Betrayed 1(253)

“Well,” Calvin said, his voice a little deflated. “Not quite too good. I’m missing the one thing that would really make it all perfect.”





Veronica sighed, knowing that he was referring to their separation.

“I know it’s a lot different,” Veronica tried to reassure him. “It’s a lot different for both of us.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Calvin said, and she could tell that there was something else on his mind.

A long silence stretched between them, and Veronica began to feel uncomfortable.

“Well I’d better get back to work,” Veronica said lamely, kicking at the wood of the deck.

“Oh yeah of course,” Calvin said, a soft laugh on his voice. “Well good night! I love you!”

“I love you too,” Veronica said, maybe a little too softly. “Goodnight.”

With that, she hung up the phone. She let out a long breath through her nose and closed her eyes. She had no idea how she was ever going to manage to tell him the truth.

After taking a moment to collect her thoughts and straighten out her emotions, Veronica stood up and made her way back into the house to while away the rest of the evening with the girls, as well as with Frank.



Veronica returned quietly to the den, escaping notice as Frank and the girls played their game. She was content to watch them play, and when they had worn themselves out she helped Frank get them up to their rooms. Veronica made sure that extraneous toys were picked up off the ground.

When there was nothing else to keep her occupied, the only thing left for her to do was face Frank, who lingered in the upstairs open area.

“Hey,” Frank said softly.

“Hey,” Veronica replied.

Another long silence passed, and Veronica looked at the front pocket of Frank’s shirt.

“Hey,” Frank said again, more softly, and placed his fingers under her chin to lift her face so that she was looking him in the eye. Veronica looked there and saw a mixture of emotions swirling.

“Was that Calvin?” he asked her. Veronica frowned a little.

“Yes,” Veronica answered, her voice soft. Frank let out a sigh, and clenched his jaw.

“How is he doing?” Frank asked, and Veronica felt a familiar pang of guilt, now because she felt like she was being deceitful to Frank. This was all incredibly confusing and foreign to her.

“I don’t want to talk about Calvin,” Veronica said plainly. Frank blinked and drew back a little.

“Okay,” he said softly, and Veronica sighed.

“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to sound angry.

“No, no I understand,” Frank nodded. “It’s your business of course.”

Veronica nodded. They stood in silence for a moment.

“How are you?” Frank asked. “You’ve seemed a little off today.”

Veronica let out a soft laugh. That was the understatement of the year.

“Yeah I’m just trying to wrap my head around all this,” Veronica said, and Frank seemed to relax a little.

“Oh,” he said, looking around at their surroundings. “Yeah, I know it’s lot to have to get used to, but don’t worry, you’ll adjust to it.”

“I’m not talking about the house,” Veronica said, all her emotions coming to the surface. “And I’m not talking about the job.”

Frank frowned a little, pressing his lips together.

“Then what are you talking about?” he asked, his brows knitting together.

Veronica scoffed and rolled her eyes, irritation and stress coming to the forefront of her emotional struggle.

“What am I talking about?” she returned. “Oh I don’t know, the fact that I’m sleeping around with my boss and I have a boyfriend!”

Frank’s scowl dissipated into a look of concern. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but Veronica held up her hand to stop him.

“Look, I get it,” Veronica said. “I know I’m grown and I can make my own decisions, but I really think you are a major contributor to this as well.”

Veronica finished with a huff, and spun around, unable to look at him. She felt tears gathering in her eyes and she swiped at them with her hand.

“Veronica, I’m sorry,” Frank said from behind her, and she was more than a little shocked to hear him apologize. Slowly, she turned back to face him.

“I know what we did was inappropriate,” he said, his voice soft. “Not only was it inappropriate, it was premature, as we’ve only even known each other for a couple of days.”

Veronica said nothing, and merely looked back at him, sensing that he was nowhere near done saying what was on his mind.

“When I first met you in that interview, I knew you were the person I wanted to be responsible for taking care of my daughters when I am not around,” Frank started off. “You seemed so cool and collected, and experienced, and I knew that two little girls would be nothing for you to handle. After talking with you for a little while, there was little doubt in my mind that you were the one for the job.”