Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 131728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
“Exactly,” Chloe splutters.
“He said that Mia was upset with her boyfriend because he wouldn’t try anal sex.”
“What?” I explode. “Who tells their fucking boss that in the lunchroom unless they want to fuck his brains out? This woman is the living end.”
“I know, shameless,” Rebecca whispers angrily. “Anyway, that opened the conversation for them to talk about sexual fantasies, and yada, yada, and two months later they decided to have one night together at a work conference.”
My eyes widen. “Their first time was anal?”
“Apparently.”
“Fuck off,” I snap. “He is using anal against you to justify him being a fucking sleazebag.”
“Exactly,” Chloe spits. “If he was good at sex, she would have given him anal, wouldn’t you, Bec?”
Rebecca shrugs as she sips her margarita. “Who knows, but he’s not the fucking porn star he thinks he is, that’s for sure.”
“God.” I drain my glass and gesture to the waiter for another round of drinks. “Then what?”
“He said that it was never emotional, that they fell into the habit of having sex, and that she has a boyfriend she is in love with too. They told each other every time that this was going to be the last time.”
“What?” I gasp. “Fuck her.”
“That’s exactly what he did,” Chloe snaps.
I’m shocked to my core. “What do you even say to this?”
“He said that he thinks that we met too young and that he just needed to do some sexual exploration but he knows that it’s me who is the love of his life.”
I stare at Rebecca. “How do you feel about this?”
“Heartbroken.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Can we kill him?” Chloe chimes in from the sideline. “Let’s kill him and bury his body in your backyard, Jules.”
I giggle. “Tempting, although Barry would probably dig him up.”
“Good old Bazza.” Chloe smiles. “He can chew on his bones and shit.”
“He told me he fired her from work,” Rebecca says.
“Is that true?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been into his office, obviously, but I would assume she would have resigned in case I did go in there.”
“True.” I sip my drink. “What must the other secretaries think of her?”
“They probably all knew. I feel like such a fool.”
“Don’t,” I snap. “He’s the fool. You remember that.”
“And then he did something that really broke my heart,” Rebecca says sadly.
“What?”
“He said that he hadn’t seen her since I found out and that he was never going to see her again.”
My eyes hold hers. “Why did that break your heart?”
“Here we are, laying our hearts out on the table, discussing his infidelity in great detail, anal and all. He’s telling me that I’m the love of his life, apologizing and telling me it’s the biggest regret of his life, and yet . . . he’s still lying about seeing her. I know for a fact he is staying at her house. I’ve driven past and seen his car there.”
My heart sinks.
“And then while he was talking and begging for forgiveness, I had an epiphany.”
“What was it?”
“He’s always going to lie about seeing her. Even in a conversation about saving our marriage, he’s still lying. I can never trust him again. We can’t save this. It’s too far gone.” Her eyes well with tears. “My marriage is officially over.”
“God, Bec.” I take her hand over the table and hold it in mine. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” Chloe says sadly.
The waiter arrives with our new round of drinks. “Thanks.” I smile.
Rebecca takes one and holds it up for a toast. “Tonight, we’re celebrating.” We smile and hold our drinks up to hers. “To new beginnings.”
Wednesday morning
I walk down the corridor of the nursing home. I’m just about to clock out from the night shift.
I’m on autopilot now.
Nothing could surprise me anymore. My faith in the male sex has been utterly and irrevocably ruined.
Rebecca’s heart is broken. My heart is broken.
The whole world is fucking broken.
I get to Bernard’s door and glance through the window and stop still on the spot.
My heart breaks all over again.
Henley is lying on his back in the hospital bed. His father is lying beside him. Bernard’s head is on Henley’s chest, and Henley’s arm is protectively around him. Henley is watching television as his father sleeps.
My eyes well with tears . . .
I know he doesn’t love me, but he sure loves his dad.
Lucky him.
Chapter 21
They say time heals all wounds. I don’t think that’s necessarily true.
But it sure gives you some perspective.
It’s been four weeks since Henley and I last spoke, three weeks and six days since I felt swept away and in the moment.
Five minutes since I’ve thought about him . . .
But I don’t care because I am completely and utterly over him. Henley who?
I mean, it’s not like we had a grand love affair. It was a few weeks. I got up, dusted myself off, and got over it.