Unforgivable Sin
Copyright © 2014 Isabel Lucero
All rights reserved.
Editing: Cynthia Boudreaux
Cover Design: Robin Harper from Wicked by Design
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Formatting by: Angela McLaurin from Fictional Formats
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Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication and use of these trademarks are not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Epilogue
Letter to Readers
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Five years earlier…
After a long day, I can’t wait to get home, eat and relax. I’m glad I was able to get off a little early, considering I had to go in early. Thanks to Mr. Fucking Welch, I had to be at work at six o’clock this morning. An hour and a half earlier than I usually need to be.
I hate this job, but my father convinced me to follow in his footsteps. A relationship private banker just means dealing with a lot of demanding rich bastards.
I won’t lie, the money is great and much needed. Mine and Carla’s wedding is coming up soon, and we need my income in order to have the wedding Carla’s dreamed about. She said she’s been trying to find a job, but I figure it’s best to wait until after the wedding anyway. That way she won’t have to worry about taking time off for it.
She seems to be coming back to her normal self again. For a while there we were constantly having arguments and having very little sex. It should always be the other way around. Carla thought I spent too much time at work, and didn’t put her first above everything else. She was always questioning where I was at, where I was going, who I was with, and was convinced I was cheating on her. After a few months, I was able to assure her that I wasn’t cheating on her. I love Carla more than anything or anybody. I explained to her that I’ve just been busy with work, and I think now she recognizes that. She understands that in order to have this wedding, I need to be working. Of course I’d rather be home with her, but that isn’t possible right now.
I blame the fact that she was acting crazy and insecure on wedding nerves. However, in the past few months she’s been happier, hasn’t questioned me about what I’ve been doing or where I’ve been. I’ll admit that the sudden change worries me. I mean, why all of a sudden is she so okay with me having to go in early or work late? An idea eats at me, but with no proof, I let it go.
Putting that aside, I’m happy that she seems happy. All I want is to give her the wedding of her dreams, make her my wife, and start a family. I know eventually work will slow down, and I’ll be able to spend more time with her.
As I approach the house, I notice that I’m arriving home almost an hour early. Carla should be happy about that. My hopes are suddenly killed when I notice another car in the driveway. It’s my cousin Rob’s car. What the fuck does he want now? To borrow more money? To get on my damn nerves? Probably. He’s always around being annoying and buggin’ for stuff. I’ll be sure to make him leave right away. I’m not in the mood for his shit.
I’m surprised when I enter the house that I don’t see either one of them in the living room or kitchen. Where else would they be?
“Carla,” I call out, walking through the house. “Rob, what the fuck you want, man?” I yell again.
Once I’ve made my way through the lower level of the house, a feeling of unease comes over me. It’s unfathomable, really. I try not to picture what my mind is so eager to make me believe. Making my way up the stairs slowly, I try to come up with feasible reasons that Carla and Rob would both be upstairs and not responding to me. A couple of stairs creak under my feet, and it’s when I get to the top that I hear music coming from my bedroom.
My heart is beating a mile a minute while my fists automatically clench at my sides. I know damn well she better be in there alone, getting ready for me. She better be singing and dancing in the mirror like she likes to do when she gets ready. I decide calling out for her or Rob is no longer something I want to do. Instead I walk down the hall, past the bathroom, past the laundry room, and stand right outside my closed bedroom door.
Taking a deep breath, closing my eyes and wishing for the best, my hand twists the knob soundlessly. I push it open slowly and take in the sight before me.
Carla’s naked, caramel-colored back is facing me. I see her moving and I hear grunts and groans. Then I see red. I take one step into the room, and grab the glass bear holding a heart that reads I love you, given to me by Carla on my birthday. I hurl it across the room, over her head, and watch it shatter into pieces and fall onto the bed.
Carla screams and turns around to face me. Her brown eyes go wide and I see fear all over face.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I roar.
It’s then that Carla scurries off the dick of the man lying naked on my bed. He lifts himself up onto his elbows and my eyes connect with my cousin’s.
“Oh shit,” he murmurs.
“You damn right, oh shit,” I say as I make my way to the bed.
He tries to get up, but I’m already there, my fist flying into his face. Carla screams and moves away from the bed. I hit him over and over, and to his credit, he doesn’t try to fight back. I finally stop and look down at his bloodied face. His lip is cut and bleeding, his nose may or may not be broken, and his eye will definitely be swollen soon. Unfortunately, seeing him this way doesn’t make me feel any better.
