Page 15 of The Anniversary Betrayal
Ashley leaned into the comfort, letting herself exhale for the first time in days. That night, after the kids were asleep, Leah came over. Her best friend didn’t even bother with small talk as she dropped a bottle of wine on the counter and fixed Ashley with a sharp look.
“Alright. Out with it. What the hell is going on?”
Ashley managed a wry smile. “Do I really look that bad?”
Leah arched a brow. “You look like you’ve been hit by a truck. Now talk.”
So Ashley told her. Everything. The affair. The confrontation. The silence that followed. The way her heart felt like it had been split in two.
Leah listened, her expression tight with fury. “That bastard,” she spat, pacing the kitchen. “And with Rebecca of all people? God, Ashley. I could kill him.”
Ashley laughed through her tears, shaking her head. “Don’t tempt me. The thought has crossed my mind.”
Leah poured them both wine, then sat beside her, their shoulders touching. “Listen to me,” she said firmly. “You did the right thing. Don’t you dare let his mistake make you feel small. You’re stronger than this.”
Ashley nodded, though her chest still ached. The support of her friends was a balm, but it didn’t erase the storm raging inside.
By the fourth day of silence, Kingston felt like he was unraveling. He scrolled through his unsent drafts, words spilling out like confessions into the void.
“I miss you. God, I miss you. The bed is cold without you. The house doesn’t feel like home. Nothing does.”
“I’m not asking for forgiveness. I just need you to know how sorry I am. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it if you let me.”
“I don’t care about the hospital. I don’t care about Rebecca. I only care about you and the kids. Please don’t give up on us.”
But none of them felt enough. Nothing he could type, nothing he could say, could undo what he had done. He left voicemails too, his voice breaking as he spoke into the emptiness. “Ashley, it’s me. Please. I can’t… I can’t lose you. Not like this. Call me back. Just call me back.”
Still nothing.
By the weekend, Ashley felt the weight of running settling heavily on her shoulders. She couldn’t avoid him forever, not with the children, not with the life they had built.
Leah had asked her the night before, “What do you want, Ash? Not the kids, not the house, not the image. What doyouwant?”
The question had sat with her, burrowing into her chest and when Kingston’s latest message came through, she stared at it for a long time before finally replying.
Fine. We’ll talk. Tomorrow. Neutral place. 2 PM.
She hit send before she could change her mind, her hands trembling. For the first time in days, the silence broke and she had no idea what the meeting would bring, healing, or the final fracture.
Chapter Thirteen
Ashley arrived early. The café was tucked away from the main street, small enough to be quiet but not so private that she’d feel cornered. She chose a table near the window, the late afternoon light spilling across the polished wood. Her hands wrapped around a cup of tea she didn’t want, holding onto the warmth as though it could anchor her. She hadn’t seen Kingston in nearly a week. Just the thought of it made her chest feel tight. Ten years of marriage, two children, a life woven together torn apart in a matter of moments. The doorbell chimed. Ashley looked up.
Kingston stepped inside, his suit slightly wrinkled, dark circles etched under his eyes. He scanned the room until he saw her. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then he came over, his steps heavy, like every inch of air between them was weighed down with what he’d done.
“Hi,” he said softly, sliding into the seat across from her.
Ashley nodded, her throat tight. “Hi.”
Silence stretched between them. He shifted, fingers drumming against the table. “Thank you for meeting me.”
“Don’t thank me,” Ashley replied, her voice cool but trembling underneath. “You wanted to talk. So talk.”
Kingston swallowed hard. His chest felt tight, his throat dry. “Ashley… I don’t even know where to start. I’ve goneover it in my head a thousand times but nothing feels enough because nothing I say can erase what I’ve done.”
Ashley stared at him, her nails digging into her palm beneath the table. “Why?” she asked finally. Her voice cracked, the single word carrying the weight of nights spent alone, the weight of every unanswered question. “Then why did you do it, Kingston? Why her? Why betray everything we built? Wasn’t I enough?”
Ashley’s lips trembled, though she pressed them together quickly. “Do you know what it felt like to hear it? To see the pieces line up? You made me doubt myself, Kingston. You made me wonder if I was blind, if I wasn’t enough. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?”
