Chapter 7: The Reality

Cassie woke to the familiar comfort of her room at Eryn's house, but how she got there was a mystery. Groggy and confused, it took mere seconds for the events of the previous evening to invade her mind and crush her soul.

"It wasn't a nightmare." Cassie choked, submitting to the emotional breakdown that had been waiting to take her. The unbearable misery weighed heavily on her chest as she bawled uncontrollably. Eryn, who had fallen asleep next to her, woke with a start and instantly embraced her friend.

"Shhh, Sweetie, let it out," Eryn whispered. "Don't you worry about a thing, I'm gonna take care of you." Heartbroken for her friend, Eryn couldn't contain her own tears, so they cried together, and at some point, they dosed.

When Cassie woke again, the tears were gone. Immediate fury, the most potent she had ever experienced, crushed her beneath its weight.

She noticed Eryn was already out of bed and off somewhere, probably feeding the horses. Crawling out of bed, Cassie headed for the shower. Her shoulders ached from sobbing, her eyeballs scratched against dry lids, a ten-pound boulder filled her stomach, and her heart throbbed painfully deep within her chest.

Catching her reflection in the mirror, she stopped to scrutinize the nasty looking hag that stared back at her. The bitterness in her reflection startled her because she had never seen such anger crease her features. She looked, at minimum, ten years older than her thirty years.

Wincing, she fingered the scabbing wound above her eyebrow. Her normally well-groomed mane looked like a rat's nest, and her brown eyes were surrounded with puffy redness and mascara streaks. A pissed off, rabid raccoon on crack had nothing on her, and she felt even worse.

Unbelievable, she thought, staring at her haggard reflection. Did last night really happen, or was it just a bad dream? Nope, not a dream. It happened.

Her entire world came crashing down, and two people whom she loved and trusted more than anything had been the cause. Cassie stepped into the shower and let the hot water pelt her numb body as she prayed for the strength to move forward. She couldn't imagine how to do it or where to start.

Her husband and sister were having an affair. The reality of their betrayal mercilessly punched her in the heart; the pain took her breath away.

"I'm living a friggin soap opera," she whispered.

What the hell happened? She and Greg were so happy, so in love. The last two years of her marriage to Greg flashed through her mind as she desperately searched for some clue, some sign, anything that she might have missed.

He never gave her any indication that he wasn't happy. Yes, they both had crazy, conflicting work schedules, but she thought things were good. She thought they were best friends. They talked and made love all the time.

By all accounts, it didn't feel real, his affair that is, although none of this felt real. Again, she questioned if last night actually happened, and again her body quivered with confirmation.

How?

Why?

Until last night, she never thought for a single second that Greg didn't love her, that she wasn't his world. He professed his love for her, daily. Whether they were busy with work or not, it didn't stop him from making her feel special, and she definitely tried to return the favor.

So, what the hell?!

Cassie recalled the text Greg sent her yesterday afternoon. She recited the words, let them roll off her tongue. Tilting her head, she paused, wondering if she had imagined reading them. No, she hadn't imagined any of it.

His words.

His infidelity.

His filthy lies.

I love you; his text had read.

How could he send her a message of love and then hours later betray her in the worst possible way? It was sadistic and cruel, to say the least.

Why did he do it?

How could he do it?

Was it the sex? Her body jolted in protest to the question. She thought sex with Greg was fantastic. Apparently, he had other ideas. Apparently, she had no idea what her husband liked. Apparently, her husband was a deceitful pig. The truth about who she married gouged a deeper hole in her already wounded soul, but it was Sara's betrayal that cut the deepest.

How could her baby sister be so callous? Such a cliche, a dagger to the heart.

Nothing Cassie ever imagined could compare to the agony. She was broken, shattered, having been played for a stupid, naïve fool.

Bile rose in her throat as she thought about her husband pumping in and out of her sister. Shaking her head, she forced the image from her mind. She didn't want to deal with any of this. Right now, the thought of facing the reality of the situation and her devastation, sucked every drop of strength from her body.

Her entire being craved sleep. Utterly defeated, and completely lost, she made a pathetic attempt to towel off and then hauled her exhausted ass back to bed. Her head hit the pillow and sleep mercifully took her to a place where she didn't have to face the pain.