An adult stories – She’s Cheating on You by other2other1,other2other1 [:::: Authors Note ::::]
It has been a little while between stories for me; the past several months have been a roller coaster of so many things happening in real life that I almost feel like a character in one of my stories based on some of the drama. I’ve been betrayed by someone who I didn’t understand was a true narcissist, struggled to find focus in my businesses, been fighting a huge case of burn out and with that associated hormonal crash, been fighting off severe depression. The thing that has held me together has been my wife and kids, they have been my rock and without them I would likely have just disappeared into obscurity. So a big thank you to my family!
I mention this, because so many of us fight with things like this in our lives, my drama’s are by no mean unique, and from time to time, I work some of these themes into my stories. Yes, sometimes their over dramatic, but writing is therapy for me, so I often go over the top. To those of you who leave comments and message me privately about how my stories have helped you, thank you, I appreciate it.
Now, lets take a look at this story. This one ‘She’s Cheating on You’, is one that I have been sitting on for a long time. Like ‘Bed and Breakfast’ I wrote the original draft early in my decision to start writing, it was a draft story I completed before ‘On the Mend’ and has been sitting in the low digits of now over 85 story concepts that I have drafted, am writing, is going through the editing process or are published.
The concept and theme for this story is nothing new for the Loving Wives category, there are all the usual tropes of love and betrayal, but in this one, I want to explore the concept of love further. Not the usual romantic love that we see in our stories, though that is there, but what about unconditional love, where you love the person despite their words and actions. I hope to touch on the topics of loving another person, despite what they have or have not done. Our two main characters are where I am looking to explore this.
Some of you will like it, some of you won’t, some of you won’t agree with what I position here, and that’s fine. I’m writing fiction, not real life.
I would also like to thank TexDom and Miket0422, both of you have provided valuable input over the long development of this story, thank you!
I hope this is the start of me getting back into publishing some of my work and that you enjoy the tale.
[:::: She’s Cheating on You ::::]
“You know she’s cheating on you?” Shona, of whom I would easily describe as my closest friend in the world, asked me. Her steely blue eyes were locked onto my face and not giving me any real avenue of escape from her statement.
In the moments following her blatant blurting out of something to ruin my day, I wasn’t sure where to look. We were sitting on the back deck at her place. I sat unsure of what to say or really how to respond. The question she asked me moments ago didn’t quite come out of nowhere, but it was unexpected and caught me somewhat off guard. Until she asked, I had been having a relaxing afternoon. But the question incipiently written in her gaze also hid a unique form of agony on her beautiful face that only the two of us could understand at her having to utter those words.
After a couple of moments of avoiding her stare, I looked at Shona and held her gaze briefly, trying to wish the last thirty seconds could be rewound. I knew Shona wouldn’t have thrown down the gauntlet of challenge unless she had a reason. I felt the muscles in my shoulders tense, and I averted my gaze to look up at the cool grey winter sky. For us native coast dwellers here in Byron Bay, Australia, it was the coldest time of the year. A chilly breeze blew in off the ocean as the two of us sat on her back patio, dressed in warm jumpers and drinking hot chocolate in the late afternoon.
The moment continued to stretch as I studiously avoided looking at her and contemplated the clouds. I noted it was likely we would get a shower or two, perhaps some good rain in the next few hours from how the clouds were moving. Sighing, I picked up my half-empty mug of hot chocolate as I watched cloud formations move, changing their shapes briefly, letting up a glimpse of the blue sky beyond peak through now and then, but would disappear. I took a deep breath, the sunny sky like my happiness, now felt out of reach.
Try as I might, contemplating the weather could not distract me from Shona’s uncomfortable words. Still holding the mug in my hands with its warm sweet flavour, I stopped gazing at the clouds and looked over at Maddie, my eight-year-old daughter, who at that moment was gleefully pushing her half-brother, Greg, on the swing in Shona’s backyard.
The moment moved to become what must have been a couple of minutes, neither of us had said anything else and I knew Shona was waiting for me to process my thoughts. She had known I had suspicions that something was wrong for a while now; excuses and snarky comments had me wondering about my wife. The time away, diminished lovemaking and even more than a few angry words that had me sleeping in the spare bedroom a few times over the last few months had me morose and moody to everyone.
But everyone knew I was a lover, not a fighter, and would avoid confrontation as much as possible. It wasn’t that I was always everyone’s doormat. I’d stand up for myself and those around me when needed, but if it was my own personal problem, I tended to procrastinate and hope it went away rather than deal with it if I could help it.
I again heaved a large sigh watching Maddie and Greg play, beginning to feel emotions I had been denying for months swell within my chest. A knot of stress that I had been feeling for a while suddenly made itself known as an ache and I swallowed hard.
Again, I looked back to Shona, and I could see the pained expression on her face. I know she would not have wanted to start anything, However, at the same time, if there was someone in this world that had my back, it was her.
As I let my gaze settle back on her, I couldn’t find the right words to say, and as I watched, Shona hesitantly pulled an envelope out of her bag beside her. It was one of those giant bags that mothers all around the world carry to have everything they need for their kids.
“I’m sorry, Hun, I can’t think of a kinder way to say it, but Bridget is cheating on you,” she told me again. Shona held the envelope a moment. It was A3 in size and looked heavy. I got another look combining pity and pain, but she sighed, committed to her course of action. She moved slowly, placing the envelope on the table in front of her, her left hand now resting on it. “It’s all here. I have been debating this in my mind all afternoon, but you need to know what is going on. Do you want me to give it to you now or later?”
Again, the pain behind her eyes showed through. She was not enjoying this one bit and had to see the despair on my face. What was hurting her was that, with the exception of a few months, she had been my closest friend for most of my life and knew me better than anyone.
My name is Timothy Other. Of course, everyone calls me Tim. I was, I thought, until a moment ago, fooling myself that I was happily married to Bridget. However, looking at the envelope Shona had just produced, I knew it contained the truth that my marriage wasn’t that happy or healthy. As I reviewed the last few months, hell, looking back, let’s call it the last year. There was nothing overt I could put my finger on, but I always doubted Bridget’s fidelity. I sighed expressively, looking at the envelope Shona had her hand on. Having a cheating wife was, unfortunately, a scenario that had happened to me before.
Again we sat, nothing was said as I stared at the pile of bad news under Shona’s hand. I didn’t want it to be true, but the look on Shona’s face told me that everything in the envelope would hurt.
“How Shona?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly as I fingered the cup containing about a third of a hot chocolate that was now going cold quickly.
“Rick,” she said quickly and simply.
Rick was Shona’s husband, a hotshot family lawyer with quite a few connections around Byron Bay and northern New South Wales as well as up into Queensland to boot. Rick and I had an interesting relationship. We both loved Shona and would do anything for her. Despite our history, or likely more because of the history between Shona and me, Rick had also become a good friend over the years.
We both continued to stare at the envelope. If what I suspected was true and in the envelope that Shona had, then Bridget and I were done, and Rick was a better friend than I thought. Either that, or he was perhaps, at last, putting the screws to me for being so friendly with his wife.
For a few more moments, I stared at the envelope under Shona’s hand and felt a wave of nausea wash over me.
I don’t think I can go through this again, I was thinking.
“Tim, you’re not going to be alone,” Shona said. She always had a pretty good idea of what I was feeling. But it went both ways, and I could see she held back the words ‘this time.’ With everything we had been through, both of us were only twenty-five. Going through a second divorce before I was thirty was going to hurt regardless.
The gaps in conversation were large as she gave me space to process what was happening. For the third time, neither of us said anything until Maddie came up carrying one-year-old Greg.
“Mum, I think Greg needs a nappy change. He stinks!” Her nose wrinkled, and a smell told us a very ripe nappy was indeed wrapped around the toddler. My daughter was an eight-going on eighteen-year-old girl and was currently in the habit of narrating everything she did.
Shona stood and picked up her bag without saying anything, plucking Greg from Maddie’s arms. She briefly gave me a look, and after a moment’s hesitation, she picked the envelope back up, nodding her head to Maddie before catching my eye again. I nodded in reply. Maddie didn’t need to see what was in there.
Within the next couple of breaths, Maddie quickly shifted herself into my lap and hugged me and then an air-kiss as Shona took her son in to get a fresh nappy.
