Chapter 4

(Candice)

I BLINKED twice to make sure that I was seeing the right person. I even had to look around for the second time to make sure that I was inside the right room. But the wedding portrait at the center of the bedroom which had my face on it indicated that I was not mistaken. The person on the bed banging another man spoke volume, too.

My husband was on top of another man. Both of them were naked and drenched in sweat while holding and kissing each other like there was no tomorrow. Their loud moans and the sound of the bed creaking with their every move echoed inside the room.

The Luke that I knew was never this enthusiastic in bed. He was kind and sweet, but he was always tired when he gets home. I’ve never seen him like this before. And the man beneath him was supposed to be his best friend. The two were always together but I never doubted it since Jackson was also Luke’s business partner. There were even days when Jackson would sleepover at our house.

Were they doing this behind my back all these time? The thought made my stomach churn.

The future that I pictured for the both of us all crashed down in a blink of an eye. My throat burned with the tears I tried to hold back and my hands trembled causing the cake that I was holding to fall down.

That was when the two finally noticed me.

“Candice?”

Luke immediately pushed Jackson and quickly got up on the bed that he almost tripped. He was about to approach me when I raised my hand. “Don’t. Don’t you dare come closer! You disgust me!” I said in a broken voice when I saw the semen all over his body. “So this was the reason why you wanted me to spend the night on my parents’ house? It wasn’t because you wanted me to be with them but because you were planning to do this? How long, Luke? How long have you been stabbing me in the back? What did I do to deserve this? I gave you everything, Luke, everything! And what about you, Jack? I trusted you!”

Jackson avoided my eyes. He stood up and quietly gathered his clothes on the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Luke said. It was barely a whisper.

My tears fell. I felt like my heart was being ripped over and over. I’ve never felt so small except tonight. I had so many questions. Where did I go wrong? I know I gave my best in this relationship, in this marriage. I even gave up my acting career to become a full-time housewife because that was what Luke wanted. I tried to become the woman that he wanted me to be. But all those were not enough that he ended up with someone else and worse, with a man?

When I could no longer stand seeing the two of them, I ran out of the house. My knees were shaking but I kept running.

There was only one place that I could think of going, my go-to place at times like this. And it was in my best friend’s arms. He would probably scold me for being out late at night when it was this cold but I would rather hear his voice than Luke’s.