The Second Chance

Authors note:

This is the 12th chapter of my first loving wife story. I appreciate the input I have received thus far and have taken to heart your suggestions about these final chapters. In this chapter Anne and Robert must deal with the people who tried to ruin their marriage.

I must say that a reconciliation story is a really tough challenge that has proven more difficult than I had imagined when I first had the idea of writing it. I think that's why there's so few published here. The reconciliation stories that I have read here have only absolved the most innocent transgressions, expecting unforgiving vengeance on any other type of cheating partner.

I would like to see more authors explore this theme because it is quite a common occurrence. While cheating is still the leading cause of divorce, statistics show that reconciliation happens in approximately 30% of married couples whose spouse cheats. Therefore there are nearly 3.7 million couples who have reconciled after one is caught cheating in the United States today.

I hope that my ending does not disappoint anyone which I know is an unrealistic expectation. Nonetheless, I have tried to resolve things in a way that I thought would be plausible and as realistic as possible.

I never did manage to find an editor. My quest to find an editor, nonetheless continues. I'm hoping someone will read my submissions and take pity on me and offer help.

Chapter 12 Time for Revenge

Sonnet :

Love Listening

In shadows cast by envy's wicked scheme,

Two lovers torn asunder by jealous wiles,

Their hearts, entwined, their love a radiant gleam,

Yet treacherous deceit their love defiles.

But fate, a daring conductor of wistful dreams,

Guided their moonlight paths to cross once more in time,

Through trials endured, like moon's silver beams,

Their love rekindled, in its prime.

Innocence, in truth, did they rediscover,

As jealousy's illusion fell away,

Their hearts entwined again, like secret lovers,

In the light of love, forever they'd stay.

A jealous heart may plot and scheme in vain,

True love, unbroken, shall ever reign.

******

After our last passionate lovemaking session, Robert just rested next to me. We were exhausted but content. I laid my head down on his chest and he caressed my hair.

"Anne, when I left you, I was the unhappiest man alive. Thoughts of you consumed me, no matter how hard I tried to distract myself. My job, my family, my life, they all lost their meaning."

"Robert, during those agonizing days in the intensive care unit, when you visited me, I sensed your love amidst your struggle to comprehend what you believed had happened. I longed to tell you that my love for you remained intact. Even though my body was battered, I felt your emotional pain matched my physical suffering."

"Anne, can you find it in your heart to forgive me for my actions?" He asked earnestly.

I embraced him tightly, tears welling up in my eyes, and whispered into his ear, "I love you, Dr. Savino." Robert hugged me back just as tightly and replied, "I love you, Anne Savino."

I couldn't believe how much happiness I felt to be back in his arms. In the quiet of the moment we chatted about our future and how we were going to put things back in order.

"I'm so relieved to have you back, Robert. That woman nearly destroyed me and almost tore us apart," I admitted.

"Annie, we can't just let Stacy and Jake get away with what they did. We need justice for the hell they put us through," Robert insisted.

"But let's not dwell on them. They're not worth our time or energy. My love for you is the best revenge on Stacy. It'll eat her up knowing she failed to take you and the money," I argued.

"No, Annie. What they did was criminal. They drugged you twice with a potentially lethal and illegal substance," Robert stated, his voice tinged with anger.

I responded,"I do have witnesses that I was drugged that night. We could try to pass criminal charges against them but we would require the cooperation of Tanya, John and Daisy Fuchs. I'm sure Tanya would testify but I am not so sure about John. He is reluctant since he might incriminate himself with rape."

"I would not worry about that, Anne, usually the prosecutor can make a deal with the witness to get him to testify. It happens all the time," he stated confidently.

"If that is the case, then we have a chance of winning. As far as what happened to me at the strip club, maybe Linda could testify that I was drugged. However, I was also pretty drunk. I did not talk to GiGi. She might testify against me saying it was all good fun. I think the whole story would be difficult to get a conviction out of it." I said.

"Maybe yes and maybe no, but we can get pro-active. You have witnesses who are willing to testify and work with us to get them put in jail." He spoke anger again rising up in his voice.

