Chapter 9: Betrayal
A few days later, Emily walked into her uncle's office at his large home at the edge of town.
"You wanted to talk to me?" she asked, smiling.
"Ah, Emily…yes, please sit down." Emily grew concerned by the tone of her uncle's voice, but she sat down across from him. "Honey, I know you've been through a lot in the past couple of years."
"Can we not talk about that, please? I'm trying to let go of the past and move, and…"
"I know the anniversary of their deaths just happened, and…"
"Please!" she said quickly. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Maybe you need to. Honey, Sully's told me that things aren't working out at work. Now I trust him above my other employees, but you're my niece, and I thought I had better ask you, because we've always been close."
"Yes," she said quietly. "Things…things are fine at work. I'm just…well, in an effort to move on, I sort of attached myself to…to Sully."
"Emily! He's a married man!"
"I know!" she exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "But I care about him, Uncle. I do. I think I love him." He shook his head.
"Emily, this isn't good. It isn't good at all."
"I can't help it," she whispered. "I can't stop thinking about him."
"Stop it, Emily," he warned, "that man is married, and he's got three kids. You can't just…"
"I know. I know! You don't understand…I just feel like…like he's right…"
"He's not right for you! He's right for one woman only, and that' s his wife. Don't you forget that. Just put any notion of you and him out of your head."
"So he asked you to…to get rid of me?"
"I think it's best if…"
"How could he do this to me?"
"Emily," he said soothingly, "I think you need to speak to someone. Clearly you're still grieving, and you're trying to make up for losing Warren and Caleb by attaching yourself to a family man. I was fond of Warren, and I see some similarities between him and Sully. But he's not going to fill the void that Warren left you with. He can't. He's married." She began to sob, and she stood up.
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"I'll send you back home. I think it'll do you good to be with your mother again."
"No," she replied. "I want to stay here."
"Emily, it's best for you and for everyone else if you leave Colorado Springs. Do you hear me? I'm worried about you, but you can't wedge yourself into that man's life."
"Nobody understands," she whispered, standing up. "I have to go."
"Where are you going?"
"Just for a drive…"
"Why don't you let me take you?"
"I need to be alone."
"Alright. Emily? Please call me if you need anything."
"I will. Thanks…"
"I am sorry. I thought it could work out, but…I'll send your name to a few colleagues…"
"It's alright. I can manage to find a job on my own. I have connections in San Diego now, so…" She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll see you around." She turned and left the house without looking back.
Michaela and Sully had just come in from a walk with the girls. It was a beautiful Sunday, and Michaela was finally feeling up to getting out. She'd had to take it easy the past few days, resting for the baby. She hadn't wanted to miss work and have send patients to other doctors, and she only hoped they understood.
"Mommy! Bear!" Elizabeth cried from the stroller when they headed up the drive. The little girl had fallen asleep during the walk and must have dropped her favorite teddy bear without her parents noticing it.
"Oh no," Michaela sighed. "Sweetheart, we'll find your bear." She looked up at Sully. "She must have dropped it down the road somewhere."
"I'll go look for it," he assured her.
"Are you sure?"
"She can't sleep without that bear. I think it's best for us all," he grinned. He leaned in, kissing her softly. "I'll be back." He pulled out his keys, deciding driving would probably be his best bet, or else he'd be gone all evening!
So while Sully headed off on his quest to find Elizabeth's bear, Michaela headed into the house with the girls, took them upstairs to play, and then settled down on the couch, putting her feet up and placing her hand on her belly.
"You know, you're doing a good thing for Mommy. You're getting her to slow down for once. I think Daddy's a lot happier that I'm being more careful." She sighed softly. "You know, you came as a surprise to both Mommy and Daddy, but we're so happy you're on your way." She tenderly rubbed her stomach. "I can't wait to meet you, but you have to stay in there until you're ready to come out, ok?"
With a yawn, she stood up and headed upstairs to check on the girls. Laura and Elizabeth were sitting at the little table in the play room while Katie pretended to serve them tea. Michaela smiled, and at the sound of the doorbell, she headed back down the stairs. The last person she expected to see was standing there.
"Emily? What're you doing here?" Michaela asked slowly, as she opened the door. "Sully isn't here."
