My Husband Brought His Mistress Home for the Weekend

by

Chapter 28

THEME:
FONT SIZE: 18px

The marina noise seemed to soften around us.

He gave a small, sad smile.

"I used to think that Friday was the day I lost you."

I said nothing.

"But it wasn't, was it?"

"No."

"When was it?"

There was a time I would have spent hours trying to answer perfectly.

Now I didn't.

"I don't think there was one moment."

He nodded.

"I thought maybe you'd say the anniversary dinner."

I remembered.

Lauren texting.

Adrian turning the phone over.

Me pretending not to notice because I didn't want to ruin the evening.

"That was one."

"Or Christmas."

"Maybe."

"Or when I told you that you were paranoid."

"That didn't help."

He looked toward the water.

"I've spent two years looking for the exact moment because I think part of me believed that if I could identify it, I could imagine going back and fixing it."

I understood.

Regret often invents time machines.

If only I hadn't sent that message.

If only I hadn't taken that call.

If only I hadn't lied that night.

But betrayal is rarely one door.

It is a hallway.

You walk farther down it with each choice until one day you turn around and discover the person you expected to follow has stopped.

"I don't think you lost me in one moment," I said.

He looked at me.

"I think you lost me every time I told you something hurt and you explained why I shouldn't feel hurt."

His eyes closed briefly.

"Yeah."

"And I lost myself every time I accepted that explanation."

When he looked at me again, there were tears in his eyes.

Not enough to fall.

Enough to show.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"With someone?"

I hesitated.

Then answered.

"Yes."

Pain crossed his face.

He nodded.

"I'm glad."

I believed he meant it.

That mattered to me.

It did not pull me back.

"Are you?" I asked.

"Getting there."

I smiled.

"Good."

A valet called his name.

Adrian glanced over.

Then back at me.

"I should go."

"Okay."

He started to turn.

Then stopped.

"That ceramic sailboat."

I laughed immediately.

"What about it?"

"I still have it."

"What?"

"I couldn't donate it."

"You told me you didn't want it."

"I didn't."

"Then why do you have it?"

He shrugged.

"It lives on a shelf in my townhouse."

"Still ugly?"

"Absolutely."

I smiled.

Adrian did too.

Then his expression became serious.

"I think I kept it because it reminds me there was a version of us that wasn't a lie."

← PREV | NEXT →

Related posts

The first thing Nolan Pierce noticed was not his pregnant ex-wife. It was the silence… The Maid Was Fired In Front Of The Mafia Boss—His Next Order Silenced The Room Bachelor Pad Mystery Solved After Owner Catches Intruder in His Shower MY BEST FRIEND CONFESSED SHE LOVED MY HUSBAND AT OUR WEDDING. I HANDED HER MY BOUQUET—THEN HE ASKED ME NOT TO CALL MY FATHER. Shattered Identity: Teen Discovers Her Heartwarming Adoption Story Was a Cover-Up for Father’s Affair I went to the airport to say goodbye to my best friend and accidentally caught my husband kissing the woman he swore was “just a coworker.” But the affair wasn’t the worst part. I heard them laughing about taking my money, my house, and my entire life, never realizing I had just recorded the conversation that could destroy their plan. The champagne flute slipped from a waiter’s tray and shattered at Claire Whitmore’s feet just as the young woman wearing Claire’s money leaned close and whispered, “He’s leaving you tonight.” The ballroom at the Pierre Hotel went briefly silent, then resumed its glittering murmur. Claire looked at Sophie Lane, then across the room at her husband, and realized humiliation only worked if she agreed to be humiliated. – DailyFeed The Relaliatory Snap: Office Secret Exposed After Weeks of Cultural Sabotage Mom Bans Sister-In-Law’s Sketchy Partner From Her Home, Dividing the Family “You should take these back,” my brother said, holding out the Christmas gifts I had brought for his The moment his smile died The first time Dominic Raineri realized his nephew was destroying Sophia Caruso, twenty-three people were sitting around his dining table pretending not to notice. Pet Owner Questions If Reporting Hostile Vet Receptionist Is Going Too Far You’re Here to Replace My Dead Daughter,” the Grandmother Said Before Five Children—But the Widower’s Housekeeper Had a Secret No One Expected… Bound to Solitude: Teenager Faces Accusations of “Selfishness” Over Extreme Social Burnout The Reckoning of Lieutenant Ethan Cole: How an Arrogant Special Operations Officer Learned the True Meaning of Discipline, Humility, and Service Under the Stern Command of General Victoria Hayes, a Living Legend Who Chose to Walk in Shadows and Shatter False Pride with Uncompromising Truth, Uncovering Buried Grievances Across the Base and Forcing Every Operator to Confront the Bitter Difference Between Arrogance and Genuine Valor, Leading to a Transformative Journey Through Trial, Penance, and Ultimate Redemption Where False Ambition Crumbled and Pure Honor Replaced Petty Tyranny in the Very Hangar Where Respect Had First Been Cast Aside Boyfriend’s False Financial Bragging Triggers Immediate Vacation Invoices The Predator in the Parlor: A Chronicle of Blood and Betrayal Family Drama Explodes As Unemployed Brother Takes Over Sister’s Space My Sister Spent a Year Convincing Everyone My Baby Wasn’t My Husband’s. The DNA Test Exposed a Secret That Had Been Buried Since My Father Died. THE UNBROKEN PROMISE OF THE BLUE PAPER STARS: HOW A CHILD’S FEARLESS TOUCH OPENED A HARDENED HEART IN THE COLD HALLS OF BOSTON, SHATTERING DECADES OF PAINFUL DECEPTION, UNCOVERING THE TRUTH BEHIND A BITTER FAMILY EMPIRE, BRINGING BACK THE ONLY WOMAN WHO EVER TRULY LOVED GABRIEL RINALDI, HEALING THE UNFORGIVEN WOUNDS OF A RUTHLESS DYNASTY, REUNITING A SCATTERED FAMILY UNDER THE SAME ROOF AFTER THIRTY LONG YEARS OF SECRETS AND REGRET, AND PROVING FOREVER THAT LOVE CAN SURVIVE THE DARKEST BETRAYALS AND REDEEM EVEN THE COLDEST SOUL