39. Rosenna
Chapter thirty-nine
Rosenna
W aking from the sofa, I looked around to see I was still in my office. There was a dull ache between my thighs, reminding me of the hours that had passed with Beckham. Breathing out as I sat up, I looked down at my scattered clothing on the ground, realizing I was only in my bra and underwear.
Beckham wasn’t anywhere to be found, but his keys and wallet still sat on my desk, letting me know he was somewhere around the building.
Grabbing my clothes, I stepped inside my personal bathroom and fixed myself as best as I could. After freshening up and getting dressed, I combed my hair as I stepped out of the bathroom.
Checking the time on my phone, I realized it was nearly two in the morning. Gavin hadn’t messaged me, though I assumed he would have fallen asleep at home.
If I knew better, I would say the makeup sex with Beckham was confirmation to him that I would be ending things with Gavin sooner or later. Especially with the stunt he pulled with the super-secret exhibit of our affair that expressed his underlying love and appreciation. Obsession and addiction , too, but for my sanity, I’ll say it was out of love and desperation to show how much he cared for me.
In the midst of all this, I was both stressing and panicking. Sure, the question of who I should be with was answered, and I partially accepted that I’d fallen in love with the world’s most insufferable man… but there was another problem.
I would also have to reveal the truth to Gavin, the husband I wanted so badly to show me what Beckham showed in only the last few months of knowing him.
Was this really the end? Was I truly ready to give up years of my marriage—
Yes .
I was worth more than Gavin. Beckham knew that. Kira knew that. Dear Lord, Vincent Garcia probably knew it, too. Why was it so hard for me to accept the reality that my shitty marriage was, in fact, shitty and now presumably over? We’d ruined it beyond repair, and I needed to accept it sooner or later.
Stepping out of my office, I heard a few footsteps down the hall by the now-famous exhibit, and I could only assume that was where Beckham had wandered off to. Walking over to it, I tried to push the negative thoughts away as I oddly wanted to be in his embrace once again. After weeks spent apart, I craved his touch despite my racing and conflicting thoughts.
Approaching the exhibit, I smiled as I watched him admire the sculpture with his hand under his chin; however, the closer I got, the more the horror of my new reality began to settle in.
Maybe it was the fog in my just-fucked brain that made me forget what Beckham had been wearing, but looking at the back of the man before me, I finally realized it was an entirely different outfit.
Scratch that . It was a different man entirely. From the cocky but tense shoulders to his broad stance overall, I knew exactly who it was. And as he turned to face me as I stood frozen in the middle of the floor, I felt my soul leave my body.
He gave me a once-over and sighed as he rubbed his chin and returned his eyes to the sculpture.
“You didn’t come home tonight. After passing by your office earlier, I could obviously tell why.”
I stared at him in utter shock and disbelief. This was not how I imagined him finding out.
I actively tried to get him not to see this. I was thinking of other ways to break the news to him, other ways that wouldn’t involve us standing on the sex painting or, rather, the “masterpiece” Beckham and I created, surrounded by portraits, sculptures, and photos of his wife made by another man.
“Gavin…” I whispered.
A humorless chuckle surfaced from him. “How long has it been going on?” he asked, moving to the wall of photographs.
I swallowed. “W-what?”
Gavin rolled his eyes as he looked over his shoulder to me. “Not a difficult question, Rosenna. How long has he been fucking my wife and lying to my face?”
I was completely speechless, in the midst of what seemed like a panic attack. My head was starting to spin.
“Can’t tell me? It must’ve been a while, then. Not surprised. I should have noticed, you know? Your hips seemed wider, your smile not as tense, your blush deeper… It was almost too obvious.”
Anger radiated off of him in waves, but he didn’t let it show. Though, despite his efforts, I knew better. After being with him for so long, I would always know better. His eyes held so much hatred that I could barely look into them, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away. This was not how I wanted things to go.
Then how did you want things to play out, Rosenna? Did you want to keep fucking your client behind your husband’s back despite the fact that you had fallen in love with him? Act like everything was normal? Keep the same cycle of fighting with Gavin and running to Beckham for comfort?
This was not how I wanted things to go.
Reaching into his back pocket, tears sprung to my eyes as Gavin held up my wedding ring. “After everything I’ve done for you… you really threw away our marriage… threw away us for him ?”
I still felt frozen. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but they wouldn’t come out.
As my silence angered him further, I flinched as he threw the ring to the ground, seething angrily.
“Fucking answer me, dammit!” he yelled. “Say something!”
