The Ultimate Betrayal (13 page)

T
oday marked the one-month anniversary of Alicia and Phillip's second wedding. They were finally man and wife again, and while Alicia had prayed things would get better—that she would fall hopelessly in love with Phillip and forget about Levi—she was still struggling with a mixture of feelings. Even now, as she lay in bed making love with Phillip bright and early on a Thursday morning, she couldn't stop thinking about Levi and how much better he'd made her feel. To her, intimacy with Phillip was nothing more than repetitive sex, and she had to mentally prepare whenever he wanted her. It also took every ounce of pretending she could muster until he finished. To be fair, it wasn't that Phillip was awful in bed, because he wasn't. It was just that she didn't love him the way a wife should love her husband. She also knew that prayer could and would change things, but she purposely no longer prayed about any of what she was experiencing. She'd stopped praying because, deep down, she didn't want to love Phillip any more than she did, and God forgive her, she didn't want to forget about Levi. She no longer wanted Levi to find another woman to fall in love with, either. She wanted him to keep loving
her
, and it was all she could do to not run to him as fast as she could.

It had been three months since the last time she'd seen him, and though it had been the hardest thing for her to do, she hadn't responded to a single one of his text messages, phone calls, emails, or Facebook communications. There had been times when his loving words had affected her so much that she'd reread them over and over and cried like a child. Then, about a week before the wedding, he'd begun pleading with her to end things with Phillip before it was too late. He'd begged her not to make the mistake of a lifetime, but she hadn't listened. She'd continued on with her plans, because it had been the right thing to do—for Phillip—and she had to live with it. She'd sort of hoped that when Phillip had learned Levi was out of jail he might question whether they should still get married, but interestingly enough, he hadn't seemed to worry about Levi at all.

Phillip lay on his back out of breath, and Alicia could tell he was satisfied and happy out of his mind. She, on the other hand, was relieved it hadn't taken him as long as it usually did.

“I could make love to you every day of the week,” he said, turning toward her and caressing her hair.

Alicia played along, turning and facing him on her side, acting as though she couldn't agree more. “It was a long time coming, and I feel the same way.”

“Going without was tough, but now we finally get to make up for lost time.”

“That we do,” she said, forcing a smile.

“Next to God, you're my everything. You're my wife, my best friend, my heart. I couldn't love you more if I tried.”

“I love you, too, baby.”

Phillip leaned closer, kissing her, and Alicia hoped he wasn't planning for round two, because she wasn't in the mood for it. Thankfully, he pulled away.

“Well, as much as I hate to get up, I really need to get dressed so I can head over to the church. Your dad asked me to deliver the message for the eight o'clock service on Sunday, and I need to finish writing my sermon. That way, we'll be able to spend the entire weekend together.”

“Good.”

“I was thinking we could maybe drive over to Chicago tomorrow to spend the night at the Peninsula.”

“Really? Why?”

“Well, it
is
our one-month anniversary.”

Alicia loved the Peninsula, and while they'd flown to the Caribbean the Monday after their wedding for their honeymoon, they'd decided to stay in Chicago on their wedding night and also that Sunday. But she wasn't in the mood for spending time there this weekend. “I was just hoping we'd be able to enjoy some time at home together. Is that okay?”

“Of course. It was just an idea, but you know I'm fine wherever we are as long as we're together.”

“Maybe we can go next month,” she said, trying to sound excited.

“It'll be a lot colder in October, but it's not like we'll be out all that much, anyway,” he said, winking at her.

“Knowing you, I'm sure we won't.”

Phillip kissed her again and sat up on the side of the bed. “So, what do you have up for today?”

“Not a lot. I need to answer some of the email from my readers, but that's about it. I might see what Melanie's doing for lunch. The last three times I invited her, she took a rain check.”

“She looks like she's lost a lot more weight. I was shocked when I saw her at church last Sunday, and Brad is at his wit's end.”

“I don't know what else to do, because every time I even hint around about her weight, she gets mad.”

“All we can do is keep praying for her.”

“I guess so.”

After Phillip got dressed, Alicia fixed him breakfast and he left for the church. Alicia sat in her office in front of her computer, glancing at their wedding photo. The ceremony had been absolutely beautiful and just as flawless as Alicia had envisioned. Melanie and Brad had served as their matron of honor and best man, and Alicia's father had performed the ceremony. It had been a joyous, happy day, but it hadn't taken more than a few hours before reality had set in for Alicia. They'd made love that evening, and she hadn't felt any chemistry or passion.

Alicia signed into the email account her readers used to contact her and saw thirty new messages. She read the first few, smiling the whole time. She had the absolute best readers, and no matter what was going on in her life, their kind words and comments made her day. It felt good knowing that she'd written something that wasn't just entertaining, but also helpful to her readers in one way or another. They could relate to the stories and the characters, and Alicia always prayed for that.

She responded to every single email and then signed on to Facebook. There were a good number of responses listed under the status update she'd posted yesterday about her upcoming novel, so she thanked those readers, too, and answered their questions. She also saw that she had Facebook messages and opened those. There were only four of them, but her nerves sort of got the best of her when she saw one from Levi. He hadn't sent her anything since last week, and she couldn't deny that she'd missed hearing from him. She hesitated before clicking on his message but finally gave in.

Alicia was devastated and warmly touched all at the same time. Tears flooded her face nonstop. She was speechless, yet in awe of every word Levi had written. Why hadn't she simply had the courage to be honest with Phillip? Why had she given up on a lifetime of happiness just to be miserable? How could she go on living a lie? The biggest lie of the century.

