Read The Wife for Free Online Page B

possessively in his arms and runs his hands gently through my hair. I’m too hurt and confused to react. I’m not sure what to do. I love him; I know I love him.
    “I love you, Alexa. I love you and our family more than anything in the world, and I’ll fight for us. There’ll never be anyone but you again.”
    I snap away from him. “There. Shouldn’t. Have. Ever. Been. Anyone. Else. In. The. First. Place.” I have to breathe between each word to keep the tears from spilling over.
    “Alexa, there’s a lot you don’t know. When this is all over, I promise to tell you everything. But you need to trust that I’m committed to us, and I’m going to change. Life just got away from me, but I don’t want that life. I know that now. I want us.” He kisses the top of my head. “Please give me another chance.” He traces his hand across the top of the pillowy towel clenched to my chest.
    “I don’t know if I’ll ever trust you again.” My words make him wince with hurt. The very foundation of our relationship was built on intrinsic trust. Mike knew that it was the one thing I loved most about him after what I went through when Jamie left. Until now, I thought nothing would ever hurt that bad, but the sting of Mike’s betrayal of trust is a harsh reality to take.
    “Are you willing to try to forgive me?” He places my hair back behind my ear.
    My head spins with confusion. Does his admission really change anything? This entire time, I was in therapy with Mike because I suspected he was cheating on me. I had him sleep in a separate room because I thought he was cheating on me. I’ve been excited about a weekend away, hoping to woo him back even though I’ve suspected he been cheating on me. I’m doing all these things and still living in the house with him, trying to make things work and keep our family together, even though I’ve suspected he’s cheating on me. Why is it that now that he’s finally admitted that I’ve been right all along, I want to leave him? Nothing has really changed, other than my suspicions have been confirmed. My biggest fear until that moment was that he wouldn’t choose me and the kids in the end. Now that he says he has chosen us, why is it hard for me to forgive him?
    I’ve tried hard to keep my integrity and to turn myself into a strong, independent woman in my marriage and seem to be failing miserably. Would staying with him, knowing what I know, make me weak—pathetic perhaps?
    Will I always live in doubt?
    Will my kids ever forgive me if I leave him?
    Will people perceive me as a fool if I stay?
    So many questions spin through me that I feel sick.
    Mike kisses my head again and looks at me with those dark, alluring eyes that used to have me hypnotized. “Please don’t give up on me.”
    I press my head against his chest as he wraps me up in his muscular arms. I can hear the rapid patter of his heart, and helplessly fold into him. “I don’t want to, but you haven’t left me with much of a choice.” The anger finally erupts from me. “I’m not the one who gave up, Mike!” I pound my fists on his chest. “You gave up. It’s all you. How do I know you won’t give up again?”
    He lets me hit his chest one more time before he takes my wrists in his hands and pulls me up to him again. “I never gave up on us. Things got out of hand. I made a mistake.” He turns me around and has me pressed up against the door with my hands pinned above me; my towel slides to the floor. “I can’t live with myself if my mistakes cause me to lose you. I realize now, I don’t want to lose you. I love you, Alexa.” Mike’s gravelly voice tears at my heart. I can hear his pain in each syllable. “I will spend the rest of our lives showing you how much I love you.” His voice becomes soft and husky as he slides his knee between my legs and kisses my neck. “Please let me show you. I love you so much.” He teases me with his tongue and it reminds me how badly I’ve missed his