I went home and showered as Emma had said, feeling slightly sick with myself. I had no idea that she would have such a reaction to what she saw, and the thought of a ton of different women being all over me was definitely no help, the thought of the perfumes hadn’t occurred to me, and it made me wonder for a moment why Amy didn’t say anything about it?
Maybe Emma is just a weird breed of human that can detect things that others can’t or something?
I stood under the steady stream of water and let it pour down my face. I looked down at myself, am I really a creature to her? Something unworthy to be called man? I closed my eyes and exhaled as the water ran over the top of my head, spilling on either side of my face.
Who knew that I would care so much about what one single person thinks of me? And a woman, too, who isn’t my mother! It was madness, what was happening to me!
I put my hand out and adjusted the water until it was burning h
Fast forward 5 years “Matthew!” My beautiful wife called out. I followed the sound of her voice and questioned from the doorway, “Yes, dear?” Emma let out an exasperated sigh as she held her growing belly, “Where is our daughter? She disappeared on me.” She was fixing her makeup and steadying her nerves at a pop-up vanity that Isabella had brought by for her. “I think she may have run off with Isaac again, I’ll go look for her,” I turned away and began walking around the shop calling for her, “Stephanie!” Today is the grand opening for Claudette Reed, Emma’s own store. Being the wife of a successful fashion CEO has some perks, and one of them is getting your name out there and having a lot of people to support you. Our daughter, Stephanie, was now four years old and the most mischievous little thing – she definitely takes after me, she even has my bright green eyes. Steph and Isaac were the best of friends, and she called Isabe
After the attempted scandal by NYFJ was taken down by Matthew’s brother, Ben, and his amazing hacking skills, life went back to normal for us. Matthew and I were dating, we were happy, Trish was his full-time assistant, and he even comes by to help me with Emile sometimes on his lunch break when I’m babysitting.Months passed, and one night, while Matthew and I were in a cab heading to a date he had planned, Matthew got a call from Isabella, telling him that she had had her baby. Being the baby's godparents, we hurried to the hospital as soon as possible and found her in a hospital bed with a small bundle swaddled in blankets in her arms, along with her parents on either side of her.Isabella smiled as she saw us enter the room and motioned for us to join her. Her parents made room, and Matthew went to one side of the bed and I went to the other, both of us looking down at the swaddled baby she held.“This is Isaac,” she introduced her ba
I woke up saddened that Emma didn’t stay over but feeling better after all that went down yesterday with Eli. I still didn’t know how I was going to get rid of these rumors about me cheating. Even if Emma believed me that it wasn’t true, that didn’t mean she was going to like seeing it on the front page of every magazine. I groaned as I rolled out of bed, hissing in pain as my bruises came alive. I felt my face and looked down at my naked torso, seeing a few bruises scattered, I smiled as I remembered last night when I told Emma I had “Booboo’s that needed kisses.” God, I’m pathetic, but it worked. I headed downstairs to find Ben and thank him for letting me stay over. I found him in the dining room, sipping on some coffee with the newspaper in hand, leaning back in his chair. “Morning, dad,” I mocked and he gave me a quick glare. I chuckled, “What? Isn’t this the sight kids come down to in the morning? Dad at the table with the paper and coffee?”
Matthew’s mom and I got along really well, and I look up to her now that I saw how she raised her boys when how they respected her. She mentioned Matthew getting mocked for having a busted face after a rumor spread of him cheating, so he went home with Ben and decided to hang out there for the next week or so for his bruises and cuts to heal. He had asked me to go to his apartment and get him some clothes and things he needed since he would be working from Ben’s home, he also asked me to bring Kay along with me, which I thought was odd, but I realized as soon as we got there why he asked for her to come. Ben answered the door of his house and his eyes went right to Kay, staring at her with a twinkle in his eye and a small smile forming on his lips. It was adorable, really, and looking over at Kay, I could see her blushing and smiling right back. Ben looks remarkably similar to Matthew, and I know Kay is fond of looking at Matthew, but it never dawned on me th
I had been glancing around for Emma but couldn’t find her anywhere and began to fear that she had left. My mother is my rock and the one person I truly admire and respect, other than Emma, of course, but my mother has my utmost respect and she deserved my attention at the moment. She took a step closer to me and said, “You’re the most honest person I know, Matty, and I’m proud of you for it. Now tell me, did you cheat on this mystery woman?” “No, I did not.” I noticed her slightly lift her chin before she asked, “Do you love her?” “More than anything.” She seemed pleased with my quick answers and stepped closer to cup my face, “My honest, loving boy. You need to fix this,” I nodded my head silently to her. She turned to Eli and did the same, saying, “My strong, courageous boy. You need to support your brother, not bring him down. I understand sibling rivalry, but trying to steal your brother’s girlfriend? Not okay. Do you understand?”
I gulped as I read the headline and stared at Eli’s cellphone, seeing the photographs underneath the headline. The first one was of Matthew and I on our first date walking on the sidewalk with our hands together, the one next to it was the photo of Matthew and Charlotte on the couch at the soirée – the same photo that made me throw up the first time I saw it.This time feeling no different, along with the heat from the day, I had to excuse myself from the boys and run to get some fresh air on the other side of the bleachers. I couldn’t be around anyone right now, I was feeling humiliated. Did everyone see this? Were they secretly laughing at me behind my back? My head was spinning.I pulled out my own phone and looked it up, reading the article, it said: “This reporter learns that Matthew Greene, CEO of Greene Designs paid off the photographer of the scandalous Charlotte Mercury photo by means of a sexual favor the very night it was taken