Chloe didn't know how her boyfriend found out. She had been so careful. They had only ever met up at his apartment. She had a separate email account for their communications and never texted. She had even signed up for a real class at the community college, charges and all, to explain her routine absences.
Still, as soon as she walked in and saw Jeremy on the couch, Chloe knew that he knew.
"Hi sweetheart," Chloe said, doing her best to play off her suspicions as nothing. She might just be paranoid and making up disasters where there were none.
"Welcome home," Jeremy said very softly. There was a hint of hostility in her voice. He was sitting on the couch, completely still, hands on his laps, staring at the coffee table.
Chloe stepped into the room and said, "What's wrong?"
"I just found out that you're cheating on me," Jeremy said simply.
So there it was—out in the open. Chloe wasn't going down that easily, however.
"Excuse me?" Chloe said, doing her best to strike the "indignant" tone with all her muster. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Before Jeremy answered, she heard a door close behind her. Emerging from the kitchen with a cup of tea was an odd man. He wore a white suit that matched his neatly-groomed silver beard. He was a little like the stereotypical "old English wiseman" on television.
"Who the hell are you?" Chloe said, wondering if this was the blabbermouth that had sold her out.
"Oh please," the bearded man said with a dismissive wave of the hand. "My presence here isn't alarming."
It was an odd thing to say, but Chloe knew it was true as soon as he said it. She didn't know who he was still, but she wasn't alarmed by him.
"My name is Doctor Rosewood," the bearded man said. "I'm a couple's counselor of sorts." He sat on the couch next to Jeremy and gestured toward the chair across from them. "Sit down."
Chloe's legs began moving as soon as she registered the words in her mind. She sat on the couch, suddenly very confused about how this conversation was going to go. She had thought that Jeremy would offer up some "proof" of her infidelity and, depending on how strong of evidence it was, she would deny and deny and deny. She hadn't expected a couple's counselor.
"Now," Doctor Rosewood said. "I think it's important for you to tell the truth today, Chloe. So tell us about this infidelity. And tell the truth. The whole truth." Doctor Rosewood sipped slowly on his tea as Chloe began to speak.
Denial gave way instantly to a full confession. It was her coworker rich—yes, the same Rich that Chloe told Jeremy not to worry about. They had started with a drunken makeout session at the Christmas party and quickly escalated from there. They met up every Thursday night at his apartment. She had lost count of how many times they had fucked. She wasn't in love with him, it was just the pure passion of forbidden sex that she found so exciting.
"Tell us about how you do it," the Doctor commanded.
Chloe elaborated fully. She regularly sucked his dick, which he liked most. He wanted to fuck her pussy, but Chloe was afraid of being pregnant with another man's child, so she offered up her ass instead. He fucked her ass repeatedly after that point. Often times, Chloe didn't even get off. It was exciting enough just to have the depraved debauchery. She always wore his favorite lingerie on Thursday nights and had bought several new sets for him.
Jeremy remained very still as Chloe spoke. His eyes were fixated on the coffee table. Doctor Rosewood sipped at his tea and nodded, interested.
"Well I think that was a very thorough explanation," Doctor Rosewood said after Chloe finished. He turned to Jeremy and said, "Do you have any further questions?"
"Are you sorry?" Jeremy asked softly. The question was instant, obviously bubbling up in him as she spoke. Both men fixated their eyes on Chloe.
She opened her mouth to speak and Doctor Rosewood interjected quickly, "Remember... be honest."
"No, I'm not sorry," Chloe said, surprising even herself with this answer. "It was fun and I would do it again. In fact, if you dump me over this, I'll probably go straight to Rich's place afterwards and fuck him."
Doctor Rosewood turned to Jeremy, eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. Jeremy gave a little nod and Doctor Rosewood smiled. He turned back to Chloe.
"Chloe, let me tell you a little more about who I am," Doctor Rosewood said. "I'm a sort of judge and jury for couples. When I was young, I found that I have a very specific talent. And I've used it to right the wrongs in relationships that I've observed. When Jeremy shared his discovery with his friends, one of them reached out to me to help come to some sort of arrangement.
"In short, you have made things wrong. I am going to make them right."
"What does..." Chloe started, but Doctor Rosewood cut her off.
"You don't speak anymore," he said simply, and Chloe's voice stopped in her throat.
Chloe looked at Jeremy and found that his eyes were wide. There was the same pain she had seen earlier, sure, but there was also a sort of mad excitement. It was then, looking at the man that she had wronged, that Chloe realized that she might be in trouble.
"For starters, your relationship with Rich is over, obviously," Doctor Rosewood said, "as are any potentially romantic or sexual relationships you have with anyone in your life. The only person who has any claim to you sexually or romantically is Jeremy here."