From the Heart (Sweetbriar Hearts #3) - Nora Everly Page 0,1
the partially open door, I could hear the rhythmic squeak of the box spring and the slap of his hips against hers.
Cheating on me in my own damn house.
As if in a trance, I pushed the door all the way open to see them, naked, right in the middle of the bed. They faced the mirror over the dresser, too wrapped up in the obscene show they were putting on for themselves to notice they had an audience.
“Tommy. Please. Please. Please,” she begged as she writhed beneath him.
He collapsed forward onto her back, kissed her neck, and said, “I love you, babydoll.”
My stomach twisted into a knot as time stood still. I let out a gasp, and suddenly trying to recall the precise day things started to change between us didn’t matter anymore. My marriage was now officially over.
February first could eff right off. No one cheats on me.
He rose to his knees when he heard me gasp. “Violet! Shit!”
We locked eyes for one brief moment until he scrambled for his robe at the foot of the bed and put it on. Almost eighteen years of marriage and all he had to say was “Violet! Shit!”?
“What are you doing here?” He looked annoyed.
“Excuse me?” I wasn’t the one banging someone else in our freaking marital bed on my brand-new sheets. “Uh, I live here, and I have a headache.” Maybe I should leave. But I still couldn’t make myself move. My marriage had gone up in flames. But here I stood, allowing myself to feel the burn.
“Another headache? Really?” he scoffed.
“Oops,” Bethany chimed in with a satisfied smirk on her face. She rose to her knees next to Tom, then snatched his T-shirt from the edge of the bed to put on. “Maybe I’ll let you two talk for a few minutes. Do you need to talk to her, honey?” Yuck, baby talk. And, who in the heck does this girl think she is?
“Yes. I do.” He nodded as his eyes darted swiftly between the two of us. Caught between past and present. Wife and mistress.
She kissed his neck and smirked at me when he sucked in a breath. “Don’t forget who you belong to now,” she whispered as she got up to saunter into my bathroom.
Would fire be enough to get skank off my towels?
Despite all my instincts telling me to get the hell out of there, I stood still with my temper simmering beneath the surface. It pushed all other feelings to the back burner, and I was grateful for it.
After a nervous sigh, he finally addressed me. “Violet, have you checked your email today? You always check it first thing in the morning. Don’t let your headaches start affecting how you run your business—”
“What? Email? No. My morning has been a total disaster.” Each word he said fueled my anger but, like usual, something held me back from expressing it. Later, I was sure there would be other feelings—humiliation, grief for the loss of the family I had fought so hard to keep, possibly nostalgia, and maybe worry for my boys and our future. But for now, rage was working for me. It kept me on my feet, and I needed to stay upright so I could leave with my dignity intact.
He drove a hand into his hair and let out a huff. “I explained everything in the email. You shouldn’t be here right now. I didn’t intend for you to see this. But now that you’ve just seen me with Bethany you should know that we’re in love, Vi. And this isn’t just an affair, or a fling. I want a divorce so I can marry her. I thought maybe you could pack your stuff this weekend—"
“Are you crazy?” He’d gone crazy. Absolutely, totally insane. “You pack your stuff this weekend. I’m not leaving my house,” I argued, because what the hell? We had sons together. This was our family’s house.
“We wouldn’t have this house if it weren’t for me. You can’t afford to keep this place on your own, and you know it. The boys can stay with me until you find your own place.”
I was not about to leave my boys with him and his new girlfriend. I panicked and swiftly changed course. My sons were more important to me than staying in this house. “I guess you’ve got it all figured out. Fine, I’ll leave. But I’m taking the boys with me. And this argument isn’t over.”