Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
The alcohol coursing through his veins stripped away his restraint. Cliff seized her chin, forcing her lips apart as he claimed them in a fierce, retaliatory kiss.
Laney gasped, breathless from his assault. She struck him weakly several times before finding her rhythm and clinging to him even tighter.
Something primal possessed Cliff. His mind screamed warnings he couldn’t heed as his kisses traced a burning path downward.
A shiver ran through Laney as his stubble grazed her sensitive skin. She pushed him away suddenly. “No, we can’t…”
The words snapped Cliff back to reality.
Still dazed, Laney fumbled with her clothes, shrinking from his touch and gaze. “Just lips are fine, but not there. Even Cliff hasn’t kissed me there.”
His face darkened like storm clouds. Though he’d been drinking, he wasn’t drunk. His actions had been driven by pure, unrestrained desire. He wanted to strike himself, yet the lingering softness of where he’d just kissed beckoned him for more.
Laney clutched her clothes tight, attempting to escape. She stumbled along the wall, using it as her guide.
An inner restlessness prevented Cliff from taking her home himself. He grabbed her phone, easily unlocking it to contact the first name on her list, Kailyn.
When Kailyn arrived, she found only Laney there. “Laney, did he just leave you here alone?” Kailyn asked, disbelief coloring her voice.
“What?” Laney responded weakly.
Kailyn released a heavy sigh at her friend’s pitiful state. “Forget it, he’s a jerk. We don’t need him.”
Hidden in the shadows, Cliff remained silent. Fine, he would take the blame. Better to bear their scorn than be discovered in his current pathetic state. He’d rejected her advances firmly, yet his own body had betrayed him. He couldn’t stomach such a blow to his dignity.
When sobriety finally claimed her, Laney’s drunken boldness returned in hazy fragments of memory. Her fingers traced the bite mark on her collarbone and then drifted to her swollen lips. She froze.
“Did I really kiss someone?” Laney asked Kailyn, her voice tinged with horror.
Without opening her eyes as she applied her skincare product, Kailyn replied, “I didn’t see it, but Cliff probably did.”
The color drained from Laney’s face. Her lips quivered. “He saw?”
Kailyn briefly described how Cliff had taken Laney away. “Then you called me but said nothing. I thought something happened to you, so I rushed over, but Cliff had already disappeared.”
Laney immediately jumped to the conclusion that Cliff was mad. He must have witnessed her hanging on another man, judging her impropriety, too disgusted to even care for her anymore.
“But really, wasn’t it Cliff who kissed you?” Kailyn asked, curiosity lacing her voice.
Laney shook her head miserably. “He would never kiss me. Last night, that guy used his tongue and even bit my chest. Cliff can’t stand even touching me.”
Laney’s words grew heavier with each syllable, and she buried her face in her hands with self-loathing. “Why did I drink? Why do I become like that when I’m drunk? I haven’t even kissed Cliff with tongue.” Laney had a hazy memory of the man resembling Cliff, and in her anger at Cliff’s perceived deception, she had impulsively kissed him.
Kailyn squeezed Laney’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’s just a kiss. No big deal. Wake up, Laney. Cliff is only good to look at. If you’re seeking a real relationship, he’s not the right person. His character is lacking.”
Just as Kailyn finished speaking, Laney’s phone lit up with a call from the very man they’d been discussing.
Laney froze, caught between the fear of answering and the terror of not answering.
Once connected, Cliff’s voice carried its usual glacial tone. “I’m outside your building with some soup for you.”
Kailyn’s boldness was all for show. When confronted with Cliff, she became just as timid as Laney herself.
“Cliff has never hit you, right?” Kailyn asked.
Laney shook her head. “No.”
Kailyn announced, “Then you’ll be fine. I’m leaving now. Call me if you need anything.”
Fear crept through Laney’s veins, her limbs heavy as she changed clothes. After much deliberation, she selected an outfit that concealed her neck.
Though Cliff wasn’t one to rush people, the ten-minute wait had chipped away at his patience.
Laney jogged to the front gate, catching sight of Cliff’s silhouette in the distance. She paused to catch her breath before approaching him with tentative steps.
Today, Cliff wore a long-sleeved shirt. The dark fabric amplified his mature presence, his sharp features commanding respect. He embodied both an elder brother and a stern father figure.
Unease kept Laney from meeting his eyes directly, but his deception still stung. “Weren’t you out of town? Why did you suddenly come back?” she asked, aiming for nonchalance.
Cliff’s eyes traced over her tightly covered neck. “I didn’t go out of town,” he replied with cool detachment. His brief words explained everything. Laney yearned to ask why but couldn’t summon the courage. He would undoubtedly tell the truth, “I just didn’t want to see you. You annoy me.” She couldn’t bear to hear those words. They would surely bring tears to her eyes.
