Chapter 3
Silas set the flowers down on the dining table nearby.
He wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me up like a child, cradling me in his arms.
"That's terrible," he said.
We settled onto the couch. Silas slowly leaned closer and stopped before he touched me.
He spoke softly, like a true gentleman. "Is this okay?"
I felt a bit out of it, thinking back to the first time Wilbur kissed me.
He was gentle and cautious then, too. His lashes were quivering slightly.
His deep brown eyes were completely focused on me, as if I was the only thing in his world.
Maybe that was why I never doubted that we were truly in love.
But my thoughts about Wilbur were quickly pushed aside.
Before I could answer, Silas teased my ear and neck with the tip of his nose.
My heart was pounding like a drum. With his warm breath against my skin, I finally gave a gentle nod.
When the kiss ended, he pressed his forehead to mine, holding my gaze.
He asked, "Is it okay if we keep going, Mrs. Maxwell?
"What if your husband walks in on us?"
I felt my cheeks heat up under his light brown gaze.
I shook my head.
"He's got a dinner party tonight, so he won't be home," I replied.
Silas smiled, slipped his hands under me, and lifted me into his arms.
"That's perfect," he said.
As Silas carried me toward the bedroom, I caught sight of his phone on the coffee table. It kept lighting up.
"Silas, your phone's going off..." I called out.
Afraid he might be missing something urgent, I forced myself out of the haze and spoke up.
But he brushed it off.
He said, "It's nothing.
"Pleasing you is the most important thing to me tonight."
Silas's kissing skills weren't anything special. He was almost reckless and eager.
Wilbur was a good kisser, but every time I remembered how many women those lips had touched, I couldn't focus on kissing him.
Whenever he noticed my mind wandering, he'd punish me by pulling his lips away.
While I was still dazed and flustered, he'd say with a wicked edge to his voice, "No kissing tonight."
But Silas wasn't like that. Every heated kiss came with a stream of flirty words, and his body pressed hotly against mine.
Right before he was about to enter me, he held me tight, his voice shaking with emotion.
"Queenie, who am I?" he asked.
I hugged him back, pressing a kiss to his ear.
I said, "Silas."
A wild storm of passion crashed over me.
Wilbur crossed my mind one last time before I lost myself completely.
I couldn't help but feel he was a little off about that.
Honestly, having an affair was fun.
*****
Wally Homes returned to the country today.
Wilbur got a call from a mutual friend and was heading out to a dinner party.
On the drive over, Wilbur couldn't shake this restless, uneasy feeling.
For some reason, Queenie's tears from earlier kept coming back to him.
It wasn't the first time he'd seen Queenie break down in front of him.
Thinking about it, Queenie had cried quite a bit since they got married.
Back then, seeing her cry used to give him a messed-up thrill.
She caught him kissing a girl, so she broke up with him decisively.
He apologized, but Queenie smacked him right across the face.
The look in her eyes was real hatred, which he had never seen before.
"Wilbur, I hate cheaters more than anything," she snapped.
Wilbur knew that Queenie's dad was a cheater.
Her mom couldn't handle it and drowned herself in the sea.
"I will never love a scumbag like you!" Queenie snapped.
Honestly, hearing her say that with such finality, Wilbur was left shaken.
They dated for a long time and had a real connection.
Their first kiss and their first sex were with each other. They even went to see the Northern Lights together, promising under the stars that they'd never be apart.
So during that time, Wilbur was all over the place, buying gifts to apologize to her.
But before he even got the chance to apologize, Queenie reached out first, wanting to patch things up.
That was right after her family went bankrupt.
The anxiety that had lingered in Wilbur's heart for days suddenly vanished.
He was back to his confident, composed self again.
He wiped away her tears, pulled her into his arms, and said softly, "ALinea, it's my fault. I never should've made you cry. When we graduate, let's get married."
Wilbur couldn't believe how simple it was to get back together.
He was a bit annoyed. He couldn't help but wonder if she would get back together with him if her family hadn't gone under.
Once doubt took root, it kept growing.
He kept running through all those imaginary scenarios in his mind, imagining how things might have played out if life had gone another way.
Time and again, he used his betrayal as a twisted way to test Queenie's love for him.
After doing it so many times, he couldn't tell what he actually wanted.
Whenever Queenie got upset and started crying, he'd feel a brief sense of satisfaction.
But then he'd end up feeling even more frustrated and suspicious.
So the cycle would always repeat.
Wilbur showed up at the party hall, only to find that nobody had come.
He was about to grab his phone and confront the friend who'd called him out here, when he suddenly realized his friend had tried calling him a couple of times while he was driving.