Temptation Pt. 03

"No, well, yes something is wrong, but no one is hurt..." responded an audibly upset Anna. "It's Gary... He stayed the night with his parents last night... Oh god, I don't wanna lose him..." with this she started sobbing openly again.

"Sis, why did he stay there? What happened?" When Denise got no immediate response, she knew something was really wrong. "Anna, I'm coming over, okay?"

Anna responded with a simple, "uh huh," before the sisters hung up.

Denise told her husband that she had to go help her sister, and would be back as soon as she could. She drove to Anna's house, not knowing what to expect. Her sister sounded like a nervous wreck, so she hoped she would be able to calm her down.

Denise knocked on the door and Anna let her in, still sniffling and with puffy red eyes. The women sat on the couch and Denise started talking.

"Anna, honey, what's wrong?"

She told her sister everything with a tearful confession, letting the truth come out. She told her sister about Gary and the girl from the gym, about her cheating with Jake at the office, everything. She had sobbed during most of her story telling, but managed to make it through without breaking down completely.

"Damn..." was all her sister managed to say. She eventually went on, "Anna, you're in a royally fucked up situation, no doubt about it. I guess what I want to know is, what do you want now? Do you want to divorce Gary? Do you want to be with this other guy? Have you thought about Lilia, at ALL?" she asked with heated words.

"NO! Gary means everything to me! I know I screwed up, and we have problems, but I don't want to lose him!"

With that she finally broke down. She could talk no more, as her body was wracked with sobs, crying as soul-wrenching pain seemed to course through her. Anna had no idea how she would get by without her family.

"Well, girl, you got your work cut out for you then, don't you?"

**********

Gary had awakened after another fitful night of sleep. His nightmares were similar to the last time, only now his ex-girlfriend Kendra was involved. He thought about her and what had happened between them nearly seven years ago, before he'd ever met Anna.

Kendra had been a free spirited woman, and initially, that had been a huge attraction for Gary. After spending more time with her, he eventually found that her severe mood swings and changing temperament were too much to handle.

One night, he had found a notebook of hers while waiting for her to finish getting dressed. They were going out that night and she wanted to look perfect, she had said. He was bored, so he opened the notebook and what he found both shocked and revolted him.

On the first page, she had written her name repeatedly, but had appended his last name onto it. Kendra Marie Thomson.

Gary flipped the page to find another page filled with her name, written in cursive, again with his last name. He turned another page, and found she had drawn a picture of the two of them, together, naked. He would have appreciated her artistic talent more, had it been a lot less creepy.

He turned a few more pages and found a few pictures that looked like they were put together in Photoshop. The page heading said, 'Our Children,' and the pictures were some sort of combination of his and her faces, at different ages. He got a few more pages in and couldn't take it anymore, putting the disturbing notebook back where he found it.

Her little shrine freaked him out, to the point that he was about to leave her apartment before she even finished getting dressed. 'How have I never noticed this side of her before?' he thought.

They had only been dating for about two months at that time, and Gary was nowhere close to as attached as she was, obviously. The sex with her was wonderful, but they often didn't have a lot to talk about. With so little in common, he had been considering breaking it off with her. Now he was certain of it.

Kendra came out of the bedroom looking like a model, completely blowing Gary away. He figured that he would take her out one last night, show her a good time, and then break up with her the following day as gently as he could.

Plans are great, until they aren't. Kendra was the life of the party at the club they went to, and was grinding on other men that had asked her to dance. Gary really didn't want to be a jerk about it, but when she nearly sucked the tongue out of one guy's mouth, Gary had had enough. He decided that he would end it tonight and not wait until the next day. Gary tossed some money on the bar to cover his tab and left the building.

That had been the last time he saw her in person, only sending her a text message to end their relationship. The message had a picture of her with that guy, and his included message was pretty simple.

We were never meant to be, obviously

I wish you the best...

After that night, Gary had really hunkered down to focus on his professional life. He decided that he didn't want to work for one of the big firms in the city, and chose to instead start his own investing consultancy.