“Get the fuck out of my bed, out of my house, and out of my life,” I snarl at him.
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��I… I’m sorry man. I didn’t… I…”
“Don’t bother trying to come up with any fucking excuses,” I say, cutting him off.
I look at Carla who is putting her robe on beside the bed.
“Troy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I… it didn’t mean anything. He made me,” she stammers.
“You were on fucking top of him!” I shout. “I don’t think he made you do anything.”
She looks over at Rob who is trying to pull his pants on.
“It was only once. I promise. This was a mistake. I just want us to work. Please, Troy. Please forgive me,” she cries.
I turn to look at Rob who is taking too fucking long to get out of my house. “Get the fuck out!” I shout.
He jumps and gathers his shoes and runs out of the room. As soon as he’s gone, Carla is rushing towards me. She drops to her knees in front of me and wraps her arms around my legs.
“Troy, I’m sorry. Please. You have to believe me. I never wanted this to happen.”
“You never wanted to get caught,” I say, trying to free my legs from her grasp.
“No. I just missed you.”
“So you fuck my cousin?” I yell. “Get the fuck off me, Carla,” I say as I shake her off of me and step back.
She stays on her knees, tears streaming down her face.
“We can make this work. I know we can. We’re meant to be together,” she whimpers.
“I thought we were, too. But I’d never marry a woman who would so easily sleep with somebody else, let alone my own cousin, because she says she misses me. I was fucking working, Carla. I work for us. For you. I’ve been working more to be able to pay for the Goddamn wedding you’ve been begging for. And this is what you do. You disgust me,” I say, my lip curling up on one side.
“You don’t mean that. You’re just mad. Please, Troy. I can’t be without you.”
I walk to the bathroom and run the water over my hand in the sink, washing the blood away. When I enter the bedroom again, Carla is sitting on the edge of the bed, head down and tears falling from her chin. I’ve always hated seeing her cry. Even though I’m pissed, my heart is also broken. Shattered. Like the glass bear whose remains are on our bed along with Rob’s blood.
I clear my throat. “Carla, you need to leave. I can’t look at you right now.”
“I’m not leaving, Troy. I won’t leave you,” she says, her head coming up and her red, puffy eyes meeting mine.
“Yes you will. We’re done. This is unforgivable!”
“Troy,” she whines.
“Carla, I’m trying to not lose my temper again. Please, get the fuck out.” When she doesn’t move, I step closer to her. “You expect me to forgive you and marry you after you fucked my cousin in my house, in my bed, with pictures of me and you surrounding the bed? Do you even have a heart? You fucked him while there were pictures of us next to the bed! You broke my heart and my trust, and you’ll never get either one of those back.”
“I don’t know where to go,” she says quietly, getting up from the bed.
“Not my problem. Go stay with Rob.”
I hear her make a scoffing noise. “I love you, Troy. Not Rob. I want to be with you, not him.”
“That’s not what it looked like. You can come back tomorrow and retrieve your stuff from the porch.”
“The porch?” she screeches. “I can’t even come back inside?”
I turn and glare at her. “No you fucking can’t! You’ve done enough in here. I will be sure you get whatever belongs to you, but you’re not welcome in my house anymore.”
“What about you? You belong to me.”
“I don’t belong to anybody.”
I storm down the stairs and twenty minutes later Carla comes down carrying a few bags. My initial thought is to help her. But fuck that. Fuck her. Instead, I watch her pause in front of the door, looking at me like she was waiting for me to change my mind.
I just stare at her, holding an ice pack to my hand, until she steps outside. When Carla leaves, so does my willingness to trust or love anybody again. I will never allow myself to be put through this much pain.
Present Time…
I stop in my tracks, unable to wrap my head around what I’m seeing. What the fuck is Carla doing on my doorstep, and why the fuck does she have a suitcase? All I know is that I need her gone before Emilie gets here.
Her multicolored, striped dress is blowing in the wind, and I notice she doesn’t look over at me even though she knows I’m here. She tries to tuck part of her short curly hair behind her ear, but it only comes loose.
When I’m a few steps from her, she turns and smiles. “Troy,” she greets.
“Carla. What are you doing here?”
