Romantic Lies by DuBois Monique

Author:DuBois, Monique [DuBois, Monique]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Romance, Fiction
Publisher: Monique DuBois
Published: 2020-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

five

Time stands still for several moments. “I don’t understand,” I finally whisper as hot, salty tears begin to spill down my cheeks. “How can you be married?”

“I have been, for many years. I should have told you.”

“Damn right, you should have told me! Why didn’t you?” I want to wail and pummel his chest with my fists but refrain. “Why didn’t you tell me before I fell in love with you? Before we moved in together?”

“I knew it would be a deal-breaker,” Liam says. “I was being selfish.”

“Yes, selfish,” I say through sobs. “A selfish bastard. You cheated on your wife so you could have sex with me. You kept me as your mistress.”

“It’s not like that. I was being selfish in that I wanted to experience happiness again after being so unhappy for so long…for all these years.”

I stare at him. “If you’re so unhappy with her, why don’t you divorce her?”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

“You’ll have to meet her to understand why.”

“Meet her?” I sputter. “Meet your wife? You have got to be joking.”

He levels his gaze at me. “She’s a patient here.”

“A patient?”

“Yes.” He holds a hand out to me. “Please. I want you to see the truth for yourself. And then you can leave and never look back. But at least you’ll understand why we can’t be together.”

Mutely, I let him take my hand. I let him guide me down the path and toward the imposing mansion. His hand feels warm and steady on my back, and my chest constricts. I miss his touch…his essence.

But he’s married. He’s not mine and never was.

We enter the tall building, and suddenly it looks like a hospital inside instead of a mansion. It’s a high-end residential living facility bustling with activity. Nurses and orderlies pass by with clipboards and carts, and patients are spread out through the facility, engaged in a variety of activities. Closest to us, a group of residents are seated in the main room on plush couches playing cards around a large, mahogany table. Some of them look up as we pass, and then go back to playing cards.

We pass through the grand room to another smaller room, where other residents are gathered watching TV, accompanied by various staff. These patients look lower-functioning, as some of them are drooling or being attended to by nurses.

We enter a narrow corridor and head down the hall, passing rows of rooms. Some of the doors are open, and I see residents lying in bed or sitting at tables. Some are asleep, others are being attended to by nurses who are feeding or caring for them. A few are screaming and thrashing as orderlies hold them down, and I quickly avert my eyes as we pass.

We stop at a room with a closed door and a plaque that says the name “Black” on the door. Just seeing Liam’s name—and his wife’s—on the door causes my heart to drop.

It’s real. He’s married.

But who is his wife? And what has happened to her?

Liam turns to me.

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