The woman my friend loves
The woman my friend loves
The phone had rung a few times and Jared decided to turn it off, more so when he saw that it was Robert who had been calling over and over again for a while.
On his bed was Alice, waiting for him.
She had her cheeks very flushed and all her hair tousled, while her hands clutched at the sheets at her chest level with several blonde locks strewn across it.
It was young Taylor's first time enjoying sex, and what better than with the man she loves?
A naked Jared climbed into bed with her, withdrawing his arms so he could remove the sheets covering her.
“Are you okay?" he asked, letting his head rest on her breasts as he cupped one between his hands.
"Better than ever," she whispered, feeling fantastic. "I... I've longed for this moment, Jared." She had felt so good, absolutely perfect. "I think Sofia will be quick with the work. Do you know Simon?"
"No, not in person," he replied. Simon was Sofia's husband.
"He's a good guy."
"That's not what I've heard," Jared responded. Simon was known to be arrogant, conceited, and somewhat unfriendly, or so they said. With a very limited group of friends, what could one expect from the nephew of the country's president?
"Well, take it from me, I know him. I know you'll get a good position, just as good as the one you had at Robert's company. And speaking of that, when the divorce is finalized, I'll tell my father about our relationship."
"What do you think he'll think?"
"It won't be like asking for permission, but I'd like them to know you as my partner."
"We are... a... a couple."
"Of course! I'm in your bed, naked, and we just had sex. But, more importantly, we love each other, Jared." Alice wrapped her arms around him, and Jared turned his body, lying beneath her.
"A couple," he said, kissing her nose and then lowering his gaze to her breasts. When he started kissing her, she felt as if he had done it before, as if it had always been Jared's lips that caressed her, his hands that touched her, because in the intimacy with Robert, she always imagined Jared, his hands, his kisses, his caresses. "What do you think of my house? You said you liked it, how much?"
"Very much."
"Will you stay there? In that house, after the divorce?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I won't stay there. Robert bought it after we got married, anyway."
"He intended for it to be your prison."
"My dungeon. And it was. I don't want to go back there, except for a few things that are important to me. At first, I thought about going back to my parents' house, but I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Here, you can come here, Alice."
It would be very nice for Alice, but... for some reason, she felt very uneasy about Jared's sister being in that condition. She felt that something was not right, maybe she was just afraid because of her sister's condition. It had amazed her a lot to see her like that; it had been years.
"I'd like that," she said anyway. "When I'm divorced and you tell Robert that we're going to be together. I think you have to be the one to tell him, Jared, because you're friends. It has to be you."
"I know. I have a question, Alice. What did the Grahams gain from that marriage? Or what did the Taylors gain?"
"Nothing, it was just the union of two families, there was nothing else."
"I see." There had to be something more to it because Robert was in such a hurry to have a child with Alice. What did he gain or... what did he lose?
He heard the doorbell ringing in the house. He wasn't expecting anyone.
They rang the doorbell again three times insistently.
"Aren't you going to answer?" Jared asked.
"I'm not expecting anyone," she said, but then she remembered that Estela, the nurse, used to answer the door when he didn't. And suddenly, Robert's insistence on the phone calls earlier crossed her mind. What if it was him? But why? If he knew about the divorce, he should be worried about that. Why would he want to talk to Jared? Unless...
Jared rushed to lock his bedroom door. He put on his underwear quickly while Alice stayed on the bed, not knowing what was happening, watching Jared move nervously from one side to the other.
The door to his room was knocked, and Alice froze on the bed.
Who was knocking on the door so insistently?
"Jared, who is it? You seem very nervous," Alice said. But the tragic idea crossed her mind that Jared might have someone else, and it could be valid because they hadn't been anything to each other, perhaps an ex-girlfriend, a recent breakup. Many thoughts went through her mind, but first, she had to get dressed because whoever was at the door was there, and she was naked in bed.
She got off the bed and picked up her underwear and her dress, heading to the bathroom to change.
From there, she continued to hear the insistent knocking on the door. She tried to fix her hair, but it needed more time, and she didn't have it. She wanted to know who was knocking so persistently.
Alice came out of the bathroom fully dressed.
"Could you...?" Jared gestured towards the bathroom, with a clear request in his expression. He wanted her to hide in the bathroom, but Alice was not willing to do that, not ever.
She scowled, not believing he would even consider asking her that.
"Are you out of your mind? What do you think I am? Open the door!"
How could he even think she would hide? He had invited her to his house, why would she need to hide?
She rushed to the door, but Jared held her hand, trying to prevent her from doing it. She managed to remove the bolt, but that was enough for Robert to open the bedroom door.
\[...\]
When the nurse opened the door, Robert felt relieved.
He needed Jared to tell him who that man was.
He wanted to talk to Alice, reach some kind of agreement, or buy more time, until they could pay that money, not lose everything because of a divorce.
"Is Jared home?" he asked with a choked voice.
"Yes, I'll tell him you're here."
"There's no need, Estela. Thank you." He went to the living room, then slowly opened Charisse's bedroom door and saw he wasn't there. He ran into Jared's bedroom, knocking loudly, trying to open it, but it was locked.
He didn't have time to think about whether Jared was with a woman or not. He just wanted to talk to him about that man his wife loved, to find out if he could tell him where they were.
He continued to insist, hearing heavy movements inside, but nothing else. He knocked forcefully, listening to some steps, and before he could call Jared's name to open, he heard a noise at the door.
He tried again, and this time, the door opened, and there was no lock anymore.
When Robert Graham pushed the door, he could have imagined that they were already dressed, if Jared was with a woman. But he never imagined it would be like this.
He stepped back from the door, staring in astonishment at Alice in Jared's arms, in what seemed to be a slight struggle near the door. His mouth opened wider and wider, understanding what was happening, and in those brief seconds, he tried to convince himself that it wasn't true. But his mind was releasing images that made the facts very clear.
His eyes moved to the bed, disheveled, with evidence of what had happened there. He hesitated whether to look at Alice, but his eyes went to her, in the
arms of his friend, his best friend, his wife.
No, he didn't love her, but that was his wife, and he was his best friend.
Betrayal turned into a wound because that was his best friend.
Alice was still his wife; he was just considering the idea of divorce; it hadn't happened yet. They were still married.
It was Jared.
It had always been Jared.
While they had their thousands of differences, they used to get along terribly at work, but when Robert needed him, Jared was there. And when Jared needed his help, Robert forgot everything and was with his friend because that's how their relationship was. It was getting worse all the time, but when it mattered most, they were there for each other.
His marriage was ending.
He was losing his family's company.
And Alice was winning, gaining her freedom to be with the man she loved.
Jared.
Jared was the man his wife loved.