First, he used some of his own money, but quickly sold his investing prowess to others that he knew. After a while, he gained popularity by word of mouth, that he was the go-to for growing an investment portfolio. His friends told others, people he had met at church spread the word too.

He lived alone in an apartment and was doing quite well for himself, when he had met Anna at that coffee shop one morning. Gary had no regrets at all about his choices with regards to Anna, even if lately she had been the source of so much confusion in his life.

So it was, nearly seven years later, that Gary was having coffee at that same stand he had met Anna. He sat at the table and gazed out the window, just relaxing as he watched others living their lives. He really enjoyed people watching, as it put things in perspective for him.

Imagine his surprise, when he saw Kendra sit down at the table with him. As she squared off in front of him, he looked on with disbelief. She gave him a tentative smile, before beginning to speak.

"Hi, Gary, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Gary cleared his throat. "Kendra, what an unexpected surprise. How are you?"

"I'm okay, and you?" she replied.

"I've been better. What are you doing here? You know I'm married now, right?" The tone in his voice wasn't hostile, but a bit abrupt.

"I know, I saw your picture on Anna's desk and realized that you were her husband. She told me she was married to a guy named Gary, but until I saw the picture, I didn't realize it was you."

"Wait a minute! You work with MY Anna? You're the Kendra that's been spreading LIES ABOUT ME!?"

Kendra backed away at his sudden outburst, holding her hands up defensively. "Gary, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You didn't tell my wife that you saw me with another woman? You didn't tell her that you saw me go to some apartment downtown for an hour?" he questioned with a sneer.

"No! Why the hell would I tell her that?" she snapped back. "Gary, I hate to tell you this, but I think she is the one sneaking around behind YOUR back. She goes to lunch with a guy from the office all the time. At first I didn't really care, but when I saw your picture in her office, I knew I had to find you."

Gary was still fuming, but now also completely confused. "You had to find me? Just how did you find me, anyhow?"

"I went by your house, but didn't see you there, so I asked Anna if you guys were having problems. That's when she told me that you were staying at your parent's house. I was going to confront you there this morning, but pulled up just as you were leaving. Anyhow, that's not important. What's important is that your wife might be cheating on you. What are you going to do about that?"

"Kendra, you realize you sound crazy right now. Anna comes home, tells me that YOU have been feeding her a bunch of stories about me and this woman from the gym, and now I'm supposed to believe you when you accuse HER of cheating? With WHO?"

She sighed, took a deep breath and went on. "His name is Jake. I guess Anna didn't get the memo, but he's kinda the office ladies' man. Now, I haven't had sex with him, but he's made his way through most of the women in the office."

By this point, Gary didn't know what to believe. "Okay, let's say I believe you, and this guy, Jake, is nailing everyone there. How do you know that my Anna is, too?"

"I don't have proof on me, but I can get it."

He rolled his eyes at this. "Okay, well when you get that proof, you let me know. Thanks for the chat, but I really have to go now."

Gary got up and walked off. Kendra was still pretty pissed. He was supposed to get mad and fall into her arms, not walk off and dismiss her claims. 'FUCK!' she thought. She gave it a little more thought, and decided it was time to drop the hammer.

**********

Gary went to the gym and told the young woman at the counter that he needed to cancel his membership. Alexia was just getting in, and heard him stating that he was changing gyms. She knew the real reason, and it bothered her that this really great guy was being put through so much shit.

She walked back out of the gym and got into her car. Alexia couldn't sit by and watch as Gary was torn apart, being helped by the role she had played. She knew where Kendra and Anna worked, so she drove over to their building. She set her resolve, for the coming confrontation with Gary's wife. As her ex-Navy dad used to say, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

Alexia went to the reception desk and asked for Anna Thomson. When Anna came out, she took one look at Alexia, and immediately a dark look passed over her face. The two walked towards the lawyer's office, and Anna shut the door behind her.

After sitting down, Anna got right to the point. "What do YOU want? It's bad enough that you are trying to seduce my husband, now you come here to gloat?"

Alexia had the decency to lower her head and nod. "Yes, I was trying to seduce him, but not anymore. Please, you have to listen to me now..."

