Betrayed: Keeping her in the Dark Vol. 3 (15 page)

“Tell me what happened?” I asked in a snotty way.

“He told you what happened.”

“Yes and now I want you to tell me.” 

“Why, you don’t believe him?” 

“No. I don’t. I asked him what he did that weekend, and he said nothing! He said his meeting was canceled and he stayed home.” Then I thought for a second.

 “Actually he didn’t say that, he just dodged the question every time I asked him. Then you told me about the sex club, and I asked him if there was anything else. I asked him, Jane! He said, that was it.” Our waitress put our food on the table.

“So no, I don’t believe him anymore.” 

She retold the same story Liam had told me the night before. 

“Why did Will give him drugs?” I was pissed about that. 

“He wanted him to relax and have some fun.” She paused. “In my opinion, he wanted Liam to do something wrong, but he didn’t. I promise you, Norah. He just watched us. The drugs made him relax, but they also made him sleepy. He had drank a lot before the ecstasy. We went up to his room, and after about fifteen minutes of watching us in the shower he passed out.” 

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my salad.

“So what? I just have to forgive him? He gets to lie, kiss lap dancers and have himself stroked, and I just have to forgive him? No, I don’t think so.” We sat quietly and ate for a few minutes. I didn’t know who side she was on, but I really didn’t care. 

Liam was wrong. He should have told me the truth and he didn’t. If I had done the same thing I would be punished. I don’t have a desire to take him to the basement and beat the crap out of him and then fuck him. I just wanted to beat the fuck out of him. 

“I know you and Liam have a different relationship than Will and I do. But he loves you Norah. He really does. I think it’s really hard for Liam, because he wants to do the right thing. He sees you, and you are so beautiful and good. People love you after about 30 seconds.”

“You charm everyone you meet, you succeed in everything you do, and you have a big heart. Big enough to fall in love with him and marry him.” She shook her head and took a few bites. 

“I think as much of a control freak as he is, he just wants to be worthy of you. He tries so hard and fails miserably sometimes.” She let out a big puff of air. “I mean, face it, we all can’t be as good as you.” 

Chapter Twelve

Liam 

I was out of mind. But I wasn’t going after her. I had done my fair share of chasing Norah and I was done. 

I knew I was wrong and yes, I lied. But I was the man in this relationship, and she needed to accept it. She didn’t get to know everything and that was just the way it was. She knew this about me. I had tried to hide my controlling nature with her before and it didn’t work. 

I was a very controlling and demanding man. I wasn’t going to apologize for being myself. I made my intentions about our relationship pretty clear when I flew to Texas for Rebecca’s wedding. She would return eventually and when she did, I would make her listen and understand. 

Norah would see things my way as she usually did. I was certain. 

“Turn that frown upside down, my friend.” I looked up and Will was standing in my office. I stood up. 

“Will its Sunday. What are you doing here?” I asked. “I came to the office because I didn’t want to be bothered.”

“Don’t kill me, I have good news.” He held his hands and sat down in the chair in front of my desk. 

“First of all, I’m sorry. Everything that happened was my fault. I shouldn’t have even asked you to go with us. I punished both Jane and Josie.” He had a big smile on his face.

“Several times.” He gave me a wink. 

“I’m not in the mood for your sex life, Will.” He snickered and unbuttoned his jacket and leaned forward. 

“Jane is having lunch with Norah as we speak.” I looked up at him. “She called her today and asked her to lunch,” he held his hands out to his sides. 

“Where is she?” I asked. I knew she was in a hotel but I didn’t know which one. I wasn’t about to call around and find out.  She didn’t want to see me and I was alright with that at the moment. She still had a few hours to come home on her own. 

“I don’t know,” he said. 

“Is she coming back on her own or do I have to go drag her back by her hair?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Does she think she is divorcing me?” 

“Liam….I don’t know. Jane is with her right now.” I stood up again. 

“Call her. Call her right now and see where they are?” He stood up too. 

