Chapter 3

BETRAYAL 

I woke to the treacherous sound of my morning alarm. I never intended to sleep till dawn, I thought Ryan would come home and wake me to his sensational touch but I was wrong. 

I checked my phone for a call or text message but I didn’t receive any. I tried calling him. Straight to voicemail, every time. 

“You didn’t come home last night?” I texted him 

Maybe he had a good excuse, I told myself as I dragged myself through my morning routine. As hurt as I felt, I didn’t want to ruin whatever moments Ryan and I might still have. The way he treated me the previous night, so gentle, so calm, gave me butterflies. He had never been that soft with me before, especially during an argument.

I caught myself smiling as I put on my makeup, imagining how different things could’ve been if his phone hadn’t rung. I even thought about making him dinner tonight, something intimate, something to set the mood.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

Edna!.

I’d promised myself I wouldn’t let her get between me and Ryan again. I was tired of her drama, tired of her warnings. But still, I opened her message.

“Summer, what is going on? I just received a message from Ryan this morning. I’ve been fired”.

My stomach dropped.

“Wait”…what? Why would Ryan fire Edna? I never even mentioned her to him”.

I called her right away.

“I’m really sorry, Edna,” I blurted as soon as she picked up. “I have no idea why Ryan would do that. I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

“Actually, Summer, fuck the job,” Edna snapped, her voice sharp. “I don’t care if he fires me. He needs to be held accountable for his actions. Frolicking with that philanderer, Sylvia!. The other day, she even had the nerve to tell Ryan that you planted me in the office to monitor him and…”

She stopped abruptly.

“Summer? Are you there?”

I had been silent all through her rant, waiting for her to finish so I could calmly ask her to stay out of my relationship.

“I’m here,” I replied, almost whispering.

She hesitated, like she could sense something wasn’t right. “Please tell me you left him. Or is he crawling back to you, begging for forgiveness?”

“No, Edna,” I said, quietly. “Ryan isn’t crawling.”

A pause.

“Then you broke up with him?” she asked, almost hopeful.

“No. It’s not that,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Then what, Summer? What did you do to that jerk?”

I took a deep breath, choosing my words. “Edna, I wish you’d stop calling Ryan names. Our relationship’s complicated. I think you’re seeing things wrong.”

Even as I said it, I knew how pathetic I sounded. Defending him when I shouldn’t.

She let out a heavy sigh. “So you’re just letting Ryan off the hook after you caught him cheating?” Her words sunk in but I still had to say something.

“What I’m saying is that Ryan and I are adults, We should be allowed to handle our differences our own way.” My voice cracked, unsure of what would follow.

“Fine, Suit yourself.” she snapped and hung up.

She was mad, I could tell, I felt bad for being the cause, Edna was family, we both grew up in the same foster home and moved to New York together for greener pastures.  But honestly, I was done letting anyone else interfere in my relationship.

I was already running late so I grabbed my bag and rushed out. All day at work, I couldn’t focus. I kept replaying everything, trying to see Ryan in a good light, trying to drown out Edna’s voice in my head.

Determined to keep our romance alive, I left work earlier than usual. I stopped by the grocery store and picked out the freshest ingredients I could find. The plan was simple: I’d cook Ryan’s favorite meal and wait for him at home in sexy lingerie. I wanted to set the mood properly, so when he walked in, he’d be hungry in every sense.

I pictured his reaction and smiled to myself. He could decide what to enjoy first… or maybe both at the same time, the way he liked. You know like eating the cream from my butt or sucking the juice off my nipples.  Just thinking about it made my pussy warm and my mood lifted.

This felt like my chance to reconnect with him, to remind him of what we used to have. Since his promotion, Ryan had been distant, distracted. Tonight, I wanted to pull him back to us.

I drove home, juggling heavy grocery bags as I fumbled with the keys. Everything felt awkward, clumsy. But I managed.

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard a woman’s voice coming from the bedroom. Husky. Low.

“Yes, Daddy… like that. Please don’t stop.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

What?

I dropped the groceries and ran to the bedroom. I pushed the door open and there it was, my worst nightmare, right in front of me.

Ryan had Sylvia pinned to the wall.

Same position as mine, Same grips.

Same everything.

He was so lost in her that he didn’t even notice me.

I stood there, frozen, my chest tight, my body numb.

Sylvia looked right at me and smiled. She wanted me to see this. She pulled Ryan closer, moaning, biting her lip, putting on a show just for me.

Every move, every sound, was deliberate, all aimed to hurt me.

I stood there watching, Rage burned through me hot, impossible to contain.

This time, I saw everything for what it was. No more gaslighting.