Can you re-love a cheater?

9

They stood staring at each other, words failing as their eyes locked after years, their hearts flipping at the mere sight of each other. He watched as Irene ripped her gaze to the side, his own landing on Suho, eyes widening as he looked between the two. "I'll leave you to it then Irene..." Suho began, feeling the tension, that they were suffocating on. "I hope you have a great first night back in Korea after five years..." he stated, satisfied at the way Jackson flinched. He looked at Irene who remained in pure silence, before walking away.

His eyes glossed over her form. She had grown more beautiful, beautiful was an understatement retorted his heart eagerly, the mature look that she carried enhanced her already goddess like face, her hair shorter than when she had left coming just past her shoulders, her eyes, the eyes he fell in love with looked tired, almost fed up with life, they had lost the spark that they once carried but it was cemented under the facade she was always fascinated with keeping up,his heart restricting as his mind taunted him again blaming him.He recalled the time when they were dating and the separation they endured as result of his stupidity, time would slow to a trickle and those sunny weeks were an age. Now he would give anything to go back and find a way to spend that time by her side, savouring those moments instead of wishing them away. He wished he could just stop moving forwards and exist in that moment together. Not thinking. Not breathing. Just not apart. Then he stood  closer to her just to feel her body heat before bringing his head close to hers, his arms finding her waist as his heart took the driving seat, his mind shouting in protest as it possessed him to hug her.

For a life time.
           For a minute.
                        For a second.

She inhaled his scent for a split second before pushing him back her eyes wild in disgust at the audacity. "Where's my son?" Her voice finally enabling sound as she ripped her own gaze away from his form, cursing to the above that he had gotten handsomer...his hair slicked, a lighter colour than she remembered. Age had done him well, the matureness cemented in his features as she felt her heart skip a beat. But unlike Jackson, Irene always had better control of her heart. It was one thing that he hated, the way she would bury her emotions as though they were nothing or a sign of her weakness. His eyes searched hers "Our son." He corrected firmly watching as she rolled her eyes pushing at his chest before walking into the house as she called out "Jay?" "There's other people sleeping you know...." he pulled her bags in that she left at the door "I'm not staying here, you can leave them outside." He continued to grab her bags "Where's my son Wang?" "Asleep like a normal five year old would be...Joohyun it's 2 in the morning, you've been on a what...fifteen hour flight and I know your tired, just rest we can talk about this later." "First of all don't call me that, that's for family and friends and we are nowhere near either, second of all you don't know me, so stop talking shit, give me my son and I'll be out of your way so you can get that beauty sleep,because gosh you need it." She watched as his face recoiled in satisfaction "Okay you want to do this now? Fine..." he pulled her towards the kitchen "What the fuck Irene...." she rolled her eyes shaking her head "you were fucking pregnant and you kept me in the dark for five fucking years, our son, my blood, had to come and find me and reach out to me whilst I had no fucking idea that he existed... and your storming in here, adamant to take him away... no....I'm not allowing it, you can't rob me off that." "And what about what you've  robbed me off Wang...are we conveniently just gonna forget about that? Yes I didn't tell you, yes I robbed you of five years but that's on you because you were the one to pull the trigger on us, on our relationship, I wasn't the one sleeping around with a woman or god knows how many, your getting the punishment that a cheater should get, and I'm not about to apologise for the way that I chose to repair what you broke, you left me, I just ran after you did." He pushed her up against the wall. "Stop being so immature, you made a choice you could have reached out, I would have never turned you away-" "Oh I'm being immature, who was the one who couldn't keep it in his pants? Who was the one who acted like a child by cheating, yet I'm the immature one...okay."  She shook her head, fighting against his arms, "You never would have turned me away, well why is it different since I was carrying your child, huh? Why is it that you turned away when I wasn't pregnant? Why wasn't my love enough for you to hold on?" She watched as his eyes tensed. The silence settling in as they breathed heavily in sync, eyes lined with unshed tears, hearts filled with unsaid words. "Did you know the night I cheated that you were pregnant?" He watched as she looked at him. "No, I found out after I had collapsed from exhaustion, from the shit you put me through that I was pregnant." His eyes closed. "That award night...that was you giving me some form of contact with our child..." his eyes opened, watching as she flinched at his words, nodding before looking down. "I'm sorry..." he whispered. "Not good enough." Was her response. "I want my child." "Our child..." "Stop, we are going around in circles." "Only because your being unreasonable, it's two in the fricking morning-" "I'm being unreasonable..." she laughed bitterly continuing, "yeah I'm the one who's being unreasonable, It wasn't you who was pregnant, having to carry a child for nine months, the pain of standing sitting, sleeping you didn't experience that, neither where you in the delivery room when i was losing my will to live. It wasn't you who was tormented by a replica of you for the past five years. What I wanted to forget, what I wanted to bury; it came out in Jay, the looks, the fencing and basketball, the spicy food. I left Korea, I left you, but I have been tainted by you since the second I left....so yes I'm being unreasonable, because whilst it was painful to have to remember you it kept me alive. He kept me alive. He gave me a purpose, and I'm not about to let you take that from me. You've already taken my heart, your not taking my son. I won't let you." He watched as tears fell from her eyes, as she wiped at them violently, turning from him, trying to hide the vulnerability that she had showcased. He closed his eyes, a tear trailing down his cheek as he turned wiping it too. He had hurt so many people, and he could see the after effects of his mistakes. He had destroyed so many lives. Jay's. Wendy's. Mark's. The rest of the girls and guys. Hers. And his own. He slammed his fist on the counter, causing Irene to jolt and turn to him, she watched the fury and pain dance in his eyes, as she ran forth without thinking, without listening to her brain, she grabbed his hand, scanning it "Gosh Jackson what the hell did the kitchen counter do, you still haven't learnt to control that anger, stop hurting yourself..." "You still care..." he whispered, her eyes locking on his as she dropped his hand, stepping back. "No I don't..." he watched the lie leave her lips, not commenting.