“Paul. Goodness, you startled me,” I mumble with a jump, placing my hand over my rapidly beating heart. “Why are you home?”
He looks up at me with a guilty expression on his face. “Oh. Audrey.” He lets out a cough, narrowing his eyes. “I sometimes come home for lunch,” he tells me.
What?
“Since when?”
“About a year now.”
I stare at the man I barely know anymore. “Oh.”
How many other secrets has he been keeping from me?
He clears his throat. “So, listen …”
Catching a view of the countertop from the corner of my eye, two empty plates sit beside two empty cups. They weren’t here this morning. “Is there someone else here?” I cut him off as a sour taste fills my mouth. “Is she still here?
He follows my gaze to the plates, a defiant look in his eyes. “Not anymore. She just left.”
Reality comes crashing down in another wave.
“How long have you been cheating on me?”
He doesn’t try to lie, he answers me straight. “There’ve been a few people over the years.”
“Excuse me? A few?” I spit out. “Have they been inourhouse more than once?” Paul gives me an unapologetic smile that makes me want to vomit. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” I exclaim, moving towards the stairs.
Have they had sex in our house? In our bed?
“Where are you going?” he asks with a dumbfounded expression.
Does he really expect me to stay?
“To pack my shit!”
He’s hot on my heels. “Why are you leaving? You have to see things from my side!”
I pause and turn towards him on the bottom step, my eyes level with his. “What side is that, hm? What could possibly have made you cheat?”
“Baseball.”
My eyebrows furrow. “What?” I barely watch it or talk about it with him, leaving that to my family and high school friends.
Maybe he knew about my feelings for Noah early on? But they stopped mattering long before any of this happened, so that doesn’t make sense.
“In the fall, you went to visit your family without me and you came back happier than ever.”
Seriously? That’s his reasoning?
“Yeah, because my brother’s team played in the World Series … it was literally his dream come true!” I shake my head. “I still don’t get what that has to do with anything?”
“You love baseball more than you love me.”
I let out an angry laugh, narrowing my eyes at him. “Well, duh! Right now, I think I love trash more than I love you … At least I wasn’t out fucking baseball bats. Nope, I was too busy making dinner for you every night, trying to ignore you coming home smelling like scotch and perfume.”
“Yeah, well …” His eyes scan the room as if he’s trying to come up with an excuse.
“When did you first cheat on me?” I demand.
