The Ultimate Betrayal

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  Melanie checked the balance of their other account, and thankfully he hadn’t withdrawn anything from that one. She sat there praying for strength and the ability to forgive him, because she didn’t want this latest setback to sabotage her new thinking. Everyone made mistakes, and Brad and their marriage were her priority. She had to remember what was important, and now that Brad had nearly lost his life, maybe he would realize how foolish it was to continue playing the stock market, gambling, or doing whatever it was he was caught up with.

  She transferred the money for her dad, signed off, and got up from her computer. But no sooner than she’d gotten to her feet, she sat back down. Another dizzy spell had struck her, and she tried to shake it off. She even saw stars this time and somewhat struggled to breathe. But after a few minutes, she felt fine and went into the bathroom.

  When she removed her robe, she stepped on the scale and smiled like a giddy child. The readout couldn’t have been right, but it had to be because she was staring straight at it. She was 140. She’d lost five whole pounds in only two days, and she had never been more proud of herself. It had taken years to achieve such a huge accomplishment, and she thanked God for giving her the desires of her heart. She’d hoped and prayed all her life to be thin and beautiful, and now she finally was. Everything was falling into place at the same time. Brad was on his way to a full recovery, they’d be able to mend their marriage, and Melanie could finally feel good about herself. She did wish things were better between her and her mother, but just being closer to her dad was helping to make a major difference.

  Melanie didn’t feel the best physically, but emotionally she felt serene and grateful. She was happy and looking forward to an awesome future.

  When Melanie stepped off the elevator, she felt a bit weak, and she wasn’t sure why since she’d drunk a shake and taken a multivitamin. She still didn’t have an appetite, but she’d drunk it anyway because of how low her energy was. Maybe she was feeling this way because of all the stress and worry relating to Brad. It was certainly possible, so hopefully she’d feel like her old self when he was home.

  She walked into the ICU and saw Dr. Romalati leaving Brad’s room. He smiled at her.

  “Good morning, Melanie.”

  “Good morning. How are you?”

  “I’m good, and so is that husband of yours. He’s already awake. Still a little groggy, but he answered all my questions, and he doesn’t seem to have any neurological problems.”

  “Thank God for that, and thank you for everything you’ve done for him.”

  “You’re quite welcome, and of course I’ll be back to see him later this afternoon.”

  “Have a good day,” she said.

  “You, too.”

  Melanie eased open the door and saw Brad watching television. He looked at her and smiled.

  She smiled back at him and spoke to his nurse, who was replacing his empty IV bag. “So you’re finally awake, I see.”

  “Yeah, but I feel lost.”

  “I’m sure,” she said, leaning over and kissing him on the lips. “You hit your head pretty hard.”

  “So I hear.”

  “How are you feeling otherwise? Any pain?”

  “No…I mean, my arm and head are sore, but only when I move around. More than anything, I’m exhausted.”

  “That’s to be expected. You’ll feel better with each passing day, though.”

  “I’m also having a hard time remembering what happened. I do remember driving down State Street, but that’s about it.”

  “A woman ran a red light and hit you.”

  “That’s what the doctor told me, but I don’t remember anything like that,” he said, covering his mouth and coughing. “He says I might never remember, either, and that’s already driving me crazy.”

  “Maybe not remembering is a good thing. Maybe it’s God’s way of protecting your mind from such an awful incident.”

  “I still don’t like it,” he said, turning the TV channel from ESPN to the local news. “Was something written up about it in the newspaper?”

  “Yeah, but I left it at home.”

  “What about on TV?

  “I’m sure they did, but I didn’t see the news Saturday night or yesterday.”

  “Maybe they’ll have something on this morning.”

  “Maybe. Sometimes they cover stories from the weekend on Mondays, but why don’t you try to relax?”

  Brad locked his eyes on the young male news anchor, barely blinking. If they did air the story, they would certainly show all the damage that was done. Not just to Brad’s SUV but to the woman’s car as well. Worse, they would report that her daughter had been killed, and Melanie didn’t think Brad was ready for that. This wasn’t something he should be focusing on, and he needed to stay calm. But he continued watching, and just as the nurse walked out of the room, a photo of the crash flashed on the screen.

  “Late Saturday afternoon, thirty-one-year-old Jessica Davis ran a stoplight and slammed her compact vehicle into a full-size SUV,” the anchor said. “The owner of that SUV, thirty-eight-year-old Bradley Richardson, was rushed to Mitchell Memorial and listed in serious condition. Miss Davis’s one-year-old daughter, Brittany Davis, was also riding with her and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Miss Davis, however, was treated at Mitchell Memorial and released to authorities. She has been charged with vehicular homicide, attempted vehicular manslaughter, child endangerment, and failure to yield. As of this morning, no bail amount had been set, but a hearing is scheduled for two p.m. today.”

  “Dear God…no,” Brad said with tears streaming down his face. “Please, God, don’t let it be true. Please don’t tell me she died.”

