Page 10 of Due Process
Her face fell, taking in my startled demeanour. “Umm…”
“Sorry. I’m not myself.”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Stells! There you are. Ineedyou!”
I swivelled to see the big shot himself. Fucking Curtis and his friendly, perfect-toothed smile. Yeah, I wanted to stab him. He was my wife’s childhood best friend, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew the way men thought, the way our brains were wired.
Curtis was in love with my wife. Always had been. And I fucking hated him for it. The shared childhood memories, the inside jokes, the familiar camaraderie. Pfft, the underlying longing was pathetic.
I had enjoyed slinging my dick around over the years and had taken some sick satisfaction when Stella hadmybabies. My wife loved being a mother, and one could see her devotion through her actions and the precious effort she spent on them.
Sure, that meant that time was taken away from me. But that also meant she had no time for herbestieover there.
I’d never enlightened Stella with my views, since she considered him as close as family. But I knew—and most importantly,heknew—she was mine.
Except, as I watched Stella approach him with a beaming grin, that blackened organ in my chest gave a painful tug.
“What happened, you big baby?” Stella asked, tone teasing and light. “Couldn’t last five minutes without me?”
Curtis groaned. “Howard invited himself over to have a close inspection of my baseballs. This is all your fault.”
Stella laughed, sincerely let go, falling into Curtis as she wiped her eyes of mirth.
“I’m going now!” I piped, cutting through their moment.
She spared one glance. “Get well, husband. Don’t wait up. I’ll be late tonight.”
“But—”
“One of us must stay. And since you’ve been working late nights for months, I should take some of that burden, no?”
Curtis slipped an arm around her shoulders, giving me a wink. “Don’t worry, bro. I’ll stay and look after her.”
Now, why did that sound suggestive?
Before I could reply, they had turned their backs. I watched on, completely detached, as they walked away from me, their heads falling back in laughter.
Look back at me. Please, look back at me.
A disturbing heaviness seeped into my bones. It was minuscule, near undetectable to catch, but it was there. Steadily thriving and taunting, driving me to the brink.
Stella never looked back.
Chapter 6
STELLA
I slipped through Dad’s front door, dumped my bag and ditched the heels.
A relieved sigh managed to escape when a high-pitched squeal electrocuted me with renewed energy. I managed to dip in time to catch my two-year-old, Phoenix—who was completely naked—as he barrelled right into my chest. “Mummy!”
I buried my nose in his soaking wet hair. “Where are your clothes, mischief man?”
“Come here, you wee heathen!” my dad yelled, turning the corner with a towel in his hands.
Phoenix shrieked with laughter, then ran off again. Dad rolled his eyes, trying to hide the rising smirk beneath. Then, he pitched his chin towards the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready. Grab yourself a plate.”
