PROMISED INFIDELITY

CONFRONTING THE ABYSS

The past has a way of sneaking up on you, no matter how far you’ve come or how deeply you’ve buried it. My life with Vin, Maya, and Mayson was filled with love and joy, but a single phone call was enough to remind me of the darkness I had escaped.

It was a late autumn evening when the call came. I was helping Maya with her homework while Mayson played with his toy cars. Vin was in the kitchen, preparing dinner. The phone rang, and I answered, not expecting the storm that was about to break.

"Hello?" I said, balancing the receiver between my shoulder and ear as I flipped through Maya’s workbook.

"Maureen, it's Leah again," came the voice on the other end. There was an urgency in her tone that made me stop in my tracks. "I don’t know how to say this, but you need to know. Calvin is in the hospital. It's bad. Really bad."

Monologue:
*Hearing Calvin's name always brought a rush of emotions—anger, sadness, fear. But hearing he was in the hospital, fighting for his life, hit me harder than I expected. Despite everything, he had been a significant part of my life, and the news stirred memories I had worked so hard to forget.*

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. "What happened?" I managed to ask, my voice trembling.

"His health has been declining for a while, but now... It's his liver. Years of drinking and drugs. They're not sure he'll make it," Leah explained. "I thought you should know."

I thanked Leah and hung up, my mind reeling. Vin noticed my distress and came over, concern etched on his face. "What’s wrong, love?"

"Calvin's in the hospital," I whispered. "He's dying."

Vin pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly. "I’m so sorry. How do you feel about it?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I don’t know what to feel."

Monologue:
*The emotions were a tangled mess—relief that the man who had caused me so much pain might finally be out of my life for good, guilt for feeling that relief, and a strange, lingering sadness for the man I had once loved. It was overwhelming, and I didn’t know how to process it all.*

Over the next few days, I found it difficult to focus on anything. Memories of my life with Calvin flooded back—both the good times and the bad. I remembered our wedding day, filled with hope and promise, and the dark nights filled with lies and violence. The contrast was stark and painful.

One night, as I lay in bed next to Vin, the memories became too much to bear. "Vin, I need to talk about this," I said quietly. "I need to tell you everything."

Vin turned to me, his eyes full of understanding. "I'm here. Tell me everything."

And so, I began to recount my life with Calvin in excruciating detail—the charming man he had been, the gradual descent into deceit and manipulation, the nights of fear and the days of doubt. Vin listened without interruption, his presence a steady rock amidst the torrent of my emotions.

"There were times when I thought I wouldn’t survive," I confessed, tears streaming down my face. "He made me doubt myself, made me feel worthless. And now he's dying, and I don't know how to feel about it."

Vin held me close, his voice soft and reassuring. "You have every right to feel conflicted. What he did to you was unforgivable, but it’s natural to have mixed feelings about his suffering."

Monologue:
*Vin’s support was unwavering, and in that moment, I realized just how much he had helped me heal. Sharing my darkest memories with him was cathartic, a way to confront the ghosts of my past and reclaim my power. With Vin by my side, I felt a renewed sense of strength and resilience.*