Page 5 of Keeping Skylar (Fractured Hearts #1)

She slowly opens her eyes and glances up at me. Her smile appears as quickly as it fades away, the moment she takes in my fully clothed body. This is the part I hate. The part where I have to leave her and she becomes miserable and distant again.

“Stay,” she utters softly, her voice hoarse from sleep and screaming for hours.

“I wish I could, but you know I can’t. I have to go home. Sky will be back soon from the exhib—”

I’m cut off as Lucia springs up abruptly, her eyes shooting daggers as they lock on to mine.

“Do you think I give a fuck about Sky, Kaden?” she snaps, her arm waving around in frustration.

“Sky this. Sky that! It’s always about fucking Skylar.

What about me, huh?” she spits out, her voice laced with venom.

Without waiting for my response, Lucia leaps out of the bed, grabs her robe from the back of the door and storms out of the room.

I follow her to where she’s standing behind the kitchen island.

Her satin robe is tied securely around her slim body as she grips the edge of the counter.

For a long time, neither of us say anything.

I approach her cautiously, but just as I’m about to reach out to her, she swiftly turns away and heads into the living room, dropping heavily onto the couch.

Determined to resolve this before I can even think about leaving, I follow after her. Her arms are crossed, eyes cast downward, and I can tell she’s doing everything she can to avoid eye-contact.

Hating the distance between us, I kneel in front of her, gently encouraging her to look at me. “Lucy, please look at me. I don’t want to fight with you. We had such a good time tonight; I don’t want to leave you upset.”

She finally looks at me, her eyes welling up with tears. “I’m just sick of watching you leave all the time. It makes me feel like shit.”

A tear drips down her cheek and I gently swipe it away with my thumb.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I’m trying. I just need you to be a little more patient with me.

You know I can’t just leave my wife. We’ve been together for ten years.

It’s not that simple to walk away. But I promise you, I’m doing everything I can to be with you, okay?

I have plans for us.” I take her hand and bring it to my mouth, planting soft kisses on each knuckle.

“I love you, Kaden. I’ve loved you since the first night I met you. It kills me every time you go back to her. I’m done waiting.” Lucia sobs, and the pain in her voice breaks me.

The first time she told me she loved me was two months ago, after we snuck away together for the weekend to the Central Coast. We stayed in our hotel and fucked like animals for most of the time we were there.

On our last night, Lucia caught me off guard by confessing that she had fallen in love with me.

I wasn’t ready to say the words back to her, and I knew it hurt her deeply.

But she understood that I just needed a little more time.

She knew I still loved my wife, and cared about her.

I was always upfront with Lucia about it.

Just the thought of losing Sky makes me feel nauseous.

Letting her go was never going to be an option.

I sit beside Lucia and slide her onto my lap, adjusting her so that she’s straddling me.

She immediately collapses on me, weeping and seeking comfort in my warmth. I listen as she softly cries into my neck, my hand gently stroking her back.

“Let it out, baby. I’m here. I’ll always be here,” I murmur to her reassuringly as she clings on to me tighter. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined, that this is where I’d be—married to one woman while in the arms of another.

When Skylar first introduced the two of us, it was over dinner at our place one night. I thought Lucia was fun and friendly, and maybe even stunning. I could see why my wife and her got along so easily—she had an energy about her that was refreshing and addicting.

It wasn’t until we all started working out together at the local gym that things really took a turn. At first, it was all innocent—the girls received free personal training from me, while I got to be in the company of two incredible, beautiful women. It was a win-win for all.

But a month into our training, Sky started skipping our sessions, using every excuse under the sun not to go. She suddenly had a headache, menstrual cramps, a stomach bug, a sore thumb. It was almost hilarious, really.

As much as I wanted my wife there with us, I couldn’t force her to come. So, that left only Lucia and me training together.

In the beginning, we’d meet up at the gym, complete our workouts and then go our separate ways. We did that a few nights a week, for a month.

Then one evening, when Sky was at home sick with the flu, Lucia asked if I wanted to go out for a quick bite to eat after our workout. Seeing no harm in two friends grabbing something to eat, I accepted her invitation.

The start of the dinner went smoothly. The conversation flowed easily, and I got to know her a little more. But as the night wore on, Lucia, having polished off an entire bottle of wine on her own, grew tipsier and bolder.

It started with her talking about what she found attractive in a man, quickly followed by comments about my physical appearance.

As her intoxication grew, she became noticeably impetuous, incessantly teasing and flirting with me.

Her gaze would linger longer on mine, her hands kept finding subtle ways to touch me.

Towards the end of our dinner, her seductive charm had worn down my resolve.

Realising I needed to escape the mounting tension, I decided it was best to call it a night and drove her home.

After parking in front of her house, we sat in the car in silence for a while before Lucia invited me in. I knew it was a bad idea. I knew it was wrong. But before I could talk myself out of it, I was climbing out of the car and walking to her front door.

The moment we stepped inside the house, Lucia lunged at me, kissing me, and running her hands all over my arms and chest. In a moment’s panic, I pushed her off me, making her almost fall flat on her arse.

But when she gazed up at me, a mixture of want and desire burning in her eyes, I could no longer hold back.

I pinned her against the back of the door within seconds, and kissed her with an insatiable hunger I hadn’t felt in a while.

Our hands frantically tore at each other’s clothing as we ferociously devoured one another.

We were so caught in the intensity of the moment that all sense of morality went out the door.

When I arrived home that night, I collapsed on the living room floor and cried in silence as the guilt of what I had done came flooding through me like a fucking tsunami. It felt as though I was suffocating under its weight. I couldn’t breathe, knowing I had just betrayed my wife.

After that night, I vowed to never see or be alone with Lucia again.

But no matter how hard I tried, the sad truth was, I was weak, I was selfish, I was stupid.

My thoughts were filled with her, day and night.

I could no longer resist her at every turn, especially when Sky invited her over regularly.

Two weeks after the incident, I found myself at Lucia’s front door again, about to tell her that we needed to stay away from each other and for her to stop coming around my place.

Unbeknownst to me, stepping into that house marked the beginning of months upon months of lies and deceit.

It was on that day my affair with Lucia ignited a fire that set everything ablaze.

My marriage. My home. My once familiar life.

Six months later, I’m back in the same house, comforting my heartbroken mistress— someone I’ve grown to truly care about, with no sign of our affair coming to an end.

She’s finally stopped crying, her tired body relaxing into me.

Without speaking, I carry her into the bedroom and gently lay her down, covering her body with the blanket.

I kiss her softly on her lips and stare into her sad, weary eyes.

“Rest up, baby. I’ll be back soon, okay.

” And then, I say the words she’s been dying to hear for months. “I love you.”

Her eyes widen and a broad smile spread across her cheeks. She leans forward to give me a long and deep kiss, whispering, “I love you,” over and over. A minute later, I slowly pull away, and walk straight out of the room without looking back, leaving Lucia all alone, once more.