The Hotel Room: His Broken Vows

Chapter Eleven - James

CHAPTER ELEVEN

James

The bar was quieter than usual, the low hum of conversation fading into the background noise as James stared into his untouched glass of whiskey.

Nick had picked the place—some trendy speakeasy-style bar with dim lighting and shelves of expensive liquor that felt too polished, too curated for the kind of night James was having.

Hell, he didn’t even want to be here. Nick had insisted.

All he could feel was the ache pressing into his chest, heavier with each passing day. Kate was back in the house, but it wasn’t fixed. It wasn’t even close. She moved through the house like a ghost, speaking only when necessary, keeping her distance—like she was waiting for an excuse to walk out again.

And Noah? He’d barely looked him in the eye all week.

James ran a hand down his face, exhaustion settling deep in his bones.

“I don’t know what else to do, man.” His voice was hoarse, words sticking like gravel in his throat. “She’s there. She came back . But it’s like she’s…gone. She won’t talk to me. She won’t let me in. She’s still punishing me.”

Nick sat back in his chair, swirling the amber liquid in his glass, watching James carefully. Not with the usual sarcasm or teasing. Tonight, he looked…serious.

“You deserve it.”

James’s head snapped up, frowning.

“Are you kidding me right now? I’m trying to fix things, Nick. I’ve done everything . I explained. I told her it was a mistake. I’m providing for the kids. She’s the one acting like the marriage is already dead. It’s not fair.”

Nick exhaled, shaking his head slowly. “James, listen to yourself. She’s punishing me? Come on. You cheated on her, man. You don’t get to play the victim here.”

James’s jaw tightened. “I’m not playing the victim. I’m just saying—how long am I supposed to keep begging? At some point, she has to let it go, right? One mistake— one —shouldn’t erase seventeen years of marriage. It shouldn’t be enough to destroy our family.”

Nick was quiet for a long moment, his gaze narrowing like he was measuring his words carefully.

Then, he leaned forward, elbows resting on the table.

“You’re missing the point, James.”

James blinked, frowning.

“Look, I get it. You’re hurting. You’re scared. But this whole thing you’re doing—trying to dictate the outcome? Trying to get her to stay because you think it’ll just…fix itself? That’s not how this works.”

James shook his head, the frustration bubbling under his skin. “I’m trying to keep our family together.”

Nick gave him a look—one of those old, familiar looks James hated, the one that said You’re lying to yourself and you know it.

“No, man. You’re trying to control her. Think about it—she’s staying under your roof, sure, but is she actually with you? Or is she just there for the kids?”

James felt his stomach twist, and he looked away, staring down into the whiskey, watching the amber liquid catch the dim light.

“I thought…” His voice cracked slightly, and he had to clear his throat. “I thought if I could just get her to stay long enough, she’d see we could rebuild. That we could find our way back. That one mistake wasn’t worth—”

Nick cut him off gently but firmly. “You keep saying one mistake but it sounds like the only thing you regret is getting caught.”

James swallowed hard, his hands curling into fists beneath the table.

He wanted to argue. Wanted to say Nick was wrong. But he wasn’t.

The silence stretched between them, heavier than before.

Nick sat back again, his own drink forgotten. For a moment, he looked more tired than James had ever seen him—like he was carrying something heavier too.

“I know what it’s like to lose someone. Not like you, maybe. But I’ve spent the last ten years keeping things casual, telling myself it’s easier. That feelings just…get in the way.”

James blinked, surprised. “Nick—”

But Nick shook his head, a bitter smile curving his lips.

“It’s not easier. It’s not better. It’s empty. And now I’m watching you—my oldest friend—tear yourself apart trying to control the damage instead of dealing with the real problem.”

James felt the words hit deep, raw and unrelenting.

Nick leaned closer, voice steady.

“You need to fix yourself , man. Not the marriage. Not the house. You. Or you’re gonna lose her for good.”

James scoffed, shaking his head as he downed the rest of his drink. “I’ve been with Kate for seventeen years. I know how relationships work better than you ever could.”

Nick's expression tightened, the hurt flickering behind his eyes and James looked away, swallowing hard. In the hollow ache beneath his anger, James felt fear.

“You need to fix yourself. Or you’re gonna lose her for good.”

══════════════════

The house felt fuller now.

The sound of Lily humming softly from her room. The dishwasher running. Noah’s footsteps thudding overhead.

They were home. She was home.

But it wasn’t the same.