Anna was in no mood for games, but sat to listen to the tramp's story. Alexia went on to tell her all about Kendra's plot to split them up. She got roped into it as a favor to a friend, but couldn't continue to help ruin their lives. She told Anna how Kendra had paid some guy at the office, to seduce her. Anna could only guess she meant Jake.

She told Anna all about the innocent hugs, about the lies Kendra told and that she had never slept with Gary. Lastly, she told Anna about the history between Kendra and Gary. Apparently they had dated, and Gary broke up with her before starting to date Anna. By the end of the diatribe, Anna was both extremely pissed at Kendra, as well as elated that her husband had, in fact, been telling the truth.

That's when the guilt slammed home. She had broken her wedding vows, and he hadn't. 'How the hell am I going to make up for that?' she thought.

She thanked Alexia, and after the other woman left her office, put her head down on her desk and bawled. After crying her eyes out, she sat up with a determined posture. Anna decided, right then, that she would do whatever it took to keep her marriage together. If she had to quit her job, she would. If she had to grovel, beg and do some sort of counseling, she was willing.

The first thing she needed to do was come clean with Gary, and apologize profusely for not believing him when she should have trusted him. She debated whether or not to admit to the cheating with Jake, but figured she would cross that bridge if it came up.

Anna wiped her eyes, grabbed her purse and left early for the day. They could live without her for one afternoon. She just hoped that her husband was at home and working, and not still over at his parent's house.

She drove home, both hopeful and fearful at the same time. What if he didn't accept her apology? What if it was too late and the damage already done? She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and focused on what she was going to say to him.

**********

Gary went home, after the coffee shop incident, to try to get some work done. He really didn't want to spend another night away from his family, regardless of how mad he was at Anna for not believing in him. The lack of trust she was showing disturbed him, but thinking about it the odd facts that she presented could make anyone wonder. He just hoped they could work them out and move on.

He settled in and started his normal trading day. About thirty minutes into his morning, his computer speakers dinged, announcing a new email had arrived. He wasn't expecting anything on his personal email, so clicked over to it. If the header was correct, it was from Kendra. 'How the fuck did she get my email address?' he wondered. That woman apparently had no limit to the amount of stalking she got into.

The subject line simply saidProof, and there was a link in the email. Normally he never opened links in email, but finally conceded that she was bat-shit crazy, but not very tech savvy to do something malicious in an email. He clicked the link, and it took him to a website full of videos of cheating wives. The top one on this page was titledHot cheating wife gets nailed on her office desk.

He clicked on the video and it began playing. The following several minutes nearly killed him.

**********

Anna pulled into her driveway and was relieved to see that Gary's Jeep was in the driveway. She steeled her resolve, looked at herself in the mirror and went into the house. Her mood was upbeat, as she planned on making things up to her husband for being so stupid.

She found him in his office and immediately wanted to get the apology out. "Gary, honey we need to talk. I owe you a huge apology, but have great news! I know all about Alexia now, and that you were telling me the truth! I'm sorry that I didn't believe you, but I do now... Gary? Honey what's wrong?"

She could tell that he was shaking and could hear him sobbing quietly at his desk, his back to her. She walked over to him and looked over his shoulder, to see a video playing of her on her desk at work, being plowed by a very aggressive Jake. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth, and she let out a gasp.

"Oh no... no, no no..." she cried out.

Anna had no idea what to do or say, how to begin to explain or make up for the horrible thing that he was witnessing. She moved forward and closed the lid to his laptop and sat down. She put her head down on his desk and joined him in crying.

Gary snapped out of it after the laptop closed. He looked over at his crying wife, and got very angry. "What the fuck are you crying about?" he said in an even but menacing tone.

"Gary... we were... set up... it was all Kendra..." she said in between sobs.

"Kendra did THAT!?" he yelled, as he pointed at the closed laptop. "She forced you to do THAT?"

"I've screwed up so bad, but she PAID him to seduce me... OH MY GOD!" she broke down completely at that. "I'm so sorry..."

