Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Alex stared at Adrian and Vanessa for several seconds before letting out a short, humorless laugh.

“I already suspected this,” he said quietly.

I turned toward him, my brows pulling together. “What?”

He kept his eyes on the couple across the beach, but there was no amusement in his face anymore. “Vanessa. I’ve been suspecting her for some time now. I just didn’t want to dwell on it. And who could have thought that it was with my very own cousin.”

His words should have comforted me somehow. Instead, they made the ache inside my chest worse.

“You suspected her?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded slowly. “There were things that didn’t make sense. The unexplained expenses. The sudden trips. The way she guarded her phone. Sometimes she’d disappear and give me some ridiculous explanation. I noticed, Serena. I just kept telling myself that I was imagining things.”

I looked back toward Adrian. He was still with Vanessa. They were oblivious to us.

Then they moved toward one of the secluded areas of the beach, and what I saw next finally destroyed the last piece of strength I had been holding onto.

My breath caught.

I couldn’t look away.

Adrian was intimate with Vanessa, right there in the place he had supposedly booked for business.

Adrian tugged the flimsy gold triangles aside, exposing Vanessa’s breasts completely. He lowered his head and sucked one dark nipple into his mouth, tongue flicking, teeth grazing. Vanessa’s back bowed off the towel, a breathy cry escaping her. Adrian’s free hand slid down her stomach, fingers disappearing beneath the thong. He worked her pussy with practiced strokes until her hips rolled against his palm.

I turned my face away for a second, but I couldn’t make myself leave.

I couldn’t.

Adrian freed his cock, thick and already hard, and shoved Vanessa’s thong aside just enough to line himself up. With one thrust he buried himself inside her. Vanessa cried out, legs wrapping around his waist, heels digging into his lower back. Adrian fucked her right there on the open beach—slow, deliberate strokes that made her breasts bounce with every impact. He leaned down to suck her nipples again, alternating between them, leaving wet, shiny trails across her skin. Vanessa’s moans grew louder, her fingers clawing at his shoulders.

My husband and my cousin. Together. Fucking each other in this open space.

The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

I had spent the entire day telling myself that I could handle the truth if I saw it with my own eyes. I had imagined myself confronting him, screaming at him, demanding answers.

Instead, I stood there silently.

The tears came slowly. One slipped down my cheek. Then another.

I didn’t wipe them away.

I simply turned around. I couldn’t watch anymore.

I started walking. My legs moved almost automatically, carrying me away from the beach while my mind remained behind.

Three years.

Three years of my life.

I thought about the day I married Adrian. I remembered how nervous I had been, how tightly I had held his hands during our vows, and how completely certain I had been that I was giving myself to the right man.

I had given him my trust. My loyalty. My time. My body. My heart.

I had defended him when people questioned his behaviour. I had changed things about myself because I believed marriage meant compromise. I had waited for him on nights when he came home late. I had smiled when he was too tired to talk. He hadn’t even touched me for the past four months, always complaining about how tired he was and….. Foolish me always believed him.

And all that time, he had been doing this.

I pressed a hand against my mouth as another sob threatened to escape. I refused to let it.

Not here. Not in front of anyone.

Alex followed me. He didn’t try to stop me. He didn’t ask if I was okay because, judging by his silence, he already knew I wasn’t.

We walked side by side through the resort. Neither of us said a word. There was something strangely heavy about walking beside someone who was experiencing the same kind of devastation.

Two people. Two marriages. Two betrayals. And somehow, both of us had ended up at the same place.

We had almost reached the main building when the resort’s announcement system crackled overhead.

“Attention, guests. Due to unforeseen road conditions, all guests are advised to remain on the property tonight. The roads leading away from the resort have been temporarily blocked. Please remain in your villas until further notice.”

I stopped.

Alex looked at me. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

I stared ahead, feeling as though the universe itself was mocking me. I had come here looking for answers. Now I couldn’t even leave.

Alex stepped closer, “You should come with me.”

