Trigger warning: Reader is privy to a conflicted female character that has private, uncomfortable secrets and honest thoughts she doesn't share with anyone, including her husband.
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"Mel you down here?" Todd whispered as he came down the stairs at 4:30 a.m. into an unlit living room.
"Damn. You startled me," replied a flustered Mel. She was sitting alone in the dark staring at the TV. The sound was off. She wasn't crying, but tears were close. She had been deep in thought and hadn't heard him get up.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that I woke up and you weren't in bed," Todd explained. "Hey, is that our wedding video?" an amused Todd asked as he noticed what was playing silently on the TV. "We haven't watched that in years," he said as he casually walked around the couch and sat next to Mel.
Mel flinched when Todd sat down, but he didn't notice. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cheek. She tensed up slightly, but again, Todd missed her reaction. Her mind raced back to yesterday morning, as she thought about the last man to sit on this very same couch and kiss her among so many other things. Shame washed over her as she involuntarily shuddered.
"Is everything okay? Why are you up so early, and why the hell are you watching our wedding video?" he asked with a smile.
"Todd, I'm fine," she replied somewhat unconvincingly. "I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you," she said answering the first part of his question, but avoiding the second.
To be honest Mel wasn't sure why she was watching the video, but she was sure she wasn't ready to explore that question with Todd. She quickly changed the subject.
"Look at us," she said as she watched the two of them leaving the reception being showered with bird seed. "We were such babies," she commented almost to herself.
"We definitely were," Todd agreed. "And poor," he added with a grin.
Todd was in good spirits this morning and that was a relief, thought Mel. He wasn't acting suspicious. I guess I'm a better actor than I gave myself credit for, she allowed. Last night she wasn't so sure. As she had laid awake earlier, she was concerned that she might have acted strange when Todd got home from work. She was worried that the nerves, betrayal and guilt she felt deeply on the inside was displayed on the outside for Todd to see.
Luckily, when Todd got home he was tired. He had had a hard day. She made sure dinner was on the table the minute he walked in so they could sit down and start eating. The last thing she wanted was him standing idly by while she cooked asking her excruciatingly uncomfortable questions about how her day went.
During dinner she was careful not to over due it. She just wanted to get through the evening and get to bed without causing any suspicion. She had desperately needed the day to end; a day that had started with debasing sex with a man she barely knew. When Juan had left she was still on a sexual high. Her body was aglow with the remnants of her orgasms. It was as if her mind couldn't (or wouldn't) consider all that she had done; all that she had risked. As she had hoped, the morning with Juan turned out to be an amazing sexual experience. Yet, as she knew deep down, there would be immense ramifications. The reconciliation of those two conflicting truths, however, would have to wait.
Once Juan left she had been busy and therefore distracted. She had showered to to wash away all traces of him from inside her. She had brushed her teeth to remove the taste of his semen. She had changed clothes, tossed the dirty ones into the machine, and wondered if she would ever wear that dress again. She had put underwear back on covering some of the small red welts that he had left on her ass when he spanked her. She had cleaned up a small wet spot on the couch and carpet and sprayed some Febreze on the cushions to cover the smell of sex. She had also spent a few panicked moments fretting that a neighbor might have seen Juan leave or arrive.
What she hadn't done was take the time to process her willing infidelity. Why would she have spent hours pampering and preparing herself so as to ensure a man who was not her husband would be pleased? Why would she let a man command her to stand naked from the waist down humiliatingly exposed to his searing glare? Why would she allow him to spank and explore all of her with his hands and tongue? Why would she willingly take his penis into her mouth and enthusiastically swallow his cum? Why would she submit to him and allow him to fuck her in her own home, while her husband of 26 years was just across town at work? And most troubling of all, why had she enjoyed it to the level that she did? These questions were swirling in Mel's mind, but remained unanswered. These were the questions that had kept her awake last night. All the excuses she had permitted herself early in the week to pave the way for cheating on her husband rang hollow this morning.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they watched their younger selves get in the car, surrounded by friends and family, and drive off as husband and wife for the first time.
"Did we get married too young?" Mel asked as she was subconsciously looking for answers.
"Maybe, but I don't think so. We've had some tough times, but hey look at us now. We're living the dream," Todd said with a flourish as he spread his arms in front of him.
She smiled along with Todd. He was right, she reflected. They were living the dream. Their health was good. Both sets of parents were still alive and independent. Great kids. Secure job. They had some status in the community and lots of friends. They enjoyed each other's company and although sex was predictable and somewhat routine, it was also intimate.
But there were also some cracks. Cracks that weren't visible from the outside or even to their kids. Cracks that have existed for a very long time.
Todd was a great guy. He was smart, kind, funny, and a hard worker. He was ambitious, but not in a climb over you kind of way. He wanted to do things the right way and so far in his career he had. The problem was his career was all consuming. He worked 10 -12 hours a day and when he was not working he was checking emails and thinking about work. He was also tired, bordering on exhausted, most nights. Typical evenings consisted of dinner, maybe a walk, some TV and then he was in bed and out. They were out of sync. She was alone all day and wanted to do things; he worked all day and wanted to do nothing.