Chapter 5

The next morning, Susan called her office and told them that she was taking the day off. After spending most of the night worrying about what she would tell David, she had gotten very little sleep. She decided that her hard work had earned her at least one day off and she intended to stay in bed for most of the morning and hopefully get more rest. Looking at the clock, she realized that David had already left for work, so she wouldn't have to deal with him until later that evening. Snuggling back down into the bed, she closed her eyes and finally drifted off into another restless sleep.

"I did it, man. I found somebody to look for her." Glen told Mark, when he returned to work a couple of days later. "I'm going to find her and when I do, I'm never going to let her go again."

"I hope for your sake that everything works out buddy." Mark said as he shook his head. "But I'm tellin' you right now…don't get your hopes up. It may be that your dream girl doesn't want to be found."

"Don't start with that again Mark!" Glen growled, as he stood up and picked up his bags.

"Sorry!" Mark replied, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Look, I hope everything works out for you, okay?"

"It will. Don't worry. I'll see you after the matches." Glen said before he turned to head toward his dressing room.

Mark watched him leave, shaking his head in frustration. Glen truly deserved to be happy, especially after everything he had been through with his ex-wife. But for some reason, Mark couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that something about this whole situation wasn't right. He felt bad for being so negative toward Glen's feelings, but he just didn't want to see his friend hurt again. Sighing, he picked up his bags and headed toward his own dressing room, wondering if there was anything else he could do to help his friend.

That night over dinner, Susan and David discussed their future together. David admitted to his mistakes and swore to Susan that if she would only give him another chance, he promised it would never happen again. They also discussed Susan's hectic work schedule and she promised him that as soon as the merger was completed, she would agree to take some much needed time off. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to tell him about what she had done. Every time she tried to say the words, her voice seemed to fail her.

Maybe I don't need to tell him right now anyway. she thought. It would just spoil the good mood and we certainly don't need that to happen. I'll just wait and tell him later.

After dinner, they moved to the couch, and after a couple of passionate kisses, David was begging her to move back into their bedroom with him. He insisted that he wanted to show her just how much he loved her and missed her. Susan told him that she would work on trying to forgive him, but it would take some time before she would be willing to trust him that much again. She felt bad for not being able to forgive him so quickly, since she was guilty of doing the same thing. But even so, it still hurt her to know that he had betrayed her like that. Maybe with a little bit of time, she would be willing to forgive him completely. She just hoped that when the time came, he would be just as understanding with her.

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Three weeks later, Susan still hadn't found the nerve to tell David about her affair. She never seemed to be able to find the right time to tell him…he was in a bad mood, somebody interrupted them, one of them was distracted by their work. The longer she waited, the worse she felt. It was wrong to keep such a secret from him and she knew the longer she waited to tell him, the worse it would be when she finally did tell him.

I'll talk to him tonight. she thought to herself, when she pulled into her driveway and saw that he was already home.

As she got out of her car and headed toward the house, she mentally tried to prepare herself for the confrontation. But when she entered the house, she was surprised to see that all the lights had been turned off and the living room was bathed in candle light. The stereo was playing softly in the background and David was sitting at a small table in front of the fireplace, which also contained candles and a place setting for two. Smiling, he got up and walked to her, leading her back to the table and helping her into her chair. Then he went to the kitchen and brought back two plates of food, setting them down on the table. He sat back down across from Susan and the two of them shared a very romantic dinner together.

When they were done, David cleared the table, then came back and joined Susan again. Realizing that she couldn't put of the inevitable any longer, Susan finally gathered her courage to speak.

"David…there's something I need to talk to you about…"

"Wait. Before you say anything, I've got something I need to say to you." David interrupted. "I have to tell you that I'm so very grateful that you've been so patient with me these past few weeks. I know I hurt you Susan and I want you to know that I'm truly sorry. I love you more than anything else in this world and I swear, I'll never do anything to hurt you again. I just…I wanted to thank you for forgiving me for what I did. I know it had to be hard on you and I want you to know how much I admire you for it. I'm honestly not sure if I could have done the same thing if the tables had been turned. You're an incredible woman Susan…and I'm glad you're mine."

He reached across the table and grabbed her hands, bringing them to his lips and kissing them gently. Across the table, Susan's face paled as she lost every ounce of her nerve. He just told her he wasn't sure he could forgive her if she were to cheat on him. How could she ever tell him about her affair now? He would leave her for sure, and she certainly couldn't let that happen.

Maybe he doesn't need to know. Will it really hurt anything if I don't tell him? she questioned herself.

"Now, what were you going to tell me?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"I….uh…dinner was incredible. I can't believe that you did all of this just for me." she lied, hoping that he didn't catch the hesitation in her voice.

"The nights not over yet, babe." he said.

David stood up from the table, gently pulling Susan up with him. He pulled her next to him and held her tight as they slow danced, glad to finally have his wife back in his arms. After a while, their closeness from the dancing became too much, and he leaned down to whisper in Susan's ear.

"Come to bed with me…please." he pleaded in a soft voice. "It's been so long."

Susan looked up into his eyes and she realized that they had been apart for way too long.

"Yes." she whispered softly, letting her husband pick her up and whisk her away to their bedroom.

Hours later, after several intense hours of lovemaking, Susan lay awake in their bed, listening to her husband snore beside of her. She remembered their conversation from earlier and the more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that she really didn't have to tell him anything.

"It was only one time and it was in a city miles away. Nobody knows what happened that night except for me and Glen and there's no way I'll ever see him again." she thought to herself. "The only way David will ever know is if I tell him."

She finally realized that she had nothing to worry about. She would keep her mistake to herself and her husband would never find out that she had been unfaithful. Smiling, she rolled over and snuggled close to him, and for the first night in weeks, finally slipped off into a peaceful sleep.

Glen paced back and forth in his hotel room, cell phone in hand, as he debated whether or not to call John again. He had expected the investigation to take a little while, but as the weeks began to drag out, he started to get more and more impatient. He still hadn't heard anything from John and he wondered what was taking him so long to get back in touch. Finally, Glen gave in and dialed the number.

"Yeah. John here." the voice on the other line answered, after the fourth ring.

"Hey John. It's Glen Jacobs. I was just wondering how the investigation was coming along."

"No luck so far. I thought I might have gotten a couple of leads on your case, but I checked them out and they were worthless. I'm still looking though. Just be patient with me. Give me enough time and there's no doubt that I can find her for you." John replied.

"I know you're doing what you can. Just keep me up to date." Glen sighed, before hanging up the phone.

Sinking down onto the bed, Glen began to wonder if maybe Mark was right. Maybe he was wasting his time trying to chase Susan down. If she had wanted anything more to do with him, then she would have talked with him that morning instead of slipping out while he was asleep. But the connection that they had shared with one another….it had been incredible. And he knew it wasn't just his imagination. Susan had felt it too. He was sure of it. He saw it in her eyes…felt it in her touch. How could she just walk away from something so amazing?

Exhausted, Glen stretched out on the bed and closed his eyes, as images of Susan's face clouded his mind again.

"Soon baby. You'll see me again soon. I promise." he thought, as he quickly began to doze