I had breakfast in the dining room and then went to the reception to check out. Instead, I found myself extending my stay by two days. To what end, I didn’t know, but I needed to know more. Maybe even see this Kayden. After all, I deserved to see the man who had lured my wife away from me.
The man she thought was better than me. I returned to my room and grabbed my car keys. I was already showered and ready for the day, which was a good thing because I wanted to catch Charlotte before she left for work.
I drove to her house, marveling at the turn of events that had made me run into Charlotte. I wasn’t hopeful that she and I would get back together. After all she had a man in her life.
I remembered the expression she had worn when I asked her whether she was happy. Jealousy speared through me a second time. There was only one word to describe how she had looked when she answered my question. Blissful.
But I deserved closure. Maybe after this, I would lodge my own divorce proceedings and she and I would be done forever. I needed to forgive and heal but to do that I needed to understand.
I needed to know why. I drove to the farm and stopped outside the barn house. Charlotte’s curtains and windows were already open. No surprise there. She had always been an early riser.
I killed the engine and as I got out of the car, the front door flew open and Charlotte strode towards me with an expression of contained anger on her face.
“What are you doing here?” she asked and then continued speaking without giving me a chance to answer. “We said goodbye yesterday.” She folded her arms under her chest and her breasts popped out.
To my shame, my cock swelled as memories of our explosive love life came to the forefront of my mind.
Before I could say a word, I caught sight of an older woman hurrying towards us. I had no idea where she had come from, but I assumed there was another house out of sight.
Charlotte followed my gaze. She dropped her hands and smiled at the approaching woman. “Hello Mrs. Horace.”
“Good morning,” the woman said, throwing a curious glance at me. “I just came to check on you. You’re late and I got worried about Kayden. He had a bit of a diaper rash yesterday.”
“He’s fine. Everything’s okay. I’ll bring him over in a few.”
“Okay,” Mrs. Horace said, throwing another glance my way. Charlotte didn’t offer an explanation and she had no choice but to turn away and go back the way she had come.
Then something the woman had said hit me.
…I got worried about Kayden. He had a bit of a diaper rash yesterday.
I stared at Charlotte, stunned. “Kayden is a baby?”
She refused to meet my gaze. “Yes. He’s my son.”
A coldness hit at my core. Who was this person? I thought I knew Charlotte, but clearly not. Why would she lie about having a baby? I didn’t understand any of it.
“And you led me to believe he was your boyfriend?”
She bit her lower lip. I instantly recognized it as nervousness. Was her boyfriend hurting her?
“I didn’t say it,” she said.
“Don’t be absurd Charlotte. You’re not a seven-year-old. You know that lying by omission is still classified as lying,” I snapped.
She did not respond. My chest felt as if it was burning. Jealousy rose up my throat. She had had a baby with another man. I curled my hands into fists. I wished that I’d not stopped at the diner and I had not seen her.
“Are you still with him, the nameless boyfriend you chose over us?”
She shook her head.
I was stunned. “So, he got you pregnant and left you with a baby?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to kill him. Lowlife piece of shit! I clenched my fists and kept my voice normal. “You’ll be late to work and we need to drop Kayden at Mrs. Horace’s.” I strode towards the house.
“Wait,” Charlotte cried behind me. “You need to leave. Go back to New York to your own life. Leave us alone.”
Alex
But I was already entering the house. I pushed the door open and stepped into the living room. A cute baby boy sat in a play pen chewing on a toy. He looked up at me and his face crumbled as his lower lip shook. Within seconds he was wailing as if someone had hurt him.
Charlotte hurried to him and lifted him from the play pen. She cuddled him to her and he wrapped his small hands around her neck.
My throat constricted painfully as I watched mother and son. Memories swamped me of Charlotte whispering into my ear about how much she wanted to have our baby. How then could she have gone off and had a baby with another man? I didn’t understand any of it. Her betrayal was too big. Too hurtful to comprehend.