Chapter 50
Bishop always thought he could hide things from me.
But I let him believe it.
I loved my husband desperately. That man had given me a beautiful life. Beautiful children. Security. Stability. The kind of devotion I once thought only existed in movies and little girl fantasies.
So sometimes…it was easier to pretend we were perfect. Easier than facing the reality of what my marriage really was.
But the moment Chef Remy walked over at Simmer & Soul with that woman tucked against his side…every instinct inside me sharpened. Bishop's entire face changed. Most people would've missed it. I didn't.
The slight lift in his posture.
The way his eyes tracked her.
The sharp drawing of his breath.
I had seen that look before. Years ago. Back in those prison halls when seeing me was the highlight of his day. And suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
He knew her.
How? I wasn't sure yet. But he knew her.
Gianna.
That was her name.
And she was…stunning. Not just beautiful.
Dangerously beautiful. A body sculpted from every male fantasy imaginable.
Curves that demanded attention without even trying.
Soft, golden-brown skin glowing beneath those restaurant lights.
Big doe eyes that made her look innocent even while standing there sexy as sin. Lips full and soft.
She looked sweet too. Like the kind of woman a man wanted to protect and love openly. And she was clearly loved. Her man named a whole dessert after her. I watched the way he touched her and knew she was adored.
The question was—was my husband one of the men adoring her too?
But I said nothing.
Because Bishop was still adjusting to life outside prison whether he realized it or not. Only five years free after spending the majority of his young adulthood institutionalized. He missed experiences. Freedom. Temptation. Beautiful women.
I understood those desires more than most wives did. Maybe it was the age difference as well that made me extend so much grace. So, I let him indulge because no matter what he always came home to me.
I had his last name.
His children.
His loyalty.
Or…at least I thought I did.
The distance started subtly. Longer nights away. More time "grinding." His attention drifting when I spoke to him. Sometimes I would catch him staring off into space looking almost haunted.
And then came the night that shattered my denial completely…
We were making love and he lost his erection. He tried to laugh it off. Kiss on me. Touch me. Pretend that he was just tired. I allowed that lie to become truth because maybe he was just tired.
But it happened again. And again. And when he had to resort to closing his eyes when we made love…I knew it wasn't my face behind those eyelids anymore. Someone else had my husband's mind. I didn't know it was Gianna, yet. I had no proof of who it was. Bishop was careful. Always had been.
Then the calls started—
At first, it was only breathing. Uncomfortable enough to disturb me, but vague enough to ignore once they suddenly stopped. So, I continued to focus on my family.
Until the next call. Unknown number. When I answered, silence greeted me again. Then right before I hung up—a woman's voice poured into my ear—
"It's after midnight, Mrs. Avery. Do you know where your husband is?"
My heart started racing. "Who is this?"
"I know something you don't know," she teased softly. "Something about the man you call yours…whose heart is now beating for someone else."
My grip tightened on the phone. "Who the fuck is this?"
"Ask your husband." Then she laughed and disconnected.
After that, I started watching Bishop more carefully. The next call came late at night while I laid alone in our bed yet again. Different number. Same woman.
"Has your husband fucked you lately, Mrs. Avery?"
Rage exploded through me instantly. "Listen here you bitch, I don't know who you are but if I find you—"
"You're gonna what?" she laughed crudely. "Fuck me and eat my pussy like your husband pays me to do?"
I saw red.
"You should take better care of your man," she continued mockingly. "Fine as he is? It's always a woman like me waiting to snatch him up."
"Stay away from my husband!" I snapped.
"Tell your husband to stay away from me."
Click.
A week later, I found a red envelope in my mailbox. No return address, only a deep wine-colored lipstick print sealing the flap. My hands shook as I opened it. Blood rushed my head—
Pictures…
My husband grinning while Gianna sat comfortably on his lap.
Another of her leading him down a hallway holding his hand.
Another where his palm rested possessively against her ass while he looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered in his world.