  Melanie touched his arm, trying to console him. This was the reason she hadn’t wanted him to see any of this. It was too much too soon, so she grabbed the remote and changed the channel to the first thing she could find. But Brad wailed loudly like someone was beating him. He covered his face with his hands and cried with the kind of emotional pain Melanie hadn’t witnessed from him before. But when she heard him mouth his next few words, her body fell numb.

  “Dear Lord, no,” he said, weeping uncontrollably. “Please tell me my baby girl isn’t gone. Tell me she’s not dead.”

  Chapter 41

  Though Phillip had insisted on making love to her, Alicia lay there thinking about Levi and how she still hadn’t been able to get in touch with him. He hadn’t answered any of her calls or responded to any of her text messages. She’d tried him multiple times before going inside the hospital yesterday and four more times when she’d left, and then she’d sneaked and called him again last night once she and Phillip had made up. Of course, Phillip had wanted to make love to her then, too, but apparently that hadn’t sufficed because he’d wanted her again as soon as he’d awakened a few minutes ago. Phillip had slept peacefully and contently, but Alicia hadn’t slept more than an hour, tops. She’d even tried to pray herself to sleep, and when that hadn’t worked she’d lain there watching each passing minute on the digital clock, all while agonizing over Levi.

  She’d stewed and fretted, and then she’d finally gotten up and gone into her office. She’d sent Levi a message on Facebook and then waited to see if he would at least read it. But after sitting in front of her computer for more than an hour, he hadn’t. This was so unlike him, and she was starting to wonder if something bad had happened. Maybe he was in some kind of danger. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him for good, so she had to find out what was going on.

  Alicia lay there, pretending to enjoy her husband and trying to figure out what she would tell him later today, when she got in her car and headed toward Levi’s house. Originally, she’d been happy about Levi renting a home a full hour from Mitchell—that way there was less chance of someone seeing her—but today she wished he lived here. Especially since Phillip didn’t have to go to the church on Mondays, and it would be doubly hard to convince him that she had something important to do all
afternoon.

  Phillip rolled to the side of her, and Alicia barely noticed him.

  He took a deep, long breath. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, why?”

  “You seemed like you were somewhere else. And like you didn’t enjoy it.”

  “No, I’m fine. Just a little tired. I didn’t sleep well.”

  “Why?”

  “Insomnia, I guess.”

  “Are you sure? Because if there’s something bothering you, you need to tell me.”

  “I’m good. Couldn’t be better,” she said, amazed at how quickly her lies came out.

  Phillip turned toward her, smiling. “So do you love me?”

  Alicia looked at him. “You know I do.”

  “I’m glad, because I was really starting to wonder whether you did or not.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of this past weekend. You seemed like you were in a totally different world and like I didn’t matter to you.”

  “That’s not true, and I’m sorry you felt that way.”

  “I just want us to move on and get past this.”

  “We will. I’m done with the shopping thing. You may not believe me, but I am.”

  “I hope so, because you know what it did to our marriage the first time.”

  “I’m a different person than I was then. I slipped a little on Friday and Saturday, and I’m sorry. But I really am okay now.”

  “Are you happy?”

  “About what?”

  “Are you happy with me? Glad we got married again?”

  “Why are you asking me that? Of course I’m happy,” she said, wishing she didn’t have to keep lying.

  “I guess because you hadn’t done anything like this in years.”

  “I told you, I slipped up. But I’m not planning to go to another mall for a very long time.”

  Phillip leaned over and kissed her. Alicia kissed him back and hoped he wasn’t trying to make love to her again. Her heart just wasn’t in it, and she wouldn’t be able to bear it.

  When their home phone rang, they both glanced toward Phillip’s nightstand. It was only minutes after seven a.m.

  “Who could that be?” Alicia said.

  Phillip reached his arm toward the phone. “I believe it’s Melanie. Looks like her cell number, anyway.”

  Alicia sat up. “Oh my God. I hope it’s not about Brad.”

  Phillip answered the call. “Hey, Melanie, is everything okay?…No, she’s right here.”

  Alicia took the phone and heard Melanie sniffling.

  “Mel, what is it? What’s going on?”

  “Can you come over?”

  “To the hospital? Of course.”

  “No, my house.”

  “Oh, is Brad okay?”

  “He can die for all I care, and I hope that tramp of his rots in prison.”

  Alicia swung her legs over the side of the bed. “What tramp? What happened?”

  “I can’t do this on the phone.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Alicia said, ending the call and getting up.

  “What’s going on?” Phillip asked.

  “I don’t know, but it isn’t good. Sounds like Brad’s involved with some woman.”

  Phillip frowned. “You must’ve heard her wrong.”

  “No, she was pretty clear on what she said.”

  “Brad wouldn’t do that to Melanie.”

  Alicia went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Could it really be true? Was Brad having an affair? Like Phillip, Alicia didn’t want to believe he’d do something like that, but who was she to doubt anything when she was having an affair herself? How could she judge Brad, or anyone, when at this very moment, she was plotting out a way to get to Levi?

