Page 61 of Betrayed

She slammed her fist down on the table. Then typed a reply.

I’m married. I choose my husband. Please leave me alone.

She hit send before anyone could tell her not to. But they didn’t. “I’m so over this. Should I ask him who he is? I shouldn’t have typed that. We could have lured him in or something, couldn’t we have? But now he’d know it’s a trap. I didn’t think.”

Adam rested his arms on the table, leaning forward. “No. Telling him to leave you alone is totally legit. The fact that you’ve made it so clear makes it that much worse for him if he continues.”

“But if we can’t figure out who it is, what difference does it make?”

“Two things are going to happen now: he will either make himself known eventually, or he will actually get a clue and leave you alone. If he really wants to win you over, he’s got to realize he can’t do that without revealing himself. Has Daryl made any more advances?”

“No, I haven’t seen him.”

Adam nodded.

AJ slouched onto the table. God, reveal who this is so I know if I should be really concerned or not. I don’t feel like I’m in danger as much as I’m angry and feel like my space has been violated. Please help.

Five Years Ago—October

Logan was fuming while doing the dishes. He almost wished AJ hadn’t told him about Daryl. Because now the very thought of touching his own wife repulsed him. The ultimate betrayal.

The last year had been absolute torture after losing Bree. He was finally figuring out how to breathe without his little girl. But this was the kick in the stomach he couldn’t take.

When AJ had turned off the TV earlier, he could tell she had something on her mind. Then she’d said those dreadful words: “We need to talk.”

He thought it’d be something like she wanted to move or wanted to see a counselor or something. He’d never anticipated she’d had sex with another man. She’d been vague about it initially, but he asked her straight out. At least she didn’t lie.

Dishes clanged against the sink and each other. He didn’t even try to control himself. He was livid.

They had sat on the couch after she said the words. And he bled out. What little life he had left in him was now gone.

He had the mind to go march right to Daryl’s door and … and … he didn’t actually want to think about what he wanted to do to the man. He’d thought for a split second that maybe Daryl had raped her, and then Logan would do something. But she went back. Did it again. Nope, she was to blame.

After ten minutes of silence, he told her she needed to leave. Pack up all her stuff and leave. Move out. It was over.

Occasionally, over the din of his dishwashing, he could hear her sobbing down the hall as she packed.

It killed him. He hated it. He didn’t want her to leave. But he couldn’t have her stay either. He could never trust her again. He could never be intimate with her again. She was the only one he had ever shared himself with.

Once the dishwasher was loaded, he moved on to the counters and table. By the time she came down the hall with her suitcase, he had shifted to scrubbing the outside of the cabinets. By the time she’d filled her car, he’d cleaned the oven and the floor too.

On her final trip, she stopped by the front door, hugging her pillow. “Logan?”

He stood and crossed the room. “Goodbye, AJ. Come back and get anything else while I’m at work.”

The twenty-some years flashed before his eyes. From the little girl he’d been enamored with when she dressed as Robin Hood, and he was Little John, and they rid Sherwood Forest—aka Will’s backyard—of thieving squirrels. To that first kiss in the asylum. To the first time they’d made love. To on and off again. To finding out Bree was coming. To marrying the girl of his dreams. To having the family he could only hope for.

It all crashed to the floor. They’d lost it all. Their little girl. Trust. Love. It was all dead and gone.

AJ’s eyes pleaded with him. “If you decide to talk it out and work through this, call me. I love you. Forever and always.”

He stared at her, unable to say anything.

Tears streaming down her face, she turned and walked out of the house. Their house. The one they were supposed to grow old together in. But that would never happen now.

Logan walked to the door, closed it, and locked it.

He stalked across to the kitchen and pulled out the whiskey and a glass. He’d been doing better, not drinking nearly as often as he had last winter. But he needed it tonight.

He downed one glass, then another. Then a third.

The love of his life was gone. Chose to betray him. And now she was out. It was over.

Logan couldn’t breathe. The anger surging through his veins felt like fire.

He chucked the glass across the room. It slammed into the wall and shattered. Like his heart and his life.