You are cheating

Elaine slowly blinked her eyes open, the hazy fog of sleep dissipating as consciousness seeped in. For a moment, she lay still, her mind struggling to piece together the fragments of the previous night. Her head throbbed slightly,

As her surroundings came into focus, she quickly realized she was not in her own bedroom. The walls were adorned with unfamiliar artwork, Confusion mingled with a touch of panic as Elaine attempted to make sense of her situation.

She raised her head to see Richard starting back at her. Elaine blinked her eyes thinking it was a dream but he was still there staring back at her with folded arms leaning on his shirtless body.

The realization hit Elaine like a sudden gust of wind, causing her cheeks to flush with embarrassment. A wave of regret washed over her as she remembered the events leading up to this moment. The emotional distance that had grown between her and Richard had fueled her decision to step out of her comfort zone, seeking solace in the arms of another.

Yet, fate had played a cruel trick on her, leading her not into the arms of a stranger but into the very bed she had shared with her husband. How had she not recognized him? The dimly lit room and the remnants of alcohol clouding her judgment were to blame, she realized.

“What happened?

I mean how did you get here?” she asked forgetting that she had just been caught cheating.

“You brought me here” he said.

“What did you mean I brought you here, did I call you?” she asked.

“I am certain you don't remember because you were very drunk” he answered.

Elaine sat there confused trying to figure out how Richard had gotten into the picture and how she ended up in the same hotel room with him.

“Did I call you to come and pick me up, I am certain that I must have done that unconciously” she giggled to clear the air.

“You are naked Elaine, are you really sure I came to pick you up or I am not just a one night stand you have determined to spend your night with” he rung a bell deep in her head.

Elaine sat there confused when a tiny memories flashed before her eyes,

(Flashback)

“You know what Cassandra, I have decided that I will live a carefree life from now on” she said.

“Well that's the spirit, I have been waiting for you to say this for years” Cassandra.

“I don't care about my husband or his family, I am done with them. I will be living my life for me” she added.

“Maybe we should think that one through” Cassandra suggested, she knew it was just the alcohol talking and when Elaine is sober, she would return to her family.

“I will prove it right now, I will talk to the man over there, he has been staring at me for while now. I will talk to him and ask if he wants to sleep with me” She stood up from her seat when Cassandra held her hand.

“No talking to men, we are already drunk so I think it is time we go home” Cassandra instigated not wanting to make a mistake.

“Don't be such a pussy, I am just trying to have a good time” she said.

“No men”

“Wait I just...” Elaine didn't finish her sentence when she passed out slamming her head on the table.

Cassandra sighed and picked up her phone to book a taxi when she realized there was none in the surrounding area and she was stranded.

“Hello there” a voice said and she turned to see a familiar face.

“I thought you don't mix work with pleasure” Ethan said to an already drunk Cassandra.

“I am just here for my friend” she answered.

Few minutes later Elaine woke up realizing that Cassandra was gone, she searched around for her but to no avail.

Her eyes fell on the young man who had been staring at her for a while and she approached him.

“Do you want to sleep with me?” she asked.

His gaze fixed on her like she was the only thing that mattered to him, he slowly stood up and she pulled him by the tie away from there.

(Flashback ended)

“That was you” She said in shock.

“Take a shower, we are leaving” he ordered.

As the door clicked shut, Elaine leaned against the cool tiles, staring at her reflection in the mirror. How had things come to this point?,not once did she think that the stranger she slept with was actually her husband.

Now, faced with the reality of her actions, Elaine couldn't help but question her motives.

Turning on the faucet, She splashed cold water on her face, hoping to wash away the remnants of her confusion. She couldn't ignore the fact that she had slept with her husband, mistaking him for a stranger in a desperate attempt to live a carefree life.

Leaning against the bathroom sink, Elaine took a deep breath, She knew that she had to confront Richard, to face the consequences of her actions head-on.

As she gathered her resolve, Elaine pushed open the bathroom door and made her way back to the hotel room. Richard was stirring, his eyes fluttering open as he registered her presence. Their gazes locked for a moment, a silent beat began in her heart.

The ride back was quiet with different Questions filling Elaine’s head, she knew how she ended up in the hotel bar because she had gone with Cassandra but how then did Richard end up there.

