After arriving at my office, I make a pot of coffee and sit at my desk, unable to stop thinking about how much worse my life has become. All because of my stupidity and not being responsible. If there were any way to go back in time, I would and I would keep myself at home with my daughter and my wife.

"Cruz, I apologize for dragging you here, but you remember Mr. Knox?"

"God yes, he's the client I went to New York for, and it nearly ended my marriage."

"Well, he wants another meeting with you next weekend," Ken informs me. I lean forward, glaring at him.

"If you think I'm about to leave town again for who knows how long, you need to think again, Ken. Look, I know you stuck your neck out for me and reminded our boss what a bad idea it would be to fire me and I appreciate you doing that for me, but there is no way in hell I am leaving town, Ken. We all have a binding agreement you will be the one going out of town much more than me from now on and I'll do all the local meetings."

"Cruz, will you please let me finish? I'm not asking you to leave town."

"You're not?"

"No. Mr. Knox informed me he is planning to buy some land here. He wants to build his dream house here. And he has some friends and family here he plans to send our way," he smiles.

"Oh, well, that sounds great. Is he wanting the two of us to meet with them?"

"Yes, and he assured me the meeting will be here."

"Thank god. Okay, I trust you will set everything up for us," I say and sigh as I turn to look out the window.

"Something is off with you, Cruz. What is it?"

"Nothing, Ken. I'm fine," I try convincing him. He grabs the wooden chair and drags it over in front of me.

"There is definitely something eating at you. I have known you nearly my entire life, Cruz. Tell me," he insists. I lean back, fighting the tears from forming in my eyes.

"Ken, I really screwed up. I made the worst mistake of my life and now, I am about to lose the people I love the most in this world."

"Oh god, Cruz, what the hell did you do? You didn't commit a crime, did you?"

"No, but it's something so unforgivable. Aubrey will never be able to forgive me or trust me after she finds out."

"What, oh god, Cruz, did you have an affair?"

"I didn't plan to have a one-night stand with a complete stranger, but there I was in the hotel bar drunk off my ass, then she enters the bar and Ken, I couldn't peel my eyes off of her. Now my entire world is about to blow up in my face."

"Damn, Cruz. I didn't peg you as a cheater."

"That makes two of us, Ken. What the hell am I going to do?"

"Well, you can keep your torrid affair to yourself. Never tell Aubrey."

"Me keeping this disgusting lie worked until now, Ken. I now have no choice but to tell her I betrayed her and my wedding vows."

"Why do you have to tell Aubrey now, Cruz?"

"Because, Ken, the lady I had my one-night stand with is here, she just told me she's pregnant."

"Oh my god, Cruz, you didn't think to put a condom on?" He harshly asks me.

"Apparently not, Ken. I was so angry over the fight I had with Aubrey before I left, then I thought why not go get drunk off my ass? So I did, and then everything happened so fast with Kendall. Before I knew it, we were up in my hotel room getting to know each other better."

"Let me guess, with your clothes off rolling around on your bed?"

"Are you trying to piss me off, Ken?"

"Damn it, Cruz, Aubrey is a wonderful lady, a wonderful wife, and a wonderful mother. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, Ken, that's how I got myself into this nightmare."

"I honestly do not know what to say to you, Cruz. I will say this, Aubrey needs to hear the truth from you. If you let this go on, you're taking a chance of her finding out from someone else. Then you may not stand a chance of ever getting her back."

"The thought of having to tell her, knowing this will shatter her love and trust for me, kills me."

" Perhaps you should have thought of that before you made the choice to betray your wife. You need to tell her, Cruz, before she hears it from another person."

"I know you're right, Ken, but the thought of me losing my family terrifies me."

"I know it does, but if you stand even the slightest chance of maybe one day Aubrey forgiving you, I really think you need to be the one to tell her. Do you remember your own parents and Aubrey's parents? Your mother eventually forgave your father. You need to think about it, Cruz," he stands and makes his way out the door.

"I have really dug myself in deep. Okay, I will force myself to tell her the truth tomorrow. I don't want to tell her before she leaves for work, I know how excited she is about getting back to work. I will tell her tomorrow evening. I just pray she will eventually find it in heart to forgive me. I'm just so afraid when she hears I got another woman pregnant, she will never forgive me. I know the longer I keep this from her, she will eventually find out from someone else, and that someone else has red hair and a careless attitude."

"Cruz, you go home, I can take of everything here," Ken says as he reenters my office.

"If only I had a time machine, Ken. I would go back and stay home with my wife and daughter. Not only will this crush my wife, it's also going to crush my little girl. I promised both my girls I would do nothing to hurt them. I broke my promise to both of them."

"Again, Cruz, I don't know what to say to you. All I can say is I wish all of you the best. I think you should take some vacation days and stay home and try to work through this."

"I think I will, Ken. Or maybe it would be better if I'm here once Aubrey finds out." 

Ken Cooper