“Are you okay Dad?” Maddie asked. “I mean, you don’t look all right. What were you and Mum just talking about.” A thought occurred to her based on the look on my face, one I just could not hide. “You’re not fighting again like when I was little, are you?”
The thought paled my daughter. For as long as she could remember, her Mum and I have not been a couple, but in her mind, we have always been best friends. But a few years ago, she asked why we weren’t together if we loved each other as much as we told her. Shona and I had been telling Maddie more and more as she grew up, but she was obviously worried after hearing a few stories recently that Shona and I might have been fighting.
You see, Shona and I were once married. We met in year three at school, and we were pretty much best friends within a week. Friends led to dating when the hormones kicked in, then, without us thinking about the consequences, a teenage pregnancy. Our parents were appalled but supported us. We were young and thought the right thing to do was get married, so we did right after Maddie was born.
It turned out we never should have.
Yes, Shona and I were best friends, but being married to each other wasn’t the right fit for our friendship. I will admit after having Maddie and getting married, the love was there, the sex was great, and on the outside, we were a young couple in love. But a litany of little things piled up that ended up breaking us. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn’t be married to each other.
One of the things that broke us is I am a software programmer and gamer. I had started my first business at sixteen, was married with a child at eighteen, and I was working huge eighty-to-ninety-hour weeks all that time.
I gave what time I could to Shona and Maddie, but it just wasn’t enough for her. As I said, it was the little things. Most people don’t have the stress of children and work until they are in their twenties, sometimes thirties. Shona and I had both at only eighteen years old.
While they supported us outwardly, neither of our parents thought we would make it and made us both sign a prenup before we married. Mine because my parents were giving me start-up cash, Shona’s because when I failed at my business, they didn’t want their daughter tied up in it.
The business did all right. It didn’t fail. But within two years, I created a new business and folded the first one into it, creating Other Gaming. Today, even in my mid-twenties, I have a staff of fifty in three different countries. This includes programmers, testers, marketers, and more than a few admin staff. Overall Other Gaming turns over about one hundred and eighty million a year in revenue through a series of mostly free games that have microtransactions built into them. Microtransactions are where you buy things in the game if you want to get ahead quicker than anyone else. You can buy additional resources, time or bonuses. Our profits are modest compared to some of the gaming companies out there, but it’s nothing to sneeze at, and we’re yet to have a financial quarter that our investors dislike.
Anyway, back in those early days, Shona and I loved our baby, we were best friends, and we had amazing sex, but ultimately, the only way I can describe it was that we just weren’t in love with each other in that soulmate way. As I mentioned before, it was the little things that broke us, things that you overlook when you are truly in love with your spouse. If you’re not, it drives you insane. The path to the destruction of our marriage was always going to happen. With myself tied up in the business, I wasn’t there like I should have been, which resulted in Shona helping our demise much more quickly. Though perhaps the speed of destruction also saved our friendship.
Everything was building up as we fought against each other over the housework, my time at work and Maddie. On the work front, one day, I had a late meeting with a couple of my investors, and I forgot to tell Shona about it. That same day, Shona never told me she wanted me to come to a meeting at Maddie’s day-care, so when I got home, she was pissed, but I had no idea why. We yelled at each other for almost half an hour, the end result had Shona storming out of the house, telling me to make my own dinner shouting, “be a ‘fucking’ responsible parent and look after our daughter”.
She then proceeded to call some girlfriends, got blind stinking drunk, waking up the next morning in the bed of some random guy that had picked her up at the bar they were at.
To Shona’s credit, she never lied to me or tried to hide what she did through her tears and regret. She came home the next day, upset and contrite. But as a young guy, as she told me what she did, my entire world crashed around me as my best friend and wife emasculated me.
Without thinking I verbally lashed out at her, calling her a whore and a slut. Shona recoiled for a moment and then retorted, her voice dripping with venom, called me a pathetic nerd and deadbeat dad that was never there for her or our daughter.
The moment the insults left her lips, she knew it was a mistake. She was the one who stormed out and slept with someone else, we both knew I didn’t truly mean what I said, But her reaction and implied malice was like an arrow in the heart. Regardless of anything, I had been her best friend for as long as either of us could recall and she knew that.
“Tim, I…” she tried to say, her hands held to her mouth in horror.
I looked mournfully at her, held up my hand, then just turned and walked away.
I immediately moved into the spare bedroom. Over the next few months, I’m sure our screaming matches could likely be heard in the neighbourhood over. Of course, I was hurt so I started divorce for adultery, citing the prenup.
After being served at home while I was at work, Shona didn’t go the usual route of counselling.
Over the next few weeks, she was alternately contrite, asking for forgiveness and when I wouldn’t tell her I forgave her, she would become upset and yell at me, calling me a wimp and pathetic in bed and the worst mistake of her life any time we were in a room for more than thirty seconds before breaking down crying.
The only time we didn’t argue happened around Maddie, and even then, it was tense.
In the end, it was our parents who all but said, ‘We told you so’, intervening that helped us. They called a truce bringing us back to ourselves. I got home one evening to all four of them in the lounge room, Shona crying and upset as both our mothers talked to her in hushed tones. After both fathers took me aside and gave me a little bit of ‘what for’ even while understanding that I was the aggrieved party, we ended up in intervention between the six of us.
They laid it on thick and made us both feel guilty. For three hours, they blasted us, each in turn. When later they left us alone to talk, neither Shona nor I said anything for fifteen minutes, but once we started talking, everything broke away, including the pain and the anguish.
Even with her cheating on me, which had hurt both of us, for the first time we talked without screaming at each other. I believed her when she explained that she would never have done it if she wasn’t drunk and pissed off.
“I am so sorry Tim,” Shona told me, wiping tears away from her eyes. “I never meant to hurt you like this. I should never have left that night, never have…”
“Never had done what I did,” she said after taking a deep breath. “I disrespected you badly, and I was stupid and even worse when I took my anger at myself out on you for the cheating I did.”
I smiled sadly.
“And I am sorry, it hurt Shona, it still does. You’re my closest friend, I should have forgiven you.”
Shona reached up and touched my cheek sadly.
“Thank you Tim, but where does this leave us?” she asked.
We talked further over the next few hours. We agreed that if we were to be friends and rebuild our trust in each other that we could no longer be married. For the first time in months, she cried in my arms.
Though we never made love or slept in the same bed again. Over the next few days, we spent a lot of time together. We agreed co-parenting as friends, as opposed to husband and wife, was the right way to go.
The divorce went through over the course of the next eighteen months, and slowly Shona and I became best friends again. We chose to bury the bitterness, so on the ashes of our marriage we found we were as close as we once were, if not closer, slowly opening up to trust each other, confiding in each other like when we first started dating.
We shared hugs and even the occasional chaste kiss, but our romantic love disappeared with our divorce.
Was I sad, yes. I still loved Shona with all my heart. But I would rather have her as my friend and in my life, then both of us destroy each other while being married and unable to trust.
Bridget and I started dating a little less than a year after the divorce, a week after Maddie’s fourth birthday. Bridget worked with Shona at the time, which is how we met. Bridget had been hinting at a date for months once it was obvious Shona and I were done. When I didn’t ask her out, she took the initiative to ask me. I inquired with Shona if she was all right with me dating Bridget. She hesitatingly gave me her approval, but I could see it hurt her that I was dating.
After the first few dates, I often found Shona on my doorstep with Maddie the next day and inevitably I would tell her about mine and Bridget’s time together. She was a true friend and never outwardly judged in those early days, and she made sure she threw her full support behind me even as tears were welling in the corner of her eyes.
Within three months of my first date with Bridget, she had taken me to bed and rocked my world. Until then, the only thing I had known was making soft and gentle love. Shona and I had always tried to be there for each other in bed. Our mutual desire to see each other orgasm was a beautiful thing.
However, in bed, Bridget showed me what it was to fuck.
From that first time when she invited me into her bed by taking my pants down and sucking me off to completion, then continued sucking till I was hard again, I knew Bridget was different. Bridget loved it hard and fast. She loved to be taken in doggy or to ride me, cowgirl. Bridget was also vocal. She always directed what she wanted and was never shy in telling me how she wanted it.
