In the morning, when I dropped off the kids, their teacher, Ms. Levy, called out to me from the end off the hallway. I came over to her and reflected her large smile. "The twins told me you went on a vacation! I hope it went well!"
I nodded while gently bouncing Addie to keep her asleep, "yes, it was amazing. But I missed the kids like crazy. The twins and I have never been apart for more than a day since their birth."
"I noticed that they seemed to be a bit distracted but they still were as amazing as ever. You really have a pair of wonderful kids."
I fought not to cry, "inside and outside of academics," I replied quietly before crouching down. The twins kissed me and then Addie before going into the classroom.
"Mr. Maurer," she began as I stood back up. "I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds, but..." she glanced around us before looking back at me. "Is there some type of issue going on with the twins and Malcolm?"
I sighed deeply, "there was, but it's over now."
She nodded, "okay, I just wanted to make sure."
I left the school and drove home, listening to Addie's quiet breathing. My mind wandered and somehow went to the envelope. It had kept me up all night as new questions and ideas came to my brain every few moments. When we got home, I carried Addie inside and was overcome with the silence of the large house.
Has it always been this big and this quiet? Addie began to wake up and started her babbling, bringing relief to the silence. I brought her to the kitchen and began feeding her, but it wasn't enough.
What is in that envelope?! Why can't I just leave it be?! I love Jayden! I love our family! I love our life! Why would he send me something? Does he want to ruin this?! Does he still hate me that much?! I'm safe and content for the first time, he wouldn't be cruel enough to ruin that!
But what if it is to assure me that he moved on, that he is happy, that he has come to understand my choice. He could finally be putting 'us' to rest. I could finally be free of this guilt, this pain.
Addie began squealing while throwing her food around and I sighed before grabbing a wash cloth and cleaning her up. I brought her to the living room and we played with her toys as my mind raced still. By noon, Addie was whining up a storm so I brought her to her bedroom. I sat in the rocking chair and slowly rocked her while listening to a quiet music machine.
I couldn't keep my gaze from the books that held the envelope and finally gave in. Addie finally fell asleep, so I put her in her crib, quietly pulled out the envelope, and crept out of the room. I went to the living room and turned on the monitor my the couch. I put the envelope on the table in front of me and just stared at it.
I took a deep breath, undid the binding, and opened the top. I poured out the contents and saw multiple pictures along with a small piece of paper. I opened the paper to see a simple phrase and 10 numbers. "Call me" followed by a phone number that wasn't Asher's, at least not his that I knew of.
I looked to the photos, ten or so, and spread them out. Each one had a date and time stamp at the top. I looked to each one and saw Jayden with different men and women, most intimate.
I scoffed, clearly from his playboy years. My heart dropped as I realized the year on each one was recent. Some from the past month. It has to be his coworkers or clients or friends.
I couldn't help myself and arranged them by date. Two from when we got back in contact, one from the month we moved in, and two to three coinciding with his past three business trips. I stared at the most recent one and my heart dropped.
A beautiful Alpha female with her arms lightly wrapped around Jayden's neck and his hands tightly pulling their hips against each other. Their lips were locked as they stood in a dimly lit stairway.
I looked to the photo from just a day before and saw the same woman. She wore such little fabric, it was nearly pornographic. She stood beside Jayden, with their hand interlocked while seeming to be talking to people in a largely populated ballroom. Jayden was wearing the tie the kids bought him for his birthday and a broad, lovesick smile filled his face. Something made my entire body ache and tremble.
No, I trust Jayden. We are engaged. It is out of context and can easily be explained somehow. He wouldn't be with someone else, he can't be. I took a deep breath and gulped down my suspicions. I looked back to the piece of paper and felt anger rising. Who would send me this? What other reason would there be other than to hinder our relationship. Why, of all people, would Asher send this?!
I rushed to take out my phone, dialed the number, and impatiently listened to it ring. After 3 rings, someone finally answered. I held my breath so that I did not scream and wake Addie.
"You took a lot longer to call than I expected."
"Elijah," I hissed, "what is wrong with you?"
He sighed, "I'm just here to help you, Will. He's deceiving you, just like his father did to my Mom."
"Are you insane?! He and I are living happily with our kids and are planning to get married! He is not treating me like him!"
"Look at the most recent picture."
"Why should I?!"
"So I can show you the truth."
"I don't need to. I know the truth."
"Then you saw the ring on her hand?"
My heart skipped and I felt weak. Ring? There's no way. I tried to stop myself, but couldn't fight it. I picked up the photo and saw the giant rock on her hand.
"That was after he proposed. He plans to marry her next month."
I chuckled as my body shook, "you're good with photoshop and making up stories, I'll give you that."
"Its real, Will. He has been seeing people for years, but it increased ever since you moved in with him. That ring cost 12 times amount as the one he gave you. He even plans to introduce her to his family as his fiance."
"You're so full of shit."
"I'll make you a bet, Will." He cleared his throat, "I think Jayden will be coming home at some point today and will tell you he has another business trip. It will only be for a few days and Cora will not be going with him. He'll probably make up some excuse on why he has to go alone, but he won't give you much info. If I'm wrong, I will never bother you again. But if I'm right, you will come have dinner with me. Tomorrow night, the bar and grill you like near my house, 8 pm."
"I'm not...!" I began but was met with a dial tone and threw my phone down onto the couch with a growl.
I thought through my actions and threw my head back on the couch. Shit. What have I done?! We are supposed to make these choices together, but I went and opened it without talking about it with Jayden. I didn't think about it. Shit. I have to fix this, quickly. I dialed his number and listened.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
I sighed, "yeah everything's fine. I just wanted to see when you're getting home. There's something I want to talk to you about."
"We can't talk about it on the phone?"
"I'd rather talk in person."
He let out a deep breath, "I actually was going to have Cora call you in a bit. I have to go on a short trip and have to stop by to grab some stuff today. I'm leaving tonight so I have to stop by on the way to the airport. It will probably be while you're picking up the twins, unfortunately. So, could this discussion you want to have wait? I'll only be gone three days."
I clenched my shirt over my chest, "uh, yeah, sure. It can wait. I don't want to get in the way of you work. I love you."
"Gotta go."
When he hung up, tears welled in my eyes. This is all his doing. None of this would seem suspicious until we talked. I wouldn't doubt everything he says, feel terror because he did not say he loved me too.
Fine, Elijah. You want to meet? Let's meet. But not to speculate on Jayden, I'm going to finally put you in your place. Tomorrow night, prepare to be put in your place for sabatoshing my family.