When the plane touched down in Greenville, Annie and I turned our phones back on for the first time in over a week. We had promised each other we wouldn't allow any outside distractions to mar our trip, and being out of the country made that easy to explain before we left. Once on the road, she looked at me. "Do you think it's safe to check the messages at this point?" Her face was tainted with worry."Sweetheart, your friends will not be mad at you. Plus, they don't even know anything yet. Are you trying to avoid the confrontation? Is that why you aren't checking your phone?" She nodded her reply."Who are you most afraid of telling?""My mom and dad," she stated plainly. "Things between us have been strained for years. This may be the final nail in the coffin. The sad thing is you're exactly what they always wanted for me." I'd met her parents when we'd run into them one night, but it was only briefly, and neither had shown much interest. We'd all wanted to go in separate di

The moment I hit the DC floor, I was aware everyone in the facility knew Annie and I had gotten married. Dan was one of my best friends, and I'd told him the night before last. He was worse than any girl I'd ever known about gossiping. Couple that with Lynn knowing Annie's side, it was the hot topic of conversation. For the most part, everyone was genuinely happy for us, sharing words of congratulations and well wishes. Luckily for me, Lynn filled everyone in on the details of the day, showed people pictures, and swooned for us in general. Everyone in the DC knew Annie, and to my knowledge, there wasn't a soul who hadn't loved her while she was here. I got lucky and only had to field questions with words of affirmation.A couple hours into the day, Topher stopped by my office. He'd been bombarded by Scarlett with the details of the wedding. I knew he and Annie had shared a night together, but he was a good guy, and his well-wishes were heartfelt even if they came with a warning about

The first two years of our marriage had been damn near perfect. Annie and I adored each other. We spent our free time together-traveling, eating out, socializing with our friends-it didn't matter what we were doing as long as we did it as a couple. I'm sure it helped we were in counseling almost from day one, but that never bothered me. Annie had a daunting past, and I wanted to ensure I was always there to help mitigate the demons. When she first invited me to a session, her apprehension was apparent-mine was, too. I'd never been in any type of therapy, but it was critical for Annie, and I tried to view it as an opportunity to be part of the healing. While we dated, she had opened up about the abuse she'd endured in high school. I knew about Will committing suicide and her feeling responsible for it, but I hadn't realized how deep those feelings of guilt truly ran. They went beyond Will and seeped into her relationship with Gray. I refused to add to that list. In fact, I wanted to h

We sat together in the bathroom, her between my legs on the floor holding the stick in both hands, willing the second line to appear. Annie's tiny frame tensed in front of me, but I tried to relax her during the wait. Three minutes became an eternity. When the line didn't appear, I waited for her to fall apart, ready to catch her to keep her from breaking. To my surprise, she leaned her head against my arm for a brief moment before turning slightly to face me."It's just the first month. We knew it was unlikely." There was disappointment in her words, but not despair. "It would've been cool but pretty unrealistic." Before I could respond, she leaned in to kiss me, opening her mouth to further invade my space. I welcomed her intrusion with open arms, pulling her toward my body. Just as things started to heat up, she pulled back. Her eyes were heavy with lust. "More time to practice." It was all she said before rising from the floor, pulling me up by my hand, and leading me to our b

Never had I seen Brett so emotional, so shattered. My failure left him bereft and brokenhearted. As I rode to the hospital, he held my hand, while my mind bombarded me with painful memories and thoughts of worthlessness. Plagued by inadequacy, I wondered how my husband would endure my punishments, those God kept placing on me. The guilt was almost unbearable. I tried to stop the tears; I didn't deserve to cry. This was warranted, my penance for not saving Will, for not having the strength or the courage to do what was necessary to pull him out of his living hell. Then there was Cole, once again my weakness, weakness for a man, had cost me a life. I thought I'd done things differently this time. "Sweetheart, talk to me." Brett's faint voice dragged me out of the haze.Unable to respond verbally, I squeezed his hand to acknowledge I'd heard him and offered him a meager grimace hoping to pass it off as a smile. "Are you in pain...physically?" The hesitation in his voice indicated his