Last Breath -- Kobo by Kate Bold

Author:Kate Bold [Bold, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-10-30T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Max wasn't having an affair," Ella said in a soft, husky voice. Kaylie could see these words were coming straight from the heart. "He couldn't have an affair."

"How do you know? Why?"

"He's been suffering from erectile dysfunction. For nearly a year, now. The alcoholism has caused it. We have been looking for solutions, but with his drinking, and refusing to stop, it’s been impossible."

"Oh, no," Kaylie said, realizing the pain and stress that Ella must have been going through.

“He'd rather drink instead of dealing with the issue. And now, he's really drinking too much. I have been trying to get him to stop, but he refuses. There's no turning back. Every day it’s the same. Over and over. I am worried he's drinking himself to death."

"I'm so sorry," Kaylie said, meaning every word.

She waited, sensing there was more to the confession, that Ella wanted to offload what she'd been carrying alone. And there was. Her next words shocked Kaylie to the core.

"I was the one having the affair. I was sleeping with my physiotherapist."

Feeling stunned, Kaylie could only listen as Ella continued.

"We carried it on for a few months, in secret. We had such a connection. But he was married. And I kept telling myself it was wrong. That I should end the affair, but then he'd make me feel so good. I finally did break it off a few days ago, because I couldn’t handle the guilt anymore."

This was a revelation. Kaylie wondered if it had been partly why she’d been crying in the fancy bathroom of her sumptuous house.

"Does Max know?" Kaylie asked.

"He doesn't know. If he found out I was sleeping with another man, that I'd been lying to him, he'd give up. He'd split up with me. I feel he really would drink himself to death, then. There’d be nothing stopping him from doing that anymore. And I was scared of that, afraid of what would happen. I - I guess, deep down, I love Max. I really do. I feel terrible about all of this. Terrible!"

"So who gave you the bruise?" Kaylie asked.

"I did it by accident. I was feeling so distressed about all of this, thinking that I was wrecking our marriage, but at the same time so sad about not seeing my lover anymore. I was in tears, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I literally did walk straight into a cupboard door. I didn't want Max to know why I was so upset. I tried to hide it. I didn't want people asking about it."

"So Max didn't hit you?"

Kaylie glanced around the room, taking in the deep reds and burgundies of the bedcovers, the plush fabrics, the artwork on the walls, the expensive furniture. She still wasn’t sure what footing this fragile seeming wife was on. Was Ella staying in the marriage because she thought the lifestyle was worth the abuse?

"No. Please believe me! He wouldn't hurt me. He might be a drunk, but he's a gentle man. I know you probably think he's not.

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