Then, I saw it. What the fuck? Derrick’s car. Why is Derrick’s car here? I couldn’t come up with one good reason why my best man was visiting my fiancée without me at this time of night—why he would be here without telling me. My heart began pounding hard as I attempted to open the car door. My hands were shaking, so it took a couple of tries just to get out of the car. I had to calm down. Breathe. Just breathe. There was probably a really good explanation for him being here, even if I couldn’t come up with anything right now. My mind was blank. I was risking making a fool of myself, but hopefully it would turn out to be nothing and we’d all have a pretty good laugh about it.
Approaching her house, I decided not to knock on the door. Suspicion drove me to be a Peeping Tom, and I went around to the back. I made my way toward the master bedroom. With each approaching step, I felt more nauseated and a little pissed I’d resorted to sneaking around her house, behaving like a stalker. This wasn’t me. I’m not the jealous type. Of course, I was hurt in high school when Melissa cheated, but that was the past and we had been stupid kids. I’d grown up and learned about myself and how to choose the right woman. How had I ended up being so suspicious? If anything, when we went out, Angelina would remark on how many women checked me out. I never even noticed. I only had eyes for her.
I wasn’t sure if I was more upset with myself for not trusting them or with them for seeing each other and keeping it a secret. If they caught me, it could create a shit storm, but even with that in mind, I trudged on. Angelina would be pissed to think I didn’t trust her. But I was here and now I had to find out so I could put all of this to rest.
“Yeah, baby, just like that. You…feel…so…good,” she moaned out.
Derrick groaned too, but he didn’t say anything.
Those sounds were all too familiar. Angelina moaning. She was talking to Derrick like she talked to me while we were having sex, telling him just how she liked it. I wanted to cover my ears, but it was way too late—the sounds and words had already permeated my mind.
Peering through the shutters, I could see them. Her on top of him naked, sliding up and down, his hands fondling her breasts.
I wanted to turn away, but I just kept staring at her, at them, in disbelief. What the fuck is happening? My worst fucking nightmare was coming true. My mind was telling me to run, but my feet weren’t cooperating. Taking a few steps back, I sat on one of the lawn chairs. How long had this been happening? How could she do this to me? How could my best friend?
They were the two most important people in my life. Every decision I’d made for the last two years was based on one of them. I couldn’t think of a day that’d gone by in the last two years that I didn’t talk to them, or hang out. Oh, God. This couldn’t be happening. My breathing was heavy and my heart was crushed. The pain. Is this what a heart attack felt like? Maybe it was all a mistake and my mind was playing tricks on me. I went back to the window. It had to be. I had to be losing it.
Feeling the blood coursing through my body, I wanted to burst in and beat the shit out of Derrick, but I didn’t. My mom had raised me to count to ten before I reacted to anything and I’d been doing that ever since I could remember. As I counted, an idea better than beating up Derrick came to mind and I knew just how I was going to play it out.
Taking out my cell phone, I began recording them. Every sordid detail was being captured as they unknowingly put on the show of their lives. I was furious this was happening, but I could already feel the vindication for when I would reveal this footage. Being vengeful wasn’t something I normally resorted to, and I wasn’t proud of myself, but in this case I was willing to make an exception.
Finally, Angelina was done, screaming out, and Derrick was right behind her, finishing a moment later. I quietly maneuvered my way out of the backyard and slowly walked to my car, wondering how this could be real. It couldn’t have actually happened. Looking down at my cell, I saw that I’d recorded them for almost five minutes. How I’d managed to stand there for that long, I had no idea. It was like I’d had an out-of-body experience, watching myself instead of being there seeing it first-hand. What the hell? What the fuck? How long? How fucking long? I’ve loved her…but it’s all been a lie. If she were going to do this, why my best friend? Why not some random guy I didn’t know and have a business with? A life with? I had to get out of here. I couldn’t stand one more second.
As I drove away, my phone lit up with Angelina’s face.
Her fake face.
The face I’d fallen in love with.
The face I thought was so beautiful.
The face I’d wanted to wake up to every morning for the rest of my life.
The face that had continually lied to me for I don’t know how long.
I let it go to voicemail and continued on my way home. We didn’t live that far apart from one another—only fifteen minutes. In fifteen minutes, I’d be downing a scotch before calling her back. I needed it to steady my nerves. I was going to insist she take the next couple of days off so she could do wedding stuff and offer her a spa day, just so I could have some distance. It was going to be the longest forty-eight hours of my life.
Arriving home, everything seemed so empty. We’d planned on living at my place, since it was near the beach, and renting hers out. I’d already been making space for her, rearranging my life for her. All for nothing. She turned us into nothing tonight and the images of her betrayal were seared in my mind. How would I ever get the picture of them together to go away? Hitting the call button on my phone, I could feel the bile rising in my throat just from the thought of talking with her. Hearing the voice that’d just screamed out my best friend’s name. She’d shattered my world and she had no idea. How had I chosen another woman who would cheat? My stomach was doing somersaults as I listened to the phone ringing.
“There’s my handsome groom. I was beginning to wonder why you didn’t answer my call.”
“I didn’t realize my phone was off,” I said. It was the only thing I could think of. I knew I sounded robotic. I should have practiced what I was going to say. Too late now.
“Are you okay? You sound a little funny.”
“Oh, it’s been a long day. I’m really tired.” And I just saw you fucking my former best friend. That ought to do it.
“Aww, I wish I was there to make you feel all better.”
