Page 15 of Cutthroat

“Edy, this is Jermaine Shelton. He’s in my Hospitality and Tourism Management Class. Jermaine, this is my sister Eden, but we call her Edy,”

Jermaine shook his head. That simple conversation and interaction had brought the most amazing woman into his life. But his selfish ways now had him in shambles. He had messed up in more ways than one. He and Eve were genuine friends before he even met his wife, now their friendship was on the rocks because of this Envy situation.

“I should’ve known better than to fuck a bitch named Envy. Who would name their child Envy anyway. I messed my marriage up for some loose pus…What the fuck?!” Jermaine exclaimed when he caught a glimpse of his face in the mirrored picture frame. His appearance nearly sent him into cardiac arrest.

He knew that he hadn’t been tending to himself. He could feel the unusual roughness on his face, but seeing it was an entirely different story. He didn’t recognize this version of himself. Jermaine silently screamed as he stared at what he had become.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Raising his hand slowly, he touched his face. He didn’t want to believe that the face in the mirror was his, but he couldn’t deny that it was him, when he watched the man mimicking his every move.

His reflection horrified him. The face with droopy bloodshot eyes, heavy bags, and a struggle beard was a far contrast from the smooth-shaven polished man in the wedding photo. It had only been two weeks since Eden left and from the looks of things, he had fallen apart without her.

“I gotta get my wife back. When I tell Eden how things happened, she’ll understand that I never meant to hurt her. We can recover from this,” he said as he reached for the phone to plead his case.

He knew Eden didn’t have any words for him, but he had them for her. Jermaine planned to fight tooth and nail to get his marriage back to where it once was.

“I gotta show my wife that our marriage is worth saving. I’m human, I made a simple mistake. I love her too much to lose her for good.”

RING!

The sound of the ringing phone made him jump. He ran to the phone hoping it was Eden, but when he looked at the unsaved number, he knew it wasn’t his wife. The number hadn’t been a saved contact, but he had sent enough illicit text messages and photos to the number to recognize who was calling.

Jermaine sighed.

He didn’t want to speak, but he knew that if he didn’t answer she’d keep calling just to be annoying.

“What do you want?” He asked dryly.

“I miss you so much,” Envy said animatedly.

From the simple four words that fell from Jermaine’s mouth she knew he didn’t want to speak. The irritation in his voice was evident. She wanted to laugh at his lovesick ass. His misery was brightening her day.

“Envy, stop playing with me. I told you I was done with this shit. I should’ve never started dealing with you. Now because of you, my life has gone to Hell. Stop calling and texting me. You’re loose and all over the place. I don’t want you and you never wanted me,” Jermaine yelled.

He was so angry that his hands began to shake. He couldn’t say that he was mad at Envy, she was who she was. He was mad at himself for taking the bait. Envy was a mistake that spiraled out of control.

“I find it so funny how men will rearrange their entire schedule and even their life, become an entire trick, pay bills, eat ass, and the moment their ol’lady finds out about their dick slinging, the pus is now loose. You are such a clown,” Envy laughed.

Marriage, family, and loyalty were a joke to her. She knew firsthand that the people that were closest to a person were normally their betrayers. She proved that when Jermaine made excuses not to go home so he could put his penis in every hole of her body.

Her words butchered him because it was the truth. Before Eden discovered his infidelity, he had been doing a lot for Envy. It was wrong, but sadly, the thrill and good sex, kept him on the hook.

“Look, we crossed a line that we should’ve never even gotten close too. From the time we met, I’ve never lost contact with Eden. These past two weeks without her have been torture. I’m fucked up. I need my wife back. You and I both knew it was a fling. It was sex and lies, nothing more, nothing less,” He admitted.

Envy rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know why you’re so broken up over Eden’s ass. I’d think you’d be glad to get rid of her. I mean you said she was boring and-”

“I never said she was boring.” Jermaine interjected.

A heatwave of embarrassment hit him. He had said she was boring, but his words had been taken out of context. He spoke with no malice, but he should’ve known that saying anything that could be perceived asnegative to Envy was a horrible idea. Jermaine shook his head as he thought back to the day, he and Envy crossed the line.

****

“I’ve walked around this big ass house five times. Where is Eden? I need to borrow some money,” Envy said when she walked into Jermaine’s office unannounced.

The sound of Envy’s voice made him jump. He knew that Eden had left for her weekly spa visit, and he had no idea that anyone, especially the sister that Eden wasn’t fond of, had entered their home.

“Envy? How the hell did you get in here and what are you doing here?” Jermaine asked as he stared at his sister-in-law.

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