Laney lowered her head, her lips forming a small pout.
“You drank on an empty stomach last night. Drinking something warm now will soothe your stomach,” Cliff said, stifling a sigh.
A subtle change flickered across Laney’s expression. She reached for the soup, feigning composure.
“The box is heavy. I’ll take it up for you and check on your foot, by the way,” Cliff said, dodging her hand.
Laney hesitated, not wanting to prolong their time together. She made an excuse. “But my roommate is there. It’s inconvenient.”
The theater had assigned individual apartments, but Laney’s fear of sleeping alone at night led her to stay with Kailyn.
“How many roommates are there?” Cliff asked.
“One.”
“The one who dragged you back when you were drunk last night?” Laney nodded.
“She said goodbye to me just now when she left. So, which roommate is upstairs now?” Cliff exposed her lie without mercy. Laney frowned, trailing behind Cliff as they climbed the stairs.
Steam wafted from the still-hot soup. Cliff ladled a bowl and set it aside to cool.
Laney glanced at it, which looked delicious. Her empty stomach rumbled at the mouthwatering aroma.
“Wait a bit before eating. It’s hot,” Cliff instructed as he knelt to remove her socks.
“Is it freshly made?” Laney blinked.
“Yeah.”
“It must have taken a long time to make the soup. The housekeeper got up so early.”
Cliff fell silent. He’d spent the night restless, smoking, until at four in the morning, he ventured out to buy fresh ingredients for her soup. Three hours of preparation had gone into it. She’d tasted his cooking before. Why couldn’t she remember the flavor of his soup? Such a poor memory.
Cliff studied her foot with careful attention. The bruise had faded to a yellowish ring, not entirely gone but nothing serious.
Laney’s cheeks burned with embarrassment as she tried to hide her foot from his inspection. “It’s not pretty,” she muttered.
Cliff’s eyes swept over her rounded toes. “Indeed, it’s ugly.”
A cold snort escaped Laney’s lips.
The room fell into a comfortable silence as Laney savored the soup, while Cliff reclined in the makeup chair across from her, his attention seemingly absorbed by his phone screen.
Despite her usual concerns about maintaining her figure, Laney couldn’t resist fishing out every tender morsel of meat from her single bowl of soup.
“Any lingering headache?” Cliff’s voice broke the silence.
“No, it’s gone now,” Laney replied with a slight shake of her head.
Her heart skipped a beat as fragments of last night’s memories resurfaced. “Kailyn mentioned you were there drinking too,” she ventured, her voice barely above a whisper.
A hint of mockery played at the corners of Cliff’s mouth as he secured the thermos. “You put on quite a show.” His words were laced with sarcasm.
“What do you mean…” Laney’s voice caught in her throat, her pulse quickening. Could he have really seen her with another man? No, anything but that.
“Have you forgotten what you did last night?” Cliff’s calm voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.
Laney’s heart plummeted, her voice barely a whisper. “You saw everything.”
“Yeah, your kissing skills were quite lacking.”
Mortification washed over Laney, certain his opinion of her had sunk even lower. “It was the alcohol,” she said weakly.
Cliff, who had always considered himself a gentleman, found a darker side to his nature as he couldn’t resist teasing her. “What happened afterward? Did things go too far?” His tone carried an edge of steel.
Laney’s eyes widened, thinking of her faintly aching breast.
“I see you did cross lines. Where else did he touch you?” Cliff pressed. “If you witnessed it all, why didn’t you stop him?”
Laney burst out, feeling wronged. “Weren’t you worried he might hurt me?”
“You initiated the kiss,” Cliff stated flatly.
“I kissed someone else, and you’re not even a bit angry?”
Cliff’s gaze paused. Understanding what she yearned to hear, he replied, “You’re an adult. You’re free to be intimate with whoever you choose.”.
The light in Laney’s eyes dimmed. He truly felt nothing for her. After a moment of bitter self-mockery, Laney turned away. “You should leave.”
Cliff observed her briefly before placing a pre-prepared bank card on her table. “I’ll deposit half a million into this card monthly. The password is my birthday.”
“I don’t remember your birthday, and I don’t want this card!” Laney snapped.
Cliff opened the door and left.
Laney really stood her ground this time. She didn’t reach out to Cliff like she used to.
Cliff was too swamped with work to contact her. Therefore, they had been out of reach for the past few days.
When Philip and Madison returned from their trip, Gerry went home early to dine with them. Gerry, always the smooth talker, kept everyone laughing and entertained.