It was perhaps six months after we started dating that the wild sex slowed down into longer sessions with more tenderness. It was then she admitted that she was falling in love with me instead of just desiring me.
Bridget opened up and told me that around the same time that Shona and I were going through our divorce, she was breaking up a long-term relationship, which she called intense but unhealthy. As Bridget and I had met a few times when Shona and I were together, she looked at me as someone kind and loving who would look after her as opposed to the use and abuse as her ex-boyfriend had.
From a body perspective, Bridget was short but fit. She had large but toned calves, her stomach almost had a feminine looking six-pack thanks to hours at the gym. And I loved that Bridget was sporting a pair of healthy c-cup breasts. She waxed below and was a bottle blonde on top, covering her native brunette colour.
She taught me so many new positions. Bridget had taken a naive broken kid and turned me into a guy that loved having sex any time, in any location. Oral, vaginal, anal, it was all on the table, but she also knew fidelity was everything and committed that I was her one and only.
With that out of the way, Bridget moved in with me and I think it got even better. She was fun to hang out with, always with a laugh or asking about how my day went. She loved to go out, but also didn’t mind when I just wanted to stay in and snuggle.
About a year into living together, Bridget started hinting about marriage. This time after not too long, I took the hint and proposed. Eight months later, we married. It would have been sooner. However, she tried to convince me to drop the prenup, which was a precondition of our marriage, my legal team demanded protection, and the chairman of my board flew in from Sydney to sit with both Bridget and I to explain why the prenup would happen or our marriage wouldn’t. We almost broke up over it following several heated conversations, but in the end, after my board chair left, she signed the documents. Other Gaming was on the up and getting noticed globally with a number of my new games, so my corporate lawyers and board got what they wanted.
While Bridget and I were preparing for a wedding, Shona also met Rick and as much as I wanted to hate the guy, I couldn’t. Rick was friendly, a couple of years older than Shona and me. When I saw them together, I noted he fit her well, complimenting her in a way I never could.
It was almost the complete opposite of when Bridget and I started dating, Rick and Shona were hesitant and their intimacy took time. Bridget and I started on lust. When Shona pointed this out to me, we had a couple of big talks where we agreed to talk through our jealousy of our partners so that we never went back to that place of not being in each other’s lives. As Bridget and I, along with Rick and Shona grew as a couple, everyone knew not to get in the way of Shona and I being besties.
As an example, in the early days of Rick and Shona, the two of us almost came to blows over a few things. Well, that’s not true. Once, he did punch me in the mouth when he caught Shona giving me a hug after I dropped Maddie off. By this time, they were engaged, Bridget and I were married and Shona told him to get over his jealousy as I was already married, her best friend and Maddie’s dad. If he couldn’t deal with that, he could pack his shit and hit the road.
I was a groomsman at their wedding six months later.
Overall, it was a little surreal how our relationships worked. It was always understood that Shona and I were in each others pockets, and with Maddie in the mix, that was never going to change. Once Rick got over that, we found we became close friends and confidants once he understood I was not a threat to his relationship. The two of us ended up spending quite a bit of time on the golf course with Shona’s encouragement, and Rick came to understand that I loved his wife, just not in that way.
At the same time, Bridget and Shona had an easy friendship. They were never what you would call ‘BFF’s’, but they did hang out now and then while Rick and I played the occasional game of golf, or we took Maddie out for an outing.
Coming back to the present, I tipped my head down, kissing my busybody daughter on the cheek as she stole the chocolate chip out of a muffin I wasn’t really eating on the plate in front of me.
“No, sweetie,” I told Maddie, trying to figure out the right way to talk to an eight-year-old about her father’s wife, but not her mum cheating on him. “Mummy and I are not fighting. She’s just talking to me about something I think is going to be … difficult,” I finished trying to find the right words.
“It’s Bridget, isn’t it,” Maddie said defiantly. I stared at her. She snorted like a pre-adolescent girl who thinks she knows everything the world does. She took one look at my face and uttered, “I thought so.”
“Maddie,” I frowned. “You need to respect Bridget. I get she’s not your mum, but you like Rick, and he’s not your dad,” I told my daughter.
She snorted again, now picking through the muffin I was obviously ignoring. “Yeah, but Rick respects you and Mum’s relationship, and he adores Mum. Bridget doesn’t like Mum or me and doesn’t respect you.”
I sat there, taken aback a little. I just don’t know how I hadn’t seen it. Bridget and I had been together for four years, married for almost three. Combined with what I knew was in the envelope that Shona was about to show me and the comments from my eight-year-old daughter, a lot of things had just come into focus. Little things I let slide about how Bridget acted or treated me or Shona and Maddie. Quickly looking at everything introspectively, I could see the small amounts of disrespect and how I let it slide after the disaster of my marriage with Shona. I wanted this one to work, so I was more passive and forgiving than I should have been and most likely, Bridget knew it.
We sat quietly for a few minutes, Maddie continuing to eat my muffin until Shona brought Greg back with a fresh nappy. Shona took one look at me and asked Maddie to take Greg to play while Shona and I kept talking. Maddie started to protest, but Shona overrode her with the mum voice. You never argue with the mum voice.
We both stared after our daughter as she walked back into the backyard with Greg.
“She’s almost got it figured out Tim. Maddie’s almost too smart and sees things that she shouldn’t at her age,” Shona said as we watched her walk away with her brother.
It was my turn to snort as we watched the half-siblings settle into a sandpit, Maddie starting to dig a hole that Greg thought it was funny to push the sand back into.
“She must get that from you. I miss all of it, don’t I,” I said sadly. I looked at the woman I had loved for so many years. That today, I still loved.
In many ways, and even though I hadn’t yet seen the contents of the envelope, I felt despair.
Moments later, Shona was there on the chair beside me, her arms suddenly around me, comforting me as both of us let a few tears escape. If I was true to myself, I knew Bridget had not loved me on the level for some time now. I knew there had been too many things that just didn’t add up.
I could see the envelope sticking out of Shona’s bag, so I extricated myself from her hug and moved to pull it out before sitting back beside Shona.
I went to open the envelope, and Shona reached over and put a hand on mine.
“Tim,” she said making me look at her. “Nothing in there is going to make you feel anything but pain. All right?”
She had obviously already looked inside; I nodded.
I swallowed and with nothing else to do, I opened the envelope and what looked to be two documents came out, along with a USB drive. The first document was a combined report of times, dates and locations that Bridget had been followed, along with transcripts of conversations that were noted as held on the USB drive. On the drive was a combination of audio and video captures leaving no doubt that what I was speed reading was true.
If the first document broke my heart that Bridget was cheating on me as I scanned the various pages, then the second fired my heart into the air like a clay target, shooting it with twelve-gauge precision. The second set of documents contained photo after photo of Bridget with another man, a man identified as Brad Houghton, her ex.
In the photos, it started tame as them having coffee, then it became kissing, followed by groping. The debauchery kept going into the final pictures of Brad’s cum leaking from Bridget’s pussy and her obviously moaning in glorious orgasm as she rode him with his cock in her ass. Some of the photos were taken from a distance, and others had to angle like they were taken with a pinhole camera. Hidden, but exposing the obvious cheating wife. While seeing her with this Brad guy hurt, seeing her giving her ass to him broke me. Bridget promised me that was always mine alone, she told me no boyfriend before me or anyone else in the future would get her ass but me, just another broken promise and betrayal I could not tolerate.
I sighed bitterly, returning the documents and the USB key to the envelope, feeling devoid of a lot of emotion, but I knew it was going to hit me hard later.
“Why?” I asked, feeling something die inside me.
Shona said nothing. I think she sensed some of the anguish in my question.
“Tim…” she started, then stopped. I turned to look at my oldest friend, my daughter’s mother, my ex-wife and my first betrayer.
“What’s wrong with me?” I asked, my chest tight. Shona looked shocked at my question. “I mean, am I just so pathetic the women I love have to cheat on me.”
The moment I said the words, I regretted them. Shona’s response was swift. The kiss on my cheek connected, and then it was followed directly by her arms around my neck, and she started to cry as I just sat there feeling the betrayal.
A moment later she looked at me. “Tim, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…” I stopped her.
“No, it’s me, Shona,” I replied despondently. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s unfair, and I’m sorry I compared this to us back then. Forgive me?” I asked.
