Page 68 of Checkmate
Chapter 17
Marcus
“So, they were absolutely having sex,” Erica said as she tossed the phone onto the sofa.
Sat in the lobby of a hotel just outside of the city, they enjoyed a cup of coffee before they drove back.
When they had left his flat a few days ago, neither of them had a plan in mind. All they were clear on was punishing Alex and Sophie yet again.
Erica had suggested the hotel.
Supposedly, The Ol’ Witchery had a reputation for being haunted, and as she said, they’d be fools to pass up that kind of research.
Not that he needed much persuading.
If he had his way, they’d be in one of their rooms, away from prying eyes, so he could admire her in peace.
But coffee in the lobby was one of his better ideas.
Although it wasn’t necessary, Marcus had made sure security cameras proved how innocent this trip was. He didn’t care about himself so much, but he wanted to protect Erica’s reputation.
If they weren’t asleep (which cameras would prove was in separate rooms), they were hanging out in the various facilities available to them.
Plenty of witnesses.
Plenty of video footage.
It probably wouldn’t matter in the long run. He was sure she could present Alex with all the evidence in the world, and he would still choose to believe what he wanted to believe. But Marcus was going to do his part not to make things worse for her.
“How do you know?” He asked. “Or don’t I want to know?”
“You don’t want to know,” she confirmed, shuddering as she ran her hand through her hair.
Bathed in wintery sunlight from the open windows, it was clear to see what a positive effect this impromptu break had on Erica. She looked more relaxed than he had ever seen her, and that somehow made her more beautiful to him.
“Well, we said this was a probability.”
“We did,” she agreed. “But something about it bothers me.”
“How so? Aside from the obvious, of course.”
“Well, that’s just it. The obvious isn’t what’s bothering me.” She took a drink and looked out of the window for a moment, the breeze playing with her hair. “Them having sex doesn’t bother me. We’ve known about this for a while, and I’ve come to terms with that.”
“Okay, so what’s getting to you?”
“Only that it’s Alex clear does not love me the way I thought he did.”
Marcus pulled a face, shifting in his seat. “Yeah, that part sucks, huh?”
Erica sighed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “Maybe it’s arrogance on my part, but I really thought Alex would see sense once I was out of the house and he realised he was about to lose me.”
“And instead, he’s screwing my wife,” Marcus said with a nod. “Believe me, I get it.”
“If anything, it’s shown me I’m making the right decision by not giving him another chance,” she said, turning to face him. “Aside from blowing up my phone, he hasn’t even tried.”
“Lottie still hasn’t heard from him?”
The first thing Erica had done when arriving at the hotel was call her younger sister. Outside of Marcus and Erica, Lottie was the only other person who knew about the affair, and as such, it was her job to make sure Erica’s parents didn’t find out.
