4. A Wicked Interruption

The key turning in the lock was loud in the morning quiet. My heart hammered against my ribs as I pushed the door open, stepping back into the apartment that now felt alien. The air inside was thick with a stale tension, a leftover residue of the previous day’s devastation.

Hector was standing in the middle of the living room, his arms crossed over his chest, his face a thundercloud. His brilliant blue eyes, usually so full of life, were hard and accusing. He looked like he hadn’t slept.

“Where in God’s name have you been?” His voice was rough, laced with a possessiveness that made my skin crawl. “I came home last night and you weren’t here. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Worried? The irony of his words hit me like a physical blow. He was worried? Where was his worry when he was tangled in the sheets with my cousin?

“Worried?” I echoed, my voice flat and weary. “You were worried? I came home to find you in bed with Jasmine, Hector. Don’t try to play the concerned husband now.”

His jaw tightened. “That was a mistake, Avery. A moment of weakness. It didn’t mean anything.”

“Didn’t mean anything?” My voice rose, the anger I had been suppressing bubbling to the surface. “You were having sex with my cousin in our bed! And you tell me it didn’t mean anything?”

“I said it was a mistake!” he repeated, his voice growing louder. “And where you went last night is still my concern. You disappeared without a word. I have a right to know where my wife is.”

“I'm no longer your wife,” I scoffed. “You forfeited that right the moment you betrayed me, Hector.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Avery.” He ran a hand through his blonde hair, his frustration evident. “We have a life together. We have responsibilities. You can’t just run off like some… some teenager just because of mere cheating.”

“And you can’t just sleep with my cousin like some… some animal!” The words flew out of me, sharp and accusatory.

His eyes flashed with anger. “You’re being unreasonable. I said I was sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it, Hector.” The image of him and Jasmine together flashed in my mind, a fresh wave of nausea washing over me. “I want you out of my life.”

“Like hell you do.” His voice hardened, his blue eyes turning cold. “We’re married, Avery. You took vows. For better or for worse, remember? And right now, things might be a little… complicated, but we’ll get through it.”

I stared at him in disbelief, my blood boiling hotter with each passing second. “Hector, you cheated on me the same day I lost our baby! There is no ‘getting through it’!”

“Don’t bring that up,” he snapped, his face darkening. “You know how hard that was for me too.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Was it harder for you than it was for me? Did you have to carry our child for months, only to have your body betray you? Did you have to hear the doctor say there was nothing they could do?”

He flinched, but his anger quickly returned. “Look, Avery, I’m not saying it wasn’t hard for you. But I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately with the business. You don’t understand the kind of stress I’m under.”

“So that gives you the right to cheat on me?”

“Yes! I have the right to do whatever I want! And with whoever I want!” he shouted, landing two thunderous slaps on both of my cheeks. 

“I need you to get it into your tiny brain that I have needs. And you haven’t exactly been yourself lately. What else am I supposed to do except get it from your damn cousin who offered herself to me.”

My breath hitched in my throat while the pain from the slaps continued tingling on my skin.  “So, it’s my fault?”

“I didn’t say that,” he mumbled, avoiding my gaze. “But you haven’t been… present. And Jasmine… she was just there. It was a comfort thing.”

The absurdity of his excuse made me want to scream out loud until the whole neighbourhood came to my rescue. “You found comfort in my cousin’s bed?”

“Just drop it, Avery,” he said, his voice weary. “It happened. I regret it. Let’s just move on, okay?”

Tears welled in my eyes again, hot and furious. “How can I move on from this, Hector? How can I ever look at you again without seeing you with her?”

“Because you have to!” he insisted, his voice rising again. “I’m not letting you go, Avery. You’re my wife. And I… I still care about you.”

“Care about me?” I laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. “That’s a funny way of showing it.”

“Besides,” he continued, his tone shifting, becoming almost cruel, “you owe me, Avery. After everything I’ve done for you, all the sacrifices I’ve made. You think you can just walk away?”

“Owe you?” I stared at him, confused. “What are you talking about? As far as I'm concerned, you are the one who owes me everything. I have invested everything in this relationship.”

He smirked, a nasty, triumphant look that I had never seen on his face before. “Don’t act so innocent. Or have you forgotten that I paid for your fancy clothes, and your expensive hobbies. Who made sure you never had to lift a finger? You think you could have had this life without me?”

His words were like another slap in the face. It was true, he had provided for me, but I had always believed it was out of love, out of a desire to build a good life together. To hear him throw it in my face now, to use it as a weapon, was devastating.

“I never asked for any of that,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I would have been happy with less, as long as we had each other. But you… you’ve made it clear what you truly value.”

“Well, now you know,” he said coldly. “And you also know that I’m not giving you a divorce. So you can go out and have your little flings, do whatever you want to blow off steam, but at the end of the day, you’ll come back here. Because you’re my wife, and you belong here.”

Just as I was about to retort, to unleash the torrent of pain and anger that was building inside me, a sharp, imperious voice cut through the tense silence.

“What in heaven’s name is going on here?”