M
elanie stepped on the scale, waiting for the numbers to register. When they did, she nearly jumped for joy. Not only had she lost the ten pounds she'd been struggling with for years, she'd lost twenty. She was officially a size six, and for the first time in her life, she weighed only 145 pounds. She was beyond proud of herself, and though it had been a long time coming, she couldn't have been happier.

She turned toward the mirror in the bathroom, admiring her body. All the flab and bulges were gone, and she no longer minded seeing herself naked. She was finally making great progress, and once she lost just another five pounds, she'd be good. Sixes would be loose on her, and she'd be able to fit some fours if the clothing included a certain amount of spandex. Not to mention, her mother and others would never have to feel ashamed of her. As it was, Gladys hadn't made any snide remarks about Melanie's weight in more than a month, so Melanie knew she was pleased with the way she looked. Her mother had been pushing her to get back into her eights, but Melanie had done better.

If only her marital life could be just as fulfilling, she'd have everything. But sadly, things had never been worse between her and Brad. He'd taken on yet another daunting case, and he'd lost another twenty thousand dollars in the stock market. He was completely out of control, and she wasn't sure how much more of his recklessness she could take.

Melanie slipped on her robe and walked down the hallway to their bedroom. Brad buttoned up his shirt and cast his eyes at her through the mirror—something he seemed to do more and more, now that they weren't on the best of terms.

“So you don't have anything to say?” he said.

Melanie was taking a vacation day, so she got in bed and turned on the television. She didn't even bother looking at Brad, and she couldn't wait for him to leave.

He turned and stared at her. “So I guess you didn't hear me?”

“Nope,” she finally said.

“All because I lost some money that has nothing to do with you.”

Melanie flipped through channels, ignoring him.

“You really have a lot of nerve,” he said, wrapping a red tie around his shirt collar. “You're practically killing yourself, yet you're judging me like you're some saint.”

If Melanie could have thrown something at him and gotten away with it, she would have. But she flipped through more channels, pretending she heard nothing.

Brad leaned against the dresser. “Just look at you. Your face is so thin, you look like one of those anorexic supermodels. Your neck is smaller than a ten-year-old's, and your butt has all but vanished.”

Melanie tossed him a dirty look. “You're just worried that other men might finally be interested in me. When I was overweight, that was the least of your worries, but now you know I look ten times better. And don't get me started on how little you and I see each other. You're gone all the time, doing God knows what, and I'm sick of it, Brad.”

“In case you've forgotten, I have to work, Melanie. I can't be here every evening right at five or spend all my weekends having a good time. We're representing one of our biggest clients, and I need to stay focused.”

“So how much more money have you gambled away this month?” she said, changing the subject. “You've already messed over forty thousand dollars, and I know that's not the end of it.”

“First of all, I don't gamble. And secondly, we're not talking about me. We're talking about your anorexia.”

Melanie laughed like he was a comedian. “Anorexia! Now I know you've lost your mind.”

“Laugh all you want, but you're sick, Mel. You can't see what everyone else sees. You look pitiful and malnourished, and if you keep this nonsense up you'll be laid up in a hospital.”

“You're the one who's sick. You're throwing away all your savings, and when it's over you'll have nothing. Actually, I think you're doing a lot more than trading stocks. You're probably gambling just like I said. So tell me, Brad, what is it? Horses, casinos, the lottery? Whatever it is, you're addicted to it and I suggest you join a twelve-step program.”

“I'm not addicted to anything.”

“Then how do you explain throwing away forty thousand dollars in four months? Are you saying that's normal?”

Brad narrowed his eyes. “It's my money, and I can do whatever I want with it.”

“You know what?” she said, tossing the remote onto the bed. “You're right. It is your money, so from now on we're separating everything. I'm also taking every dime of mine from both of those money market accounts we have together.” Brad didn't know it, but she'd been checking the balances of those two accounts every few days, making sure he wasn't dipping into them as well.

Brad turned away from her. “You do whatever you feel you have to. That still won't change the fact that you're anorexic. You're sick, and you need to be admitted to a treatment facility.”

“The only sickness I'm dealing with is you,” she said, standing up and storming out of the bedroom.

She rushed downstairs to the kitchen and pulled her shake from the refrigerator. She was to the point where she looked forward to drinking each of them. They tasted just that good, and she'd also gone back to eating a salad. Not at lunchtime the way she had before, but for dinner. Her third shake of the day had become her nighttime snack. She hadn't planned on eating any solid food until she was sure she could maintain her weight, but a couple of weeks ago when she'd found herself feeling a little light-headed at work and unable to concentrate, she'd changed her mind. She still took her potassium pills and multivitamins and drank plenty of water, but eating salads had made her feel that much better. She didn't eat small salads either, because what she'd discovered was that eating a large one with cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, and lettuce hadn't stopped her from losing weight. She was sure that her discipline toward working out twice per day was also helping.

Brad walked into the kitchen, fully dressed in a navy blue pinstripe suit. He laid his briefcase on the island and poured a cup of coffee. Melanie had set the timer last night so that it would automatically brew this morning, but now she wished she hadn't. After all the nasty things Brad had said about her, she didn't want to do anything for him. He'd actually had the audacity to say she looked sickly and anorexic. What a joke. Brad was a joke, too, and it was the reason she laughed in his face. He picked up his coffee cup and gawked at her like she was crazy. But Melanie laughed louder, and soon he walked out to the garage and slammed the door behind him. This tickled Melanie even more, because Brad no longer fazed her. He could lose every nickel to his name for all she cared. She hadn't wanted their marriage to turn out like this, but she wouldn't spend any more time worrying about Brad and his addiction. She wouldn't keep defending her weight loss to him, either. She would focus only on what made her happy—whether Brad liked it or not.