Page 38 of Unfaithful

After muttering a quick apology to the stunned Dona, I rushed out of the office, my hand slamming against the elevator button in a frenzy. The seconds seemed to stretch as the elevator descended, my heart pounding with every floor it passed.

I didn't understand why I was acting like this.

Because it didn't matter anyway.

Whatever he did didn't matter anyway.

When I reached the lobby, Archie was already waiting in his car. I jumped in, eager to get this over with.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

I didn't answer, instead biting my thumbnail, trying to steady my racing thoughts.

The drive only took fifteen minutes. Archie parked on the side, in front of my house. I didn't waste time rushing to the door as I fished my keys from my purse.

I opened the door.

All the lights were off except for the one in the foyer. I moved slowly, almost cautiously, my hand reaching for the light switch on the left wall. When it flicked on, I froze.

Everything hit me in waves. It took a moment for my mind to process what I was seeing. Slowly, painfully, my brain caughtup, and what I saw landed like a punch to the face. I felt the air rush out of me as if its weight was suffocating me. My hand trembled as I grabbed onto Archie's arm for support, my legs suddenly unsteady beneath me.

Everything was exactly as I remembered from that last day. The pink coffee mug I'd left on the kitchen counter before I left was still there. Cole's favorite black coffee mug, the one with my name on it, was still there. The leftover pancakes I made that morning were also still there on the kitchen counter. I saw the red pumps by the living room sofa—the shoes I'd left behind when I changed my mind for the black-strapped ones. My phone charger sat exactly where I'd left it on top of the sofa.

We were in a hurry that morning and didn't have time to clean up. We spent too much time in the shower.

It hit me then. The painful, gut-wrenching realization.

Cole was never home.

CHAPTER TEN

Cole

"Out. Now!" Herston barked, his voice slicing through the air like a whip. The room fell into stunned silence, the weight of his fury pressing down on everyone.

Bobby and Steve scrambled to obey, their footsteps scraping against the floor as they rushed toward the door. But then his piercing glare landed on me, pinning me in place like a butterfly under glass.

"You too. Get out!" he snarled.

I froze. I had never seen Herston this angry before. His face was tight with barely restrained fury, his fists clenched at his sides. My pulse hammered in my ears. The urge to speak, to explain, rose in my throat, but something in his expression told me it would be useless.

This wasn't just anger.

This was wrath.

And I was on its direct path.

I gave him a nod and shuffled out of his house, my head low. Guilt weighed heavily on me, sinking into my bones. I had let Herston and Janet down—the only people who ever felt like a real family.

My stomach twisted at the thought of my own parents. If they knew...

Not that it would change anything. They always liked Sara more than me. Even so, they had never really been my true family, so they'd never truly been hers either.

But they would be ashamed of me.

Image was all they cared about.

When I got to my car, Bobby and Steve were already there, waiting. Anger twisted their faces, and they glared at me fiercely. I couldn't even look at them.

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