26
A fter dropping Ava off at school, albeit later than usual, Emily returned home and finally had a moment to herself. Her thoughts drifted to Roman. Since their night together, they’d exchanged only a few brief texts. Emily missed him and longed to see him again, so she decided to give him a call.
“Hi, I was just thinking of you,” Roman answered.
Emily smiled, “I was just thinking of you too. What are you doing?”
“Just working on your case.”
“Anything new?”
“No.”
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” She sighed, “Now that my financial situation has come to light, I don’t know how I’m going to pay you.”
“Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to pay me.”
“No, I insist. Perhaps we could arrange a payment plan or something.”
“How about this: we trade services as a form of payment?”
Emily smiled. “What did you have in mind?”
“Come over, and I’ll show you.”
“All right, but I need to shower first.”
“Hurry.”
“I will, bye.”
Emily hung up the phone and hurried upstairs to shower. As she stepped under the hot stream of water, she closed her eyes and tilted her face, letting the warmth of the water pulse over her as thoughts of being with Roman again filled her mind. After thoroughly lathering her body and washing her hair, she turned off the water and reached for the towel—only to find it missing.
She pulled back the shower curtain, expecting to see the towel on the floor. Instead, she jumped in surprise upon seeing Gabriel standing outside the shower, holding the towel open for her.
She quickly snatched the towel from him, embarrassed that he had seen her naked, and hastily covered herself. “What are you doing home?” she demanded.
“I’ve had quite a morning,” Gabriel said.
Emily stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around herself, tucking it in at her chest. She moved to stand in front of the mirror, gazing at her reflection. “What happened?” she asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” he murmured, stepping close behind her and kissing her shoulder.
Startled, she spun around to face him, her eyes wide. “What are you doing?”
Despite it being only 11:30 in the morning, she could already smell the alcohol on his breath.
“I’m kissing my wife,” he replied, placing a hand on her thigh and sliding it upward under her towel.
“Stop that!” she exclaimed, knocking his hand away before quickly leaving the bathroom.
Gabriel followed her into the bedroom, his eyes tracking her every move as she retrieved a pair of panties from the dresser and slipped them on under her towel.
“What are you doing home, Gabriel?” she asked, surprised, as he never took time off from work.
“I’m taking a leave of absence for a while,” he said. “How about we go on a little vacation? You, me, and Ava. Olivia can look after the boys—they can’t miss any more school.”
Having recently discovered the truth about his work, Emily knew he was lying. She stopped dressing and met his gaze directly. “You got fired, didn’t you?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s just a leave of absence, I swear.” He stepped closer to her. “I know the timing isn’t great, but maybe we can use this as a chance to get our marriage back on track. You’ve been asking me for years to take a vacation. Now we can.”
Emily stepped away from him. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she declared before heading into her walk-in closet to finish dressing.
When she emerged a minute later, fully dressed, she was surprised to find that Gabriel had left. It was unlike him to back down from a fight. She knew he had something up his sleeve, she just didn’t know what.
Roman heard a car pull into his driveway and rushed to the door, eager to see her. When he flung the door open and stepped onto the porch, he called out, “It took you long enough.” But his smile vanished when he saw Gabriel, not Emily, stepping out of the car.
“What do you want?” Roman demanded, descending the steps toward Gabriel.
“Stay away from my wife,” Gabriel growled, glaring and closing the distance between them.
Roman took another step, squaring his shoulders until their noses were inches apart. “Or what?” he challenged.
Gabriel clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. “Or you’ll regret it,” he warned through gritted teeth. “Leave Emily alone, or I promise you’ll be sorry.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Roman replied firmly.
Gabriel raised his fist and swung at Roman, but Roman ducked, causing the punch to miss its mark.
Just then, Emily’s car pulled up, and she quickly jumped out. “Stop it!” she shouted, rushing between the two men and forcing them apart. She glared at Gabriel. “You have no business being here. Go home, Gabriel.”
“You’re coming with me,” Gabriel demanded, gripping her elbow and pulling her away from Roman.
“No, I’m not,” Emily retorted, struggling to free her arm but failing.
Roman stepped closer, his voice tense. “Take your hands off her.”
“No, she’s my wife. I’ll do what I want with her,” Gabriel spat, moments before Roman landed a solid punch to his eye, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Emily rushed to Roman’s side and quickly pushed him away before he could inflict any more harm. “Let’s go inside,” she urged, pulling Roman back toward the house.
Roman pointed a finger at Gabriel, who was still on the ground. “You touch her again, and I’ll kill you!” he yelled before allowing Emily to drag him into the house.
Once inside, Roman closed the door and locked it securely. Emily began to cry. “What am I going to do?”
Roman wrapped his arms around her and gently guided her to the couch. “You need to leave him,” he said softly. “You and Ava can stay with me.”
Emily rested her head on his shoulder, her voice trembling. “I don’t know. That will only make him crazier.”
Roman gently lifted her chin, making her meet his gaze. “I’ll protect you,” he promised.
Emily nodded, tears streaming down her face, and kissed Roman softly. The moment quickly escalated, their emotions running high. Suddenly, Emily pushed him away, saying, “Wait a minute.” She got up and went to the window, glancing outside to ensure Gabriel was gone. Satisfied, she returned to the couch, removed her pants, and climbed onto Roman’s lap.
“We need a condom,” Roman whispered between kisses.
“It’s okay,” Emily replied softly as she unbuttoned his pants, “I’m on the pill.”
Roman was slow and gentle with her, so different from their first time, yet still managed to fill a deep longing within her. When they finished, she rested her head on his chest, her breathing steadying. As she drifted off to sleep, she could have sworn she heard him softly whisper, “I love you,” in her ear.