AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jules looks up from the notepad and gives me an uneasy expression. Something about the statement doesn’t sit right with me. Letting out a sigh, I rub my brow.
“I sound too complacent.”
“You have to be passive,” she replies.
“Do I?” I ask.
“Caleb,” she says in her stern, motherly tone. “You have a legal firm and a reputation to protect. You are simply withdrawing your name from the conversation to protect yourself. That is reasonable. You don’t need to be heroic.”
I know she’s right, but I don’t feel any better about it. “I don’t even know what the heroic thing would be in this situation.”
“Nothing,” she states flatly. “The heroic thing to do is to let the justice system do their thing and hope he goes to prison for a long time.”
There’s a tension headache forming in my frontal lobe as I rub my forehead again. “I know,” I reply.
I can still see the furious expression on Adam’s face last night. Last year, when he and our father had their big fallout, my brother made a huge spectacle of himself publicly rebelling and speaking out against our father. It was a mess. But my brother does not have a wife, a child, and a business to protect. He wanted to ruin his own life, and in some ways, that’s exactly what he did.
But I am not my brother.
“Type it up,” I say to Jules, waving her off. “I don’t care anymore. Just run it. Call one of our contacts at the paper and give him our statement.”
“You got it,” she replies enthusiastically, jumping up from her seat.
When Jules leaves my office, shutting the door behind her, I recline in my office chair and stare at the ceiling. Ironically enough, this situation with my father is only thesecondmost stress-inducing matter at this moment in time.
My homelife is also in shambles. Briar is so mad at me, and rightfully so. I lied to her, cheated on her, betrayed her, neglected her, and hurt her—all things I made a solemn vow never to do. My job is simple, protect her, love her, be truthful with her, and be loyal to her. And yet, I failed at every single one.
And for what? Because I found another person who seems to stare right into my soul as if he understands everything that I feel. Even when he hates me and even when I feel as if I hate him, we are still connected. I still want him in a way I’ve never wanted anyone except for Briar.
Half the workday has gone by, and I haven’t heard a word from either of them. I don’t know if they’ve spoken, or if she’s approached him, or if he confessed. For all I know, they could be fucking or fighting or talking about me. I’m in the dark, and I hate it.
Last night, Dean suggested that he move out, and I have to come to terms with how much that idea gutted me. I couldn’t stand the thought of it.
If Dean left today, could Briar and I return to what we had before? Would we be better off? How did we manage to fuck everything up in such a short amount of time?
My phone buzzes on my desk, and I flip it over to find a message from Briar. It’s a long text.
I’ve had a lot of time to think today, and I know you’ve probably been ruminating on this as well. I know that the guilt is eating away at you, and I know you have regrets about what happened.
So before you come home, I just want to write out everything in this message.
First, you should know that I forgive you for what happened.
We can talk more when you get home, but what we talk about will greatly depend on how you react to this video. I want you to know that this is not a form of revenge. I didn’t do this to spite you.
I think we both know that we are broken individually, and we’ve found someone who makes us feel whole again. I don’t think that means that our marriage is broken. If anything, I think it means our marriage is strong enough to endure what we are putting it through at this phase of our lives. Not a lot of couples could handle this, but you and I have been through worse, and I believe we will get through this.
With that said, I am still angry at you. I’m angry that there was an entire side of yourself I never got to see. That I never got to love. I’m angry that you experienced something so profound without me, and in turn, I experienced something profound without you.
Dean said you would enjoy watching this video, and I hope you do. If watching this only makes you feel jealous and bitter, then we have more work to do than I first thought. Something tells me that’s not how you’re going to feel.
I love you.
I’m staring, perplexed, at my phone as I read her message. None of it seems to make any sense until the video comes through and there, on a thumbnail image in the text message of my phone, is a picture of my wife naked on someone else’s bed.
I hit play, and the video pans down to show Briar with her legs spread and the tip of Dean’s cock pressed inside her.
Immediately my face flushes red hot as I hit the pause button. My chest starts to move in a deep, erratic, heaving motion as reality settles in.
