Page 2 of Crushing Clover

Stomach sinking, I slid out of bed, grabbed my robe from behind the bedroom door, and wrapped it around myself before I darted into the hallway and turned on the light.

I stared at the closed bathroom door, feeling like I was stuck in a weird unreality. Who could be in there?

The toilet flushed, and the faucet turned on.

I waited with arms folded around my middle to soothe the jittery nerves that even the meds I’d taken couldn’t touch.

Maybe a friend or a cousin had come from out of town and didn’t want to sleep on the couch? The problem was, in all of the time we’d been together, I’d never heard of Noah having a friend, let alone a family member.

The door opened, and a beautiful woman with a nose ring and short blue hair stepped into the hall. She smiled at me, looking completely at ease.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” She had a low voice and a friendly smile.

I blinked at her, confused.

“Who are you?” I sounded exhausted, even to myself.

“Shy—” When I simply stared at her, she elaborated. “Shiloh.”

“Oh.” I was about to say ‘nice to meet you,’ then realized that would be the weirdest thing for me to say at that point. “I’m Noah’s girlfriend, Clover.”

Her expression evolved from friendly to slowly dawning horror. “Shit. You’re not in an open relationship. He told me you knew I was here.”

“No, and no.”

“Oh, fuck. I’m so sorry.” She looked genuinely upset. “I usually never believe people are poly without talking to the partner first, but he’s got such a trustworthy face.” She grimaced. “Serves me right. I’ll…grab my stuff and go.”

My god. He’d fucked her.

He’d gone behind my back and fucked some other woman.

I couldn’t breathe.

The edges of my vision went dark, and I had to brace a shaking hand against the wall. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs.

What was I supposed to do?

Our life…

Noah was my whole life. But this? Could I forgive him?

Did I want to?

Lost, I trailed her to the bedroom and watched her retrieve her belongings in the dim light from the hall and put them in a bag. She dressed right in front of me. I was still following her when she reached the front door. Part of me was so pissed, I didn’t even know what to do with myself, but there was no point in being mad at her. She wasn’t the one who’d betrayed me.

“I should have known another woman was here when I saw how clean the apartment was,” I admitted. The silence had felt too awful.

Was this really happening?

“He was complaining about his bad shoulder, so I thought I’d help him out.” She pressed her lips together and leaned against the door, rather than opening it and bolting down the stairs.

“He doesn’t have a bad shoulder.”

“Figures. Fucking asshat.” Her brows were grim slashes. “Is this the first time he's cheated on you?”

I shrugged. “It’s the first time I’ve caught him, but I work a lot, so who knows?” I was trembling and willed away the tears that threatened. The last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of my boyfriend’s—mistress? Side piece? Paramour? All of the terms I could think of seemed silly and dramatic while I was standing here looking at her.

“Oh, honey.” She pulled me into a hug. Rather than pushing her away, I accepted it. I hugged her back, feeling shitty and sad and not having anyone else to vent to. The friends I’d made at the resort would have listened, but I had no way to contact them again. I didn’t even know their last names, let alone have their phone numbers.

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