She pulled back and gave me a wain smile then kissed my forehead. “Of course.”
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” we heard another voice chime in. “that looked awfully cosy,” the voice said.
Turning to face the newcomer, we found Rick trying to look serious and failing, a smile on his face. He spied the envelope in my hands, his smile turning from teasing to sad.
“Oh,” he said, making no move to break Shona and me up, instead, he came over and took the chair on the other side of me and laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
“I’m sorry mate, I kind of took this one on myself. Shona and Maddie had both said things that made me wonder, so I put some wheels in motion a couple of months ago. The PI is one I have used a few times. I just got the report yesterday,” he spoke quietly, a look of real concern on his face.
“Have you looked at it yet?” I asked Rick, he shook his head.
“No, not a real look. I just had a peek from the PI when we brought it in” he looked at his wife, “But I am assuming from both your reactions that both of you have?”
We both nodded. Rick exhaled and sat back in the chair.
“So, what’s next?” Rick asked.
I shrugged, “Divorce.”
The three of us said nothing, we looked back over to the sandpit. Little Greg was now in the hole Maddie had dug and my daughter was filling it in while Greg laughed. Every now and then she would look our way, but then turn her attention back to Greg, she knew this was adult talk time. Despite the serious nature of the conversation, the three of us smiled.
“Baby,” Shona asked Rick, “is it appropriate for you to…” she trailed off.
“Represent Tim?” he asked, finishing the question.
Shona nodded.
“Yeah, I can do that. Tim, would you be alright with that?” Rick asked me seriously, in lawyer mode.
I nodded, “Yeah.” I handed the envelope to Rick, “you’ll need this.”
He pushed it back, “That’s your copy. I presumed it would be your choice and have one on my desk in the office. Prenup?” he asked.
I retrieved my phone from the table, quickly locating the document, then sent an email with the pre-nuptial agreement signed by both Bridget and me to my new family lawyer. I laughed. I was sending the information to the husband of my ex-wife.
Shona looked at me funny. “What’s that for?”
“My divorce lawyer who is going to eviscerate my cheating wife,” I said as Rick smiled that lawyer smile that looked like a great white about to devour a meal. “Is married to my ex-wife who ‘technically'”, I said in quotation marks, “I divorced for cheating on me and enforcing a prenup.”
No one said anything for a moment, and I wondered if perhaps I put my foot too far in my mouth. But a moment later Shona hugged me laughing. Rick slapped me on the back.
“At least you still have a sense of humour,” Rick said mockingly.
We spent the next half hour talking over my next moves.
“Bridget is spending the week with her mother up on the Gold Coast. She will be gone for at least another five nights,” I said as we plotted. The look Rick gave me and then Shona shared after a glance at her husband spoke volumes. It was most likely that Bridget was not visiting her mother.
“All right,” I said quietly. “Well, I suppose I deserve that. But it will give me some time to get things moving.” Knowing that my wife was not with her mother kind of added just that little more hurt into the mix, sprinkles on the shit sandwich so to speak.
We spoke for a few minutes and Maddie brought Greg back to the table as the sun set. Half an hour later, after lots of hugs and kisses from my daughter, I was heading home in my Artic White, 2016 Mach 1 Mustang. My Mustang was the first time I had bought a new car, a reward for hitting five million in revenue. The board gave me a budget and was surprised when I spent less than half on a Mustang.
I got home and parked, the big security gates closing on the driveway as I backed into the garage. The house was owned by a subsidiary of Other Gaming and leased to me as an executive perk. At the time it was a way to get a large, modern house. A house that Bridget wanted. Me, I just wanted a good study for my computer gear and a bed to sleep in. Still, the house was nice, with five bedrooms, six bathrooms and a deck that looked out to the ocean in the distance. I had one of the bedrooms as my computer and gaming room, Maddie had her own bedroom decorated for an eight-year-old tastes, and of course, Bridget and I had the large master overlooking the ocean far off in the distance.
We had only been in the house six months, but in that time, we had held a couple of parties and christened pretty much every room in the house, as a young married couple should. I wondered if she had ever brought Brad here. The thought made me feel ill.
I walked into the kitchen, throwing my bag as well as the envelope with the information on Bridget and Brad on the kitchen bench. I immediately headed into the pantry, returning with a bottle of Bundy rum, and then retrieved a cold can of coke from the fridge. Pouring myself a double, I picked up the envelope, got out my laptop and set it up to look through the contents on the USB drive while I read the report in more detail.
Reading the report, it turns out Bridget and Brad had been together before Bridget and I started dating but had broken up a few months before that. Once I settled down and read the report, this worked in with what I knew of Bridget’s break up. We didn’t talk about it a lot and the PI confirmed what I knew; that the split between them, had not been healthy when it first happened.
I went on to read, they had not spoken until about six months before we married and it was less than three months after our honeymoon that my loving wife restarted a sexual relationship with her former partner.
Contained within the PI report was page after page of conversation transcript, detailed chats from their day to day of cohabitation when they were together, to their reminiscing on history, and plans for the future. In other words, a full-blown romantic relationship.
As I sat, I read a number of their talks in a little bit of detail, almost sick at the level of betrayal by my loving wife.
But what really caught me was a section of the report capturing a conversation between the two after they had finished fucking at Brad’s apartment only a month ago. I found the corresponding video file to the transcript on the USB key and hit play when I plugged it into my laptop.
“But Bridget, baby,” Brad said in a whiny voice. “Why don’t you leave that loser and come back to me? You’re in my bed almost as much as his; you know I rock your world so much better.”
Bridget laughed.
“Brad, honey, yes, you’re bigger than Tim, your cock fills me so much more than his does, and I love you so very much. But he has two things that you don’t.”
“And that is?” he asked hesitantly.
“Brains and money,” Bridget said simply.
Brad snorted.
“It’s true, honey,” Bridget lectured. “Tim has a lot of money, so I get to use that money while I am his wife. And Tim is smart too. He’s always been going places, his company is worth a lot, and he’s still on the way up. That’s why, when that bitch Shona threw him away, I seized my chance. She didn’t have a clue what he was going to be worth.”
Again, Brad snorted. “Then why don’t you just divorce him and we can both use the money you get?”
“Brad, you’ve got your muscles in all the wrong places. Tim’s lawyer made me sign a prenup. If I leave him before ten years of marriage, then I get very little. Even after ten years, if I leave him I only get a tiny amount of what he is worth.
“What’s worse is we need to keep being careful. If Tim was ever to catch us, well, for the next few years I walk out with nothing but the clothes on my back,” Bridget explained to Brad without much emotion.
Then she smiled, reaching over to play with his cock, “But like this, we both get the benefits. I get money to take us places and we get to fuck regularly.”
“But you’re still sleeping with him,” Brad again whined.
“That’s because I’m his wife!” Bridget told her lover, exasperated. “Look, Brad, honey, if I don’t sleep with him, if I don’t keep up the appearance of a good wife, then all of this,” she gestured around her to the house, “it all comes to an end. Tim doesn’t know it, but he owns this place. You don’t want to lose a place you’re paying nothing for, do you?”
“I suppose not,” Brad moaned unhappily. “But I don’t like you sleeping with him if you don’t love him.”
Bridget laughed again. “Oh my poor, poor baby, I do think of Tim fondly in a lot of ways, but he’s just a tool to get what I want.”
Her grin turned feral then; the camera only caught the side of her face, but it sent a chill down my spine as I watched, and she uttered her next words.
“Tell you what, baby. Tim and I have been talking about kids soon, what if when I go off the pill, I get you to knock me up and we can pass it off as Tim’s. Does that make you feel better? Then when the kid turns eighteen, and he can inherit Tim’s money, you can tell Tim the kid is yours not his, before some type of an accident takes him.”
Brad got excited at this, and within minutes, they were again fucking.
I ran to the bathroom and threw up.
That night I didn’t sleep well, having watched the video of that exchange while I read the report and a few others like it. I tossed and turned, my mind giving me dream after dream of Bridget and Brad together. I did manage to drift off, awaking suddenly around eight-thirty my phone ringing, I fumbled for a moment hitting accept.
“Hello?” I said sleepily.
I heard a giggle, “Well hello there big man, you sleeping in while I am away?” the voice of my wife said cheerily.