“I’m not going to do that.” He walked to me and touched my shoulders. “Listen, you are in no condition to see her right now. If you find out where she is you will go to her, and it won’t be good.” I pushed his hands away. 

“If she thinks she is divorcing me she has another thing coming! I won’t allow it! I will lock her back in her old room before I let her divorce me!” 

“See that is the kind of thing you shouldn’t say to her right now.” He paused. “I think you should just wait. Jane will call me when lunch is over and then you can make a decision.” I walked passed him toward to door to my office. 

“I have a meeting. But call me the minute they get done. I need to know what to expect.” 

“It’s Sunday. What kind of meeting do you have on a Sunday?” he asked. 

“I called them in. It’s a team building exercise.”  I wasn’t paying attention in my meeting. I might have agreed to buy a small country in Africa, I really didn’t know. 

I called Will as soon as I made it back to my office and he was now in a meeting.

Will in a meeting. I didn’t know Will actually did any work. He was the Director of the Mergers and Transitions department, but I couldn’t tell you what he did for me. 

The way he walked around the building, went away for ‘business weekends’ and drank in the middle of the day, I just assumed I paid him to do nothing. 

But today of all days he decided to work. Today when I needed him to work for me, he decided to work my company. 

I left several messages with his secretary and was on the verge of calling Jane myself. I held what little restrain I had, because I knew if I called her it would have been bad. It would have been very bad. 

I went to his office around 3pm and he wasn’t there. I called his cell phone and again he didn’t answer. I gave up and went home. I couldn’t concentrate so this day was pointless. 

Will called me around 6pm and said he was on the way to my house. He explained he was having a problem with the new companies we had just acquired and was out of the office all afternoon. 

Gerald brought him to the study as soon as he arrived. 

“Well? What did she say?” He made himself a drink and didn’t say anything.

 “Will! Answer me please! I’m going crazy here, what did she say?” He turned and looked at me. 

“Not much, according to Jane.” He took a sip of his drink.

“What does that mean?” 

“Jane wouldn’t tell me exactly what she said, but she said she didn’t say much.” 

“What the fuck are you talking about? Can’t you control the women in your life? If you can’t control Jane you certainly shouldn’t get another one!” I was pissed. 

“This coming from a man who isn’t doing much of controlling his own wife right now!” We both sat down. 

“She said she was safe, staying in one of your hotels, and she was pissed.” I looked at him. “She said she doesn’t trust you, she doesn’t believe you and Jane had to tell her what happened.” He held up his hands. 

“She doesn’t want to see you and that is all I know.” I didn’t say anything. “Liam, Jane said she doesn’t want a divorce, she’s sure of it. She’s just hurt and very upset.” He leaned forward and put his arms on his knees, so I leaned forward too. 

“I say leave her alone the rest of the week. If she hasn’t called or come back by then, go to the hotel and break the door down.” I nodded in his direction.

Will knew me well. Breaking down the door was something I would do. 

“A week? I told her 24 hours. She has 7 hours.” We leaned back and he changed the subject. 

“Are you going to the Shareholders Dinner next month?” he asked. 

“I own the company, which means I own most of the shares, so yes. I have to go.”

“You know what that means don’t you?”

I was sure he was referring to Nick. Nick held 3% of the shares in my company. The Shareholders Dinner was where we voted on a new board. Most shareholders like to come for the free chicken and door prizes we gave away, but they also liked to vote for the board. 

I hated the board. I made 99.9% of all the decisions in my company. But the stupid board controlled one thing. The budget. My budget. Every year they voted on the budget and every year I went over it. Why? Because it was my money and I did what I wanted with it. 

“He won’t show up.”

  “Maybe he will,” he said.

 “He’s too smart for that.” 

“Nick is an idiot, and I think he proved that with his actions.” Will was right. 

“Yes, but he also knows me. He knows that there is nothing in this world that I would rather do than to kill him for what he did to my wife. He knows better than to test me.” 

“Do you think Norah will go with you?” 

“I hope so. Either she will be going with me, or she will be locked in her room.” Will laughed because he thought I was joking. Maybe I was. 

