"When will you…"

"June"

It was a question she needed to ask, if only to confirm for herself that her fears were true.

"And it's safe to assume that you'll be -"

"Keeping it?" The reply was harsh, the bitter undertones in her own voice sounding through. "Of course."

The other woman nodded, accepting her cold tone, and pours herself another glass. "You'll get what you need. I'll make sure Michael sees to that."

"It's not the money I want." An argument which she immediately wishes she hadn't tried to fight as the face of the woman opposite her flushes with a new wave of sadness. "Neither did I… But that's all I got."

And then the guilt was felt all round; for the snide remarks, for her affair with a married man, for the situation in which they now found themselves. It was a vicious circle; anger, pain, resignation, guilt and then anger again. Anger at themselves, each other and the man that put them there.

She'd like to be able to tell her that it hadn't always been that way. That he hadn't always felt the need to go elsewhere for his kicks. She had long ago realised that it wasn't something he altogether needed; she provided him with more than enough, but his inner requirement for what he didn't have; and oughtn't have, was something which she could never remove. She'd often wondered if she even wanted to. It was what made him who he was. Part of what made her smile, made her feel special; out of all the women he could have, and did frequently it had to be admitted, she was the one he'd put before all others. Unfortunately he didn't appear to include himself in 'all others.'

Maybe if he had, they wouldn't be in this mess., maybe if she'd have realised what he was doing sooner, maybe if she hadn't got the police involved… All empty speculations now; there were a million ways things could have panned out between them, and what ifs weren't going to help her at all. But still she kept wondering. Wondering when he'd gotten so money-greedy, wondering why she hadn't spotted it herself, wondering why he didn't put a stop to it before it was too late.

There was a time of course, where she'd been happy. Where, to her knowledge, he hadn't been unfaithful, but looking back on previous times wasn't much of a consolation. Instead it brought fresh waves of pity, as, not for the first time that night, she wished that her husband hadn't been so bloody stupid.

For a man with a Medical degree, he'd certainly managed to hide his intellect well; dodgy dealings only half-covered, affairs in places there was no doubt that his wife would find out, but then, perhaps that was his aim. Perhaps he wanted her to find out, perhaps he wanted to get caught. It was beyond her, she mused, the workings of his mind, that's assuming there were any. It was most likely that he simply hadn't thought his actions through at all, that he'd acted on impulse, on a whim. Well if that were the case, then more fool him, she thought bitterly.

"But surely he loved you…"

Once was the silent afterthought the pair added. Sombre in the knowledge that his actions were hardly those of a man besotted with his wife.

"I never doubted it…"

--------------------

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just close them."

Giggles rang out as she stumbled over the step, smiling with contentment as his grip around her waist tightened to prevent her from falling further. "What are we doing?"

"You'll see."

"Where are we?"

"Stop asking questions and just trust me"

His lips moved onto her neck, kissing her softly as he guided her into the room, resulting in more smothered chuckles from Connie's lips.

When he finally allowed her to open her eyes, she gasped, her eyes quickly scanning the scarlet roses with delight. "It's beautiful."

Their lovemaking was gentle and calm, the joining of two souls as they came together time and time again; her cries not from pain, but from passion, tipping her over the edge into elation.

--------------------

"He was romantic with you"

A statement rather than a question, though proving all the same the difference between his actions in each affair. It was closely followed by a sour laugh. "When he wanted to be I suppose."

--------------------

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were trying to convince me of something."

"Don't leave." He speaks impulsively, the words tumbling out of his mouth before his brain has the chance to register them.

"It isn't right…"

"It was on the rocks long before I met you -" came his response, keen to persuade, eager as always to get what he wanted.

"That's not the point and you know it. I may be many things, but a home breaker I am not." Her words were sharp, strong; unmoving.

"No one thinks you are"

"Oh really? Because if Fiona were here, I'm damned sure she'd disagree with you there."

"Please don't do this"

"I have to…" A waver in her voice not missed by her lover.

"Just let me explain -"

"Nothing you've got to say will make me change my mind."

"I love you Connie."

--------------------

"So that was it?"

An interruption as Connie paused for breath, curiosity getting the better of the woman opposite her. The reply came almost with a smile. "No of course not, he had to work for it"

--------------------

"So that makes it alright does it?" She questioned him sharply and he shook his head; forced to concede that she was right. "Then what?"

A shrug. "I just had to say it"

Her reply came with an exasperated sigh, tired now. "What do you expect from me? A round of applause?"

His face sours. "Don't be ridiculous-"

"Or what?" she continues, ignoring him " For me to fall into your arms and tell you it doesn't matter that you're married?'

"It never seemed to bother you before." comes his retort, spoken with a bitterness only just beginning to make its appearance. "And yeah a little emotion would have been nice"

A glare silenced him. "Don't you dare…"

"Connie -"

"For starters, it's one thing sleeping with a married man, it's a whole other board game letting him fall in love with you. And assuming that you're telling the truth when you say you love me -"

"I am -"

"In which case, we've completely stepped over the mark for this to be acceptable"

"To you" He voices stubbornly and she looks at him coolly, the sharpness of her words daring him to cross her. "Yes Michael acceptable to me."

"And?"

A little word which can cause such offence.

"Excuse me?"

"You said first of all. What's your second point?"

"How did you expect me to react Michael? I'm serious"

"I thought you'd be pleased" He says cuttingly, his smile long-since removed by her opposition.

A sigh. "I really don't understand how your mind works sometimes…"

"Alright, so I thought I meant more to you than a quick fling, my mistake."

"Don't pull at that thread Michael" A warning meant to be heeded. Her partner pays no attention however, "Why not?"

"Because I know exactly why you're saying it Michael. You want me to give in and tell you how much I want you, need you even, because you mistakenly believe that it will make me forget this little fact." She fiddles with his wedding ring as though this was undeniable proof of her words.

"If I divorce her, will you stay?"

--------------------

"You mean you didn't…"

The woman shakes her head, smiling wistfully. "Give him an ultimatum? No… It's not my style to throw a strop and demand his full attention."

"It's hardly a temper tantrum" The other woman argues, raising her eyebrows in response to her companions shrug. "It's not an unreasonable request."

"That what you said to Michael was it?"

Her reply sounds out more cruelly than she'd intended, and the pair fall into an uncomfortable silence once more.

"It's just not how I work" The explanation comes eventually, breaking the silence to which they have both now become accustomed. "It had to be his decision; his choice. At least, it had to seem it to him anyway."

"You were calling his bluff?"

Then a sigh. "It would have been easier if I was wouldn't it? For everyone else I mean, to carry on believing that I'm this hard-nosed bitch that couldn't give a toss."

Chrissie didn't speak; what could she possibly say to that; Connie's description of herself had been deadly accurate.

"And I don't anyway" the woman added stubbornly; the untruth in her words becoming apparent to them both immediately.