10-Ben
What the fuck was that?
I started packing a few days' worth of clothing into a suitcase and tried to make sense of what had just happened downstairs. Melanie wasn’t confrontational or cruel, and the version of her downstairs was outright hostile. It was going to be harder than I initially thought to get her to forgive me.
I looked at the still unmade bed and my clothing that I’d left on the floor. It didn’t look like she had even been in the room.
Where did she sleep last night?
It better have been here… alone!
I bristled at the thought that she could’ve slept anywhere else or with anyone else.
She wouldn’t… she’s too ‘good’ to break her vows.
I told myself and grabbed a couple more suits. I decided to pack for a week, with how angry she had been downstairs, I doubted I would be back in my own bed before that.
I glanced longingly at my expensive bedding and sighed. Melanie always had the best taste in things. She never bought things because of brand or flashiness; no, she would research based on quality. The bedding was expensive, but it was higher quality than even the fanciest hotels offered. I was going to miss sleeping in my own home.
My phone dinged from inside my pocket, and I pulled it out with a scowl.
Frank: Ms. Reed says she needs to speak to you before she will do anything.
Was anything going to go according to plan today?
Me: I’ll be there in 40.
I walked over to my bedside table and opened the drawer. I shuffled the stuff out of the way and lifted the false bottom just enough to pull the USB I had hidden inside. If Angela insisted on being difficult, I would use some of the information stored on this to force her cooperation. She wasn’t aware that I had been doing more than working while my wife was gone; I had also been digging for skeletons in Angela’s closet. I hadn’t expected my efforts to be so lucrative.
In the past, my extramarital activities were never longer than a night or two, and quite frequently they were with women from out of town. This was the first time that I had made the mistake of dabbling with someone who could so easily impact my personal and professional life. When she started being difficult, I knew I needed to protect myself.
Not to mention, I was still fucking pissed that I had missed the funeral of a woman who had treated me like her own, prenup aside, all because Angela threw a hissy fit.
I cringed when I thought about how upset Melanie's family must’ve been when I didn’t arrive with their daughter. It was going to be a long road to forgiveness with them, too. I was shocked that I hadn’t heard from Kyle yet.
That means Mel hasn’t told him.
The fact that she hadn’t told anyone gave me hope that she would get over this eventually. If she was really serious about kicking me out, she would’ve told her big brother what was going on.
Maybe I can use some of the profits from the new acquisition to buy them a beach property nearby… that would go a long way towards winning them over.
I made a mental note to put the realtor on it. A condo by the ocean would impress the hell out of Melanie's folks. Plus, it would give me a place nearby to go to when I needed to let loose.
Should probably cut back on the letting loose for a bit though…
Once I got back into Melanie’s good graces, I knew she’d be paranoid about my actions for a while. I would probably need to give monogamy a try for a bit.
Why does that feel like hardship?
Melanie was a solid 10 in bed; there had never been a kink or desire I had that she refused to try. She was the type of womanwho would get freaky in the coat closet and then walk into a business dinner with potential clients like nothing happened and help secure the deal. On more than one occasion, I’d had multiple business associates warn me that if she ever found out what I was doing, they’d swoop in.
I frowned and slammed my suitcase shut.
There’d be no goddamn swooping.
· · - ·?· - · ·
I had been so distracted by my self-inflicted angst that I forgot that two hostile women were waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I froze when I stomped into the kitchen and found Melanie aggressively butchering a cucumber with a butcher knife while Lily stood nearby and smirked.
