Veiled Affection

Chapter Twenty three

I woke up and he was gone. His clothes were gone. The boxes with all of his stuff were gone. The only thing he left on the kitchen counter was a note.

I had a good time yesterday. I left my set of keys to the house in the drawer next to the sink. I guess there is not much left to say other than thank you for doing the things I didn't do.

This is what I wanted, right? For everything to be final. All was taken care of at last. I was ready for a new life with her, whatever that would in tale - I didn't know yet. Yet here I was, at the brink of that new life, and I had already managed to utterly ruin it.

And he walked out on me! It was as if he deliberately wanted me to think about what a bad thing I had done. Though he didn't even know about the betrayal I felt towards a certain someone - a feeling that kicked in the minute I realized what I had done last night.

How did it come to this? How did we end up in bed with each other? And what person have I become, I thought, to not cheat once, but twice. I can't restore what I had done, but opposed to the first time, this time, I want to be honest. I had to tell her. I had to say what I had done, no matter how hurtful it would be to her. It was then or it was never, and it couldn't be never. I couldn't live like that. So she came over that same day.

We sat down on the couch and she looked around.

''Why is your interior half gone?''

She looked upbeat then, and for her it was nothing more than a casual visit that she paid me.

''Gregory came over yesterday to pick up his stuff.''

''Gosh Gregory... I haven't seen him in a while.''

A pause. She laughed it off.

''What did you want to talk about?'' She asked, and I knew that this was the moment to tell her. I took a deep breath.

''I did a bad thing...''

She looked at me narrow eyed.

''Is this your way of dirty talk?''

So naïve she was. So innocent. And I took it away from her in seconds. I felt my face slacken, my lips tremble, and my eyes tearing up.

''June?'' She leaned in and hugged me. ''Darling what is wrong?''

I tried to control my voice under the strain it was in, but when I spoke it was softly, as if I almost didn't want her to hear me.

''I slept with him.'' I whispered, and her hand, that until then traced little circles on my back, stopped.

What must she think right now? That his hands were on me only hours ago, just like hers were right now? I felt undeserving of her touch. I wanted to lean back and sit far away from her, just for her sake, but I stayed there in her arms. And then I felt her hand moving up and down my back again.

''Don't cry,'' She softly said. ''Don't cry,'' And then she leaned back. ''Just tell me what happened.''

And I did. As I told her pretty much everything up to the part where he kissed me, I was mixed up about her reaction. So gentle that she was. She looked at me with intent and not once did she interrupt or show any sign of aversion.

'''How about I act with such rashness?' He said, and then he kissed me.'' I told her.

Even then, having gone through my story, I expected her to give me anything more of a reaction than the placid look that was on her face. But she only looked at me for a second, before saying: ''We have the same Gregory in mind here?''

''Cate, I am sorry for-''

''Don't,'' She interrupted. ''It is complicated, June. He was your ex-husband. You have history together. He comes here, acts a little weird, tries to seduce you I would say, and you fall for it. There is nothing to it. Besides, it is not like you are tied to me.''