signs. But as she neared Matt’s office, she could see light spilling from beneath his door.
When she stepped closer, a distinct noise sounded that Vania hadn’t heard as of late: Matt was about to come.
A woman’s groan matched his.
She pressed her ear to the door, the unmistakable sounds of pounding sex instantly meeting her ears. More moans and groans joined a distinct wet smacking that had nothing to do with kisses.
Vania pulled her ear away and flattened her hands against the door to peer in the sliver of window. Later she would be thankful she saw nothing because hearing was painful enough. In that moment, however, Vania’s anger brought her hand down hard on the door lever. All sounds stopped, except for Vania’s heart thundering in her ears.
“Vania,” a man whispered.
Vania reeled back, grabbing at her chest as Dr. Murphy appeared at her side. He pressed a finger to his lips. Then took her hand in his and pulled Vania away.
Chapter 6
In a dreamlike state, Vania allowed Dr. Murphy to lead her past several examination rooms. He eventually stopped inside a well-lit phlebotomy station.
He pulled out a cup of cranberry juice from the refrigerator and broke the seal. “Drink this.”
“I don’t need juice at a time like this, Dr. Murphy.” Maybe that wasn’t even Matt in his office but another man; she thought, grasping at hope.
“Call me Alan.” He placed the cup in Vania’s hand, his eyes dropping to her engagement ring. “Right now, a little sugar is what you need.”
She took a tentative sip. It tasted sweet, tart, and refreshing going down. And she probably wouldn’t drink it again after tonight. “You heard what’s going on in there. If it’s Matt —"
“It is Matt, Vania.”
“He’s done this before.” She hadn’t asked a question but Alan nodded anyway. “How often? Is it the same woman every time?”
“For at least three months with this woman, though I don’t know if there are others.” He placed the gentlest touch on Vania’s trembling shoulder.
“Let me by.” She pushed at his chest. “I’m going to kill him.”
“And you’ve got every right to. But, Vania, I’ve walked in your shoes. If I had to do it again, I would’ve held on to every string of my dignity. I wouldn’t have allowed Gayle to see me the way I’m seeing you right now. I would have told her I didn’t want her anymore, dumped her without letting her know I’d caught her cheating.”
“Pretend I don’t know about him fucking another woman?” Vania couldn’t imagine that. She wanted to run over Matt with her car. Repeatedly. Better yet, she wanted to run over Matt with his Mercedes . Why ding up her car? “That makes no sense.”
“Sleep on it and it might.” He leaned his hip against the counter, his blue eyes blazing with pain. “Tell Matt you’re dumping him for any other reason than the obvious. Hell, tell him his dick doesn’t satisfy you. Tell him you found another. Anything is better than looking stricken and vulnerable in the eyes of a cheater.”
A sob broke out, but she managed to rein it in. “I can’t do that. It hurts too much.”
“If the breakup is on your terms, you dumping him, Matt’s ego will have a hard time accepting it. Who better to tell you this than a man? Then you’ll leave him to face the garbage of his life with your head held high. It’s called dignity, Vania. Take yours back. God knows Matt’s shredded it enough as it is.”
Rash decisions were always bad ones. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.” Vania pushed past him, fighting back tears, but he caught her arm before she turned the corner.
“You can call my office if you need anything. I’ll help in any way I can.”
“I won’t involve you. After all, Matt is your friend.” Vania turned her cellphone back on. She winced when spotting six missed calls from D. Easton.
“ Was my friend,” he corrected, “until he started fucking my wife.”
She