the window, I walked into the kitchen, abandoning my luggage in the living room. The pantry and refrigerator were always stocked up by the housekeeper, who was only allowed into the house on weekends.

Shawn hated her around. I did, because he did.

I remembered his favorite food from college, so that was what I did, hoping it would remind him of all the promises we made to each other when he had nothing. It took hours, toiling over the cooker, sweat dripping down my face.

Shawn always got back from work around 7 pm. Sometimes, he had meetings to attend. But I made sure I told him it was important for him to be home. He could listen to that, right?

After a warm bath, I shrugged on the sexiest red dress I had in the closet. It was sheer and lace. He bought it for him on our one-year wedding anniversary, right before everything became different.

A long candle danced on the table while I poured my first glass of wine. My eyes met the clock hanging above the door. It was 7:30 pm. He should be back anytime soon.

Thirty minutes later, in my second glass, I reached for my phone, dialing his number. It rang repeatedly, but my husband didn’t pick up.

Maybe at that moment, I should have realized it was all a waste. That Shawn wasn’t coming home to me. But I waited for three more hours. It was 11 pm when I got out of the chair, my body filled with a bottle of red wine.

Armed with another bottle, I sent a quick text to Laura while I got the food out to the side of the pool. Her car honked in the driveway less than ten minutes before she pulled in.

“Oh, baby,” she whispered, running towards me and pulling me into her arms. I tried not to cry. I tried to hold it in. But it was hard. A sound I didn’t recognize scratched my throat. It was heart-wrenching, like I was torn inside, like I was gasping for breath.

“It’s fine,” Laura murmured, patting my back gently. “I’m here, Jane. It’s going to be fine.”

We stayed that way for a while, and Laura was so patient. She waited until I was done crying before sitting with me by the side of the pool. She didn’t say anything, watching me from the corner of her eye, like I was a ticking time bomb.

Maybe I was, because the one thing I had yet to do was confront my feelings.

“I didn’t ask for us to go to Vegas simply because I was trying to get you away from your husband,” she said finally, piercing through the silence. “I didn’t want to tell you because… because I know you. You will think it was too spontaneous. You would have said…”

“Laura,” I breathed, bringing the rim of the wine glass to my lips. “You can tell me. I won’t judge.”

I couldn’t. I had made one bad decision that night, and I was going to live with it for the rest of my life. But the problem was that, although it had been hours, no part of the moment spent with Mr. Cooper felt bad.

I feared that I would do it again if given the chance.

Did that make me a bad wife?

“I met someone,” Laura said, a small smile on her face. “It was on my last trip to Japan. We … we didn’t get a lot of time to talk because we were both there for work. But he promised to be at the club in Vegas. It was the reason I had to be there, too.”

I nodded, taking a long gulp. It was the right moment to talk about Orion, but I couldn’t. It felt odd sharing the memory of us together with someone who wasn’t a part of it. I didn’t understand what was happening to me.

But all I knew was that even though Laura was my best friend, Orion wasn’t up for being shared.

We sat in more silence, neither of us touching the meal between us. I got up first, after an hour. “I’m going to bed,” I sighed. “Do you need me to see you out?”

Laura shook her head. “I’ll call you in the morning to remind you to call the housekeeper to clean this. You shouldn’t have to do it yourself.”

I wasn’t listening to her. I had too much wine in my system, and my head was spinning. Still, I nodded, waving her from the back of my head as I walked slowly to the door.

I heard her drive away, but I didn’t go to bed. I remained there, in the living room, staring at the candle as it flickered to its last flame, as the gates were pulled open, and as that unmistakable growl of his engine echoed through the walls.

That was when I heard her, loud and excited. I could see them from the window. She held on to his arms, her face bright and her red lipstick smudged. I shook my head. It couldn’t be.

Yet, it was right there in front of me.

And when he grabbed her by the waist, when her lips pressed against his, something snapped inside of me.

So, I did the first thing I could think of. Grab a bat and walk out to meet them.