He takes it slowly, a faint frown creasing his brow—the last thing I see before I turn away and walk straight out of the room, leaving the two of them standing in the kitchen.
Heading straight to the master bedroom, I pull my phone from the charger and dial Marcus’s mother. We exchange a few minutes of polite, meaningless small talk, and when she agrees to have Zac for most of the day tomorrow, I let out a long, sigh of relief that at least one thing is going right today.
I connect the phone to the charger and make my way back to the kitchen, where I find Zac sitting perched on the island chair and Adrian on all fours, scrubbing at the spilled tea with a fistful of paper towels.
“Am I going?” Zac asks the moment he sees me.
“Yes. I’ll drop you off at 10.30 in the morning, so make sure you’re up and ready by then.”
“Yay!” he shouts, hopping off the chair and bounding towards me, arms flung wide as he wraps me in a hug. “Can I bring my iPad too?”
“Sure, but don’t be it on it for too long.”
“Okay, Mum. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby. Now, go take a shower. I’ll make us something to eat.”
With an enthusiastic nod, Zac sprints to his room as though his heels are on fire, the sound of his footsteps fading until I’m left alone with his father, the space between us suddenly feeling unbearable for the first time since I uncovered his betrayal.
Adrian straightens up, tossing the sodden paper towels into the rubbish bin just as we hear Zac’s bedroom door slam shut.
“Is it safe to ask what thisimportant matterwe have to attend to tomorrow is?”
I saunter past him to the fridge, gathering the ingredients for my homemade pizza and forcing my focus onto the task, anywhere but on my cheating scumbag of a husband.
“It’s a surprise.”
“A surprise?”
“Yes, and trust me, it’ll be worth the wait.”
“Now I’m even more curious to know what it is.”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Why don’t you go freshen up? I’ll call you when lunch is ready,” I say, dumping the vegetables into the sink and rinsing them thoroughly.
“What? I don’t even get a ‘hello, baby, it’s good to have you home’ kiss?”
My hand lingers on the tap for a heartbeat longer before I shut it off and slowly turn to face him.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, hesitating. “I’ve just… got a lot on my mind.” I reach for a paper towel and carefully dry my hands, as I try my best not to show my discomfort.
I round the island and move towards him, hesitating for a few seconds before forcing myself to press a kiss on his cheek. The instant I do, my stomach churns.
I can’t fucking do this. I can’t stand here pretending my husband hasn’t been betraying me for months, and continues to lie to my face.
By tomorrow, he’ll know exactly what he’s about to lose—and just how drastically our lives are about to change.
I move back behind the island and resume prepping the vegetables, my mind and hands absorbed in the task.
Across the room, Adrian watches me, confusion written plainly across his face.
“Um...babe?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure everything is alright?”
“I’m sure. I just want to get these pizzas in the oven so I can plant the Lemon Myrtle I got at the native garden market this morning.”
