Neither of them could meet my gaze, fuck!
Without saying another word, I stormed out of the restaurant, got into my car and drove to the club everyone was meeting at. It was a ten-minute drive but I made it in five. As I walked in the door, I saw it. My wife Jillian was dancing with some guy, his hands were all over her ass and the way she was melding to him, told me this was not the first time this had happened.
I watched as my life ebbed away from me. Around me, people from the reunion filtered in, no one said anything but I could feel their looks of pity as I stood just inside the entrance to the club.
I am not sure how long I stood there watching but they never noticed me as they danced, I stood there until I felt a hand touch my shoulder, the touch startled me and I turned so suddenly that I just about hit Lina in the face.
“It’s Jillian’s first love, Troy,” Lina said flatly, I couldn’t tell if she was happy, sad, angry or disappointed. “They pretty much grew up together, in the same pre-school, best friends through primary school and they dated all the way through high school. We all thought they would be together forever until he got a scholarship to a university in the States and they broke up.”
Now I knew the name of the asshole, I knew a lot of the background, hell, I had helped Jillian through a lot of the rejection she felt when he left. “They don’t look very broken up to me?” I muttered.
“He’s been back for a few months now, transferred in with the company he works for,” Lina told me without emotion.
I turned back to the dance floor, Jillian and Troy were still dancing. Lina kept talking and looking at them, and Mark stood behind the two of us.
“They are meant to be together Greg.” The first touch of emotion in her voice, it was as if she was a doctor telling me I had terminal cancer.
I said nothing.
“I mean, Jillian was so devastated when they broke up. She loved him so much, we never thought that she would meet anyone else, but then you met and it came together…” Lina was trying to explain, my fists started clenching as the song stopped.
We watched as Troy leant in, cupped my wife’s face and kissed her. My fingernails drew blood from my palm.
When the first drop of blood fell from my palm and hit the ground, it was almost as if the spell between them was broken. Jillian looked around the club at the people entering and her eyes met mine. With a touching of hands, she separated from Troy and walked toward me. I never noticed Mark and Lina walk away.
She sauntered up to me like there wasn’t any history between us. “Troy was my first love, Greg. We gave each other our virginities.” Jillian told me with no greeting, she just jumped into things like I was going to follow. I stood still like a statue. “When he moved for his scholarship, we always said that we would reconnect when he moved home.”
“I guess he moved home and you reconnected,” I said sarcastically, the first words I spoke since leaving the restaurant.
“Don’t be like that,” Jillian scolded me. “I get that this is going to be hard for you, but Troy and I are meant to be together.”
“Meant to be toge…” I started and then stopped. “Jillian Bronwen Other, you married me!” I exclaimed.
I’ll give her points for boldness, she never looked away. “I’m sorry Greg, I really am, but we’re going to need to divorce. I mean Troy and I; we’re going to get married and have kids.”
“And what the hell was I, just your warm placeholder for the past several years!” I was almost yelling now. A few people around us were staring, and the bouncers were looking at us, but didn’t move. But I spotted lover boy making his way over to us.
“Greg you were never…” she stopped. “Look Greg, I do love you, it’s just you’re not Troy, the love that you and I share is nothing compared to what Troy and I have.”
I watched as Troy made the last dozen steps to us and put his arm around Jillian, a frown on his face.
“I take it you’re Greg?” he asked, a false note of concern on his face.
“That’s Gregory to your asshole,” I replied angrily.
He nodded, “Okay hostility, I get that,” he said. “You’re upset because I’m taking your wife, she’s going to divorce you and we’ve been sleeping together since I got back.”
He paused, the look on my face showed I had no idea. Jillian went white as a sheet as he said it, she must have been hoping it wouldn’t come out. Troy didn’t know me, so once he realized what he said, he pushed Jillian behind him, taking up a defensive pose.
“Look Gregory,” he said trying to sound conciliatory. “I’m sorry you found out this way, but perhaps it’s for the best. Jillian tells me you have been a great husband, the friend that I couldn’t be while away. It would be good if we could all be friends, I mean we all share several of the same friend groups.”
“Not for long,” I said, my eyes staring at Jillian for a moment, I looked back to Troy. He bristled to say something so I spoke before he could reply.
“So let me get this right,” I said, taking all the emotion I could out of my voice. My anger was growing by the moment, but I kept it buried for the moment. Surprisingly the music took a break at that moment, and my voice could be heard clear across the room. Obviously, the little show caught everyone’s attention because they all turned to us, even the DJ who never started the next song.
“You two believe you have true love, fuck like bunnies all through school then break up because Troy moves to another country. But while Jillian is mourning in grief, she meets me, supposedly falls in love and marries me while we are happy for several years.” They nod cautiously and you can hear a pin drop.
“Then true love strikes again when Romeo comes back into the country and you two start fucking like bunnies again behind my back. Obviously, all our friends know judging from the looks I got all night tonight, and this all culminates in this conversation of my supposed best friend tearing my heart out and holding it high in the air so everyone here can see, in one of the most humiliating ways possible.”
“Greg, it wasn’t supposed to be…” Jillian started to say.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like what!” I yelled back, but no one moved. “All week you have been bouncing around, but ignoring me. Despite my rough week, you demanded we both attend tonight, then you abandon me the moment we walk in the door. You disrespect me in front of our supposed friends and even leave the restaurant without even talking to me so that I would find you here sucking the tonsils off this prick!”
“Hey!” Troy tried to say, I glared at him.
“Don’t say a fucking word, Romeo.” I growled. “Your true love has shown that she is a faithless slut. You say you’ve been fucking for the last three months because you’re one of the real romances, fuck off!”
“Look Greg,” Troy said, trying to get control of the conversation. “I get it, there are a lot of emotions flying around right now. But Jillian and I are destined to be together, we’re sorry you’re hurt and you found out we’ve been sleeping together, but Jillian loves me and we’re going to get married. Naturally, you and she are going to need to divorce.”