For a moment, I hesitated, I wasn’t sure how to respond. Do I confront her, or play it down? Bridget picked up on my pause.
“Tim are you all right?” she asked. I couldn’t tell if the concern was an act or real. I now assumed it was an act. I decided to play down what I knew; I didn’t need to see her so I swallowed my feelings, it wouldn’t be long before it was all out in the open.
“Sorry, late night, I’m working on a few difficult issues at the moment,” I replied.
“Aww baby, I’m sorry to hear that. Well, I’ll be back Monday night, so you can tell me all about it and then perhaps we can start working on that baby we’ve been talking about,” my traitorous wife said with a cheery disposition, pretty much confirming she was trying to let Brad knock her up this weekend.
“Sure,” I responded without enthusiasm.
“Tim?” I heard the note of question in her voice, did she think I suspected something. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
I took in a breath, “Yeah Bridget, your call woke me up, and I didn’t sleep well. I’m just a bit out of it.” I replied trying to sound like the normal me.
She hesitated, shit! “Well okay baby, I’ll make sure to bring you back something nice from up here on the Goldie, alright?”
“Sounds good Bridget, have fun okay,” I responded, trying to sound like a loving husband should.
I heard Bridget exhale; she must have bought it. “Alright my hot and sexy husband, I’ll talk to you later, love you.”
“Goodbye,” I said and hung up before anything else could be said.
The comment about trying for a baby got me, and I spent the next few hours fuming around the fact that she’s fucking Brad trying to get pregnant before passing it off as mine. After her last period a few weeks ago, she made a song and dance of throwing away her pills telling me it was time.
I was pissed off.
I spent the remainder of the day doing the usual things done in the midst of betrayal, I went online and removed Bridget’s access to my bank accounts, cancelled our joint credit cards, called my accountant and corporate lawyer requesting them to remove her from my insurance and will. I wrote a number of emails introducing Rick to my corporate team so everything would tie together. The net was going to close very quickly on Bridget, and in a morbid way the thought made me smile.
Around lunchtime, Rick and Shona showed up at my place with food. A hot chicken, fresh bread, hot chips and some salad. Maddie took Greg to her room and they played while Shona prepared lunch and Rick and I spoke.
“Thanks for the introduction email,” Rick told me and frowned looking me over. “But I have to say you don’t look like you slept well last night Bud”.
I shook my head, “No not well, I hardly slept and when I did, the dreams…”
Rick nodded his head. “So when do you want to hit the button?”
“Is Monday too soon?” and I explained what I wanted to do. Rick smiled.
“No, we can do that,” Rick replied. “But I’ll have to leave the family here with you and head into the office for a few hours to write everything up. You all right with paying a little extra for it? I’m giving you the family rate, but my boss will still want me to charge for weekend work.”
I waved the comment away, “Not a problem. I want this done quickly. I spent a few hours on the PI’s report and videos. What I read and watched last night made me sick, I mean she’s fucking this asshole Brad, this weekend to try and get pregnant and then plans to pass it off as mine, before arranging and accident for me when the kid turns eighteen.”
Rick’s eyes went wide, he obviously still hadn’t seen the detail of the info. Even Shona as she sat down with a plate of sandwiches looked upset.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yeah, she’s off the pill and I watched the video where she convinced Brad that was what was going to happen.” I let my shoulders slump.
“Don’t worry about it Tim. We’ll make sure she’s not coming back here.” Rick said, “I’ll also draft a restraining order against both of them to be filed Monday morning.”
“And, I’ll stay here with the kids and help you pack Bridget’s stuff,” Shona said.
I ate lunch and the food in my stomach made me feel a little better. So, when Rick headed off, I went into the spare room and retrieved a handful of boxes we had yet to discard from our move six months ago, bringing them into the master bedroom.
For the next couple of hours, Shona and I boxed up most of her clothes, her toiletries and hygiene products. I placed about a third of her jewellery into a bag, the stuff she had before we got married. The rest I was keeping. I put a few of her shoes in the boxes, but most of them stayed too. I had no idea what I would do with them. Perhaps a homeless shelter?
As the afternoon went on, I made a number of phone calls getting things arranged, Rick called me three times about certain details. The last two times he came across a lot darker and I could tell he had started working through the PI Evidence. For some reason, as the day went on I wasn’t surprised but for some reason disappointed that I didn’t hear a peep from Bridget.
When Rick came back in in the early afternoon with some takeout Thai food. He had a stormy disposition and hugged me, telling me how sorry he was for me. At that point, I knew he was a real friend and not just my best friend’s husband.
I handed him a post-it note with a six-digit code.
“What’s this?” he asked, looking at the post-it note.
“Your new code for the front gate,” I said, “I reset the system giving everyone a new code while removing Bridget.”
“Excellent,” Rick said, we spoke for a few more minutes, before excusing himself, giving Shona a kiss then heading to find his son, while Shona and I dished up dinner.
Dinner was subdued and they ended up staying the night as well as most of Sunday before going home just after lunch. I spent quite a few hours with Rick walking through the process of divorce. When Shona and I broke up there wasn’t that much to split as Other Gaming was just getting going. However, I always made sure that as I became successful that I looked after Shona and Maddie, well above the required levels for child support.
When it came to Bridget though the betrayal was deep and on purpose. There was very little I was going to do for her, I had a lot more at stake this time and I wasn’t going to let Bridget get any of it. I was sure Bridget was going to blow a stack, and Shona noted as much as we talked through things Sunday morning.
“I don’t think she ever loved you, Tim,” Shona said, putting the PI report down. “I am sorry I never said anything before, and if I’m honest Bridget never quite sat right with me, but I couldn’t put my finger on anything. I might be your best friend, but with our history…”
I nodded.
“I hoped you would be fine; I know you loved her and let her have her way, but you did let her lead you to anything she wanted,” Shona said quietly while looking me directly in the eyes.
“I am not submissive,” I blurted out defensively.
Shona laughed, “No, you’re not, and that’s not what I meant. I mean that you don’t mind if people lead you to the next step. I’ve noticed that if you don’t want to do it, you just go your own way. Bridget has tried to take advantage of that with sex. Sooner or later, the house of cards would have fallen, and I am glad it was before pregnancy.”
We spoke a little more and a few minutes later, Maddie came back in, holding Greg’s hands over his head as he waddled, grinning like a toddler does when they have everyone’s attention. We entertained the kids for the next fifteen minutes before Rick went into the lounge and set the kids up with a movie.
“Maddie has picked up on it the entire time,” Shona mentioned as they walked out of the room. “She has never really liked Bridget, and no one messes with her dad. I can tell you that.”
“Except her mum,” I said jokingly, earning myself a punch in the arm.
“Tim,” Shona said, the feel of the emotion in the room suddenly changing.
I looked at my ex-wife, and I saw a sad expression on her face. She sighed, “I know we have spoken about it before, but I am sorry it didn’t work between us,” Shona told me. “But just because it didn’t, I hope you know it doesn’t mean I love you any less.”
I nodded my head, suddenly finding it hard to swallow; Shona continued.
“You are my best friend Timothy Other, we created a beautiful little girl together, we went through hell and almost lost each other, but you showed me true character by not burning me when you had a chance.”
“But Shona, I did…” I started to say and she cut me off.
“No Tim, you didn’t,” she told me. “Yes, we yelled and screamed at each other. I did something I am terribly ashamed of, and yes, I called you a lot of names when we were in the middle of our divorce. But never once did you treat me wrong. You have never once given me cause to think you are anything but an honourable man.”
Rick came back in and sat down beside Shona, his arm going around his wife as he nodded, hearing the end of her statement.
“Shona has told me a lot of what you two went through back then,” Rick sat, getting lost in thought a little. “Tim, as a lawyer, I can count on one hand the number of people I trust in this world and you are one of them. When Shona told me to pull my head out of my ass after our little dust-up. I saw you in a totally different light. You were never going to steal my girl. You just wanted your best friend and to raise your daughter. Once I saw that, I realised that something changed for me. You were honest, a man of integrity that just wanted to do the right thing.”
Rick eyed me.