The exact same way he used to look at me.
Tears blurred my vision instantly as I rushed back inside clutching the photos to my chest.
It was her.
I wasn't crazy.
I wasn't imagining things.
And the fact that she called to taunt me…she wanted me to know.
I didn't intend to start following Gianna afterward. I really didn't. But grief and love have a way of making sane women do insane things. So, I dropped an AirTag inside Bishop's truck. And for three straight nights, I watched him parked outside the same address for hours.
One evening while he and the twins were out bowling and at dinner, I finally went there myself. And I saw her. Standing outside laughing on the phone completely unaware of me watching from across the street.
She looked happy. Carefree.
Meanwhile I was drowning.
I should've hated her instantly. But instead…I just stared. Trying to understand what about her made my husband willing to emotionally abandon his family. I wanted to confront her right then. Drag her by that pretty hair and demand answers.
But I didn't. I followed her. Not constantly. Just enough. Just enough to see if she was meeting Bishop. But strangely…she never did. Not once.
I stopped following her when I got upset and followed her and Remy too close one night. I couldn't help it. I was pissed. She had a handsome, successful man who loved her and she still wanted to take mine.
How fucking selfish could she be? To have it all and still want more.
I hated her for that.
Hated how pretty she was. How loved she was. How she got to laugh and hold hands in public while I laid awake at night wondering where my husband was.
And then Remy showed up with Devon on my doorstep.
The things he said—
No.
NO.
Bishop would never do anything like that.
I refused to believe it. But I would be remiss in saying that the casual way in which he treated the situation didn't make me pause.
He didn't seem shocked enough. Angry enough.
He just looked…annoyed. Like Remy showing up was an inconvenience instead of a man accusing him of stalking.
And that sat in my spirit wrong.
At that point, I made sure he understood we were attached at the hip.
I needed to know exactly where he was at all times.
He called it 'smothering' but I called it protecting my family.
I didn't want my husband going back to jail.
The twins and I needed him. So as his wife—I needed to save him from himself.
And then it all went wrong…
He left me.
I was so pissed off, I just took an Uber there, breathing through the rage while checking the AirTag repeatedly. I wasn’t even sure where the hell I was going but I knew this shit was ending tonight one way or another.
The second I saw his name on the apartment listing my vision blurred.
He really did it.
Got a whole apartment.
A whole secret life.
Some little hiding spot where he could fuck his whore in peace while I sat home raising his children like a fucking fool.
Someone exited the building and I rushed in before the door closed, my heart beating so hard it hurt. By the time I made it upstairs I was shaking with rage so bad my fingers felt numb.
I wanted to kick the door in.
Wanted to drag her out kicking and screaming.
Wanted to look her in her face and ask her why she couldn’t just leave my husband alone.
Everything after that happened so fast…
The fighting.
The screaming.
Seeing those panties.
All those fucking panties.
The realization hit me so hard it made my blood run cold.
Remy was right.
My husband wasn't just cheating.
He was sick over her.
Obsessed.
He wanted to leave me?
Me?
After everything I risked for him?
After helping him build a life after prison?
After carrying his children?
After loving him when nobody else did?
He was just going to throw me away?
For her?
I didn't mean to do it.
I swear to God I didn't.
I was just so mad…
So fucking mad…
And hurt.
God…I was hurting so bad.
It just happened.
One second he was walking away from me and the next—
Blood.
So much blood.
I didn't expect to hurt him like that.
I didn't expect him to fall.
I could still hear the sound of his body hitting the floor.
But I couldn’t go to jail. My babies needed me. The police would've never believed it was an accident.
An angry wife.
A dead husband.
Another woman.
No one would've believed me.
But it was an accident.
I didn't mean to do it.
I love my husband.
I still love my husband.
And now all I can think about is him bleeding out on the floor while asking me to help him.
This was all her fault.
All of it.
Sleeping with married men.
If Gianna would've just left my family alone…
Bishop would still be alive.