CHAPTER 6
Elena
After we finished dinner, we didn’t leave the restaurant right away. We just sat there in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
“About the money—” I said quietly.
Adrian immediately sat up straighter, as if my voice pulled him back into the moment.
I took a slow breath before continuing. “The money you lent her. Was it from your personal savings?”
He hesitated—just long enough for me to catch the flicker of guilt—before nodding.
“Unbelievable.” A short, disbelieving laugh escaped me. “Seems like you planned it very well, huh?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t plan anything. She came to me for help with her debt, saying she didn’t have a stable job.”
He swallowed, glancing away. “She said she was behind on her rent, that she could get evicted any day, and that she was still paying legal fees for the custody case. She said she just needed a few months to get back on her feet.”
I let out a low, mocking laugh. “Playing superhero, huh? So what now? Are you planning to help everyone who’s struggling like she is?”
His jaw flexed, but he didn’t say anything.
I leaned back, swallowing the ache in my chest as best I could. The truth was, this conversation hurt more than anything. But I needed answers. I needed to hear him say it.
“It’s not everyone. It’s her, right?” My voice cracked, edged with bitterness. “That’s why she gets your money. Your attention. Your time. Even your body.”
“Elena—”
“What was your reason?” I cut him off, my voice trembling but firm. “Give me the real one.”
Because I was done with lies.
Because the truth hurt less than imagining it.
— ? —
Adrian
I couldn’t give her the answer she wanted. Because the truth was—I didn’t know why I helped Phoebe. I didn’t know what possessed me in that stupid moment when I saw her crying and begging. It wasn’t logic. It wasn’t intention. It was a reckless, thoughtless impulse.
“I don’t know, Elena,” I said quietly.
“You don’t know?” she echoed, her voice sharp with mockery.
“What else don’t you know, Adrian? Did you also ‘not know’ when you slept with her?”
Her tone cut through me, but what hurt more was the way her eyes suddenly glistened.
I clenched my fists. “It only happened once, Elena.”
She let out a hollow laugh. “Once, twice, ten times... it doesn’t matter, Adrian. Betrayal is betrayal.”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to continue even though she already looked like she was breaking in front of me.
“When I went to Boston... she came to see me. We had dinner and ended up at a bar. I drank too much and—”
“Stop.” She cut me off sharply. “Don’t continue.”
“Elena, I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry.”
Only then did I notice her tears spilling over, running fast down her cheeks as she tried to fan her face and wipe them away quickly, desperate to hide them from the people around us.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my handkerchief, placing it in front of her.
She hesitated for half a second before taking it.
“We shouldn’t talk about this right now,” I said softly, worry tightening my voice.
I could see how overwhelmed she was, how close she was to breaking again. But Elena shook her head firmly.
“No. I want to know everything now. Before I decide anything.”
My chest tightened instantly at her words. A sharp, suffocating pressure.
“What do you mean, Elena?” My fist clenched even harder against the table, my nails digging into my palm until it stung.
She looked straight at me, her voice steady even with the traces of tears still drying on her cheeks. “Before I decide whether to leave you or stay with you.”
For a split second, everything inside me went still. Not panic. Not shock. Just impact.
I forced myself to breathe, to stay composed. If I begged, she’d think every word out of my mouth was a lie.
“Alright,” I said. “Ask me whatever you need to ask. But don’t think for a second that I’m giving up on us, Elena.”
“How long?” she asked quietly. “How long have you been in contact with her?”
“Since the college reunion,” I answered.
Her brows pulled together. “That long?”
“Yeah.” I exhaled slowly. “She reached out first. At the beginning it was just small talk. Nothing serious. College memories, catching up. That was all.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Her voice sharpened.
“At the time, I thought it was harmless,” I admitted. “I treated it the same way I talked to William. Just someone from the past.”
She let out a short, disbelieving laugh, shaking her head.
“When did it stop being harmless?” she pressed. “When did it turn into you promising to be there for her?”
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself not to look away.
“After we met again,” I said. “After she started talking about her life... her problems.” I held her gaze. “I was wrong for giving another woman that kind of attention. But it didn’t mean anything to me, Elena.”