“Tim, I heard your comment earlier. You are in no way a submissive. I’ve watched you argue with Shona over things I wouldn’t dare fight her on.” Shona smiled at her husband’s comment, and then nodded to me. “I’ve heard stories of you tearing your staff a new one because they did something you told them not to do. You are an alpha dog, but the difference is that you play by your rules, not everyone else’s. Most alphas are ruled by F.O.M.O. but you’re not.”
(Authors Note: F.O.M.O. stands for ‘Fear of Missing Out’)
“Make your point, babe,” Shona said, “You’re in-lawyer mode.”
Rick and I chuckled.
“My point,” Rick said looking at Shona, “Is that Tim, you’re about to go through a whole lot of shit getting rid of Bridget, but you need to know it’s nothing you have done. You have been an attentive husband and she is the one that has taken advantage of that. It’s going to be her loss, not yours.”
We wound down a little after that and Shona offered to let Maddie stay with me this week to keep me company. After a moment though, I said no, if things got messy with Bridget. I didn’t want Maddie in the firing line.
Monday morning I headed into the office to work with a few of my managers on a few different projects. We were planning on the release of a new game within the next six months, one that blended augmented reality across multiple platforms. It was going to be fun if my personal life didn’t get in the way. I came home in the early afternoon and began nervously pacing, waiting for the confrontation to begin.
A little after four in the afternoon, my phone rang.
“Tim, baby, my code isn’t working for the gate,” Bridget said in a super sweet voice. “I can’t get into the house.”
“I know,” I said simply and flatly.
“What do you mean you know?” She said, a little concern in her voice.
I took a deep breath.
“I know everything Bridget, I know about Brad, I know about your plan to get pregnant and pass it off as mine as well as the accident you have planned. I know that you’re not working every Tuesday and Thursday. I know you’re staying with Brad at an apartment that you got me to pay for. I know your disrespect for me and I know above all that you don’t love me.”
Nothing was said as she processed what I was saying. I didn’t wait for her to respond.
“I know your code doesn’t work Bridget because I removed your access to my house. You no longer live here,” I finished.
“But Tim, how can you say that. I do love you, baby.” Bridget’s words were sickly sweet, but there was an undertone of fear. “Don’t forget it was me that picked you up when that bitch Shona dumped you, it was me that took you to bed and has loved you this past four years, how can you say such nasty things to me.”
“Easily,” I spat down the phone at her, letting my anger at her betrayal show for the first time. I stood looking out the window at her standing alone by the gate. I then noticed the cars pull up. “Turn around Bridget.”
She turned and I heard her gasp. I heard the two short conversations as echoes over the phone in Bridget’s hand.
“Mrs Bridget Other?” the man asked.
“Yes,” Bridget replied, her voice shaking.
“You’ve been served,” the guy said. In Australia, it didn’t really have to be this way, but I wanted a statement. The guy continued. “In the envelope is the divorce petition, the prenup between your husband and yourself, as well as a notice to have yourself and a Mr Brad Houghton vacate the apartment your husband owns within ten days. My client notes that any resistance will result in any financial offer he is willing to negotiate outside of the prenup being removed and him suing you for mental cruelty. The last document is a restraining order that has been drawn and comes into effect this evening.”
With that, he turned got back into his car and drove away. He was worth the money I paid Rick.
Bridget’s next conversation was with an elderly woman who exited a car. Marion, her mother.
“Mum, Tim…” she started, but stopped as her mother’s slap echoed over the phone line.
“Whore,” Marion said, “I know enough of what you have done to that poor man. I have never been more disappointed in anyone in my life.”
“Mum, I don’t know what Tim has told you, but it’s not true,” Bridget protested, holding her cheek.
For a moment I thought the older woman was going to slap her daughter again. But my mother-in-law turned and walked back to her car opening the car door.
“Drop it, Bridget,” Marion told her daughter. “Tim shared with me one of the photos that he has, I know the truth. You have nowhere to go and Tim has asked that your father and I take you in. I can’t believe you hooked up with that Brad guy again. Compared to Tim he is an absolute loser,” her mother spat.
I was still listening over the open line.
“Tim was kind enough to have all your belongings moved to our place. If it was me, I would have burnt them. Get in.” Bridget’s mother concluded ignoring her daughter’s protests.
It was then Bridget realized our call was still connected, she put the phone back to her ear.
“Tim?” my soon to be ex-wife said tentatively.
“Bridget?” I said, void of emotion.
“There is no fixing this, is there?” she said, a mix of despair and hope in her voice.
I laughed half-heartedly.
“Not a chance in the world. Follow the instructions with the divorce brief and you will be alright. I’m willing to be fair over and above the prenup, but mess with me one bit and I will see that you are left with nothing, including your respect.”
I paused and both of us said nothing for a moment.
“I did love you Bridget,” I told her softly. “But you threw that love away because you didn’t love me, you’re a gold digger. Oh, and Bridget” I said, ready for my parting shot across the bow. I heard nothing but understood she was holding her breath.
“Get a pregnancy test. If you’re pregnant, we both know it’s not mine. If you are and you try to fight me on paternity, I will drag you through the mud so badly that your grandchildren will still feel dirty,” I finished harshly.
I heard her sob as I hung up. I must admit I felt better, empty, but better.
The next month was a bit of a rollercoaster on the emotional side. I buried myself in work, or took Maddie for outings to keep my mind off things. But when I slept the dreams were unpleasant and I woke several times swearing like a sailor.
Bridget had gotten a lawyer, and she was in contact with Rick. Rick thought they were going to challenge the prenup and demand a traditional fifty-fifty split. However nothing had happened yet. I authorised Rick to put thirty thousand dollars on the table as a settlement and as of yet, they had said nothing.
Things changed that weekend though, I had taken Maddie to the beach and we were enjoying ice cream together sitting on the sidewalk outside one of those little fish and chip shops that were built in the eighties. You have likely seen them on TV, the buildings are an old school beige brick with a tin roof. The floors are lino and you can smell the chip oil in the air as you walk through the door. Out the front are sets of plastic tables and chairs, the atmosphere is casual as everyone gets around in boardshorts or bikinis, towels over their shoulders or a surfboard under the arm.
Maddie and I had been for a swim, both of us loved the waves. We swam, rinsed off in the freshwater outdoor shower, then sat as father and daughter on the pale blue and yellow plastic chairs enjoying an ice cream. The weather was cool coming out of winter, but one of the things in Byron Bay is that if the sun is out then the water is nice even if it’s a little cooler.
Maddie and I were enjoying ourselves, talking about how to catch a wave that was just cresting, when suddenly a large arm went around my neck and I was dragged backwards off my chair as Maddie started screaming.
I was dumped to the ground a few moments later, gasping for breath and almost avoided the kick that knocked the wind out of me again.
“Fucking Dweeb, throw me out of my place, I’ll show you!” I felt the disgusting feel of spit on my face as I looked up to see Brad Hughton standing over me. I glanced Maddie’s face fully of panic as I was assaulted.
Thankfully he backed off a moment later, goading me to my feet.
“Common Dweeb, you couldn’t satisfy Bridget and obviously couldn’t fuck your first wife for shit,” he taunted as I stood. He looked at Maddie for a second and smiled a sick smile. “I bet this one isn’t even yours, fucking loser.”
Then he started advancing on me, a snarl plastered over his face, “You got me thrown out of my home, you just couldn’t keep the status quo. I was willing to let Bridget keep fucking you. All you had to do was toe the fucking line.”
I tried to dodge his punch, but not having any experience fighting, I caught his blow on my left shoulder, it spun me around and I fell into a garden bed my head hitting a protruding palm tree and I felt the skin on my forehead peel away.
I sensed Brad take a step forward, but before he could reach me, my daughter ran in front of Brad screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Leave my dad alone. He’s done nothing to you, get away from him.” She took a deep breath and screamed. “HELP POLICE, HELP POL…”
Maddie stopped mid-sentence as Brad grabbed her in a fit of rage throwing her like a rag doll away from him. I was trying to stand, stunned by my impact into the palm tree. I had blood beginning to pour over my left eye, but I caught the movement as Brad swung and threw my daughter away to try and get to me. As he released her my entire world moved into slow motion.
Brad was tossing Maddie towards the street, however in-between her and the street was one of those pinewood road barriers, they are three pieces of treated greenish wood that school kids sit on and watch the world pass by.
