After My Husband
After My Husband 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

[Madeline, answer the phone.]

[Madeline, let me explain! It’s not what it looks like!]

[Madeline, where are you? I’m coming to replace you!]

Part 6

I called Adrian back, and he answered immediately, “Madeline!”

Before I could speak, he continued, “Why didn’t you answer my calls? Where are you? I went home, but you weren’t there. I’m outside the hospital now.”

“Yes, I’m at the hospital. I’m coming down now.” I finally had the chance to speak.

As I reached the ground floor, Adrian’s car pulled up. He got out and walked over to me.

“Let’s go home,” Adrian said after taking the folder from my hand.

As I reached for the car door, a familiar wave of nausea washed over me. Not from motion sickness, but from the sight that greeted me. I saw Sophie occupying the passenger seat.

She smiled at me, a little apologetically and chirped, “I’m sorry, Madeline, I get carsick very easily. Would you mind sitting in the back.”

The audacity. The sheer gall of her to invade not just my marriage, but now my personal space, was a bitter pill to swallow.

Adrian, ever the accommodating husband, chimed in to help Sophie before I could voice my objection, “Madeline, Sophie has a sensitive stomach. Please sit in the back for now. I’ll drop her off first, then you can move to the front.”

“No need to switch,” I mumbled, “the back is fine.”

With a forced smile, I slid into the back seat. The plush leather offering no comfort from the icy tendrils of betrayal snaking around my heart.

Sophie, oblivious to the storm brewing within me, launched into a conversation, “Madeline, I haven’t been back in a long time and I’m not familiar with many places. Plus, I usually have to take care Jesse, so I don’t get out much. Since Adrian was free today, he took me out. You don’t mind, do you?”

Having said that, she turned to look at the back seat and smiled at me. Adrian kept stealing glances through the rearview mirror, his expression a mixture of concern and something akin to… guilt?

I managed a flat “I don’t mind” in response to her question about my feelings. Then, a thought struck me, a barbed comment laced with a hint of dark humor.

“Did you have fun?” I asked, “If not, let my husband take you somewhere else next time. He’s free on weekends.”

Adrian’s frown deepened into a thundercloud, but Sophie patted his arm and smiled. “His arm is sore from carrying me today. We won’t go out again anytime soon, right Adrian? He’s been working, so hard, too.”

Adrian nodded stiffly. After dropping Sophie off at her place, he turned to me and said, “Madeline, come sit in the front.”

“There’s no need,” I replied, my voice flat. “The back is perfectly spacious and comfortable.”

11:01

Chapter 6

The flicker of annoyance in Adrian’s eyes betrayed his dwindling patience. “Stop being difficult, okay?” he snapped. “I only took Sophie out because she was bored. She hasn’t been out in a while, and I just wanted to keep her company.”

His justification rang hollow. “I believe you,” I said, my voice devoid of any real conviction. “Never said I didn’t. Let’s just go home. Overtime is a real drag.”

With a sigh of defeat, Adrian opened the door and got out, moving to the back seat beside me. His hand brushed against mine and he forced my gaze to meet his, a desperate plea in his eyes. “Madeline, do you really not care? Are you just pretending to be okay out of spite?”

“I promise,” he hugged me, “it won’t happen again. I’ll keep my distance from her. From now on.”

So, he knew all along. He knew that as a married man, he should maintain boundaries with other women. Yet, countless times, he failed to have this realization and he even resorted to lying and deceiving me.

However, the anger and the hurt felt distant, muted. A cold realization had settled in my heart, he did not matter anymore. The decision had already been made, and I would be leaving, soon. “Okay, I believe you,” I said, almost mechanically.

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Chapter 7