An Unusual Affair

Chapter 24

Emily's face paled as the words sank in. She stared at Richard, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and confusion.

'Another wife and child?' she whispered, her voice trembling.

Richard nodded, his expression apologetic. 'I'm sorry, Emily. I thought you should know. She was the one with whom he eloped five years ago.'

Emily felt like the ground had been pulled out from under her. The betrayal cut deeper than any wound. She had endured so much and had fought so hard to keep herself and Lily afloat. And now, this revelation shattered any remaining pieces of her already fractured world.

'How... how could he do this?' Emily's voice broke, tears welling up in her eyes. 'We struggled, Lily and I, while he was living another life? With another family?'

She stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. Her hands trembled as she pressed them against the table, trying to steady herself.

Richard reached out to her, but she pulled away. The betrayal she felt upon discovering his affair with Vanessa did not impact her as much as this. All this time she had thought that maybe living in debt was too much for him, and that's why he left.

Emily felt sick. She turned towards Richard and said, "Can I go out?" pointing towards the backyard.

Richard got worried for Emily. It seemed like she was going to burst out crying any moment now. 'But it's raining, Emily,' he replied, coming closer to her.

'Please, Emily said in a mere whisper. It was more of a plead than a request and without waiting for an answer, she ran outside. In the rain, she screamed and cried her heart out. Her tears streamed down with the rainwater. She felt a pain like never before. It was like Charles died for her today.

Sitting on the grass, she tried to take off her ring desperately, but her trembling hands did not help. Richard came to sit beside her. She looked up at him and held out her hand, saying, 'Take it out, please. Please take it out. It feels disgusting to me.'

Richard held her hand and, without any question, removed the ring from her finger and threw it away from sight. He did not leave her hand, though. It was soft and shaking badly. He extended his hand and held her other hand as well, trying to calm her.

He could feel her pain. This was how he felt when he first found out about Vanessa and Peter. It broke him badly. But he could not show it to anyone. He completely understood how Emily was feeling at that moment.

Emily, soaked and shivering, leaned into Richard's chest, her sobs muffled by the rain. Richard wrapped his arms around her, offering silent support as she let out all the pain and betrayal she had bottled up.

'You're not alone, Emily,' he whispered softly. 'I'm here. We'll get through this together.'

The next morning, the sun rose bright and shining as if there had been no rain last night. Richard sat at the dining table, waiting for the others to join him. Mrs. Swan had already served breakfast.

'You came home very late last night, Master Richard. Did you have dinner?' Mrs. Swan asked, her voice full of concern.

After putting Lily and Hayden to bed in their respective rooms, she overheard Emily and Richard's conversation about Charles's second wife. She had seen Emily's shock and everything that followed. It was quite late when Emily finally went to bed, and Richard had followed not long after.

'I wasn't hungry, Mrs. Swan. I'll be late today as well, but I'll have dinner with Jake,' Richard said as Hayden entered the hall.

'But Dad, I want you to come home early. We missed you yesterday. It would be so nice to have dinner as a family,' Hayden said, taking his seat next to Richard.