"Robert, maybe you are right. Stacy is capable of pretty cunning criminal behavior and might ruin the life of another unsuspecting soul." I told him beginning to agree with Robert.

"My dear wife," he said with determination, "we can compel them to defend themselves in court and put what they did in the eyes of the public. The assistant district attorneys will investigate them. Witnesses will appreciate the gravity of the situation once the whole truth is revealed. Let's bring forth what we know to the Manhattan District Attorney's office." I will schedule an appointment for us to speak with an assistant prosecutor.

The next day I drove Robert in his car to the station. Robert left for Stacy's apartment to break up with her and fetch his things. I took his Mercedes' back to my apartment to begin packing to move back in with my husband. I thought from that moment on it would be smooth sailing. Robert and I just had two loose ends to tie up. It was time to end the charade with Jake just as Robert was on the way to end his relationship with Stacy. Jake had invited me hiking up state and I decided that I would break up with him after finishing our hike.

I was in the process of packing up my belongings in my White Plains apartment, getting ready to move to Robert's place in the city. While he still attended to patients at the hospital through his own practice, he needed to be conveniently located near the hospital in case any emergencies arose. My husband is deeply committed to his role as a physician, finding genuine satisfaction in his work. The substantial inheritance he received hadn't altered his character in the least. Thus, we made the joint decision to relocate to his city apartment, leading to my decision to relinquish my residence in Westchester.

As I packed, my thoughts were already drifting towards a future where I could contribute to the expansion of my husband's practice. This change would offer me more predictable hours and the freedom to focus on conceiving our first child. The prospect of letting go of hospital duties held the promise of increased availability and the ability to embark on the journey towards parenthood.

I was just getting in his Mercedes when I got a call from Robert.

"Honey, I have a problem!" He blurted out over the phone.

"What is it Rob?" I replied.

"I left my cellphone in the car. Today I took a day off, so I don't need it. But tomorrow I'm going to need it for work."

I looked in the glove compartment and saw his phone.

"Don't worry hun, I'll bring it back to you tonight. Did you see Stacy yet?"

I asked expectingly.

"No not yet Anne. I'm home and I just called her to ask to meet her at her apartment. I will let you know how that goes.

I passed the morning just relaxing after my morning work out.I was reading on my iPad the news, sipping on some coffee and feeling a optimistic. I called my sister to see how Antonette was doing and to tell her the news about my reconnection with Robert and my future plans.

"What about Stacy and Jake?" She asked me. "How to you and Robert plan to handle her? I mean she and Jake are criminals and she can't get away with it."

"I don't know how Jessica. Robert wants revenge as well. First, Robert and I have to break off our relationship with them and then move in together. That bitch will be losing her gravy train soon. Jean Sutton is dumping her stooge Jake today. Then, next week, Robert made an appointment with an assistant D.A. of Manhattan to see if they would make a case against them."I said.

"With all the witnesses you've lined up, who are willing to testify against them, I think the DA will have a good case. I'm glad you're taking this to the district attorney's office. What Stacy did to you and Robert was absolutely criminal and they deserve to be punished." Said Jessica.

I went to get ready for my afternoon hike with Jake. I prepared a nap sack of power bars, apples and chocolate as well as bottled water as I was preparing to head out the door, I got a second phone call from Robert.

"Hey husband! So what happened?" I asked anxiously.

Robert didn't sound happy when he spoke. "When I arrived at Stacy's apartment I told her that I was breaking up with her. She broke down crying. She asked me why and I told her I didn't feel like we were compatible. Then she looked at me with tears in her eyes and got an angry expression and wailed,"it's that Jean Sutton woman isn't it?" When I told her no she called me a liar. Then she said that I couldn't leave her.

As he was speaking to me on the phone, I was just thinking about how Stacy's plans were unraveling. It actually felt good to have her on the receiving end of bad news for a change.

I asked Robert,"Why not? What did she say?"

"She said because she was pregnant with my child!" Robert told me meekly.

I was stunned. I didn't say anything until Robert was shouting into the phone. "Anne, ar you ok?"

