Chapter 3

Damien rushed out of the office.

"Shirley, wait!" he called, but she was too crushed to hear him.

"Let her be," Violetta said, catching his arm.

"She was bound to find out anyway."

"But not like this!" Damien snapped, slamming his fist against the wall.

Violetta barely flinched.

Instead, she folded her arms and watched him with a calm smile.

"You feel guilty. Don't you?"

"Of course, I never wanted to hurt her."

"No." She stepped closer. "But you still lied to her."

Damien looked away.

The image of Shirley standing at the door refused to leave his mind. 

He looked at the lunch bag on the floor, he recalled the disbelief in her eyes. 

For the first time in years, he questioned himself.

Violetta cupped his face, forcing him to look at her.

"Stop doing this."

"Doing what?" 

"Punishing yourself", she replied. 

"I have a wife."

"Oh please”, she snorted, “we both know your marriage died a long time ago."

He remained silent.

"You didn't kiss me because you wanted to hurt Shirley."

She ran a hand down his chest.

"You kissed me because I'm the woman you've always loved from the start."

Those words settled his restless mind.

This was the truth. He had never stopped loving Violetta…not when she left for another country and not when he married Shirley. 

He never stopped loving her even after Cindy was born. 

To him, marrying Shirley had been a calculated trade-off…more of a diplomatic decision but loving Violetta had never stopped being his truth.

"You owe Shirley honesty," Violetta continued. "And if she really loved you, she'd let you be happy."

Damien let out a slow breath.

"I'll talk to her", he said. 

"Good”, Violetta smiled, “And don't let her make you feel like the villain.” 

“Once you're done talking to her, call me and I'll make you feel better."

                                      ***

Shirley didn't remember driving home.

Her hands remained tight around the steering wheel the entire journey.

She kept seeing the same image – Damien's hand around another woman's waist and his lips on hers.

She had replayed it so many times that she almost wished she could forget it…almost. 

The front door opened quietly.

Cindy looked up from the living room floor.

"Mommy!"

The little girl ran into her arms.

Shirley held her so tightly that Cindy laughed.

"You missed me?"

"I always miss you my love."

She buried her face in her daughter's hair.

For the first time that day, she felt safe. But it was not because her pain had vanished, rather, Cindy gave her a reason to keep going. 

Night had already fallen when Damien returned.

He loosened his tie as he entered the bedroom.

Shirley sat on the edge of the bed, still wearing the same dress she'd worn to his office.

She had not shed a single tear and she hadn't moved much at all. 

Damien closed the door behind him.

"It's not what you think."

Shirley let out a hysterical laugh.

"I saw you kiss her."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"You don't understand."

"Then please help me understand”, she said. 

An awkward silence stretched between both of them before she stood. 

"Who is she?"

"You already know her name."

"I asked who she is."

Damien looked at the floor before answering.

"Violetta."

"What is she to you?" Shirley asked and her chest tightened.

"What is she to you, Damien?"

He finally looked at her. 

"The woman I love."

The room seemed to spin and Shirley stared at him, certain she had heard him wrong.

"What?"

"I've always loved her”, he said shamelessly. 

His tone was cold and merciless. 

"When she left for Korea, I thought she wasn't coming back”, he added.   

"So you married me."

"It was the right thing to do. It was the best option at the time."

"The right thing?"

"You fit into my family's life. My dad likes you."

"So I was simply a convenient tool", she said with trembling lips. 

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

She took a slow step back.

"How long has this been going on?"

"That's not important."

"I want to know. How long has this been going on?"

Damien looked away when he replied, "Two years."

"Since Cindy was born?"

"Yes."

Every answer stripped away another fragment of the marriage she thought she had left.

She tried her best to see if he was remorseful but he wasn't. There was only certainty in his eyes. 

"So every late meeting and every business trip..."

"Not every one."

"But enough!"

He could not deny it and yet, he did not apologize. 

All he did was stand there with the thought that telling the truth was enough. 

Shirley pressed a hand against her stomach without realizing it and Damien noticed it. 

"Are you alright?"

She quickly lowered her hand.

"I'm fine", she replied quickly. 

He nodded once.

"As painful as this is, I'd rather you know the truth."

She looked at him in disbelief.

"The truth? You've been lying to me for two years."

"I was just trying to protect everyone."

"No."

Her voice sharpened.

"You were protecting yourself."

A muscle ticked in Damien's jaw.

"I won't argue with you."

"You don't have to."

She wiped at the tears that finally ran down her cheeks. 

"You've already said everything I need to know."

She turned toward the door.

"One more thing”, he said.

She stopped but didn't face him.

"I know how close you are to my father."

Her fingers tightened around the doorknob.

"But keep this between us. This is solely our issue”, his voice became firm.

"I don't want you running to him over this."

She slowly turned in disbelief, "Over this?"

He held her gaze.

"You've always had a habit of telling him every little disagreement we have."

"This isn't just a disagreement. It's my marriage and it's been desecrated."

"It's ours.”

"No”, she snapped with a broken voice, "It stopped being ours the moment you chose someone else."

For the first time, Damien had no answer.

Shirley opened the door and ran out without looking back.