Time After Time

Chapter 29: I Should Have Known Better

Lauren's heart raced as panic washed over her. She hadn't expected Cynthia to know about their affair, and now she was faced with the reality of it all coming out. She tried to compose herself, desperately searching for the right words to say.

"You know?" She echoed her voice barely a whisper.

Cynthia nodded slowly, her expression a mixture of sadness and resolve. "John phoned me during the tour and told me," she paused, taking in a deep breath. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but then it all made sense. All the signs were there - his late nights and the way you two act around one another. I can't believe the truth was staring at me right in the face and I didn't see it."

Now it all made sense. The way John had acted during that specific day after his 'meeting' with Brian. 'This was the business transaction he didn't want to discuss with me,' she internally cursed to herself. The weight of the revelation hung heavily in the air, and Lauren felt the walls closing in around her. "Cyn, I-"

"Lace, don't," Cynthia interrupted, her tone firm but not unkind. "I don't want to hear the justification or excuses. I just want to know how this happened."

A lump formed in Lauren's throat as she struggled to find the right words and felt the weight of the moment. "I don't know, John and I... we spent so much time together, and... it just happened," she paused, her embarrassed and teary gaze finally meeting hers again. "I never meant to hurt you, Cyn. I told him I couldn't..."

She exchanged a small smirk. "He said you were hesitant. I've had my suspicions about him being with someone else, especially each time he came back from tour or the studio. He wasn't himself and I could tell he was hiding something. I just didn't know it was you until he told me."

There was a slight pause as Cynthia shifted her feet, her stance uncomfortable. "Do you love him?"

A tear slowly trickled from her eyes as her heart sank with that question. She suddenly struggled to untangle a mix of emotions at that moment. Of course, she truly and deeply loved John, but she couldn't tell her; she didn't have the heart to.

The truth was vivid on Lauren's face and before she could speak, Cynthia pursed her lips in disappointment, coming to terms with all the things she feared. "I see," she replied, acknowledging that John's heart had belonged to someone else for quite some time, and the love for him was returned.

'Fucking John', Lauren's mind cursed his name in her mind, 'He just had to open that mouth of his and put me in this position.'

"So, if you knew about everything, why ask me to watch Jules?" Lauren questioned, a tear finally falling from her eyes, one she had been trying her best to hold back.

Cynthia lovingly smiled as her eyes adoringly gazed at her son still in Lauren's grasp. She leaned forward and brushed a piece of hair from his face, tucking it behind his ear. "Because he lights up every time you come to visit or play with him," her smile slowly faded as she looked at Lauren once again. "I appreciate how much you love him. He will need that more now things are changing."

Though she was upset, she felt a mixture of relief and guilt —relief that Cynthia wasn't completely livid with her, but guilt for betraying her in the first place. She cradled Julian closer to her, trying to find solace in the innocence of the child in her arms. "I truly am sorry, Cyn. I never wanted to come between you two. I thought you were both happy."

"There were many cracks in our marriage and nobody noticed it behind our smiles as we tried to make everything seem picture perfect," she sighed, her shoulders slumping as she ran a hand through her hair.

The tension in the air grew palpable, and Lauren felt a knot forming in her stomach. She wished maybe this wasn't the opportune moment to be in Cynthia's presence.