Chapter 1
Odette
It had been a while since I'd been to the apartment Murphy and I owned—his company owned a few in this building, and when he made junior partner, it was part of his perks.
It made sense, getting an apartment in the city, since his hours could be unpredictable.
I'd like to say we didn't argue about it, but that would be a lie.
I wanted more of his time and attention; I wanted him to know his daughter.
He was a great dad when he was around. We were lucky to get two evenings during the week together and always Sundays.
Sundays were family days; he had insisted on them.
He woke up early, cooked breakfast, and always had an amazing day planned for us.
It was those Sundays that made up for all the missed meals, conversations, intimacy.
It was that day of the week that reminded me of how much I loved my husband and my daughter; sometimes I thought my heart would burst at the seams with how much I felt for them.
A giddy smile crossed my face as I made my way across the parking lot, and my hands shook as I searched for the keycard that would gain me access into the building. I didn't know why I couldn't shake this anxiety.
Maybe it's just nerves... Nerves because we haven't had alone time in so long.
Yes, nerves. Finally, I got the keycard and swiped myself in.
The place was modern, and it was definitely not my taste.
There was no soul, no love here, it reminded me of a stay over hotel.
I shuddered. Murphy had mentioned that he would be going out to dinner and unreachable until later this evening, but he'd call around eleven.
A quick glance at my phone told me it was 9:42 p.m., so that gave me more than enough time to order a takeaway meal and get dressed up, or rather, dressed down.
Reaching the third floor, I grabbed my key set, knowing I'd need to let myself in.
There was a moment of panic, and I was unsure why.
What if Murphy doesn't want to see you? He has been spending more time away from you lately.
No, that can't be it. When he got home yesterday, he excitedly told me about the day he had planned for us on Sunday, driving to the nearest zoo.
Lux was still a baby in my eyes, barely three, but she was thrilled to be going.
Turning my key in the lock, I opened the large, dark mahogany front door, surprised it didn't creak with the weight.
The first thing I noticed was the soft music that seemed to be playing over the surround system that covered the apartment.
It was sensual, sexy, and my stomach dipped.
I took a closer look at what was taking place around me: the hallway was dim, but there were a few candles lit in the entryway, the music.
.. Stillness engulfed my body, my mind immediately rationalizing what I was seeing.
There's clearly another associate using the apartment. Maybe Murphy is just letting a friend or client use it.
A light switch went off in my head. My mother-in-law must have called Murphy and gave him a heads up. That's it. He'd planned this for me.
I slipped off my shoes so I could at least surprise Murphy with the fact that I had arrived, but a sense of dread coated my skin the closer I made it to the bedroom.
It felt like being covered in slime and walking through quicksand.
My skin was still buzzing with anxiety, and saliva started to coat the back of my throat as bile rose.
I heard a woman moan, and it sounded real —not that fake shit you hear on porn nowadays, but the moaning where you can tell a woman is about to explode.
Her moan was followed by a deep husky sigh.
.. a sigh I knew. Tears sprung into my eyes.
I have to see .
I'm not sure how I did it, but I pushed the door open without making even a whisper of a sound.
Keeping up with the romantic ambiance, multiple candles illuminated the dimly lit room, it smelled like marathon sex, sweat, and cum.
My eyes caught the white sheets on the floor; they looked as though they were thrown in a heap as if they couldn't contain themselves and ripped them off in their haste.
My perusal of the scene had me finding my husband, all six foot two of him, muscled, tattooed, dark hair, and dark eyes, slamming his cock in and out of another woman's cunt.
Objectively speaking, she was gorgeous, the opposite of me.
I knew I was good-looking with my five-foot-four frame, size eight ass and thighs, my D-cup, long wavy dark hair, and electric green eyes.
But she was porn hot, with fake white-blonde hair, size two, fake double-d's, probably five foot nine.
Maybe that's why he’s fucking her . My first instinct was to exit the room quietly, go home, and pretend this had never happened, but before I could, I took in his features.
His eyes were closed, and he was grunting.
I'd always found it so sexy when he grunted.
Now I forced the vomit that was threatening to make its appearance known back down.
His face was etched into something that looked like pure bliss.
How dare he find paradise in someone else?
How dare he do this to me? How dare he be happy while I'm falling apart over here. How could he do this to Lux?
I picked up the standing lamp next to me and hurled it against the opposite wall, screaming in my rage. How fucking dare he? I grabbed the chair that used to be sitting next to the now-shattered lamp and desk and hurled it over my head toward the side of the wall that hadn't seen my wrath yet.
That must have sprung Murphy into gear, because he moved his body away from the woman—who was now screaming — so fast and grabbed the once passion-filled sheets to wrap around his waist as he reached for me.
I side-stepped him.
"If you think you'll ever be allowed to touch me again, you're sorely mistaken."
Devastation crossed his features, and I wanted to slap him. I wouldn't give him that kind of satisfaction again.
"Baby..." the girl from the bed chimed in.
He looked at me helplessly before turning to address her, "You need to leave."
She sputtered, "What? Why?"
I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me, my voice sounding completely devoid of emotion.
It must have sounded off even to her, because she looked at me with a hint of terror wrapped in it.
Good . I refused to break eye contact. If I wanted answers, I might as well just ask her.
Clearly, I'd never be able to trust anything Murphy said again.
"How long?" I held her eyes, not bothering to glance in Murphy's direction. As of five minutes ago, he was no longer my husband.
"Three months."
"Leave, Helen, now," Murphy bellowed in rage, and I could see he was shaking.
"No, Helen, stay. I'm not finished asking questions. Did you know he was married?"
"Yes"
"Did he come on to you, or did you come on to him?"
"It was mutual."
" Hmm ."
Murphy got in between us before I could ask any more questions. My line of sight to her was now blocked, but that was fine—I had heard enough, anyway. She had nothing to lose, and I believed every word she said.
"Odette," he said in a commanding tone that I once used to love, but now just makes my skin crawl.
I've never wanted to be so far away from someone before.
Every single physical feature of his that was supposed to be mine, he gave to her.
He was tainted now, like that last margarita you shouldn't have drunk, so you spent the night throwing up in your toilet.
I couldn't help myself; I openly gagged at his closeness. He smelled like her. He flinched at my reaction.
"Let's go home so we can talk about this.
" I saw the desperation in his eyes, I saw that he knew if he let me walk out this door without him that he'd never get his chance.
He knew me; he knew what this meant, and I knew my husband enough to know that he was scared.
I could admit that I was a submissive person, especially in the bedroom.
He must think that his dominant personality will override my heartbreak, and I'll cave. No, not with this.
"No."
"Odette, you don't understand..." The crack in his voice almost had me on my knees, and I could have caved in at that moment. He was my whole world since I was sixteen, we just added Lux to it. My heartbeat is for them. I almost caved.
I heard a snicker, and that snapped me back into the right frame of mind. He must have seen my resolve on my face, the wall that immediately went up. His face almost crumpled before turning to rage.
"I thought I told you to leave..." He turned to face Helen, and I took that as my opportunity to escape, but not before hearing her words on my way out.
"What's the big deal, Murphy? You said you were no longer in love with her, that you had a baby too young...that Lux changed everything..." I couldn't make out any more sentences but heard the words, "Regret, stopped loving," multiple times as I fled.
I heard Murphy roar at her to just shut the fuck up, and then I heard him roar my name as I closed the door of the apartment behind me.