James stood in the doorway of their bedroom—or what had once been theirs . Now, it felt like it belonged to neither of them. Kate had been back for days, but she hadn’t slept here. Not once.

She was camped out in the guest room, the one barely big enough for the twin bed shoved against the wall. The same guest room she’d always treated like a storage closet.

It felt like a punishment.

The sound of her quiet footsteps carried from down the hall, the rustle of her moving around. Awake. Still keeping her distance.

It had to stop.

He couldn’t keep watching her slip further away, acting like their life—their entire marriage —was disposable. Like one mistake, one night , had the power to erase everything they’d built together.

James knocked once, then opened the guest room door without waiting for an invitation.

Kate was sitting on the edge of the bed, folding Lily’s pajamas with slow, mechanical movements. Her back was straight, stiff with tension, and when she glanced at him, her face was pale but hard. Cold.

“James.”

Her voice wasn’t quite hostile, but it wasn’t warm either.

He took a breath, forcing calm. Reasonable. Rational.

“We need to talk.”

She didn’t stop folding, just smoothed the fabric with an unnecessary precision.

“I’m busy.”

“I’m not leaving this room until we do.”

Her hands stilled. Slowly, she turned to face him. Those dark eyes met his—burning, sharp. Angry.

Good. Anger, he could work with. Anger meant she cared .

James stepped closer, keeping his voice steady. “Kate, I know you’re hurt. I know you’re furious with me. But you’re back here now. We’re under the same roof again. We have two kids who need us. We need to figure this out— together. ”

Kate let out a bitter, humorless laugh, shaking her head.

“Figure this out?” she echoed.

His chest tightened. The fear had been gnawing at him since the day she left, but now it gripped him entirely. It was the realization that she might never look at him the same way again.

“I’m saying it was one mistake, Kate. A single bad choice. That shouldn’t be enough to erase seventeen years—”

Her face twisted, eyes flashing as she cut him off.

“You downloaded the app. You messaged her. You booked the hotel. You planned it, James! Do you have any idea how many decisions you made between starting that conversation and taking your wedding ring off?”

“Kate, I didn’t mean to…” he started, his voice faltering. The words felt useless, too weak against the storm of her pain. Why wasn’t she listening to him?

His heart pounded, his chest tightening with desperation. They were married. She was his wife .

“How can you even think about leaving?” he snapped. “I pay the mortgage. I pay the bills. How would you even…”

He stopped abruptly, the silence that followed heavy and suffocating.

Kate stared at him, her hands frozen mid-fold, her face pale with shock. Then, slowly, her expression hardened, the raw anger giving way to something colder. Something final.

Kate’s voice was quieter now, but the devastation hit harder than her anger.

“Is that what you think, James? That because I stayed home to raise our kids while you worked, I’m trapped here? That you’ve given me this life, so I should just...forgive you?”

He opened his mouth, struggling for words, but she didn’t give him the chance.

“I have given everything to this family. I have sacrificed my body, my time, my identity so that you could have your career, so our children would be loved and cared for. I’ve built this life with you. Don’t you dare stand there and act like you’re the only one who made it possible.”

James flinched, heat burning under his skin, but the words came before he could stop them.

“That’s not fair.”

Kate’s face twisted, voice breaking. “ Fair? You want to talk about fair? You cheated, James. You slept with someone else and now you’re standing here trying to convince me that I should stay because you pay the mortgage? Because you’re the breadwinner?”

“That’s not what I meant!” he snapped, but the words sounded weak. Hollow.

She shook her head, blinking rapidly like she was holding herself together by sheer force of will.

“No, James. That’s exactly what you meant. And if you think this—” She gestured vaguely at the house around them. “This life we built means I have to stay with a man who betrayed me, you’re the one trying to trap me. ”

James's pulse thundered in his ears, the burn of her words sinking deeper, sharper than he expected. She was twisting this —making it worse, making him the villain when he was just trying to fix what was broken.

His voice rose, rough and raw, driven by the panic clawing at his chest.

“You’re my wife , Kate!”

The words lashed out louder than he meant, echoing off the walls. His fists clenched at his sides as he stared at her, desperate, furious— pleading.

But she didn’t flinch.

She just stared back, her expression carved from stone, eyes glassy but unrelenting.

And when she spoke, her voice was cold. Final.

“Not anymore.”

Then she turned away, leaving James standing there—alone with the silence, the weight of his own words pressing harder than ever before.