Disclaimer: Not mine!

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Chapter Fifty One: Beyond Absolution

She never should have let this happen.

She was a weak woman. How could she have been so reckless? Her husband was a good man, a wonderful and kind man, who didn't deserve any less than her complete and undying devotion. She knew that.

But here she was, lying tangled in the arms of his best friend and partner.

How could she have been so stupid?

Suddenly sick, Lori climbed out of her lover's arms and quickly gathered her clothes which were strewn carelessly all over the floor. Then she dressed herself and pulled on her shoes before she hurried out of his bedroom.

Rick would be home soon.


Six weeks later, Lori stared at the positive pregnancy test in front of her. She was going to have a baby. This should have been the happiest moment of her life, but it wasn't. Instead she was just sick. The baby was Rick's; it had to be. But she had slept with Shane, and she didn't remember if they used protection or not. There was the small chance the baby she carried could belong to her husband's partner, and not her husband.

Another wave of nausea hit her. She could hear Rick just outside the bathroom door, asking if she was okay. He was the sweetest, kindest man she had ever known, and she had betrayed him in the worst way possible. But she didn't want to lose him. She couldn't lose him. So she made the choice right then and there. No matter the baby's biology, he was her husband's child. She would never tell Shane the possible truth, and she would go on in her life with Rick. Everything would be fine.

Feeling more settled, she finally stood up and opened the bathroom door. "Rick, I'm pregnant."

The undeniable joy on his face as she spoke was enough to confirm her thoughts. He pulled her into her arms and kissed her, and she let him.

Everything was going to be okay.

The End.