The Last Wife

three

• midnight drive •

Erik

three months ago,

We storm into the cabin house.

Kissing and touching and ripping off clothes and getting rid of coats. I make her lie on the couch, her back facing me. I don't want to see her face as I screw her. The face of a cheater and a traitor. I thrust inside her, making her moan and call my name. Making her back sweat. Making her wet for me. With every stroke, I feel so lost in her. Holding her waist tighter. Lying on her back to gain stamina. I want to put an end to the race but I have to wait for her. Wait until she's filled up. It doesn't take long for us to explode in a massive organism.

We lie naked on the carpet beside the fireplace when she whispers sweetly,

"That's the best s*x I've ever had."

And that's the best s*x I've ever had too. But this was not how I imagined our first time would be. I wanted it to be slow and sweet and magical. I wanted our first time to be pure love-making. What happened a few seconds ago was not. It was raw and rough s*x, full of rage. I didn't do it with love. I did it with hate. A lot of hate for this woman.

"Can I get you a drink?" I ask as I put on my boxers.

She grabs my shirt and slides in it effortlessly. She looks up at me, looking lovely with that messed up hair.

"Some wine please."

We sit by the fire, watching it crackle inside the chamber as we sip wine.

All this time I'm hoping that maybe she'll tell me the truth. The same way she told me the truth when she cheated on me (I think Harvey is the same man she cheated on me with). That maybe she'll give me a valid reason to keep fighting for this. Fighting for us. Maybe I'll try to be more understanding. Maybe I'll try to forgive her...

"Why did you call me?" She asks curiously. "I thought you'd never want to see me after..."

"I missed you." I lie.

I called her immediately I left that stupid party. That stupid party where I watched another man go down on one knee. That stupid party where I watched her say yes to another man. And as I study her right now, I notice that the huge rock that should be stuck on her finger is missing. She took it off. She thinks I don't know that she's engaged. She's deceiving me. She obviously thinks I'm a fool.

"I missed you too, Erik. I missed you every single day after we broke up. Been thinking about you a crazy amount of times ever since..."

There she goes again. Lying straight to my face. It's scary how easy it is for her to lie. It's so effortless and so believable. Who the f**k is this woman?

"I've also been thinking about you. A lot."

She hides that little smile behind the glass of wine.

"I've been thinking about the man you cheated on me with." I add. "Mind telling me who he is?"

She chokes on her drink.

"What?"

"Tell me about the man you cheated on me with."

"Erik, you don't know him. He doesn't matter. He was just a one-time thing."

"Liar!" I bark furiously, making her jerk back in shock. She spills the wine all over my shirt.

"Sorry," I mutter. "I shouldn't have yelled at you..."

She stares at me silently, fear and shock vivid in her eyes. I rush upstairs to grab a warm sweater from my room. She takes off the shirt and quickly puts on the sweater, her gaze fixed on me.

"You know... if you still need some time away from me, I totally understand it." She says honestly. "I know this is hard for you and I'm sorry for putting you in this situation."

"There you go again," I laugh bitterly. "Lying and lying and lying!"

"No, I'm really sorry for everything I've done. I mean it."

"Is that why you got engaged to another man just a few hours ago? Is that your special way of saying sorry to me?"

Her face turns red and pale, disbelief in her eyes.

"Is that why you're not wearing the engagement ring?" I scoff. "Because you feel so sorry for your poor boyfriend?"

She freezes in shock, staring at me silently.

"When will you ever stop it with your sick and twisted mind games? Because I'm so sick of it! And I'm so sick of you!"

With her lips twitching, she says quietly,

"I can explain..."

"Explain what! That you cheated on me! And told me to my face to try and act like you're sorry and remorseful! But then you went behind my back again and cheated on me! This time you even got engaged!" I pause. "And the sickest part is, you were in a relationship with Harvey the whole time we were together! You cheated on him with me!"

"It's not what you think, Erik." Tears cloud her eyes. "Please let me explain..."

I feel a lump in my throat.

"You know why I called you? Because I wanted to see if you'd come clean. If you would tell me the whole truth without me asking. But you didn't." I huff. "Instead, you let me f**k you and then acted like everything was back to normal. Pathetic!"

"Could you just let me explain!" She blurts.

"No! You don't get to explain s**t! You are engaged to another man! And you just cheated on that man with me! Simple as that!"

"It's not as simple as that!"

"I don't know why we are even talking about this! You are marrying another man... and I don't give a f**k!"

"Can you just-"

"I'm done with this s**t! I'm done with you!"

Tears stream down her eyes.

"I can't lose you, Erik! Not again!"

"You already lost me."

"I know you won't believe it but I don't love Harvey! I love you, Erik!" She pauses. "It's you that I love!"

"You're f****d up if you call that love. How can you cheat on me and have the guts to tell me you love me?"

Silence stretches between us for a moment, heavy tension hanging in the air.

"Dress up. I'm driving you home." I say flatly.

"Erik-"

"Please don't say another word. If you really 'love' me as you claim."

The midnight drive is quiet all through.

She's staring out the window. I keep my gaze tight on the road. None of us make an effort to look or talk to the other.

Even when I drop her off, she still doesn't say a word. After she's gone, I bury my head on the steering wheel and burst into tears.

I just lost the woman I love...

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