Simone.

I sit at the edge of the bed, Zack’s phone clutched tight in my hands. The sound of the shower fills the room, but it can’t drown out the words staring back at me on the screen.

Kenya: I loved the panties you bought me. I can’t wait for you to see how good they look on me. Dinner tonight? I made the reservation.

My chest tightens, and my vision blurs, but the message stays the same. No matter how many times I read it, it doesn’t change. My fingers dig into the phone, nails biting into the case as anger simmers from my belly.

It's going to spill out any moment now.

Kenya? Panties? Dinner? Tonight?

I can’t breathe. The heat in my chest turns into a burning rage—a burning rage that I don't know how to make go away or make die down.

The bathroom door creaks open, and Zack steps out, towel slung loosely around his waist, his auburn hair dripping water onto the floor. He doesn’t notice me at first, doesn’t notice his phone in my hand—not until I speak.

“Zack?” My voice is a whisper at first. I'm not sure he hears me. My eyes are still staring at his screen.

“Huh?” I hear his voice, muffled between towels.

“What the hell is this, Zack?” My voice is loud this time, shaking with fury. I don't care that my voice is cutting through the quiet morning air.

I stand up, shoving the phone into his face.

He freezes. His eyes flicker to the screen, then back to me, wide and startled, like a kid caught eating an excessive amount of candy.

“Simone—” His voice breaks. He knows he’s screwed. He knows nothing he says now will add up, nothing will make me believe anything that comes out of that lying mouth.

“Kenya?” I say, my voice rising, trembling. “You’re buying her panties now? And she’s gonna wear them to work? What the hell is going on, Zack?”

He runs a hand through his wet hair, looking away. “It’s... it’s probably a mistake. Autocorrect or something.” His words come out weak, like he doesn’t even believe what he’s saying.

I scoff—or chuckle, either of the two. I can't tell. All I know is I'm in awe of the amount of lying this guy can pump out of his head.

“A mistake? You’re telling me autocorrect bought her panties? Don’t make me feel dumb, Zack!”

Zack doesn’t answer. He just stands there, silent, staring at the floor. The longer he stays quiet, the more pissed I get. My pulse pounds in my ears. How dare he?

“Say something!” I shout, my voice breaking. “You don’t even have an excuse, do you? Aren't you going to tell me there's nothing going on? That she is just your secretary, right?”

Zack's shoulders slump as he pulls on his clothes, but he still won’t look at me. Won’t say a damn thing. The silence between us is suffocating. He knows that there’s no talking his way out of this, like he always does.

He silently goes down the stairs, and I follow. I'm a fireball behind him.

Zack grabs his keys, walking past me without a word. I throw the phone at him; it hits his back before he picks it up and opens the front door.

The door clicks shut behind him, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the room. The rage, the hurt—it all crashes down on me at once, and I feel like it's drowning me.

I grab my phone and send a single text:

Me: [Abby, I need you. It's about Zack]

+++

Abby arrives within an hour. She walks in like she always does, but something about her feels off. I don't know, maybe it's because I haven't seen her since the time she broke down in my dining room—and that was like three days ago.

When Mom left, I kept thinking of ways I would tell Abby that we couldn't keep doing it anymore. I kept my distance, hoping the weight of the bomb I would drop on her would hurt less if we were already apart. She did try to reach out a bunch of times but I ignored her texts and calls.

But now? The Zack that I was ready to give Abby up for is red-handed, cheating on me—and with proof this time. I don't see any reason to stay.

Abby sits next to me, her body facing mine, cuddled up in a ball.

She exhales, “I can’t do this anymore, Simone.”

Her words hit like a punch. I'm still confused. Doing what? Has she also been looking for a way to break us? Did my mother get to her too?

“What?” I utter.

“I can’t keep being the woman you run to every time things with Zack fall apart,” she says, her tone firm. “You have to make a choice.”

“Abby, wait—” How can she be so selfish? How can she ask me to choose? And now, when I'm a mess?

Wow.

“No.” Her eyes lock on mine, and there’s no softness in them now, no room for excuses. “You come to me when you’re angry with him, when you need someone to make you feel better, but you go right back to him after. I can’t keep being that person for you, Simone. It is exhausting.”

My throat tightens.

Abby can't speak to me like this. Maybe there's something bothering her. Is it the Morgan thing? I haven't asked about how it's going. The last time she got like this, something was up.

“It’s not like that. Zack—he’s my husband.” My voice cracks, but Abby doesn’t move, doesn’t let her expression soften.

“I know,” she says. “But you’re hurting yourself by staying in this mess. And you’re hurting me by dragging me into it every time. You need to decide what you want or, better yet, learn to love yourself enough. Because I can’t keep doing this.”

I can barely breathe. Her words are crushing me.

“I don’t know how to leave him,” I admit, my voice small. “I don’t know what to do.”

Abby takes a deep breath, and for a moment, I see the woman who cares about me. The woman who is willing to pull me into a hug and tell me Zack is a dick and I deserve better.

“Then figure it out, Simone, because I can’t be in this with you if you’re not willing to do the same. I deserve more than being your backup.”

“Where's this coming from? I thought we were both okay with just…this?”

Abby scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Maybe I woke up one morning and figured I deserve better than to be used like this. You don't even know what you want, Simone, and I already have enough on my plate to focus on.”

“Abby—”

“I might lose my kids, and this—” She twirls a finger around me. “This is not a priority right now.”

Oh, so that explains the bitterness.

I shrink in my seat, realizing that there really are bigger problems than my cheating husband—who I have known his ways since way back but refused to believe it until now.

“I'm sorry,” I whisper. I wish I could say more. I wish I could tell her that I will leave Zack and be with her. But I've been in this toxic marriage for a long time; it's hard to just leave.

Abby watches me for a long moment, then gets up, heading for the door. “Call me when you’ve made your choice. Until then, I’m out.”

The door closes behind her, and I’m left alone again, the silence ringing in my ears. But this time, it’s different.

This time, it hurts more.

+++

Oppsy. Simone is just going through it, isn't she?
Well, hope you had fun reading.

Anyone had their man or woman cheat on them? And if so, what was their reaction like?