Love, Honor, and Betray by Roby, Lawson (ebook reader ink txt) 📕

“No, she wasn’t. You know how she hates missing work.”

“That I do. I hope she feels better soon, though.”

“I’m sure she will. So, have you thought about what you want for dinner tonight?”

“Not really, but I’m fine with just about anything. Actually, I can pick something up on my way home, if you want.”

“That would be great, because I really don’t feel up to going out today.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, lying. “Just lazy is all.”

“Nothing wrong with that. If I were home, I’d be lounging around myself. But duty calls.”

“I wish you were here, too.”

“Well, baby, I’d better run, but I’ll see you this evening.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Charlotte set the phone down and thanked God she was still safe. So far, Sybil hadn’t called Curtis yet, and the longer shetook to do that, the better Charlotte would feel. Maybe—just maybe—Sybil would realize calling Curtis really wasn’t goingto benefit her in any real way, and she would change her mind about contacting him. Maybe she’d realize it wasn’t worth causingproblems for someone else just because her marriage was over with. If only Charlotte could be so fortunate.

Charlotte browsed a few department store websites and then read some of the day’s headline stories on AOL. She clicked onone after another, but then her phone interrupted her concentration. She looked over at it and saw that infamous word again:Private. It was Tom, of course, but she decided to ignore it. It rang and finally stopped, but then he called a second time. Thenhe dialed her back again, and also a fourth time. She wasn’t sure why he was calling, since she’d just spoken to him thismorning, but she couldn’t talk to him right now. She couldn’t deal with hearing whatever he so desperately wanted to say toher. Not when she had to focus on this Sybil and Michael problem.

Charlotte went back to reading an article on health care and the ridiculous congressional fight that was still lingering becauseof it, but her phone rang yet again. If this was Tom, she was going to read him his rights and tell him where to go. Thankfully,though, it was Janine instead.

“Hey, J,” she said.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Girl, where do I begin?” Charlotte said, ready to pour her heart out. She didn’t want to tell anyone, but if she didn’t confideher feelings soon she was going to burst.

“Oh, no. This doesn’t sound good.”

“Do you have a little time?”

“I do. I just finished my last class for the day.”

“Well, the thing is, I had an affair on Curtis.”

“Charlotte, no,” Janine said.

“Yes. I did.”

“When?”

“Over the last two weeks. It wasn’t long at all, and I’ve already ended it.”

“Does Curtis know about this?”

“No, but Michael, the guy I was seeing, says his wife does and that she’s threatening to tell him.”

“How did she find out?”

“She had Michael followed. Even when we were in Florida together.”

“So that’s who you went away with during Super Bowl weekend?”

“Yes, and I’ll regret it from now on. I regret the whole thing.”

“How did you meet this guy?”

“I dated him right before Curtis and I started seeing each other again. But a couple of weeks ago, I was searching for peopleon Facebook and decided to look him up.” She then told Janine the rest of the story.

“What are you going to do?” Janine asked, sounding very hurt by what she was hearing.

“I don’t know. What can I do, except wait?”

“You have to tell him, Charlotte. You have to tell Curtis the truth as soon as possible.”

“I can’t.”

“You have to before he finds out from this guy’s wife or maybe even someone else.”

“Curtis will never forgive me for this one.”

“But if you tell him yourself, he’ll receive the news a lot better than if some stranger does it.”

“Maybe, but I just can’t face him. I can’t look Curtis in his eyes and tell him that I’ve cheated on him and that the reasonI did it was because he wouldn’t get rid of his little girl.”

“So that’s why you did this? Because of Curtina?”

Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes. “Yes. And I’m so sorry for that, J. I’m so sorry for the way I treated that child and for beingso selfish. None of this was her fault, and I finally realize that now.”

“Wow, girl, this is bad.”

“I know.”

“I still say, though, that you have to tell him. Not days from now either. You have to tell him today.”

“Janine, please don’t hate me.”

“Of course I don’t. What you did is wrong, but you know you’re my girl and nothing will ever change that.”

“I really needed to hear that because, suddenly, I’m feeling so, so alone,” Charlotte said, thinking about Matthew. She justcouldn’t bring herself to tell Janine about what was going on with him and why he was so angry with her. She couldn’t tellher about any of this Tom madness and how he was blackmailing her.

“Don’t think that for a minute,” Janine said. “I’m always here for you.”

“I hope you mean that because I have a feeling I’m going to need you more than I ever have.”

“So are you going to talk to Curtis when he gets home?”

Charlotte sighed. “Yes. I don’t know how I’ll find the courage, but I will.”

“I know it’s going to be hard, but it really is the best thing for you to do.”

“I just hate this. I hate what I did, but there’s nothing I can do to take it back now.”

“No, but at least you can tell Curtis the truth and then hope he’ll agree to work things out with you.”

“I wish I could believe that was possible. Maybe if I hadn’t already cheated on him in the past. But you and I both know Idid. And then I had a baby.”

“You’ve both done things to hurt each other, and I’m sure Curtis will consider that.”

“Maybe. But who knows. I guess time will tell soon enough, though.”

“I’ll be home all evening, so I want you to call me if you need me.”

“I will. And thanks, J. Thanks for listening and