Author's Note:
This is the final chapter to the "Temptation" series. If you haven't read the first three parts, I suggest going back to read them before this one. Make sense, it will not...
As always, I need to express my sincere gratitude to my editors Guinahart, BlackRandl1958 and SBrooks103x, for all of their input and corrections. I am still amazed at how little I seem to get right on my own... So thank you!!
All characters in this story are fictional and any that engage in sexual activity are over the age of 18. I hope you enjoy reading it!
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Striking Back
Pain... Intense and stabbing, Gary awoke in pain again. It was still dark outside, and a quick check of his phone revealed that it was only a few minutes shy of midnight. He rolled out of the guest bed, and looked at the mattress with a scowl.
'Two nights of that, and it's no wonder that no one ever wants to crash here,' he thought.
After deciding that he would need to replace the mattress and burn the current one, he left the room and went to the kitchen. He got a glass of water and sat at the table. Gary stared at the glass as it sat on the surface, as if it would be able to answer all of his unspoken questions.
"Want some company?" asked his wife from the doorway.
He looked up at her, still as beautiful as the day he met her. Her eyes were red from all the recent crying and there were bags under her eyes. She didn't look like she had been too deeply asleep.
"Sure, why the hell not," he responded, waving to the chair across from him.
She sat and looked at him expectantly. He didn't have anything nice to say to her at that moment, so kept his mouth shut. She hung her head and looked at her hands. There, on her left hand, was the symbol of their union. Anna touched her wedding ring with the fingers of her right hand and twirled it around her finger.
"Gary, I'm sorry... I don't know what else to say or do, but you have to know that I feel terrible for hurting you and risking everything. I'm so ashamed..." she finished with a sob.
Honestly, Gary was tired of hearing her apologize and make excuses. He was tired of hearing her cry, and was tired of thinking about it. Things would be different in the morning. He got up, put his glass in the sink and went back to the master bedroom.
"This does NOT mean you are forgiven," he said sternly. He simply wanted to sleep and knew his back would hate him if he went back to the spare room.
Anna simply nodded and climbed in on her side. They both eventually went back to sleep, spooning into each other in the middle of the night. Gary awoke, still holding onto his wife from behind, his hands full of her pillow soft breasts. For a moment, he allowed himself to forget about the last few weeks and simply held her.
After a minute, the anger and sadness returned, so he got out of bed and took his morning shower. He put on a pot of coffee and poured two mugs full, his with some caramel creamer, black for his wife. She came down a few minutes later and took the mug from him appreciatively.
"I've decided that I need some time away," he began, as Anna gasped. "I need some time to think, both about what I want to do going forward, and what to do to Kendra. I can't do that here, with you moping around all the time."
She nodded in response, afraid to speak. She went back upstairs to get their daughter up and ready for the day. While she did that, Gary went to their bedroom and packed a suitcase with a couple of days' worth of clothing. He carried it back downstairs, to find a pair of beautiful blue eyes staring at him.
"Morning, Princess!" he said to Lilia as he went to her and gave her a huge hug.
"Morning, Daddy, where are you going? Are you leaving us?" she asked in a quiet voice.
His eyes immediately started tearing up. Gary felt terrible, for making his little girl worry about him leaving. She must have been hearing them argue, more than he had previously thought.
"No sweetie, Daddy just has to go away for a couple days, for work," he said, trying to sound reassuring.
"So you're gonna come home?" she asked, again in that small voice.
"Yes, Angel. I'll be coming home just as soon as I can," Gary replied, looking up to find another pair of watery eyes watching them in silence.
He gave her a hug and was heading to the door when she asked him, "Aren't you gonna hug Mommy, too?"
Her question cut him to the bone. He nearly doubled over in pain, feeling an intense shock in his stomach. He closed his eyes to stop the tears that really wanted to come, and turned back towards his daughter.
Opening his eyes, he said, "Of course, sweetie, how could I forget?"
Gary went to his wife, and she immediately hugged him, clinging to him as if she was never going to see him again. The hug lasted longer than he intended, but it felt good to hold her.
"Come back to me, please. I love you so much," she whispered in his ear.
Gary let out the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding, and inhaled deeply. The smell of her hair, her body, would permeate his thoughts for a long time to come. Eventually, they separated, and he turned to leave.