In the slow-motion world I was existing in, I twisted and launched myself to catch my daughter with every fibre of my being. As I pushed off, I felt my ankle twist, but I got momentum. Maddie’s face showed a sense of complete panic, her body just a rag doll in Brad’s arms being tossed.
I almost entirely caught her, when I mean entirely, I managed to snatch her from the air a mere fraction of a second before the two of us hit the barrier. But I wasn’t totally successful. Maddie’s shoulder still wasn’t completely shielded by my catch. Our positioning resulting in my back, my left arm and Maddie’s right arm all getting caught on the pine bar across the top of the barrier at the same time. The combined momentum was too much and the entire barrier snapped and we continued to fall into the side of a Toyota Landcruiser.
I blacked out.
I was told later that I was passed out for about thirty seconds, when I came around there was a small crowd of people. My arm was locked around Maddie and she was screaming in pain while also holding onto me for dear life. In the next few minutes if she wasn’t screaming, she was crying ‘Daddy” over and over again.
Brad was nowhere to be seen.
One of the crowd told me they had called 000 Emergency and both Police and an Ambulance were on the way. Fighting through the pain in my back and arm, I slowly sat up and asked for my phone and keys that were on the table in front of me.
An older man looked at me sadly.
“I’m sorry son, but that guy, after you caught your little girl here. He stood still for about ten seconds then turned grabbed your phone and keys and ran.
I swallowed and nodded, I could feel an ache on my side, my arm was throbbing and while someone had handed me a towel against my head, my temples were also aching.
“Would you be able to get my daughter’s bag?” I asked the man. He looked over at a younger man and nodded. A moment later the younger man, about my age, came back with Maddie’s bag. I reached in and pulled out Maddie’s phone. I had bought her an iPhone for her birthday this year, it was locked right down, but she was allowed to call either myself or Shona anytime. I dialled Shona. She picked up on the third ring.
“Well hello beautiful, are you having a good swim with your dad?” I heard her say cheerfully.
“Shona.” I said, wincing as another lance of pain went through my back.
“Tim?” I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle as Shona picked up on me being hurt and using Maddie’s phone.
“We’ve been hurt Shona. Maddie is with me and is being so brave right now,” I said, Maddie looked up at me her eyes red and her face a mask of discomfort. I could hear sirens in the distance growing louder quickly. “I don’t have a lot of time and we’re both in a lot of pain, both the Police and Ambulance are on the way, but I need you to call Nadine and get her to trace my phone. Time is of the essence.
Nadine was my executive assistant.
“What happened Tim, is Maddie alright?” I could hear the pain in her voice, the anguish that a mother for her child has when she’s helpless.
“She’s here with me now, she’s being the bravest girl I have ever met.” I smiled through my own pain at my daughter who was weeping again but trying to stay quiet. “It was Brad Houghton, he assaulted me then tried to throw Maddie out of the way when she stepped in the middle between us when I was down. We both got hurt. Can you get to the hospital, I don’t know if they will let us stay together, I need you there for Maddie.”
“I’m on the way,” I could already here Shona backing her car out of the driveway, as her car Bluetooth picked up the call.
“Mummy is on the way to meet us at the hospital sweetie,” I told my daughter. I tried not to move either of us as we sat, Maddie nodded and winced again. An ambulance pulled up and two medics got out, one ran right over to us while the other went and got a gurney out the back of their vehicle
“Tim, are you alright?” Shona said over the call.
“I don’t know Shona, right now my focus is Maddie, the ambulance is here, I’ll see you at the hospital soon. I’m sorry but I need to go now, please call Nadine and get her to do the trace, Brad has my phone and keys, he’s likely stolen my car.”
“Alright Tim, I’m on it, look after our girl please.”
“I will,” I said and hung up.
For the next five minutes, the ambulance crew checked Maddie over. They brought the gurney over and then started checking me out. Hopefully they could get both of us in the same ambulance. They suspected my daughter had a fractured arm and praised me for being able to get in the way, if she had hit the pine barrier without me in the way it would have been a lot worse for her.
They got Maddie on the gurney and helped me to sit on the edge of the ambulance, I also had an assumed broken arm they were pretty sure at least three of my ribs were fractured as well. They took a look at my head and suspected that I may have a concussion as myself and witnesses described the altercation.
The Police turned up and I managed to give a few initial details as the ambulance crew loaded us up. They took both Maddie and me to the emergency at the local hospital.
Once we were in the emergency department, both of us were looked over by doctors in the same emergency bay, Maddie wouldn’t let go of me. About fifteen minutes after we arrived, Shona was escorted in and I sighed in relief as she went straight to Maddie before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. A few minutes after that, a doctor took both of us for x-rays.
It turned out that Maddie has a minor fracture in her right arm. They had given her some pain killers relevant for children and were going about the process of wrapping her limb.
Me, I was in a lot worse shape, I had a confirmed concussion, which spoke to the migraine-level headache that was approaching and the waves of nausea and fatigue washing over me every few minutes. In x-ray, it was confirmed I had five fractured ribs and a broken arm. I was also going to have some very bad bruising on my back in a few days from the collision with the barrier. They had given me some pretty strong pain meds and they put some special clips over the gash on my forehead.
Afterwards, I laid down on the hospital bed looking over at Maddie and smiled. I would endure a thousand times worse for her if it kept her safe. Shona was looking at me and as always knew what I was thinking.
“Thank you,” she said, tears in her eyes.
“You know I’d give my life for both of you,” I replied trying to lean back and find a comfy spot.
I closed my eyes and a moment later I felt a very soft kiss on my lips and I opened my eyes to find Shona standing over me, tears in her eyes. “I love you too Tim,” she said and I smiled. I suddenly winced, then I started coughing, blood.
Shona screamed as I felt myself grow faint with a new pain growing in my side. That was the last thing I recall for three days.
When I awoke, I was in a much nicer hospital room, Rick was there and he heard me stir.
“Hey buddy, how you feeling?” he said looking me over with concern.
“Like shit, what happened? Is Maddie alright?” I asked.
Rick smiled, “She’s fine, she got her cast on and will be back at school next week. She’s going to be the most popular person at school after her heroic father.”
I tried to laugh and felt a sharp pain in my side again, Rick noticed my grimace.
“Here, the nurse told me that if you’re sore when you wake up this is a morphine button, only use it when you need it, if you can bear it, don’t use it.”
I tried a grin and failed, “what happened?”
Rick tried a smile as well then looked unhappy. “Nothing too bad, the doctors told us that one of your ribs ended up bending a little too far with the fracture and poked one of your lungs. You had to have a small procedure, but you’re going to be fine.”
A moment later a nurse, followed a doctor into the room and Rick stood back out of the way. They checked me over, letting me know that I was healing fine, adjusted my meds, then left Rick and myself to keep talking.
“Any word on what happened to that dipshit, Brad?” I asked.
Rick smiled sitting on the edge of my bed and pulled out his phone.
“This is from the night you and Maddie were brought in.”
The was a news clip from a news broadcast in Sydney.
“Tonight, our leading story. A manhunt is underway for Bradley Houghton. Earlier today, Mr Houghton assaulted local Byron Bay entrepreneur Mr Timothy Other. We now go to Byron Bay hospital where Mr Other and his daughter are currently receiving treatment. Over to you Carli.”
“Thanks, Sharron”, one of our local reporters said with the emergency entry for our hospital behind her. I had met Carlie Evens twice when she had interviewed me for growth in Other Gaming.
“Around eleven this morning, Mr Other was assaulted by now wanted fugitive Mr Bradley Houghton. Witnesses say that Mr Other was enjoying an ice cream with a young girl identified to be his daughter when Mr Houghton fixed Mr Other in a headlock dragging him backwards without provocation, assaulting him. When Mr Other’s daughter attempted to defend her father, Mr Houghton then assaulted the eight-year-old girl. Witnesses say that beaten, concussed and bleeding, Mr Other dived in front of his daughter saving her from serious injury.”
“Carli,” Sharon the news anchor asked, “Can you tell us of the condition of Mr Other and his daughter?”
“Yes Sharon,” Carli reported. “Mr Other is noted to be in a serious but stable condition after emergency surgery this afternoon and his daughter sustained minor injuries and is expected to be released tomorrow.”
