Unfaithful: Web Of Betrayal

Neither of them went to work for two days. Declan was feverish and stayed in bed for a big portion of the two days. He went to his study to make phone calls and did some work when he could. He barely ate and lost some weight.

Alma came in to clean and prepare meals. She noticed the gloom that loomed over the household but didn’t say a thing. Olivia spent most of her time curled up on the sofa and read, completely ignored by her broken hearted husband.

They both tried to figure out how they were going to navigate through their lives after this. In the midst of chaos and the aftermath of her infidelity. They wondered if their marriage can survive a second affair. They had proven to each other that neither of them were immune to unfaithfulness. Was there still enough love between them to keep going?

That was before another brown envelope was slipped under the front door. It was addressed to Declan Hunt exactly on the 24th of November. He rushed to yank the envelope from Alma’s hand when he saw it. Just in time for Olivia to see as she was walking down the stairs to go to the kitchen.

Their eyes met. Declan’s face was intense.

“What is it?” she asked.

He walked toward his study without answering. He was still giving her the silent treatment.

“I’m done for the day, Mrs. Hunt … do you need me for anything else?” Alma was still standing by the door looking ready to leave.

A smashing sound came from the study. Olivia was distracted, “No … that’ll be all … you can go, Alma, thank you,” she smiled.

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Declan was having a fit by himself. Alma looked at Olivia concerned.

“It’s okay … I’ll see what’s going on,” Olivia said.

Alma seemed reluctant to go but Olivia convinced her to leave then locked the door.

Declan was sitting on the armchair in the corner of the study when she came in. His head was between his hands. Half of what was on his desk were scattered on the floor. Her eyes scanned the room, and the brown envelope was nowhere to be seen. She stared at the mess in confusion.

“Has he been in touch with you?” Declan looked up at her with wild expression.

“Who?”

When his eyes widened in anger, she realized he was asking about Roman.

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me!” he shouted.

She was taken aback with his unprovoked fury. “I’m not lying! What is going on, Declan?”

“He’s trying to blackmail me! That fucking son of a bitch had been taunting me for months now! I didn’t know who it was at first … but now I do, it’s your fucking boyfriend!” he screamed pointing his finger at her.

“What are you talking about? Blackmailing you for what?”

They looked at each other. Declan held back. “Business stuff … with Brian … confidential business dealings that could damage our companies if it gets out,” his voice was less intense.

“What are you saying? Are you doing something illegal?”

“No!” he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes,” he rubbed his face. “It’s business … there’s always something to be dealt with to smooth things up … it’s a huge deal … bigger than anything we’ve ever done before.”

“Why would he blackmail you for something like that? You bought his gallery fair and square … he agreed to it, didn’t he?”

Declan turned his back on her and rested his hands on his waist. “Because he’s a fucking asshole … don’t you see him for who he is? He wants to destroy my business … my family … my life …”

She shook her head. It sounded nothing like the Roman she knew and loved. But she could never forget what he said to her about Declan. He was keeping secrets from her. “What exactly did he say to you?”

“He sent me stuff through the mail … he didn’t even have the guts to say it to my face … he just taunts me through these envelopes he’d been sending to the office … and now to the house.” He shook his head. “He’s terrorizing me … he wants me to know that he can show up here undetected anytime he wants … and he has you to open the door for him.” He turned to her again with angry eyes.

Olivia was flabbergasted by his accusations. “Are you suggesting that I have something to do with this? I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I don’t think he’s capable of something like this.”

“Are you defending him now?” he was fired up again. “He’s not what you think he is, Livy! He’s been lying to you! This was not the first time he’d done this. He’s sick!”

She furrowed her brows, “What do you mean?”

“He has a fascination with women who are older than him … especially married women … you’re not his first prey!”

Her mouth gaped open, “His prey?” She shook her head. She knew about his past relationship with his professor, but she was sure it was nothing like what Declan suggested. “I’m not trying to defend him, but it was not like that at all.”

“What did you think that room was all about? Huh? It was a shrine! Did you think it was a romantic gesture of a young artist? He created a shrine for you and left it there for me to see it! He wanted to put that image in my head … how you let him fuck you!” he grabbed her by the wrist and shook her.

“Stop it! You imagine things that are hurting you more than you need to, Declan!”

“More than I need to? How much do I need to hurt? Seeing you in thousands of pictures he’d taken of you … lying naked on his bed!” his lips trembled, “And what’s worse …” he paused. “What’s worse was how happy you looked in those photos when you smiled at him … did he make you happy? Happier than you’ve ever been with me?” his grip tightened.

She pulled away from him, “Stop it! Just … stop!”

Everything he wasn’t saying since the day he went into that room was flooding out of him.

“We can’t keep doing this, Declan. Stop it! It’s over with him … he’s gone … everything I had with him is gone too.”

“He’s not gone! He’s blackmailing me… he’s not going to leave us alone until he crushes me! He can’t have you in his life … he might as well destroy us.”

—

He was throwing accusations here and there. Connecting one random thing to another. A whole scenario of a master plan to ruin his life was finally clear in his mind. It was all carefully planned with cruel intentions by Roman.

Declan explained to Olivia how clever the plan was and how Roman had disappeared without a trace so he could keep taunting him without anyone knowing.

But Declan was smarter than that. He mapped out everything that Roman had done to execute his devious scheme toward him and Olivia, except for one tiny yet very important detail. The fact that what’s inside the brown envelope had nothing to do with the business he was doing with Brian. The fact that one thing he was haunted by was the existence of his illegitimate child with his ex-mistress.

Roman was a villain. That was undeniable. Anyone who tried to steal his wife was a villain, and a blackmailer was a villain. It all fits in one category in Declan’s mind. He had convinced himself that Roman caused everything that was wrong with his life. The only salvation he found in it was that he was able to convince Olivia of the same belief.

“What are you going to do?” she touched his shoulder from behind.

He shook his head, “I can’t think right now … my mother asked me to come by for another talk … she wants to finalize her will before we leave for London.”

“Can’t it wait? Is she sick? I don’t see why she has to rush you like that.”

He let out a long exhale. “I don’t think she’s sick … I think she just wants me to do what she expected of me … and you …” he turned to look at her.

She looked away. She didn’t want an IVF. She was sticking to her decision. If Mimi wanted it to be a requirement in her will, so be it, she didn’t care anymore. The Hunts did not own her life.

“You know how I feel about it … I’m not changing my mind,” she said.

Declan nodded, and kissed her forehead.