“Well, that wasn’t the type of greeting I was expecting,” she says with a small smile.
“It should have been. How did you find my house?”
She fidgets with her hair again, the curls blowing around her head. “Yes, well, I did go to our old place first, and was disappointed that you no longer lived there. We had so many good memories there, Troy.”
“Yeah, I only remember one thing that happened in that house, and it wasn’t particularly good,” I respond.
She sighs and looks off to the side. “Well, you’ve upgraded.”
“In lots of ways.”
Her eyebrows pinch together momentarily, but she quickly smiles. “Right. Well, I just got back in town and wanted to catch up.”
I didn’t know she had left Vegas. I wonder how long she was gone, but I’m not about to ask and have her think I’m interested in anything she’s done with her life.
“I think we’re pretty caught up here. You moved away, you’re back. I moved and upgraded my house and life in general.”
“Troy, even after all these years, you still hold a grudge? You know what that means don’t you? It means you still care about me.” A smile stretches across her face, showcasing her straight, white teeth.
I smile at her. “Oh, Carla, I didn’t realize until now just how much I’ve enjoyed having you out of my life.”
Her smile is quickly replaced with a scowl. “You’ve changed.”
“I have.”
“You still look good, maybe even better than before,” she says, eyeing me up and down.
“Well, guess you should be going,” I say, looking at my watch.
“You don’t think I look good?” she asks with a cunning smile.
Unfortunately, I did notice that she looks good. Her body appears to be toned like she spends a lot of time in the gym, and it’s obvious she’s been in the sun, because her natural caramel-colored skin has a more bronzed look.
“You look fine,” I say with nonchalance. “Maybe you should go ask Rob what he thinks.”
She ignores my comment about Rob. “I don’t have a car here, Troy. How do you expect me to leave?”
“I’m not sure why you had someone drop you off here, anyway. Call a cab.”
“I don’t have a phone,” she says with a pout.
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Fuck, Carla. I don’t have time to deal with you,” I say as I look at my phone and try to figure out how much time I have until Emilie gets here.
“Sorry, Troy. I just thought we could be friends,” she responds sadly. “I don’t have anybody else.”
“You had friends before,” I huff.
“I stopped talking to them when I left a few years ago. I don’t know how to get in touch with anybody.”
“Why did you come back then? Your family doesn’t even live here.”
She bites on her lip, looking down at her suitcase and shrugs her shoulders.
“I’ll just walk down to the convenience store and get a cab from there,” she murmurs dejectedly.
“The convenience store is probably a little more than a mile away.”
“That’s fine,” she says softly, starting to walk away.
I curse under my breath. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”
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“You will?”
“Yeah. Just hurry up.”
I see the corners of her mouth lift into a small smile before she quickly walks towards the Escalade I just exited a few minutes before.
“Thank you, Troy.”
“Yeah.”
I look at the time and figure I can make it back before Emilie arrives. Before I back out of the driveway, I call a cab company and make sure one is on the way to the store where I plan to drop off Carla.
“Do you still work at the same place?” Carla asks while I peel out of my driveway.
“No.”
“Oh. So where do you work now?”
“Everywhere.”
“Man of few words, I see.”
“Look, Carla, I don’t know what you expect. I’m not going to be your best friend. I don’t want to talk to you about my life, and I don’t want to hear about yours. I don’t know where you went and I don’t know why you chose to come back, and honestly, I don’t care.”
She doesn’t respond. When I glance over at her, she’s looking out the window and then brings her hand up to wipe a tear from her cheek.
“My parents died,” she says softly. “That’s why I left. I stayed in Colorado until I couldn’t stand being there anymore. I thought it would help me to be near where they lived, but it didn’t.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Carla. I had no idea.”
She waves her hand at me like it’s no big deal, and wipes another tear. An awkward silence fills the car.
“Troy, I know I hurt you. I was stupid. I’m not the same woman anymore. I just want you to know that I feel terrible. I miss the good times we had.” When I don’t say anything, she continues. “We had good times, right?”
“Yeah, Carla. We had some.”
She doesn’t say anything else until I pull up to the convenience store.
“Well, thank you for the ride.”
“You’re welcome.”
She turns and faces me, a sorrowful look on her face. The right side of her mouth lifts in an attempt to smile. I force a smile in return, feeling bad about her losing both parents. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
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