THE WAY WE STAY

Chapter 13

JANE'S P.O.V

"Did he mention about him?" Connor continued after a prolonged silence.

"Let's leave it there Con, just pretend I didn't ask." I awkwardly smiled.

"I've been torn all these years, whether I should punch the man in the face or curse Natasha for her amazing affair when she's pregnant with the twins."

Connor's tone got so deep and emotional, that I had to check on his expression to make sure he did not lose himself. But at the same time, the new fact hit me right away; if she was pregnant when it happened, did she cheat on Riley that early of their marriage?

"I know, it's shocking. I'm never not disgusted by it." Connor peeked at the rearview mirror. "Sorry, bad choice of words."

"It's okay." I whispered. "I can't believe he's been holding it for so long."

"Being a responsible man that he is, Riley once decided to forgive and forget. Mainly because she's still pregnant with his kids. You know, I so hate his brilliant mind for that reason, but I can't even blame him one bit."

Connor pulled over at a park a couple of miles away from home, asking me to sit on a bench for a minute. He took the big brother's responsibility to sort this out with me, helping Riley who probably would not be able to do it.

"As we all know, Natasha and Riley had been together for over two years when they decided to get married. They seemed ready to start a family; or so I was told." Connor sipped on his Americano. "But I guess the vow doesn't last long for her."

I sipped mine with eyes glued to an endless distance while all ears for Connor.

"His name's Joe-something, Natasha's colleague from a different department. They were working together for a new project in Chicago when it happened. We knew nothing until we had a show in town around the same schedule."

I widened my eyes at Connor for a confirmation. "You guys met them?"

"Caught red-handed." He raised an eyebrow. "Well, I mean, I refused to believe that a project's discussion should be extended so privately in his room in the middle of the night with a bottle of champagne."

I started to have tears stream, imagining what Riley and the McDonough family had been through all along.

"Like I said, he let that one slip and tried to move on. But even when the girls were born, we had all the reasons to believe that they're still seeing each other. Her business trips were longer than before, leaving the babies to our parents. They also barely saw each other. And only God knows how excited she could've been everytime Riley had to be away for shows."

Some children around the park screamed  and played happily, but I could only focus on Connor's anger and sorrow. I even had to hold my breath every now and then to control myself.

"When the girls turned two, we finally had a discussion. They mutually agreed to separate, but both fought for custody. The judges learned the case, including the affair that we hoped to raise a flag on her paper." Connor continued.

I nodded. "But why didn't it?"

"The court called the company's representative to sort it out. But she and that Joe dude managed to prove that the affair was over. They agreed to receive the company's penalty that ended their professional partnership. That's how Natasha got assigned to their Chicago branch office. But yeah, that's just it." Connor chuckled in disappointment. "After all, she's a Brand Manager with an amazing record. The company decided not to risk their business over one night stand."

"That's..." I held myself from cursing.

"Exactly." Connor tilted his head. "The only person suffering here is Riley, knowing the fact that his wife's cheating on him since their supposedly happy days. She might claim whatever she wants about the affair, but she's never there for the girls anyway. And it's just never been the same for Riley. Especially when he's not able to talk it out to people other than family. He's so burnt out, that it's not rare to find him lying on the floor in the girls' room in the middle of the night."