Temptation

Chapter 40

As much as the idea of getting dressed and plastering the fakest smile I've ever had to show on my face was killing every last part of my being, it was necessary. The meeting at the bank went as well as it could.

Robert, my bank manager and close acquaintance had managed to pull as many strings as he could and was hopeful the money would transfer across to Lyn's account at some point before 6pm, it was now 5:30, I was sat at the desk in my bedroom, covered in nothing more than the towel wrapped around my waist and my eyes were glued to my online banking account.

I had never wished for money to be taken from my account but this was now a matter of living my life as normally as I could. Granted, it was going to take a lot of building back up again but I'd much rather that than spending the rest of my life behind bars.

"What are you getting scrubbed up for? Going anywhere nice?"

I turned around to see Emma walking into the bedroom and planting herself on the edge of the bed. I could sense the sarcasm in her tone.

Did she now know that I knew everything?

"Yeah, apparently I have to get ready for a surprise birthday party that my wife is throwing for me tonight."

I smirked as I turned around, closing the lid of my laptop. Hoping I had burst her bubble.

"How did you find out?"

"Zack let the cat out of the bag this morning but don't tell him I've told you. He wants me to act surprised."

She looked slightly deflated which struck me as odd given the fact she was in the middle of ruining our marriage, I didn't think it would bother her.

"Will David be at the party tonight?" I ask, hoping to ignite some sort of reaction from her but nothing.

She squinted her eyes as if she was pretending to think about it. "Erm, yeah I think so. Well, I invited him so I guess we'll have to wait and see. Why? I didn't think you liked him very much?"

It was time. She gave me the perfect opportunity and seeing as I might only have three or so hours left on the outside, I would never have this opportunity again.

"Well, I don't like him as much as you do, clearly."

Her eyes opened wide. She had no idea that I knew.

Her eyes began to search the room in a panic, attempting to keep some sort of calmness about her but she wasn't hiding it very well.

"What's the supposed to mean?!" She barked back as she stood up from the bed, readying herself for attack.

"Quit the bullshit, Emma. I know everything! I know you've been fucking him, I know you're planning on leaving me for him, I know that you're all framing me for Kevin's murder, I know that you know I'm currently waiting on the money going into Lyn's account and I know that you also know that I've been fucking Angelica." It was my time to stand up, I had disarmed her and by the look in her eyes, she knew that she couldn't come back on the attack.

She sat back down on the bed, a sorrowful look etched across her face. "Joe, I'm so sorry. It was never meant to come to this."

I laughed as it was all I could do. "Really? An affair, I could handle and understand to a point. I know we've been drifting apart for years and my job has strained the relationship but why didn't you just leave me? Why did you then try and make me out to be the bad one? Was you hoping my infidelity would come out first so the children hated me for the rest of their lives?"

Emma began to cry. I couldn't tell if this was a show she was putting on. "No, not at all. I became lost and confused. The thing with David grew out of control, I had dug myself too deep of a hole to get out of. I don't know what I was doing but not once did it ever cross my mind to turn the Izzy and Zack against you."

I wasn't buying her pitiful excuse. She was embarrassing herself so I carried on hurting abuse towards her as my time was slowly ticking away.

"But you didn't stop there did you? You wanted me DEAD! Because it wasn't meant to be Kevin falling to his death that night was it, Emma?"

She looked up with no response. I moved closer, leaning into her face and screamed. "WASN'T IT?!"

Tears had now turned into sobs.

She started shaking her head. "It wasn't like that?"

"Tell me what it was like then because from my perspective and from what I was told, the plan was for me to be floating down the river now. So you have my full fucking attention!"

"It wasn't my idea but it's what David wanted. It was the only way we could have inherited all of your money. Divorce would only leave me with half and that wasn't enough for him. I'm sorry, Joe. If I had known it would get this messy, I would never have gone this far into the affair. You have to believe me!"

I couldn't stop a laugh escaping my lips. "Believe you? I don't know who or what to believe any more."

Wiping a tear from her cheek, her mood changed in an instant. It was her turn to attack.

"Fuck you, Joe. You caused this. When was the last time you showed me any love or attention? You only fucked me the past few weeks because you felt guilty about dipping your cock into some young, fresh meat! I mean come on...you think a girl her age is really going to be into a middle aged man like you? Without some sort of plan? You got what you deserved for falling for it. You sad, pathetic excuse for a man!"

She wasn't wrong in fairness. How could I believe that it was all real? And Angelica had no hidden agenda?

"Maybe I was stupid and blinded by having some beautiful young girl throwing herself at me but at least I wasn't a rebound fuck! Awww poor David lost his wife, first fucking shoulder he finds to cry on and she opens her married fucking legs for him. I bet he couldn't believe his luck."

Emma stands up once more, reeling from the truth bomb thrown at her, throwing her hands up in the air.

"I'm done with this conversation. We're done, Joe and you better hope that money comes through or this will be the last time you ever see your home comforts again and I hope you fucking rot!"

"Don't forget to smile at the party tonight, wife! Don't want your family to know the truth about your affair now, do we? Find out that little miss 'do no wrong' is a lying, cheating piece of shit. Oh, it would break the whole illusion of you, wouldn't it?"

At that moment my phone alerted me to a new message. It was from Lyn.

'Thanks for the money. Knew you wouldn't let us down, Joe! See you at the party. L&A ❤️'

Signing off message as one now? How the fuck has this happened so quickly? My life has done a full 180 and more.

I noticed Emma walking back towards me as I lay my phone back down on the desk.

"Excuse me. I don't want this going to waste and I'm sure you don't either."

She reached on to the chest of drawers beside me and slid jewellery of some kind into her hand.

It was only once she placed her hands behind her neck that I realised what she was putting on.

"Tiffany jewellery has always suited me, don't you think, Joe?"

My heart sank as the necklace bought for Angelica was now placed around Emma's neck and resting against her skin.

Fuck you, world....
Fuck you.

***