"BULLSHIT! Are you even listening to yourself right now? She paid HIM to seduce YOU... It doesn't really matter, now does it? It worked, and you went along with it. THAT," he yelled, pointing at the laptop, "DOESN'T look like RAPE to me!!"

Gary wanted to choke her just then, but finally calmed to a simmer. "How many times?" he asked.

Anna sniffed, mumbled into her arms, "Gary, please..."

"I SAID HOW MANY TIMES?"

"Just that once, he tried for a second time but I swear I told him no... Please, I love only you, you have to believe me! Gary, I will do anything to make this up to you... I CAN'T LOSE YOU!" again she broke down.

The waterworks were getting old, quickly. Gary knew that she was an emotional woman, but right now she wasn't crying about him. She was crying because she got caught and felt guilty. He had no sympathy for her just then, but a lot of anger towards his ex-girlfriend. If she had orchestrated all of this, he would make her pay. Right then, he felt the need to lash out at his wayward wife, to make her feel some of the pain he now felt.

"Maybe I should go look Alexia up, follow-through with the shit you accused me of. Better yet, maybe I should go hook up with Kendra. Would that make you happy? HUH?"

Anna simply cried longer and louder, shaking her head on her arms.

"Anna, how could you? One of the things we have always agreed on was that we would NEVER cheat on each other. Now, I get a video proving that you not only got fucked by some other guy, but at your office no less. I noticed there was no condom, and didn't you say you went off your birth control recently?"

Gary paused at that, and shook with rage as his own tears were trying to break free. "I will never get that image out of my head, as long as I live. You say you're sorry, but you are just sorry that you got CAUGHT! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?" He lost it and completely broke down then, kicking his desk as he sat back down.

At hearing all of that, Anna got up and rushed to the bathroom. Gary could hear her retching in the toilet, what sounded like everything in her stomach. He took no pleasure in the sound of her getting sick.

He just sat there, crying for the death of their marriage. He had no idea how they could recover from this, and wasn't sure if he even wanted to try. The betrayal that surrounded him was complete and devastating.

As he continued his sobbing, his wife came in again and tried to comfort him. She, too, was crying, and put her arms round him from behind. Normally this embrace had a very soothing effect on him. At first, it did, and he slowed his shaking. She hugged him tightly from behind as if she was afraid she might never get to do it again.

Her touch felt amazing and hurt at the same time. The image of her getting fucked by that guy popped into his head, making his blood boil again. He jumped up from his chair and shook free of her grasp.

"GOD DAMN IT, ANNA!"

Gary slammed his hands on his desk, got up and left the office in a rage. He decided to take a long walk to clear his head. The very last thing he wanted to do was physically hurt his wife, no matter how mad he was at her. Lilia didn't need to have one of her parents in jail.

He spent at least an hour walking around their neighborhood. He thought about their future, or apparent lack of one, now. Gary wanted to erase the last few weeks more than anything, but there would be no going back now. He hung his head and came to the conclusion that he had some tough choices to make in the near future.

For now, he returned home when he felt as calm as he could be. The rage was still there, but much less than before. He walked in, ignored his red-eyed wife at the kitchen table and went straight to the bathroom for a shower.

When he came out and sat across from her at the table, she meekly pushed a cup of coffee his way. He took it and sipped, thankful that she had made it just as he liked it.

'God damn, that woman knows me well... bitch,' he thought.

She looked up into his eyes, and almost whispered, "I don't want to lose you, but I'm afraid I might be too late."

Gary snorted in response. The bile he felt coming up at her words made it all that much harder to maintain a straight face. "I don't know how we can survive. I don't even know where to start," he replied, eventually.

"I'm so scared, and you were wrong. I'm very sorry for doing it, not just getting caught," she said tearfully.

He looked down at his cup. As he suspected, he would have to make some decisions, but now that he'd had some time to think more about it, he knew two things.

First, he had to gather more information so that he could exact as much revenge as possible on the person most responsible for their family falling apart.

Second, he would need to figure out what he was going to do about his wife. Was he going to divorce her, kick her out, or what? That one was harder to come up with an answer, but he knew he was going to have to figure it out. Until then, he figured he would just take it one day at a time.