Elaine stood in the middle of the room, her heart pounding in her chest. She had discovered something she never thought she would—a secret that had the power to shatter her world. The room seemed to grow colder, mirroring the icy tension between them.

"Richard, we need to talk," Elaine said, her voice trembling with anger.

Richard glanced up at her briefly, his eyes void of any emotion.

"What is it now, Elaine? Do you remember everything?” he asked.

“No but I want to know how you ended up in that place” she demanded.

Richard scoffed, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "You want to know how I ended up in that bar."

“Yes, what were you doing there in the first place, are you cheating on me?. Is that what this is?” She question being the only explanation she had as to why he was in the same bar as her.

His eyes flickering with surprise. But his stoic facade quickly returned. "Cheating?

Are you accusing me of Cheating?”

“Yes, I see no other reason why you would neglect me your wife if you have not been cheating on me all these years” she disclosed hoping and wishing what she had said was not true.

“I would never cheat on you” he answered.

Elaine froze from his words, could there be a hidden meaning behind it.

“If you weren't cheating then what in the hell were you doing there?” She questioned him hoping for a good answer to believe him.

Richard's face twisted into a sneer. "And what about you, Elaine? Have you been faithful to our marriage? Or are you accusing me to divert attention from your own indiscretions?"

Elaine's eyes widened in disbelief. She never thought Richard would stoop so low as to accuse her. "How dare you! I have been nothing but loyal to you, to us. You know that."

“Then tell me why you ended up in a hotel with a man, what if it wasnt me who ended up with you, wouldn't that be called cheating.

As a matter of fact, it is cheating because in your heart, you wanted to sleep with another man, lemme guess, you want to have a great time and not think about anything else but yourself” he said shocking her.

Elaine had not thought of herself because she was so quick in judging Richard that she had forgotten she almost had a one night stand with a stranger who wasn't her husband.

The door open and Mary walked into the room,

“Can you two keep it down, why the hell are you arguing” she asked.

Richard's eyes flashed with anger as he turned his attention to his mother. "Stay out of this, Mother. This is between Elaine and me. It's none of your business."

Mary flinched at her son's harsh words and quickly shut the door behind her.

“I knew thought you would have the guts to think of cheating on me” he accused her.

“Oh please, after everything I have gone through in this marriage, I deserve to myself being idolized by another man when my husband cannot do that for me and has never done that in years.

You know what, maybe I will start going to clubs more often, there are several handsome young men out there who would die to have a taste of me rather than me throwing myself at a man who never sees me” She said with dark eyes piercing through his.

“Say that again” he said in a strict warning but Elaine was not afraid of him, rather she was tired of him.

“I prefer to be in the arms of other men who would treat me right than be with you anymore” she breathed out.

“How dare you” he yelled at her face while she stood her ground to him.

“What are you...”

Before she could finish her sentence, he pinned her to the wall and kissed her fiercely. He wrapped her legs around his waist leaving her back pinned to the wall as he deepened the kiss.

He pulled away from the kiss slowly kissing her neck in turn as his hand slid into her panties. His fingers fondled with her wet folds giving her shimmers of pleasure she had never felt.

He could hear her soft moan from his ears, he laid her slowing on the bed before returning to kiss her lips then he pulled away entirely from her.

“No man can make you feel that way” he said and stormed out of the room.

Elaine sat there totally confused and disoriented, did he just kiss her or she was actually seeing things.

Her breathing was heavy as she could still perceive his scent on her, she was conflicted thinking about the kiss and how he made her feel or how he felt her like that to prove a point that she couldn't get over him.

“You bastard” she screamed in agony realizing that he only touched her to prove a point that she could never leave him.

She raced towards his study when she turned his chair to face her.

“We need to talk”

“We already did” he answered without sparing her a glance.

“I will give you to the end of today to divorce me”

“I will never do that, no matter how much you try” he replied.

“What is wrong with you, why can't you just let me go” she said.

Richard went silent listening to her rant and argue.

“If you don't divorce me then I will still leave, I need space”

“A week to cool your head is all I can give you”

“I need three months” she argued that the time was short.

“A week” he insisted.

“Damn you” she barked and stormed out of his study.