I was so upset. How did she manage to manipulate everything to her advantage? It was the oldest trick in the book and my husband had fallen for it.

"What! Robert, my God! She's a fucking liar. She'll say anything to keep you and our money for herself." I said now my anger building inside me.

'Anne," said Robert in a serious tone, "she showed me the urine test results.

"Wasn't she taking birth control?

"Stacy wasn't on the pill," I interrupted Robert.

"No, she used the temperature method and she was pretty regular, like clockwork. She knew when she was ovulating. Even then, when we started having sex regularly, I would wear a condom except a few times when I was sure it was safe."

"Really? Well the one time I saw you two together you weren't wearing any condom." I said bitterly.

"What? You saw us? How?" He said, dumbfounded.

"Stacy sent Jean Sutton a video of you two having oral and vaginal sex so that I would show Anne. She wanted to gloat and mark you as hers to discourage Anne from coming back to you. Your pillow talk was for my benefit. I must say that it almost worked. It was the night that I let myself be convinced by another man to take me out on a date."

"That evil conniving bitch! I am so sorry you had to suffer seeing that. Hooking up with Stacy was such a painful mistake," Robert said with distress mixed with frustration and anger.

"Well, it didn't seem so painful when I was watching you with her." I said with bitterness. Robert, you made a lot of mistakes when it comes to Stacy. I can't believe how stupid you are for a physician! No method is foolproof, but especially not tracking the temperature when you have a deceitful bitch taking her temperature!" I shouted.

Robert paused and didn't say anything. I just spoke up,"So now what are you going to do?" I asked still not believing in this sudden turn of events.

"I don't know exactly but assuming the baby is mine I intend to support the child and be a proper father. But I'm certainly not interested in divorcing you and marrying Stacy!" He said.

I was so upset with everything that I couldn't think straight. "Robert I said, "we have to talk about this. I don't know how I feel about being a second mother to Stacy's child. My life with you has suddenly become more complicated. Maybe I should just start over as Jean Sutton. You can have that bitch. I'm so tired of all this!" I said in anguish with tears in my eyes.

"No Anne! Please don't say that! I know it's upsetting but I can't lose you again, not after just finding you! We can work it out together. We can get past it. I won't leave you ever again! Anne."

I really loved my husband, but after all I had been through I did not know if I was ready for beginning a family with his child from another woman. I was just so exhausted and tired of all of it. I said I leave him out of frustration not thinking it through. I needed some time to think without Robert.

"Robert, Jake has been after me to go hiking with him in the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. I think I will call him and go along. It will be my last date with him. I'm going to break the news that we are through after he takes me to the car. Then, I will drive back to the city for dinner. We can discuss it later after dinner.

"Anne, you know Jake is after you for sex. Do you think going to an isolated area like that is wise?" Robert said anxiously.

"I can handle Jake, you do not need to worry about me Rob. If I want to have sex with him, then I will. If not then nothing will happen." I said still wanting to hurt my husband for his stupidity with Stacy.

We said goodbye and I hung up with Robert. I was numb with rage for Stacy and then angry at Robert for having leapt into her arms and being so easily manipulated by her, even before our divorce. I was still married to Robert so unless he divorced me all she could get out of him would be child support for her bastard child.

Still, it was extraordinarily evil to have involved an innocent child in her scheme to take my husband from me. She had taken Robert away from me and beat me to having his first child! I cursed the day I met the bitch. She had drugged me, had me raped and she indirectly nearly killed me. Now, more desperate than ever, she was using a pregnancy to pressure Robert to marry her. Somehow, we had to put a end to her. But now things had changed. A child would keep her in Robert's life forever. Things were getting worse and she was making our lives much more complicated than before.

It was 2pm on a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon and I was hiking with Jake in the forest in the Hudson Valley Rockefeller park and I must admit it was a beautiful park and a lovely way to relax and push my troubles to the back of my mind.