"That's ok. I'm sorry. I need to talk to you." She looked as if she'd been crying. "I didn't want to, but I feel like I should. Woman to woman." Michaela eyed her.
"Okay," she said slowly. "Um, come on in." Michaela closed the door behind her and invited her into the living room. "What's going on?" The two women sat down on the couch. Michaela was still wary, but the fact that this woman came to her doorstep with tears in her eyes told her there was something going on.
"I don't even know why I'm here, really. I didn't want to come, Michaela, but I just…I thought you needed to know. I didn't want you to, but I thought…well, if you were going to find out, it should be from me. This is all my fault."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, as you know, Sully came home early last week, and…"
"Yes," she said slowly.
"It's my fault he came back so soon. I did something I feel terrible about." The red flags immediately went up. Michaela felt her pulse begin to race, and her stomach started to twist into knots.
"What are you talking about, Emily?" Michaela asked, starting to feel frustrated and worried.
"I got drunk, and I went to his hotel room. I…I didn't know what I was doing, but I was very lonely. And I…I tried to seduce him." Michaela stood up, her stomach turning. She felt light headed. She wasn't actually listening to this garbage, was she? "Michaela, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt your family. I…but he…Michaela, I don't know how to tell you…but I have to." She took a deep breath. "He didn't…he didn't stop me. Sully and I had sex that night." Michaela's world started to crumble beneath her.
"What?"
"I'm sorry…"
"No."
"Please…"
"No, Emily."
"Just listen…"
"No! No, you don't even try it! Get out of my house!"
"Michaela…"
"With my children here? Get out of my house!"
"I'm sorry…"
"Get the hell out of my house!" Michaela screamed angrily, her entire body tense now.
"Wait! I have proof! I have proof!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't want Sully to say anything. I wanted to…I wanted to settle this some other way. I didn't ask for any of this… But it happened, Michaela, and I'm so sorry. I…I think you need to hear this." Michaela's eyes were dry. She was too shocked by this to cry, to think, to do anything
"I think I've heard enough."
"Please…"
"You say you don't want to ruin my family, but you're standing here telling me this?"
"I'm sorry…I just had to tell you…I had to get it off my chest. I just felt so…" She pulled a tape recorder out of her pocket.
"What?"
"Sully, it's me. Please…please don't hang up."
"I don't want to talk right now, Emily. I don't want to talk about it."
"I think we should!"
"No. It's over. It's done. What happened happened, and I don't want to talk about it."
"But we really should. Sully, I was very drunk, and I didn't…I didn't know what I was doing. I was hurting, I was…I just needed someone. I just…I just want to know we're going to pretend it didn't happen. Just don't say anything…just…keep it between us. I just want us to forget about it."
"I can't forget about it, Emily. I have a wife. A family! I don't even know how to talk to her about this, because she knew something like this was going to happen. I can't even begin to think about how upset she's gonna be when she hears."
"No! Please…please don't tell your wife. I don't want anything to come between you…"
"I don't even know how to tell her, Emily. I have to go."
Emily placed the recorder down on the couch.
"I'm sorry. I had feelings for him. I…I was attracted to him. But I never thought this would happen. Until I got drunk, that was…" She shook her head. "And I just spoke with my uncle a few minutes ago. He's decided to come back. I'm out of a job, and Sully wanted me gone, because he didn't want me coming near you…" It was all turning over in Michaela's head. She remembered him telling her at the hospital that he asked Mr. Morrison to come back and get rid of Emily. How was this happening? How?
"Don't even speak to me," Michaela said angrily, slowly sitting down on the couch. "Get out of my house. I never want to see you again."
"Look, he told me…he did. He told me he was confused about…about the two of you. He said he couldn't understand you anymore. I didn't know what it all meant, but he was so stressed, and I think…"
"So you're blaming this on me?"
"No. No. Look. Like I said, I wanted to forget it, but I really…I can't. I can't forget him. I care for him, and I wanted you to know that I…"
"You wanted me to know that you slept with my husband and that you don't want to hurt my family, but you have feelings for him? I don't care how you feel, Emily. I don't care what you do, as long as you get out of my house right now. Go!" Emily swallowed hard and started to the door, but she turned before she left.
