The whole truth. Not the edited version you have been rehearsing on the drive home. Not the sanitized story where you minimize what happened and maximize my supposed failures as a husband. The actual complete truth about you and Marcus. She closed the folder, pressed her palms against it like she could somehow erase what was inside.
We slept together. The words hung in the air. Even though I'd known, had known for days, really. Hearing her say it out loud was different. It made it real in a way that evidence never could.
It transformed abstract betrayal into concrete fact. When my voice sounded distant to my own ears. The first time was in July after the company summer party. We'd both been drinking and he drove me home because you were out of town and I invited him in for coffee and I don't need the playbyplay. How many times total?
She hesitated. I don't know. Maybe maybe 10, 12 in the Bahamas trip. We were together the whole time. It wasn't a work retreat.
There was no conference. We just we wanted time alone away from everything. I nodded slowly, absorbing this. Did you use our savings account to pay for your half of the trip? The account we've been building for the down payment on a bigger house.
Her silence was answer enough. Okay. I walked back to my chair, sat down, picked up my book. You should pack a bag. What?
A bag, Rachel. Clothes, toiletries, whatever you need for a few days. I think it's best if you stay somewhere else for a while. James, please. This isn't negotiable.
You violated our marriage. You lied to me for 6 months. You used our money to fund your affair and now you need to leave. We'll figure out the rest later, but right now, tonight, I need you to not be here. " She started sobbing deep, gasping, so that shook her whole body. I don't have anywhere to go.
You have parents 20 minutes away. You have friends. You have Marcus. I opened my book to a random page. You'll figure it out.
You're good at figuring things out behind my back. I love you, she said desperately. I still love you, James. This thing with Marcus, it doesn't change how I feel about you. I looked at her over the top of my book and maybe she saw something in my face that scared her because she flinched.
Rachel, you spent the last 14 days in paradise with another man. You swam in the ocean with him, slept in his arms, woke up next to him, planned a future with him, and during all of that, how many times did you call me? Three, three, five minute conversations where you fed me lies about conference schedules and networking events. So, don't tell me you love me. Don't cheapen that word more than you already have.