Jake was in his element and at first he seemed in a good mood. We exchanged small talk and enjoyed the woods and the beautiful forests of the Hudson Valley. It was early October and the trees had just started turning colors, green leaves tinted with shades of yellow, orange and red. There were huge boulders strewn through the forest that had been dropped during the last Ice Age about 10,000 years before. They seemed like prehistoric alters to the past and for me emphasized the quiet solitude and the majestic setting of this timeless forests along the Hudson River Valley. The peaceful setting was quite a contrast from the bustling city and it had me feeling calm and relaxed.

Jake was making small talk and polite conversation but I could sense a tension in his voice,like he really wanted to talk about something else. Perhaps he wanted to know if there was any chance we could become a couple. Thus far I had not done anything sexual with him except I like kiss on the lips. I knew that he was anxious to get me in bed. Little did he know that he would never get the chance.

He finally came out with it,"well you really had me fooled!"

"What do you mean Jake?" I said

"You are not interested in me. In fact, you were never really interested in me. You wanted Robert all along and just used me like a fool didn't you?"He said with bitterness.

"No, that's not true." I blurted out.

"Yeah, right. He said sarcastically.I know exactly what you are!" He shouted out before running away.

"Wait, let me explain..."I yelled.

But Jake didn't want to talk. He ran away from me running up the trail. As I struggled to process what I had just heard him say, Jake began to run towards an open field. I was still in the path of the forest and began to shout at him saying, "hey wait up! Jake!"

At that point he started to run faster and I was wondering what was going on when I heard a twig snap off the path behind me. I turned around to see three men wearing hoodies running towards me.

I began to run faster in the opposite direction, knowing that they had no good intentions. I ran back into the forest but the three were close behind me. I hit a thicket of brush scratching my exposed legs and arms. I turned around but saw that the underbrush was doing little to slow them down.

Finally, one man pounced on me and grab me by my knapsack pulling me down to the ground. The other two got on top of me and they held my hands and body down.

"¡No intentes pelear con nosotros, guapa hermosa!" They were shouting at me in Spanish to keep still.

Then, my assailant pressed something over my face and I struggled to breathe. After a minute I passed out. I awakened in bed. I felt very weak and tired as I began to hear voices around me. My mouth was held open by something and I try to move it but could not spit it out. It was a ball gag lodged in my mouth so that I could not speak. I tried to move but my hands and legs were tied to the corners of the bed with some type of fur lined strap on cuffs that buckled to my wrists and ankles.

I tried to open my eyes but I only managed to peer through squinted eyelids to see a room around me. There was a bright light in my eyes from a lamp on a nightstand next to the bed. The room appeared to be a bedroom in some kind of small cabin. I could see forest outside of the window and I knew I must still be within the confines of the park. The sun had set and it was dark. I knew it must have been past 7 pm. Robert will be worried about me. My phone was in my backpack and they must've turned it off.

The door to the next room was open. There was a man sitting at a desk. The other two were playing cards at a table beyond the desk. I saw the man at the desk going through my knapsack. I was about to try to scream up when I heard a knock on the door. I decided to keep still and not make any noise.

One of the men playing cards opened the door. He took his gun out of his pocket while peering through the peep hole before he let the man behind the door in. To my surprise it was Jake! The Hispanic man let him in and Jake stood there looking toward my body on the bed.

"It's me Juan. I brought your money. I see she is still out," Jake observed.

"Yeah," said The Hispanic man sitting at the desk. "We knocked her out with some chloroform and then we gave her an extra injection of diazepam. She should be in a deep sleep for at least three or four more hours.

Three years ago I had some gastrointestinal bleeding, I remember that after I was given a short acting sedative, midazolam for an upper endoscopy, I started to awaken during the procedure. The gastroenterologist told me afterwards that the anesthesiologist had to switch to propofol because I was resistant to benzodiazepine sedatives. That resistance probably explained why I had awakened earlier than these thugs had expected.

"Do you think I could have some private time with her to give her a parting gift?" Jake asked of one of the men.

"I don't think so. Our boss Rodrigo del Fuentes doesn't want her injured. He doesn't want her to get any bruises. He is a very powerful man and we do not want to cross him!" Said the man.

"He won't know. After all she isn't a virgin and she was my girlfriend, although she never put out for me! But she's gorgeous and who can pass up a chance to fuck her?" Jake said.