“What else can you tell us?” Asked Sharron on the news desk.
“Sharron,” Carli began, “Police note that Mr Houghton stole Mr Others’ phone and vehicle and was last seen heading south towards Newcastle immediately following the altercation. It is unknown at this time if Mr Houghton is armed, however, Police say that he is potentially dangerous, if he is spotted then call Crimestoppers immediately and do not approach him.”
“Good advice Carli,” Sharon paused for a moment, reading a note in front of her. “Carli, can you tell us anything about why Mr Houghton may have assaulted Mr Other?”
Carli looked a little hesitant for a moment, quickly looking for someone off screen. She must have gotten a nod as she looked at a sheet of paper in front of her.
“Yes Sharron, there is some detail as to what caused the incident. Apparently, Mr Houghton was recently evicted from an apartment Mr Other didn’t know he owned. The reason was Mr Other’s wife of two years, Mrs Bridget Other was having a long-running affair with Mr Houghton, which Mr Other recently found out about. Mrs Other is now separated from Mr Other and is assisting police with the ongoing investigation to find Mr Houghton. As of right now, Byron Bay is looking out for one of its most successful business people. Mr Timothy Other generates over a seventy million dollars into the local economy a year and his company Other Gaming is getting recognised for some of the most innovative games available on the Internet today generating more than double that amount in the Australian economy. We can only hope that he makes a full recovery.”
“We all hope that to Carli,” Sharon replied in her anchor-woman voice. “Keep us up to date.”
She turned back to the camera.
“Next, we have our state premier, once again caught on tape in a sex scandal that has voters demanding his resignation…”
Rick paused the news clip, grinning broadly.
“They picked Brad up yesterday in Wollongong after he ran a red light in your car when local police spotted him.” He dropped the smile. “Unfortunately, he wrote your car off. But they got the bastard.”
“Don’t worry about the car,” I dismissed, “I am just glad they got him and Maddie is safe.”
We spoke for another fifteen minutes before we were interrupted by Maddie running into the room followed by Shona, carrying Greg.
“How are you feeling daddy?” Maddie asked as she climbed up on my bed, a look of absolute concern on her face.
“I’m feeling a lot better princess, the doctors fixed me up really good, just like you.” I replied, Maddie looked at the cast on my arm and then her own and smiled.
“My doctor, Mr Sweeny, said I was really brave,” Maddie said smiling, then she got serious again, “But I told him it was my Dad that was brave because you saved me.”
I smiled back, “Thanks beautiful girl, I’m sorry it ruined our day, once we’re all better can we try again, there are still some waves out there with our names on them.”
That caused my daughter to smile, and we spent the next few hours talking about days at the beach and getting to eat as much ice cream as possible in one day. Rick ended up taking the kids for a walk and left Shona with me.
“You really scared us there for a while,” she said holding my hand.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” I replied.
“I know, I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Me too” I responded.
We spoke for a while and then, Nadine and a few of my team from the office came in, bringing cards and chocolates. When Rick and the kids returned, a few chocolates may have disappeared if the mess on Greg’s face was any indication.
I spent a little over a week in the hospital before they sent me home. The Police questioned me and then proceeded to also arrest Bridget. Apparently, she was noted as an accessory, Brad had explained during his interview, without a lawyer, idiot, that Bridget had expressed the desire to see me beaten to a pulp for throwing her out and evicting Brad. It was just a coincidence that he came across Maddie and me that day and with Bridget’s words ringing in his ears, he decided to take charge.
The court case was pretty open and shut, Brad was convicted of multiple charges of assault, theft and destruction of property. He was sentenced to fifteen years in a medium-security facility with parole after twelve years. Bridget was convicted of accessory to commit assault, and sentenced to five years, but was given a suspended sentence. Though if she was convicted of another crime for anything more than a speeding ticket she would be required to serve the entire sentence.
The judge also granted our divorce immediately, stating I did not deserve to be shackled to a shrew such as my now second ex-wife. I surprised everyone when I committed to give Bridget ten thousand dollars to help her restart her life. That was with the stipulation that she do that in a location other than Byron Bay.
While I was recuperating, Nadine worked with me at the house every day and Shona could usually be found there as well. Now if you’re thinking that Nadine and I ended up as a couple, you would be wrong. First up, Nadine was my executive assistant, what’s the old saying, you don’t shit where you eat. The second was that Nadine was married and almost sixty years old, not a combination that a young guy only just in his thirties needed.
As we worked though I came up with a new campaign after seeing Maddie in her now heavily signed cast one afternoon when she got home from school. She was staying almost full time with me at the moment, since Shona was always here it made sense, But Maddie was now super protective of me, if anyone looked like they were going to disagree with me, including her mother, Maddie was in their faces giving them a severe ass chewing.
After seeing Maddie’s cast one afternoon, I decided we would run a promotion in three of our most popular games, for every pack over ten dollars bought in the game, we would give one dollar to charities around the world that dealt with domestic child abuse. At first my finance department were upset, after costs, that dollar was a little over thirty percent of our profits. However after the first month they were ecstatic seeing the revenue rolling in. Marketing got involved and Carli Evans did a follow-up and our in-game purchases went up over three hundred percent. We ended up giving almost five hundred thousand dollars to three different charities in Australia, Poland and South America. Every year now we run a charity campaign giving money to those in need.
The months went by and Maddie and I recovered, once the casts were off and my ribs were healed, it was mid-summer and Maddie and I were back at the beach. Well, we were always followed by Shona and Greg now and often Rick when he could. Greg was now walking on his own and Shona enjoyed splashing in the shallows with him while Maddie and I played in the surf. I had a grand time that summer, sure I was a little lonely, I missed having someone by my side and while Shona was always there for me, even she knew I needed a romantic companion.
As the summer progressed, Shona and I spoke about me getting back out and dating, but my heart just wasn’t in it. The couple of dates I did have, just didn’t go well. Either there was no spark, or they were intimidated by my background or worse, they were just straight-up gold diggers like Bridget. I wished I could find someone like Shona that I had that connection with. Hell, I was only thirty-one I had a lot of time up my sleeve.
A year went by, I had a couple of small interactions with Bridget, but they were short and very terse, most of the time it ended up with me saying no. She either wanted money, to get back together or worse, she wanted me to forgive her. Each time I gave her a negative response and hung up.
What I didn’t know is that my life was about to change again, but not in the way I thought it would.
I had just turned Thirty-two, so the office along with Shona and Nadine planned a birthday party at my house. I had stayed in the house after the divorce because it really was a beautiful house, I had put a lot of money into it so I planned to enjoy it. We had over a hundred people there that evening, I think I knew perhaps just under half of them. There were people from work, some local business people I worked with, even Carli Evans was there, but she was told she had to be off the record. My family was there, my parents, Bob and Tina, as well as Shona’s parents and a couple of Rick’s family. Everyone had plenty to eat, plenty to drink, there was music and as the evening went on, I had a nice buzz going on as everyone kept handing me a fresh drink.
I had just seen Maddie run by laughing with one of my cousins’ kids, when I accidently bumped into someone and muttered an apology.
“And that’s all you have to say, sorry?” a voice rang out at me.
I turned back towards the not quite shrieking voice.
“I beg your pardon?” I asked the woman standing before me.
“You heard me,” she said, “A simple sorry is just plain rude, you could have knocked me into the pool.”
Despite the aggressive tone of her voice and the scowl on her face that seemed at odds with the world, the woman before me was as strikingly beautiful as she was repulsive in the same breath. She was fairly tall at what I assumed was pretty much six foot, I was six-two. She was fairly slim but with curves that were very obvious in the floral jump-suit she was wearing. She was pale skinned with a spattering of freckles across her nose that highlighted her sapphire blue eyes. But what really drew me in was that red hair. It was long, and held in a braid, almost down to her waist, it had the crimson colour of a smouldering fire you could watch happily all night until the coals glowed hot and you were content saying nothing as you felt the heat off them.
But at the same time she repelled me, it wasn’t lit, but the woman had a cigarette in her hand, she was obviously heading away from the group so she could smoke. To me you can take the most beautiful woman in the world that every man woman and child on this planet agree is the perfect human specimen, put a cigarette in their hand and I am turned off. That’s what was happening to me once I saw the smoke in her hands.