“What did you expect me to do, Gavin?!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, and he almost flinched as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I didn’t even recognize my own voice.
Sure, we’ve had our fights. Sure, we’ve argued. Sure, I’ve screamed and cried when he wouldn’t understand me, but this time, it felt different. I believe it did for both of us.
“What the hell did you expect your wife of almost six years to do when she has done nothing but try to please you, when she has endured the belittling from your parents for all of our time together, when she demeans herself to make her fucking shitty husband feel like he’s worth more than he actually is?! Huh?! What the hell did you expect me to do? All you’ve done is neglect me our entire marriage. You don’t appreciate me, you don’t respect me—sometimes I wonder if you even loved me.”
He shook his head in a mix of disgust and shock. “Well, that’s rich coming from a woman who fucking cheated on her husband.”
“You aren’t the saint you and your parents think you are, Gavin. So what, I wasn’t the perfect wife? You are possibly the farthest from a perfect husband as a person can get.”
“I’m not the one who ruined our marriage.”
“Our marriage was dying long before Beckham came into the picture.”
“And that makes it okay to spread your legs for the first guy that shows you affection, I bet.”
“If that’s the case, then I only have you to blame for all of this. He understands me. He listens to me. He cherishes me, and he loves me, okay?”
“Oh sure, sure, he fucking loves you, all right. Take a look around.” He threw his arms wide, gesturing at the art space. “A man that loves you would definitely take the time to display the woman he loves like some trophy. If you had any sense of self-worth, you’d understand that nothing about what he feels for you is natural or healthy.”
“He sees me. He values me. That’s something you never did.”
“Put the blame of all this on me and paint me as the bad guy like always… yeah, that’s convenient for you, isn’t it?” He shook his head, then looked over my shoulder as footsteps entered the showroom. “The man of the hour. Finally, he decides to make his appearance. What a fucking reunion this is.”
I crossed my arms in defeat as I watched him sadly. He was angry, and part of my heart was crushed as behind the empty and angry void in his eyes, there was hurt and betrayal.
“Gavin, please just stop,” I whispered.
He nodded slowly, pulling off his own wedding band before carelessly throwing it to the ground. “You’re right. I’ll stop. By the way, you can have her, Beckham. No hard feelings. Not like I needed such a whore of a wife to keep me fucking happy.”
I choked back a sob at his words.
Beckham stepped closer. “She told you to stop.”
“I’m sure she told you to stop when you were fucking her into a brainless slut. Don’t think she meant it then, did she?”
My hands grew clammy as they stared one another down. Beckham was practically fuming at Gavin’s words, but I imagine he was remaining calm to make me feel better.
“Gavin. Now is not the time nor the place,” Beckham continued.
“You’re right. There’s no time or place for betrayal. It just happens, right?”
“I think you’d be the first to know about betrayal,” Beckham replied. Gavin fell silent. “Don’t you agree?” Beckham pressed further.
Gavin simply stared at him, annoyed, as Beckham still seemed unbothered.
It was almost as if their eyes held a secret conversation as Gavin’s jaw ticked in irritation. My eyebrows furrowed softly as Gavin looked away silently. What… what was going on?
Before I was able to ask, Beckham continued, “Now, walk away before you make things worse for yourself.” My heart fluttered as his hand slipped into mine as he stood in front of me protectively.
Wiping away my tears, I ignored Gavin’s gaze as a humorless chuckle escaped him. He walked past us smugly, but not before pausing beside me to whisper degradingly, “Just because you’ve found yourself a little boyfriend, Rosenna… doesn’t mean you’re not my wife. I’ll be waiting for you at home.”
And just like before, I was sure he believed I was going right back into his arms, apologizing and begging for his forgiveness like I always did to please him, even if he was the one in the wrong. But things were different now.
And as my husband left, his arrogant and boastful attitude still lingering in the air, I let out a soft breath, feeling relieved the confrontation was over.
Beckham turned, his eyes dangerously glaring at Gavin’s retreating frame.
Before he could grow any angrier, I placed a hand on the side of his face, making him look down at me. I let out a small smile as his eyes changed from anger to concern, and his thumb wiped away the tears that fell down my face.
Wordlessly, I pulled him closer as I wrapped my arms around his neck, shuddering softly as I held back a sob while I rested my chin on his shoulder.
You never really know loss until the marriage you’ve tried to salvage for more than five years goes down the drain with the man you once loved.
Though I shouldn’t think of it as a loss, because Beckham found me— we found each other . And as he pulled me closer, whispering sweet nothings into my ear, I knew I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.