As Lily kissed me goodbye, I begrudgingly got out of bed, heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Loading up my toothbrush, I walked through the house, flicking off the lights and pulling the curtains.

Yet as I passed the kitchen counter, a set of keys caught my attention.

Toothbrush paused in my mouth, I picked them up. "Bloody hell Lily." I had told her many times to put her house keys onto her car ones, but she always insisted on having them separate.

'What if I need to give them to someone quickly' was always the excuse she spewed. I loved the woman, but sometimes she really lacked logic.

Pulling out my phone, I pressed call on her name and waited for her to pick up, hoping I would reach her before she left. But the phone rang and rang, going straight to voicemail.

I didn't know how long she'd be and she was right. I did have work in the morning.

With a sigh, I went back to the bathroom, spitting out the toothpaste, then heading back to the living room to grab my keys and hers before heading out the door.

"Cory," was the first thing she said as she turned and met my gaze.

I took a step backwards. Images of her mouth against his flashing through my mind. My woman. The love of my life. With him. In his arms. Kissing another person...

"Cory, it's not what you think," she said, hand reaching out to me.

I took another couple of steps backwards. Her house keys dangling from my fingertips. My glance went down to her stomach, our babies in her... Were they even mine? How long had she been seeing him? Who is he?

My eyes flickered over her shoulder to the guy, his eyes wide. The joy on his face before gone. He knew exactly who I was. She had told him about me. He knew what he was doing. She knew what she was doing.

"Cory, please," Lily whispered, taking another step closer.

I stumbled back a further couple of steps. "How could you," I finally got out.

"I can explain."

"How could you?" I said again, shouting it through clenched teeth.

"Cory, it's really not what it looks like?"

"Really? Because you were just..." But I didn't finish. My heart felt like it was caving in. Clutching a hand to my chest, feeling the sting to my eyes, I felt my vision tunnel. Lily was at the end, but everything around me growing dim. As I looked at her, tears streaming down her face as she tried to close the distance between us, I felt my stomach churn. I was looking at a stranger.

She finally caught up to me, a hand coming to my arm. But the moment her skin touched me I flinched away from her.

"Don't touch me," I hissed.

"Cory, please..." She reached for me again.

"I said don't touch me!" I spat.

Grabbing her hand, I shoved the keys into it, turning on my heel and taking off.

"Cory!" she called out after me, sounding like she was coming after me. But I just walked faster. Heading towards the car.

I had to get away from her.

I needed to get away.

I needed to breathe.

As the seconds ticked on, and my heart thudded more rapidly, and the ache increased, I felt my knees begin to buckle.

Just in time, I made it to my car. Slipping in behind the wheel and locking myself in, I fell against the steering wheel. The sobs poured out as I felt my chest constrict again.

Then it flashed through my mind again. Her kissing him.

I didn't get long to feel the crushing pain as a thudding on my window called my watery gaze upwards.

She was standard outside, pulling on the doorhandle, banging on the window.

"Let me in. Talk to me," she said, voice coming out muffled through the glass.

But as I looked into her smokey grey eyes, my heart twinged again. How do we ever come back from this? What happens now? What happens to our children?

Are they even mine?

I put the key in the ignition.

"Cory!" she screamed, banging on the car.

But I ignored her. Turning the lights on, foot on the gas, I took off, away from her.

It was hard to see in the dark through the tears. But I did my best to blink them away as they formed.

Where could I go though?

Do I go home?

What do I do now?

What happens when the love of your life, your home, your future disappears in the space of a moment.

Yet it was like I was on autopilot. As I looked up again, eyes coming into focus, I realised I had pulled into our driveway.

With a sigh, I got out of my car and headed back down into the house.

I didn't go to sleep. I laid in bed, huddled up under the blanket, staring into the darkness. She wasn't far behind... but also a little too far.

Did she go back to him?

Did she kiss him again?

How long had they been seeing each other?

Did she love him?

Did they have sex?

The questions were on repeat. An endless flurry of worry festering at my brain.

My eyes were dry when she flicked on the bedside light. As she climbed in, she didn't touch me this time.

"It's not what you think," she whispered, her own voice hoarse.

"Oh yeah? Coming to find my girlfriend to make sure she had her keys so she could get home safely and seeing her arms and lips wrapped around another guy is not what I think?"

She heaved a sigh, and my eye twitched. Was it that painful to hear me upset? "It was a one off."

"So I should just forgive you then?" I rolled over, gaze venomously seeking hers out.

Taking one glance at me, she averted her eyes immediately, face washed with guilt. "No." And that was all she said.

"Who is he?" I moved to a seating position, arms crossed against my chest.

"His name is Tyler." Her voice was barely audible. "He's in one of my classes."

"Are they his kids?"

"What? No. No. Definitely not, Cory. It was one kiss, I swear."

"That doesn't make it better Lily!" I shouted and she flinched. But I wasn't going to apologise. I didn't care if my raised voice scared her. Because she should feel some ounce of pain that I had.

She didn't say anything. She left me with the silence. With my thoughts.

"I thought you were trying to explain yourself."

"It was a moment of weakness."

Shaking my head, jaw set, I looked away. "Moment of weakness? A moment of weakness is grabbing a chocolate bar when you're out buying vegetables, Lily. Not kissing some guy."

"He kissed me."

"Don't even come at me with that, Lily. You had your arms around him."

"He kissed me first... and then I kissed him back."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. I'm sorry. I'm so desperately sorry and it will never happen again and I will never see him again." She reached over, taking my hands in hers. "I promise you it meant nothing."

I stared at her, watching her eyes pleading with me. The tears welling up, threatening to spill over again.

But she had already lied once about him.

Hadn't told me about him.

So how could I trust these promises.

I yanked my hand out of hers. "I can't know that."

"Cory. I love you and only you. You have to know that."

"But you like him?"

She went quiet, head turning to her lap.

"You're absurd."

"It's just a stupid crush, Cory. He means nothing."

"He means nothing but you're crushing on him. Wow. I feel so much better."

"You can't tell me you have never looked any other girl's way."

"I haven't!"

"Bullshit. You're Cory Peterson."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means you were the biggest fucking playboy when we were in school. You slept with every damn girl and you tore me and my trust apart when we were in high school. But I let it go. I have one moment of weakness and you're getting mad at me?"

"Of course I'm getting fucking mad at you Lily! I'm not the guy I was when we were seventeen! I've grown up. Time has passed. I've been committed to you, fully committed, since our relationship started. You are my everything. You were supposed to be my everything."

"And I still can be."

"I'm not so sure..."

The tears began to roll down her cheeks now. "Please don't say that."

But I didn't respond. Instead, I crawled back into the bed, turned onto my side, and pulled the blanket up around me. "I have work in the morning. Can you turn out the light?"

She didn't say anything. The silence dragged on endlessly. But then the sheets ruffled and the light flicked out, and the blackness and my thoughts consumed me once more.

I barely slept that night.