Page 26 of Unfaithful

I rubbed my face and let out a long sigh, my mind going over everything that had happened yesterday.

From the moment Sara walked into my office, suspicion in her eyes, even if she was wrong about the reason. She thought Elsa didn't trust her. But the truth was, Sara shouldn't trust Elsa at all. She and I were probably the most disgraceful people in the world.

I knew Elsa had deliberately left that pink thing on the coffee table. I knew she had made that noise in the bathroom on purpose. And when Sara noticed it—God, I was so terrified.

Elsa wanted to get caught. She wanted me to choose her, especially with the baby due soon. She was livid, saying it was humiliating to hide in the bathroom like some dirty little secret. Furious, she left and went home.

Even though shewasthe dirty little secret. What did she expect?

Elsa had warned me once that she would not stay in the shadows forever. But I had ignored her, forgotten about it, convinced I could keep my life balanced on this razor's edge.

Now, the edge had sliced me open.

I shouldn't have trusted Elsa when she said she was in pain. She had used this trick so many times, yet I fell for it every single time. But I couldn't help it. I was worried about my baby.

If I hadn't listened to Elsa and gone to her, none of this would have happened.

I just never imagined that Sara would follow me to Elsa's house.

I had been giving in to Elsa's every demand because I wanted to be in my child's life. For her to have my last name.

Elsa knew I would never leave Sara, and she knew exactly how desperate I was to keep this horrible secret from my wife. She also knew I'd do anything to avoid a messy court battle over paternity, one that would make it impossible to hide the truth from Sara.

If I refused her, she wouldn't let me see my child. But she also knew I'd never stop supporting them. I wouldn't do that to my baby.

Elsa held all the cards. And I was completely screwed.

But Sara. Oh, God.

Fuck.

I could not forget the pain seared onto her face. Her eyes, once so full of warmth, were hollow, stripped of every ounce of trust she had in me. The way her lips trembled, like she was holding back a sob. I had never seen her look so broken.

And I was the one who did that to her.

I was the reason for the cracks in her voice, for the tears she refused to shed in front of me. My betrayal had crushed her, and the worst part was that I had no way of undoing it. No way of taking back the agony I had put in her eyes.

I released a heavy groan, burying my face in my hands. A tremor rippled through me, my entire body shaking under the crushing weight of it all.

When Sara walked away, I froze, standing at Elsa's house. I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Elsa was shouting in my ear, but her voice barely registered. The only thing that mattered was the slow, crushing realization sinking into my bones—Sara was gone. She said we were done. It took a long moment for her words to truly hit me.

Then I ran after her. I ran barefoot, chasing the taxi as it sped away on the empty street, desperation clawing at my chest. I left Elsa behind, her voice rising with threats and warnings, but I didn't care. None of it mattered.

One name, one thought—Sara, Sara, Sara—consumed my mind.

Don't leave me, please.

I ran until the taxi disappeared from view, my hands reaching out as if I could somehow pull her back. But I couldn't.

She was gone.

Sara was gone.

I sprinted back to Elsa's house, grabbed my keys, and rushed to the car only to realize, too late, that I'd forgotten my shoes. Swearing under my breath, I ran back again. I was frantic. Desperate.

Elsa was still screaming, her voice cutting through my anxious mind, but only one sentence truly landed.

"You will never see your child if you leave, Cole. I promise you!"

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