“Try reversing it,” she shot back. “Could you say the same thing if I did that to you?”
I didn’t answer. Because she was right, and I hated that I hadn’t even thought that far.
A bitter smile touched her lips. “How many times did you meet her?”
“Three,” I said. “The reunion. When she came to Michigan and Boston.”
Elena let out a humorless laugh. “And by the third meeting you were already sleeping together.”
I didn’t argue. My jaw tightened as I looked down at the table instead of at her.
She shook her head slowly. “Funny,” she murmured. “Four years of dating, and you never once crossed a line. But a few years into marriage...”
Her gaze lifted back to mine. “Or was I just stupid for believing you?”
“You weren’t,” I said immediately, my voice rougher than I intended. “I never meant to betray you. What happened in Boston... that was on me. I messed up.”
“You messed up,” she repeated, the word cutting. “So easy for you to say.”
Silence stretched between us, heavy and sharp.
Then her voice came again. “In Boston...” she asked, her throat tightening, “did you use protection?”
A knot formed in my gut. “God, Elena. Yeah.” I exhaled slowly. “I don’t remember all of it,” I admitted, my voice low. “But there was a condom. I saw the wrapper.”
Shame crawled up my spine. I wished I could erase the entire night just to spare her this question.
“Was it yours? Did you... secretly bring condoms whenever you were out of town?” she asked, her voice thin but steady.
God, I wanted to disappear.
“No, Elena. I don’t carry condoms, you know that,” I said, my voice tightening. “It wasn’t mine. It had to be hers.”
Elena went quiet.
Then she drew in a breath and let it out shakily.
I leaned in slightly, choosing my words carefully. “Elena, you’re exhausted. Let’s go home. You need to rest. For your sake, and for the baby.”
“No,” she said, voice steady. “I need this. We need this. This is for me and for the baby too.”
The way she said it made my chest tighten. It was a reminder of everything I had risked, everything I had almost lost.
I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to stay even. “What else do you want to know?”
Her lips trembled before she spoke, her voice low and breaking apart. “How could you come home to me and pretend that nothing happened?”
Her eyes glistened as she shook her head. “How could you do that to me?”
The words stabbed straight through me.
“You kissed me,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “You made love to me after your betrayal. Didn’t you even think how dangerous that was? For me? For our baby?”
“I’m clean, Elena,” I said quietly.
Her eyes flashed. “How do you know that?”
The tension sat heavy in my chest, but I forced myself not to look away. “I extended my stay on the project for another month.”
She froze, confusion cutting through her anger.
“I waited,” I continued, my voice low. “Two weeks after… what happened. Then I got tested. A full screening. I stayed until the results came back negative. I wasn’t going to touch you—or come near you—until I knew you were safe.”
Her lips parted slightly, shock flickering across her face. “Didn’t you feel guilty at all?”
Something twisted sharply in my chest. “I regret it every second. And I never meant to hide it from you. For God’s sake—” I dragged a hand over my face, my breath uneven. “I was waiting for the right time. You were pregnant.”
She let out a soft, bitter laugh, her eyes burning through me. “There is no right time to tell the truth, Adrian.”
“Elena—”
“Yesterday, today, tomorrow—” she shook her head as tears slipped down her cheeks. “The impact is still the same.”
I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t find a single word that didn’t feel like another wound.
“Why are you quiet?” she asked, her voice quivering. “Can’t explain it?”
“I’m sorry.” The words barely left me. I had nothing else to offer her.
She gave a tight, broken smile. “No. You’re not sorry.”
“I am, Elena,” I said, my breath shaking. “I fucking am.”
There was a quiet silence between us before she asked, “Do you love her?”
The question sliced through me. I hated that what I did had driven her to doubt something she should’ve never had to question.
So I leaned in slightly, my fingers tightening against the table. “Elena, I was an idiot. I was selfish. But I wasn’t in love with her. Not for a second.”
I held her gaze, not looking away. “I have never loved anyone the way I love you.”
“So no,” I said, firm and absolute. “I don’t love her. I never did.”