From: [email protected]
Subject: Something you need to see
I don’t like being the bearer of bad news, but you deserve to know.
That’s the entire message and accompanying it is the picture. I open it again and am faced with the image of my fucking fiancée naked in the arms of another man in a bed. The picture has been shot through a window and neither Maude nor the man are aware.
What the fuck?
There’s no question Maude has been off lately, but I thought it was the pressure of our wedding this fall and all the planning and decision-making we’ve had to do. That, coupled with the fact that Asher and Anabelle were married this spring, something she’s told me on more than one occasion takes the shine off of our nuptials.
But this… her cheating was not on my radar.
Before I jump to conclusions, I download the photo and check all the metadata. This photo may be old. My hope is dashed when I find it was taken a few days ago. On the night that Maude said she’d be working late and had to do a few wedding prep errands.
“Fuck!” I slam my fist down on my desk.
Did I miss obvious signs all along? Ironically, I never told Maude that I enjoy sharing my partner because I didn’t think she’d be into it.
I like sharing.
But I don’t like liars.
And I’m certainly not going to marry one.
Our sex has always been… enjoyable, but not earth-shattering. And I was okay with that. I pushed my desires aside because I thought we had something more. I thought Maude loved me for me, not my name, nor my money, but if that’s the case, then why is sleeping with another man behind my back?
Putting Maude aside, who the hell sent this to me?
Asher.
My brothers always think they have to protect me like they did when we were younger, but I’m old enough now to take care of myself. They need to learn to stop interfering. I’m half tempted to walk down to my big brother’s wing and tell him off.
I look at the picture again. Maybe I should.
I print the picture, swipe it off the printer, and stomp toward Asher’s office. I don’t bother knocking before pushing open the door. Anabelle is in his lap, and I’ve interrupted something, but I don’t give a shit. His scowl doesn’t scare me.
“Next time knock,” he says.
I temper my anger to address my sister-in-law, since she has no part in our fight. “Anabelle, may I have a word with my brother alone?”
She looks at Asher, back at me, and slides off his lap. “I’ll see you in a bit.” She squeezes my shoulder when she walks by me, almost in sympathy.
Damn it all to hell. She knows.
The door closes, and Asher’s eyes swing to me. “What the hell is your problem?”
I cross the room, slamming the printed picture on top of some papers. “What the fuck is this?”
He looks at it and back at me. “Looks like your fiancée fucking another man.”
“Cut the shit. I know you’re the one who sent it to me. What’s wrong? Didn’t have the balls to tell me you’d hired someone to follow her?”
Asher’s eyes narrow, and he slowly pushes the picture toward me without his eyes leaving mine. “I didn’t. Though it’s not because I didn’t want to, believe me. I knew she’d screw you over from day one.”
“Asher, the all-knowing. How do you know Anabelle won’t do the same?”