I looked at him, “I have a villa here,” he explained. “It’s registered in my name. We can stay there tonight.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t really have another option. So I followed him.

The walk to his villa was quiet.

When he opened the door, I stepped inside and stopped.

The place was enormous.

A luxurious living room opened into a private dining area, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. Elegant furniture filled the space, and a fully stocked bar stood against one wall.

I slowly looked around.

Alex worked as a banker. A successful one, apparently.

But the villa was more luxurious than I expected. Under normal circumstances, I would have asked questions.

Tonight, I couldn’t care less.

My mind was still on the beach. Still on Adrian. Still on Vanessa.

I lowered myself onto one of the sofas.

“What if I hadn’t come here?” I whispered.

Alex, who had been removing his jacket, stopped.

I stared at the floor, “What if I had stayed home and continued believing him?”

He looked at me.

“I would still be lying to myself.”

“You did the right thing,” Alex said.

I looked up, “You came here and uncovered the truth.”

His voice was calm, but I could hear the pain beneath it, “Both of our cousins are betraying us,” he continued bitterly. “They’re fucking each other behind our backs.”

I turned my face away in disgust. Even hearing the words made my stomach twist.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

Alex nodded. He walked toward the bar.

For a moment, he simply stood there staring at the bottles. Then he reached for an expensive liquor and poured himself a glass.

He drank it in one swallow. I watched him refill it.

“You loved her,” I said quietly.

He laughed bitterly, “Yes.” His fingers tightened around the glass, “I loved Vanessa.”

He stared at the amber liquid, “I gave her everything she asked for. If she wanted something, I found a way to provide it. If she wanted to travel, I took her. If she wanted expensive things, I bought them. I never made her feel like she wasn’t enough.”

His voice cracked, “And she still did this to me.”

I stood slowly. Then I walked toward the bar and took the empty seat beside him.

He glanced at me then I reached for another glass and pushed it toward him, “Pour me one.”

His eyebrows lifted, “Are you sure?”

I nodded and he poured. I picked up the glass and stared at it before taking a drink.

The warmth spread through my chest.

“I loved Adrian,” I said.

Alex remained silent.

“I trusted him completely.” My fingers trembled around the glass, “And Vanessa was my cousin. Someone I welcomed into my home. Someone I trusted around my husband.”

Alex poured us another drink. I drank again.

Neither of us spoke for a while. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It was the silence of two people who had run out of words.

Eventually, the first bottle was empty.

Alex opened another and we continued drinking. I wasn’t trying to get drunk. At least, that’s what I told myself. But with every glass, the pain became slightly duller. The room became warmer. The edges of my thoughts began to blur.

Alex leaned against the counter, his head lowered.

I looked at him. His eyes were slightly unfocused, “You know what I hate most?” I asked.

“What?”

“That Vanessa cheated on me with Adrian, my cousin.”

I took another drink. The alcohol was beginning to make everything feel distant. My thoughts became slower. My body felt strangely light.

I looked at Alex again.

Something about the moment felt different. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the pain. Maybe it was the fact that we were two betrayed spouses sitting alone together in a villa while the people who had destroyed our marriages were only a short distance away.

Then an idea entered my mind.

It was reckless. Wrong. Completely insane.

I should have pushed it away.

Instead, I stared at Alex.

He noticed, “What?” he asked.

I swallowed.

“Would it really be so bad...” I paused.

My heart began beating faster.

Alex waited, “If we had an affair too?”

The words hung between us.

His hand stopped halfway to his glass. Slowly, he lowered it. Then he turned toward me.

His eyes searched my face, “Do you know what you’re saying right now, Serena?”

I nodded, “I’m damn serious, Alex.”

He stared at me for several long seconds. Neither of us moved. Neither of us looked away.

Then something changed in his expression. The hurt remained. The anger remained. But something else appeared beneath them.

He slowly leaned back against the bar, still holding his glass. His eyes remained locked on mine.

Finally, he spoke.

“That won’t be a bad idea.”