Page 38 of His Infatuated Wife

But I can't.

And the realization tears me apart.

"Why can't I say it?" I sob out. "Why?"

Why can't I tell him to get out like he did?

Why?

Jacques

The pain in my wife's eyes kills me.

Why, she asks.

She wants to know why she can't tell me to get the fuck out like I did to her.

And I know the answer because I'm the evil bastard between the two of us.

"Why can't I say it?"

Her knees buckle, but I catch her in my arms, and she no longer has the energy to avoid me.

All my wife is able to do is beat my chest as she cries her heart out.

"Why? Why? Why?"

And I only have one answer for her.

"I'm sorry, Riri. I'm sorry."

A crowd has started to gather outside her dorm room, but this means nothing to me.

All that matters is the girl in my arms.

"I never allowed myself to believe that you love me," I say hoarsely. "I told myself that all you felt for me was infatuation. And that your feelings will die over time. And so when Eva---"

The moment I say the other woman's name, I know I've made a mistake.

My wife shoves me away, and I have no choice but to let her go.

"I'm sorry, Riri."

It's all I can fucking say because there's no excusing how I hurt her.

"I'm sorry. I should never have believed her."

But my wife only stares at me.

"Forgive me."

"I do."

I know she means it, but the way she also says the words terrifies the hell out of me.

"Give me another chance, Riri."

"I can't."