Page 17 of Cutthroat

“I said you might as well get over my sister’s self-centered ass and acknowledge that I saved you from a life of mediocracy. You should repay me for a job well done. You should come over here and award my hard work,” Envy said seductively as she sat in front of her bedroom mirror completely nude.

She couldn’t lie, she wanted it badly. The downfall of her sister’s marriage, Eden losing her baby,and Jermaine tussling with the bottle excited her. Envy moaned at the thought of Jermaine, but he hadn’t heard anything she said after ‘self-centered.’

He was just hard as a brick. Now he was as limp as a noodle. It was the simple lie that made him feel worse than he already had. Eden was not self-centered. She was the most selfless person that he had ever met, and he had fucked it up.

“Fuck you Envy.” He said quickly before ending the call. He knew he needed to speak to his wife. A sense of urgency gripped him as he dialed Eden’s number.

“The number you have dialed has been changed, disconnected, or no longer in service.”

“Fuck!!” Jermaine screamed when the automated out of service message began to play.

“Eden, I’m sorry Baby. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just need another chance to-”

The monologue Jermaine was on the verge of beginning stopped when he saw Eve’s number. His heart stalled. Eve had made it clear that she didn’t want anything to do with him, and she had always been a woman of her word. He knew that if she was calling that something had to be wrong with Eden.

“Eve, what’s wrong? Is Edy ok?” The concern and panic in his voice was apparent.

“It’s me. Can we talk?”

CHAPTER 8

“It’s me. Can we talk?”

The tearfully laced words that came through the phone sobered Jermaine instantly. The pain that dwelled within her because of his betrayal was evident. In all the years that he knew Eden, she had never sounded this broken. It made his heart sink knowing that he was the cause of her pain.

“Eden, yeah. I mean yes, we can talk. I’m glad you called. I’ve been trying to call you, you changed your number. I’ve been beating myself up for real Edy. Baby, I messed up. I’m sorry. How are you? Are you ok?” Jermaine asked quickly.

The words flew out of his mouth like they were running a race. The only time he ever sped through a speech quickly is if he were lying or nervous.

Eden could sense his nervousness and laughed flatly.

The sound of her dry humorless laugh made his skin crawl. The situation they were in was by no means funny. In fact, he had been in tears nearly every night behind his actions. So, hearing Eden laugh didn’tsit well with him. If he didn’t want to speak to her so badly, he would’ve ended the call.

“Is that a real question? What do you mean how have I been?” Eden asked though she really didn’t want an answer.

Jermaine recoiled. He could practically hear the fury seeping through his wife’s teeth. Explaining himself was the only thing he could think of doing.

“I was just-”

“Let’s dissect that question,” Eden interrupted. “I caught the man I’ve dated since college having sex with my sister. A person that has done everything to ruin my family. A person that he knew firsthand was more of my enemy. But whether she was an enemy or not, she is still my sister. But you couldn’t care less.

On top of that, the heartbreak and stress caused me to miscarry a baby I didn’t even know I was carrying. After that, how do you think I’ve been? If you caught me having sex with someone in your family, would you be ok?” Eden asked.

Jermaine remained silent. He knew there was nothing he could say to justify his actions. No matter how much Envy had come on to him, he knew he should’ve never crossed the line. He knew that Eden’s question was hypothetical, but he thought it best to answer her anyway.

“Edy, I was wrong. I can’t even come up with a lie to make sense to justify why I did what I did. You have been a perfect wife. You’re the type of woman that my mother prayed her sons would find. She would’ve loved you so much Edy. She would say,“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord,” Jermaine admitted.

Tears filled his eyes as his mother’s favorite scripture came to mind. It had been years since he even thought of Proverbs 18:22. It was painful, but now as he spoke to the woman he gave his last name, it was as if his mother were speaking for him.

Eden’s face twisted in disgust. She could hear what may have been true emotion. At one point in time, she would have believed that the sound of pity coming from his mouth was genuine, but now she just didn’t know. But even if he was genuine, some people should be off limits, but Jermaine had obviously not received that memo.

So, even if he was truly upset by his behavior, she didn’t care. He had crossed the line. His feelings meant nothing to her. But she had a game to play, and play she would. If she had to fake an interest to make her role believable, she would.

“Instead of coming up with a lie to justify as your actions, just tell me the truth?” Eden said.

“The truth?”Jermaine repeated the two words as if it were a foreign language.

Hearing Eden ask for the truth seemed so simple. The truth was something he never planned to give. Though now hearing her ask for it, it seemed like the best thing to do. If he had just told the truth from the beginning, he wouldn’t be living in hell now.

---