As he drove away from the house, his girls were both standing in the window waving at him. Once Gary was gone, Anna tried to keep herself busy. She played with Lilia, made her lunch, and put her down for an afternoon nap. While the little girl slept, Anna sat on the couch, nearly in tears again.
She looked at their family pictures on the wall, remembering every moment captured in each. There was a picture of the two of them standing in some snow, from when they had taken a ski trip. She smiled when she remembered that they never made it out onto the slopes. The warm fireplace and even warmer bed had been too alluring for them to leave the cabin.
She looked at another picture, one with Gary holding onto a little nine pound swaddle, the day their daughter was born. Anna would never forget that day, one of the happiest of her life.
'Shit, how could I ever forget? She nearly split me in half...' Anna thought to herself with a smile.
The smile faded, as she thought of a future without Gary. Would her daughter grow up hating her? Would his parents hate her, too? The thought of losing everyone she cared about made her nauseated.
"How could I let that man mess up my life so badly? Shit... How did I let MYSELF mess up my life so badly?" she asked the empty living room.
When the room didn't respond, she pondered the question further. After several minutes of fruitless thought, she, too, fell asleep for an afternoon nap.
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Gary drove across town to check in at a hotel. It wasn't five star, but wasn't a roach motel, either. He got to his room and flopped down on the bed. He missed his daughter already, and knew that he missed Anna, as well.
'What the hell am I going to do now?' he thought to himself.
He got up and walked next door to an IHOP. Gary was amazed that the menu was still pretty much the same as when he was a kid and used to order the pancake that had a smiling face on it. After he ate a large Cobb salad, he returned to his room, unsure of what to do.
He turned on the TV, but after a few minutes, got bored with that and shut it off again. Gary sat down and figured he should think about what to do about his marriage. He made a mental checklist, of all the possible things he could do.
'I could divorce her and burn her with her company and my parents,' he thought, shaking his head. 'I could keep her around and forgive her, but could I ever trust her again? Could I trust that she would never allow some OTHER slick asshole to seduce her again?'
That was really the magic question for him. Could he ever trust that she wouldn't fall victim to another smooth talking predator, and allow herself to cheat on him again? How much of her wanted to do it in the first place? He reasoned that SOME part of her must have wanted to, or she never would have done it. He figured he should demand that Anna get some form of counseling.
He struggled with it until he got tired, and he, too, fell asleep for an afternoon nap. When he awakened, he half expected Anna to be lying with him. He groaned and rolled off the bed. He straightened his clothes and looked in the mirror in the bathroom. Satisfied that he was presentable, he left the room.
Gary drove to his parents' house, not knowing where else to go or what to do. He had dinner with them, and his mom tried to comfort him afterwards.
"Gary, have you decided what to do about Anna yet? You know that your father and I will help you in any way that we can. We both know that whatever you do will be the right decision."
"Thanks, Mom. No, I still have no idea what to do. Part of me wants to divorce her and try to get the book thrown at her, but another part of me wants to forgive her and move on. In the middle of all this is Lilia. Mom, how could she..." as his voice started to crack. "...Do this to us?" he asked, starting to tear up, just barely holding in the huge sobs that wanted to come out.
Martha hugged her son and comforted him. "There, there. You will be okay. You're a lot tougher than anyone else I know. Why did she do it? That's a question only she can answer, I suppose. Have you tried to ask her yet?"
Aside from the information he had from others, he hadn't really asked her why she even allowed it to get as far as it did. It was just more that he knew he would have to think about. He left their house after hugging them both. He drove back to the hotel in silence, not even listening to the radio.
When he got into the room and kicked off his shoes, he decided to call his house. His wife picked up, and they spoke briefly about their respective days. She reported that she had taken Lilia for some ice cream, but mostly the two of them stayed home all day.
Gary told her about going to see his parents, and that he already missed being at home. He asked to speak to Lilia for a bit.
"Hi, Daddy!" his little girl exclaimed.
"Hey to you, too! How's my little Angel doing? Are you being good for Mommy?"
"Yep. Mommy got me some ice cream today. I got chocolate with gummy bears on top."
"Wow, that sounds awesome!"
"Uh huh. It was yummy... Daddy, when are you coming home?" she asked him.
He nearly started crying, but held it in. Instead, he smiled when he thought of her running towards him and smashing him in a bear hug.
