Dirty Addiction (Dirty 2)

I do a couple of laps, loving that this could be my new life. Married to Victoria. Waking up to sex, then a couple of laps in the pool, and then off to my dream job. How could my life get any better?

On my third lap, I feel something hard hit my head. I stop swimming and look up to see Victoria still dripping wet but with a new dress on, which is getting wetter by the second. But that isn’t what matters. I look at Victoria’s face, and I know something is wrong.

“What’s wrong?”

She holds out my phone.

“I told you it wasn’t fixable.”

She shakes her head, looking at it. “It works just fine.”

I raise an eyebrow, not believing that the phone works.

“Your assistant, Ruby, called.”

“Okay,” I say, not understanding why Ruby called or why it would make Victoria upset.

“You got me fired. All those times I thought I had done something wrong. I hadn’t gotten enough clients. I hadn’t worked hard enough. I’d worked too hard. I’d demanded too much money.”

I shake my head. “No, let me explain.”

“Every time I was desperate to do a job I loved to take care of my family, you took it away from me. Every. Single. Time.”

Victoria’s face is bright red, her nostrils are flared, and she is trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.

“Victoria, it wasn’t like that.”

She throws her hands up. “How was it then? Tell me because I don’t understand it. Were you that threatened by me? Is that why you did it? You hated me that much? Has this all been just one big game to you? Or were you pretending to love me to gain some forgiveness?”

The tears fall freely now, mixing with the anger steaming off her cheeks.

“Victoria, I’m sorry. I—”

“You’re sorry that you are actually in love with Lily and just pretending with me?”

“No!” I swim to the edge and jump out of the pool, running toward her. “I love you, Victoria. That’s always been the truth. Lily is nothing to me.”

“Then, what?”

I take a deep breath. “I had to win at all costs. That was always who I was. When I heard there was a new woman in the game who was starting to beat me out for some clients, I felt threatened. I couldn’t allow you to win. So, I got you fired.”

“But it was me! I know we used to hate each other as kids, but really? You would do this to me? To Logan?”

I wince. “I didn’t know it was you.”

“How could you not?”

“I always thought of you as Tori, not Victoria. I never connected the dots until—”

“Until I said to call me Victoria, not Tori?”

I nod. “I was going to tell you.”

She laughs harshly. “Sure you were.” She throws the phone at me and then begins running inside.

“Victoria, wait! Let me explain more. I was an ass. I would do anything to win. I didn’t care about anyone. That was before I knew you and loved you. I’m sorry.”

I chase Victoria through the house and then outside. I don’t care that I’m naked. I can’t just let her go.