"I do care about him, and if there's any chance he has feelings for me…I'm not going to throw that away. I know what it feels like to be in love, and I won't let go of it if I've found it again…"
At that moment, Sully stepped through the front door with Elizabeth's bear in his hand, shocked to see his wife and his boss standing together. Michaela looked like she was about to be sick, and Emily was crying.
"What's going on here?" he asked. Michaela stood again but said nothing.
"Sully!" Emily exclaimed, turning to him. "Oh God. Sully, I'm sorry. I couldn't…I couldn't live with it. I had to tell her what happened between us. I had to get it off my chest. I'm sorry…" Bursting into a fresh wave of tears, she rushed from the house. The door slammed behind her, and Sully and Michaela stood in silence. Michaela only stared at him, confusion and hurt in her eyes.
"I…I wanted to tell you. I just didn't know how. And after you told me about the baby, I wanted to wait. I was going to…but…then you had the complications at the hospital. I wanted to wait until…until you were out of danger. I didn't want anything to happen to you or the baby."
"Wait?" she asked. "You wanted to wait to tell me?"
"You were so happy. I didn't want to…to upset you until I knew exactly what to say."
"Oh, a simple 'I cheated on you with my boss' would have sufficed." She sat back down and leaned back against the couch cushions, and Sully stood dumbfounded.
"What? What? No! I didn't…"
"Sully, don't even try lying to me again. You've hurt me enough…"
"I didn't sleep with her! She tried to seduce me!" he exclaimed. "I kicked her out." Michaela picked up the tape recorder. "What is that?" She re-winded it and then pressed play. Both listened. "Michaela, that…that isn't what it sounds like."
"Oh really?" she asked, shaking her head. "It sounds to me like you felt guilty for doing the one thing I knew would happen!"
"So you didn't trust me?"
"Obviously with good reason!" she screamed, standing up and moving toward him. "I wanted to trust you! I thought I did, but maybe…maybe I knew you were going to hurt me!"
"You don't mean that, Michaela."
"How do you know what I mean?" The tears were welling up now. "You slept with her."
"I did not!" he yelled. "Michaela, I said I'd never want another woman, and I still mean that! She's insane, Michaela. I wanted to tell you! But I was afraid for you and the baby. I wanted to wait until everything was fine. I wanted to tell you that you were right about her, and…"
"Why would she come here then?"
"Because she's crazy!" he said with exasperation. "She gave me some story about losing her husband and son in an accident. She was so drunk, and I knew you were right, so I told her to leave. She tried harder, but I pushed her away. She kissed me, yes, but that's all that happened. I would never cheat on you. Never!"
"Just go," she cried. "Just go, Sully. Please."
"I'm not leaving! This is my home! Our home, Michaela."
"I don't even know what to say, Sully. I can't look at you right now. Please. Just leave." Sully shook his head, sighing.
"I know how this looks. How it sounds. But I love you, and I don't know how else to tell you that. I would do anything to make you happy. I hate to see you like this. I can't fix what she's said, obviously. I don't know how to. I just want you to trust that…"
"How can I trust you after this, Sully?" she sobbed. "I just…I can't…I can't understand…"
"Because it didn't happen. I swear to God, Michaela. I swear. I didn't. I'd never…"
"I need to think, Sully. I need to think. Can you at least give me that space?" He stood before her, his heart breaking with each word she spat at him. But he couldn't blame her. How could he blame her when he'd been so stupid? He knew he should have told her…but he had lost that chance.
"Alright," he said, shaking his head. "I'll go, but I'm not staying away. You're my wife, and I love you. I love our family, and I'm gonna prove to you that I mean that. Somehow." She looked up, and he had tears in his eyes now. "I wish I'd never gone to San Diego. I wish I'd listened to you sooner. I'm sorry, Michaela. You have to believe me…" She said nothing. She only looked down now, feeling completely broken inside. "Goodbye…" He walked away, got into his truck and drove off, unable to stop the tears from falling as he realized that in his foolishness, a woman he'd once thought to be harmless might have just cost him everything he'd ever wanted.
Ok, I know you're probably wondering, what the heck did she just do! Well...as I always say...trust me! Please! Feedback would be great! Thanks!