  Chapter 42

  As soon as Alicia walked in, Melanie fell into her arms, crying silent tears. Alicia stood there holding her, tearing up herself and not knowing what to say. After a few seconds, Melanie released her. Alicia shut the door and they walked down the long hallway into the kitchen. Melanie wiped her face with her hands and sat down at the island.

  Alicia took a seat across from her. “Mel, what happened?”

  Melanie sniffled, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “That baby that was killed was Brad’s.”

  Alicia grabbed her chest. “What?”

  “You heard me,” she nearly whispered. “That little girl was his child.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “The story aired on the news, and Brad was practically hysterical.”

  “Oh my goodness. And he actually said she was his daughter?”

  “Not to me specifically, but he said it out loud. He was devastated the same as any parent would be.”

  “Mel, I am so, so sorry.”

  “Talk about being stupid and naïve. Because not once would I have expected Brad to do something like this. I knew he’d been working long hours for the last couple of years, but an affair? And a baby? Just a few months ago he wanted me to stop taking my birth control pills so we could have our own child.”

  “Did that woman hit him on purpose? I mean, did he explain anything?”

  “No, but I left before he could.”

  Alicia leaned back in her chair. “Gosh, Mel, I’m speechless.”

  Melanie shed more tears and shook her head. “He really had me fooled. Even with all the hours he worked, I still thought he loved me. And to think I was more worried about the money he was losing, when all along, he was out sleeping with some trick.”

  The phone rang, and Melanie walked over to the kitchen counter. “It’s from the hospital, and I know it’s him.”

  She sat back in her seat, ignoring the call.

  “Maybe you should talk to him.”

  Melanie squinted her eyes. “About what? That tramp and how she killed his baby?”

  Alicia wasn’t sure what to say. Not when she wasn’t any better than Brad. The only difference was that she hadn’t gotten pregnant the way Brad’s mistress had.

  “You know,” Melanie said, “now I’m wondering if Brad was withdrawing all that money for his whore.”

  Alicia had already thought of that, but she would never admit that to Melanie. Not while she was hurt and upset.

  “Yeah, I’ll bet that’s exactly what he was doing,” Melanie continued.

  Alicia was still at a loss for words but finally said, “Why don’t we go get some breakfast. Anything to get you out of the house.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  Alicia stared at Melanie and couldn’t help noticing dark circles under her eyes again.

  “Have you eaten anything?” Alicia asked, hoping her words wouldn’t make Melanie any more upset than she already was.

  “No.”

  “What about a protein shake?” Alicia got up and went over to the refrigerator.

  Melanie watched her with obvious disapproval. “Didn’t you hear me when I said I wasn’t hungry?” Her tone was short, and Alicia knew she’d gone too far.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you, Mel.”

  “I’ll be fine. Just as soon as I file for my divorce, I’ll be good.”

  “Maybe when some time passes, you’ll feel differently. Once the two of you talk.”

  “You’re joking, right? Surely you don’t expect me to stay married to a man who’s sleeping with another woman. And don’t get me started on some baby that was born a whole year ago.”

  “I’m just saying. With God, anything is possible. Sometimes people can forgive and be okay.”

  “Well, not me.”

  “You might feel differently in a few days.”

  Melanie raised her eyebrows. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not Phillip.”

  “Okay, wait a minute,” Alicia said. “I know you’re hurting, but you don’t need to take this out on me. I came over here to support you.”

  “Then stop trying to defend Brad. Stop trying to make it seem like what he did was no big deal. Because it is a big de
al, and I’m not putting up with it.”

  Alicia was getting tired of Melanie throwing her past in her face, and she had one more time to mention it. Best friends just didn’t talk to each other this way, no matter what either of them had done.

  “Why don’t you go upstairs and lie down,” Alicia said. “Then when you get up, we can go get lunch or do whatever you want.”

  “Still bringing up food, I see.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m just trying to be here for you. And since when did talking about food become off limits?”

  “The moment you got together with Brad, talking about me behind my back.”

  Alicia wondered who this woman was—the one sitting in front of her—because it certainly wasn’t her best friend. “Mel, you really need to stop.”

  “Are you saying he didn’t ask you to come talk to me? Because I know he did.”

  “Only because he was worried about you, and so was I. Why can’t you see that?”

  “You’re supposed to be my best friend. Period. Best friends don’t plot and plan against each other.”

  “Nobody plotted or planned anything.”

  “Of course you did, but it’s not like I should’ve expected anything different. Especially with the way you betrayed Phillip. I’ve always tried to look past what you did, because you and I were such good friends. But now that you’ve betrayed me, too, I’m seeing things a lot more clearly. I’m seeing you for who you really are,” Melanie said with bitter eyes.

  Alicia got up and pushed her chair against the island so forcefully, she wondered if she’d broken it. “I hope you get some help, Mel, and soon. Because you’re sicker than I thought. You’re anorexic and paranoid.”

  “I wish I’d never called you over here,” Melanie fired back.

  “Honey, don’t flatter yourself. I wish you hadn’t, either, and please don’t call me again.”