I sat at the bar in my club, nursing a glass of whiskey, the burn of the alcohol doing little to numb the rage boiling inside me. The rhythmic thumping of the bass reverberated through the floor, but I barely noticed it. My mind was somewhere else—replaying the images that had seared themselves into my memory, the photographs that had shattered my world.
Peyton. My sweet Peyton. How could she do this to me? How could she betray me like that? I clenched my jaw, my grip tightening around the glass until my knuckles turned white. I had always known my brother Richard was no good, but to sink so low as to seduce my wife? The thought of it made my blood boil.
I had been trying to wrap my head around it for hours now, trying to understand how she could betray me with him, of all people. Yes, I hadn't been the best husband these past few years—God knows I'd made my share of mistakes. But I loved her. That love had twisted inside me, warping into something dark and possessive, but it was love all the same.
I hadn't meant for things to get so out of hand. When we first married, I was the luckiest man alive. Peyton was my everything, and I wanted to be the best husband, to give her the world. But somewhere along the way, I lost control. The pressure of the business, the expectations, the constant need to prove myself—it all built up inside me until it exploded.
I became possessive, yes. But that was only because I couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Every time she smiled at another man, every time she laughed with someone else, it felt like a knife twisting in my gut. I couldn't stand the idea that someone else might steal her away from me, that someone else might see the beauty in her that I did.
And yes, I became obsessive. I watched her every move, tracked where she went, who she talked to. It was the only way I could feel secure, the only way I could keep the fear at bay. If I knew where she was, what she was doing, then I could protect her. I could keep her safe from the world, from the people who might want to take her from me.
But somewhere along the line, that protectiveness turned into something darker. I became abusive, I know that now. I let my anger and jealousy get the better of me, let it drive a wedge between us. The things I said, the things I did—I regret them. But I only ever did it because I loved her. Because I couldn't bear the thought of losing her.
And now, after everything I'd done to keep her, she had betrayed me. She had gone behind my back with my own brother. The thought of them together, of his hands on her, his lips on her, made me sick. How could she do this to me? How could she look me in the eye and lie?
I took another swig of whiskey, the bitterness matching the bitterness in my heart. Maybe I deserved it. Maybe this was karma coming back to bite me for all the mistakes I'd made. But that didn't make it any easier to stomach. It didn't make the betrayal any less painful.
As I sat there, wallowing in my misery, I noticed someone approaching me out of the corner of my eye. I turned slightly and saw her—Kara, Peyton's best friend. She was all legs and curves, her dark hair cascading down her back, and a predatory gleam in her eye as she made her way toward me.
Kara had been trying to seduce me for months now. Every time she and Peyton came to the club, she'd find a way to get close to me, to brush against me, to give me those lingering looks that left no doubt about what she wanted. I'd always brushed her off, not because I didn't notice, but because I only had eyes for Peyton. I had never cheated on her, not once. Despite everything, despite how rocky things had gotten between us, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Peyton was my wife, and I was loyal to her, even when she didn't deserve it.
But tonight… tonight was different. Tonight, everything I thought I knew had been torn apart. The woman I loved, the woman I had devoted myself to, had betrayed me in the worst possible way. She had broken our vows, thrown our marriage away, and for what? For Richard?
It was too much to bear.