“Me too,” I said begrudgingly. No way in hell did I want her here, but I couldn’t say that. “Listen, I think you should take the next couple days off to lower your stress and have plenty of time to do things before the wedding. I also thought you might want to work in some time at the spa.”
Angelina sighed. “That sounds perfect. You always know exactly what I need.”
Apparently I didn’t, because if I knew she needed to do my best friend, I would’ve dumped her a long time ago.
“Well, you know me, I try. It’s my job to make my bride happy.” That last statement made me want to hurl.
“You’re very good at it, baby,” she said.
This was going to be harder than I thought—acting normal. It took every fiber in my being to remain calm. But, I was stronger than the emotions that were fighting to take over. I could do this. No, I would do this no matter what.
“Thanks, babe. I’m really beat. Can we talk tomorrow?”
“Sure, sweetie. You get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
We said goodnight and I tossed my phone onto the sofa. I wanted to throw it through the wall, but that wasn’t going to do any good.
I poured myself another drink, drowning myself in the smooth liquid. I really needed to go to the gym and work out my aggressions. My workouts had been intense lately, as I wanted to be in my best form for my bride. She loved my six-pack and…who was I kidding? I’d been working at perfecting my body, and she had sung my praises, but she had another agenda in mind the entire time. I just couldn’t believe any of this had happened, but all I had to do was access the video on my phone to remind myself of the s
hit storm from just an hour ago. How could they do this to me?
Derrick. That bastard. We’d been best friends since college. I knew we liked the same type, but to be with my fiancée behind my back…Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought he’d betray me like this. We were business partners, damn it. I needed another scotch just to attempt to understand what he was thinking. Pouring my third drink, I sat there numbly, replaying interactions between them over and over, trying to determine how this happened. But who was I kidding? Trying to figure out the motivation of liars was an insurmountable task. Beating my head against the wall wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
I had no idea how I was going to be civil at work tomorrow. Avoiding Angelina could be done somewhat easily until the rehearsal dinner, but I had no way of steering clear of Derrick, unless I wasn’t at work. Being the groom, there were things for me to do, so perhaps I could limit my interaction with him as well.
Finishing my third drink, I crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling. At least I wasn’t in any shape to drive because I really wanted to track Derrick down and beat the crap out of him. I wish I knew how this went down and who’d been the initiator between them. How long had it been going on? Where did they first—I was torturing myself with questions I most likely wouldn’t get the answers to, and the answers weren’t going to make me feel better anyway. Even though I’d come up with a way to punish them for hurting me, I knew that ultimately wasn’t going to help in the long term.
It might have made me a cold-hearted bastard, but I wanted to hurt them as much as they’d hurt me. I really didn’t care what anyone thought of my actions.
When your heart is broken, it takes its own sweet time to heal. I’d learned that after Melissa ravaged it in high school. It took me years to trust again. Now, here I was, like nothing had changed. Nothing.
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Acknowledgments
So many people have helped me, taught me, listened to me, advised me, and loved me through this incredible venture. Of course, none of this would have come to fruition if not for a dear friend at work, Darren. Thanks, Darren, for not knowing the meaning of anonymous and sharing so much with me so I could realize this dream of being an author.
To my amazing friend Raine: You have inspired me and taught me more than I could ever imagine. Thank you for your support and love. You are a gift to everyone who knows you.
To my dear friend Jacelyn: Writing books alongside of you has been more incredible than I could have imagined. Being able to talk to you every day about our characters, developing our stories, and fulfilling this dream has been extraordinary. I am so grateful to have you in my life.
To my street team: You’re tireless in your efforts to share my books. Thank you for your love and dedication to me and the books I have written. You all are such a blessing to me.
Finally, to the bloggers who have read, reviewed, shared, supported, and become treasured new friends: Thank you for reading my work and posting on your phenomenal pages! Without you, I don’t think anyone would know I’m alive!
I love all of you so much!
xoxo~ Carlie
About the Author
When I began my journey of becoming an author, I had no idea all the blessings that would be bestowed upon me. First, I have had the pleasure of meeting so many readers at signings and they have overwhelmed my heart with their love and support. Their words of affirmation have given me pure joy and they are the reason I write. To share my stories with them is to give them a glimpse into my heart. I've also been tremendously blessed with bloggers who have tirelessly shared my stories, made teasers for me, promoted me, and just downright made me feel so welcome in the Facebook community.
Reading has been a passion of mine my entire life. I love it so that I dedicated my life to educating children. As a teacher, I have had the profound pleasure of teaching children to read and explore their imaginations through a good book. Nothing is better than watching a child read and find joy from the story. My first graders are a gift that keeps on giving every day. Being a teacher is hard work, but the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices.
I have several stories that I want to turn into books. Writing has become a passion I dearly love. In my free time, I enjoy reading (of course), writing, movies, working out, and relaxing in Southern California. I enjoy the relaxed lifestyle that California provides.
You can connect with me on Facebook via my author page at facebook.com/carliesextonauthor, or email at [email protected]. If you enjoyed Forgotten by You, then you will also love to read Kate and Neil’s story in The Killer Next Door series and Mac and Natalie’s story in Beholden to You.
Fallen for You
Taken by You
Given to You
Beholden to You
Please leave a review for Forgotten by You on Amazon! Thank you for reading my book!
xoxo
Carlie
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/carliesextonauthor
Twitter:
http://www.facebook.com/carliesextonauthor
Website:
http://www.carliesextonromance.com/
Forgotten By You (Redeeming Love #2) Page 23
