Chapter Three
R ick couldn’t get rid of the feeling of dread. Riley had been acting strange for the last two weeks, ever since she said she was sick. All she had told him was that it was her stomach. It was Friday, and that morning he told her if she wasn’t better by Monday, he was going to take her to the doctor.
She went to work and was home before he was, as usual. He listened to the shower upstairs and grabbed a can of beer out of the refrigerator.
They usually went out to eat with friends on the weekends. But when he asked her that morning, she said she didn’t think she’d feel up to it.
Something else that concerned him was the fact that she wanted to have sex all the time. Often, a few times a day. She even went down on him a few times, and he knew blowjobs weren’t her favorite, but she seemed almost desperate.
His stomach would wrench in discomfort when he would catch her looking at him with a devastated expression. That was the only way he could describe it. He needed to know what was going on, and he was determined to get it out of her that weekend.
Rick set the can in the sink and walked upstairs, pulling off his tie. When he walked into the bedroom, he was surprised to see a kitchen chair on the other side of the room. As he was trying to come up with an explanation, Riley walked out of the bathroom in a long silky robe.
“Hi, Sweetheart,” she said and walked to him. She started unbuttoning his shirt.
He grabbed onto her hands and tossed his tie to the side. “What’s going on with the chair, Wife?”
“I wanted to try something new,” she said without looking up at him.
“Baby, look at me.”
He almost cringed at the despair on her face. “Tell me what’s going on?”
She tried to look confused. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He felt frustration starting to build. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
She nodded. “C-can you play along, please?”
He had a sick feeling in his stomach. “Of course. I’ll do anything you need.”
“Sit in the chair.”
Rick hesitated for a moment before doing what she asked.
“Are you comfortable?”
He nodded.
He was shocked when she pulled some rope out of the closet. “What the hell is that for?”
“We’ve never done this before, and I wanted to try something new.”
He hated the fact that she wouldn’t look in his face. “All right. I’ll try anything you want.”
She tied his arms and legs. When she was done, she reached for something behind him. When he saw it was duct tape, he almost panicked. “Baby, what’s that for?”
“I’m putting it over your mouth, so you don’t distract me,” she said.
She pressed it on and then stood back without looking at him. He could see her agitation grow by the second.
“Do you remember when we first got married, and we made a pact that if one of us had an affair, the other could sleep with another person as payback or something?”
The dread he’d felt the last two weeks turned into pure terror. Was he going to lose her? He would never believe she was having an affair, which meant she thought he was. He vaguely remembered that, so he nodded.
At that moment, he heard the front door open and close and then heavy footsteps on the stairs. He wanted to yell as the man he’d never seen before walked in and grinned.
“Holy hell,” the guy said.
Rick felt Riley start to shake.
“Lady. You look like you’re about to faint.” He tossed something on the mattress.
Rick wasn’t sure, but he thought it was lube.
“W-what’s that for?” she asked.
“Gloria said to get you used to butt-fucking because guys liked it. By the way, my name is Tom.”
Rick started fighting to get free. He looked at Riley with such fury, she swallowed and gently pulled the tape off his mouth.
“What the fuck is going on?” he yelled.
Riley’s shaking was getting worse.
The man snorted. “I was asked to come and fuck your wife as payback for the affair you’re having.”
Jesus, things just kept getting crazier. “What affair?”
“I ... I know about it,” Riley said as tears rolled down her face. “But I can’t let him touch me.” She turned to the man. “I’m sorry you had to come all this way.”
“Baby, talk to me,” Rick pleaded.
“I know you’re having an affair. I’ve known for a few weeks now.”
His brows snapped together. “Where the fuck did you get that bullshit?”
“I...” Riley couldn’t seem to get a word out.
“If it means anything, her friend Gloria is the one that sent me here,” Tom said.
Rage filled him, taking away the despair. That’s why she’d been acting so weird. “What did she tell you?” he asked Riley gently.
“She told me she saw you with another woman, and at first I didn’t believe her. The next time she came, she showed me pictures of you and a blonde woman. A woman that was the total opposite of me.”
What the fuck. “Baby, I did not have an affair. I swear on my parents’ graves.”
He thought he saw hope in her eyes before they darkened again. “But then I heard you on the phone.”
“Heard what, Baby?”
“You said something like, ‘No, let’s meet another time.’ You told the person I was sick and didn’t want to leave me. You said you’d call them back to set up another time to get together.”
He tried to think back to what she was talking about. “Was that the first day you were sick?”
She nodded.
“Jesus, I was talking to Larry. You can ask him if you want.” He watched and saw nothing. “Untie me, Baby.”
“A few other people got in touch with me about seeing you with the woman.”
“Goddammit. It’s all bullshit and I swear I’ll find out what’s going on.”
She shook her head.
He watched as her arms wrapped around her waist, and she looked down.
“I ... I don’t know what to do.” A few tears ran down her face. “I can’t go through with this even if you are having an affair. And I can’t stop loving you. I hate how pathetic I am.”
Rick felt his heartbeat rise and looked at the guy. “What do you know of this?”
The guy shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “From what I heard, Gloria wanted your wife to go out with her and party like she does, but she was married. She said your wife was a prude, and she blamed you for it.”
Riley’s head came up, and he looked at the man. “What ...why?”
“I’ve known Gloria for a couple of years, and she is more of a slut, devious, and more rotten than anyone else I’ve known,” Tom said.
“But the pictures?” Riley said.
“Can be forged very easily,” Tom told her.
He watched the color drain from his wife’s face, and then she pressed a hand to her mouth.
“Oh, God, what have I done?” she cried. She looked at him with so much pain it hurt him.
“Baby, listen...”
She violently shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe ... you’ll never forgive me...” She was sobbing now. She turned abruptly and ran into their bathroom. The door slammed, and then he heard the lock.
“Hey, man, do you want me to untie you?”
Rick pulled his eyes from the bathroom door to look at the other man. “Yeah.”
It took less than a minute, and he was free. He stood and rubbed his wrists.
“I think I should go,” Tom said.
Rick glanced at him and nodded. “Hey, tell that bitch her plan worked, and we’re both devastated.”
“How about I video it for you?” Tom asked.
“That would be great.”
“I’ll send it to your phone or email?”
Rick rattled off his email. “Thank you.”
“I’m just glad it all worked out. You’re not going to be too hard on her, are you?” Tom pointed at the bathroom door.
Rick shook his head. “No. She’ll be hard enough on herself and that scares the shit out of me.”
“Hey, I don’t know a lot about marriages, but from what I saw, even under these circumstances, you two love each other.”
Rick nodded. “She’s the better part of me, and I couldn’t live without her.”
“I hope I find a woman like that someday.” The man grinned. “Now, I get to go mess with a certain slut, and I hope you make her pay.”
“Oh, I plan on it. Thanks again.”
The man waved as he walked out of the room. He waited until he heard the front door close before walking to the bathroom door. The sounds coming from the other side made him want to kill the other woman. These were deep, wrenching sobs that made his fury grow.
He tapped. “Baby, open the door.”
He just heard the sobbing and shower running. “Riley, open the door.”
He said it one more time but louder.
“No!” she screamed. “Leave me alone. You can’t want to look at me.”
“I do. I know this wasn’t your fault. Please.”
“No,” she cried.
He walked around the bedroom, wiping his hand down his face. When he got his hands on that cunt, Gloria, she was going to wish she never met him.