“Give it some time.” 

I am not a patient man. Patience is something I have never had, and I think my record is clear on that. So Norah had to know that my not contacting her on Sunday was very hard for me. She had to know that it was killing me. I was snapping at everyone. I kept looking at my watch.  

I showered in the gym after my work out and put on some shorts and t-shirt. I was wiping my head dry with a towel and saw Gerald pacing the floor in the foyer. 

“Her time is up. It’s time to get ugly now,” I said as I walked toward him.

“She’s upstairs sir,” he said. 

“Norah? She’s home?” I started up the stairs. “Norah!” I yelled. When I got to our bedroom the door was shut and locked. 

I knocked hard. I could hear her inside moving around but she didn’t say anything. 

“Norah! Dammit! Open the door!” She still didn’t answer me.

“Norah! I swear to God, if you don’t open the door you are going to be one sorry little girl! Now open the door!” 

“You want to come in here, then you’re gonna have to break the door down! And you think I will be sorry…I’m sorry now!” Oh, I loved it when she talked back. I loved that smart little mouth of hers. When this was said and done, I was going to fuck her little mouth. 

I kicked the door three times before the door frame cracked and I pushed it opened. 

“You broke the house, you asshole! You just broke the house because you’re too stupid to go downstairs and get the key!” she was standing in the middle of the room packing more clothes in a bigger suitcase. 

“I don’t give a fuck about this house, and I will burn it to the ground before you walk out the door again. You want to leave me? Fine. But you will stand here and talk to me like an adult.” 

“Fine. Say what you have to say, because I am leaving again, Liam, and I’ll hand you the matches.” I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. I walked closer to her. 

“I said I was sorry, Norah. I am. I am profoundly sorry. If I could take it back I would. I am an asshole. I was an asshole before you met me, since we came together, and I am still an asshole to this day.” I grabbed her shoulders and made her look at me. 

“I love you, Norah. I love you so much. I don’t want lose you. I know you’re angry and you have every right to be. I want more than anything for you to forgive me, but I am not a patient man.” She looked away from me. 

“But this is the man I am. I make the rules and you can either accept them or move on. I tell you what I think you need to know. And in this case, nothing happened, so I chose not to tell you.” She looked back. “I don’t expect you to understand. I will wait as long as it takes for you come around to my thinking.” She didn’t say anything. She kept looking in my eyes but she didn’t say anything. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to lay her down and fuck her until she remembered who was in charge. But I just stepped away to give her some space. 

“Are you done?” she asked. I kept my eyes on her. 

“Yes.” 

Norah 

I was still mad, and he was being a jackass. But he was sincere and I believed him. He didn’t think keeping things from me was wrong. Despite the fact that I believed Liam really loved me, he wasn’t in the business of answering to other people. He still understood that being married was about compromise.

He just thought I needed to compromise with him. I didn’t want to forgive him, because he didn’t deserve it…not yet anyway. 

I grabbed my purse, left the clothes and walked around him out of the room. 

“Where are you going?” he asked. 

“You said you were done. I listened and now I am leaving again.”

“Norah, don’t test me!”

“I’m not testing you. I will have Gerald send me my things,” I kept walking down the stairs. I ran out the front door and he followed me.

“Norah, stop right now! You are going to talk to me and if you want to do it outside, fine!” He grabbed my arm to stop me. 

“You want me to talk to you?” He didn’t answer. “Fine. Here it is. I am so mad right now I could just scream. I keep giving you the benefit of the doubt and I keep getting kicked in the stomach! You tell me I am your equal that I am your wife and you love me. And yet, you keep treating me like you own me.” I walked around him and back towards the house. Then stopped and faced him.

“You think you can keep things from me and that is just the way it is?! You don’t own me, Liam! You don’t! No matter how much money you paid for me, you still don’t own me. I am your wife! You might own my body and my heart, but not me!” I knew that didn’t make sense, but he understood. 

“Just looking at that ring on your hand infuriates me! You’re only wearing it because you’re a cheating bastard!” I turned and walked back towards the house.