Scenario 27- ''I Trusted You.''
A whisper. Two. Muttered by a group of mindless noblewomen who knew nothing of the situation. That was how she found out.
She was used to having her name whispered; she was used to being talked about, especially by the likes of them. Usually all she did was keep her face smooth as stone with her Yamani mask, and ignore them.
It was the sound of Neal's name that made her do otherwise.
''Excuse me,'' Kel said, her voice sharp and her head held high. ''Why bring my husband into this?''
The women turned, shocked that she had heard them.
''What were you saying about my husband?"'
''Didn't you hear?'' asked the blonde one, with a smirk stretched wide across her face.
''Hear what?''
''What your husband did with Ranie?''
Ranie was a noblewoman well known for flirting with her husband, and cheating often on her own. Her eyebrows shot up. ''That's ridiculous.''
She shrugged. ''That's what Ranie said.''
That made it even more untrue in Kel's eyes. ''That's not true.''
''Perhaps,'' said the black-haired one, the look in her eyes telling Kel that it was obvious to see why a man would cheat on her.
She shrugged it off, because these noblewomen just seemed petty and malicious. Neal loved her and he would never do that. It was a few days later, and her encounter with Ranie, that made her change her mind.
Ranie approached her after she was done practicing the morning after.
''Your husband don't love ye anymore,'' she said, a smirk wide on her face and her blue eyes flashing.
''Excuse me?''
''Ye can't really expect him to,'' she said. ''With ye gone an' not gettin' younger. Not that ye were pretty in the first place.''
''Excuse me, I...''
''It's my turn now,'' she said. ''I've been waiting a long time for him.''
Kel found herself increasingly disturbed as the conversation went on. Anger boiled in her veins, yet she found herself at a loss for words.
''He slept with me a few days ago, did ye know?'' she said.
''Neal did not anything that you're saying,'' Kel said, her voice tight. ''It's not your place to say these sorts of things. Now if you would go...''
Ranie laughed condescendingly. ''He's mine now,'' she said. ''Did you hear? He's mine.''
''I'm married to him, Ranie,'' she said. ''And you don't even know him.''
''I know him well enough,'' Ranie said, flicking her long blonde hair. ''I know him well enough to know that he's going to leave you.''
Kel couldn't stand to hear anymore of this. She walked past Ranie, planning to get some answers from a source that was actually reliable.
Kel went to Dom almost immediately after her encounter with Ranie.
She was shaking, even though she swore to herself up and down that it wasn't true. That Neal didn't cheat on her.
''Tell me it isn't true. Tell me she was just bragging because she was jealous of him, and always has been.''
Dom knew immediately what Kel was talking about.
His face softened. ''She's not lying, Kel.''
''No,'' she said. ''No.''
It was a great effort to keep her face free of emotion. The horror and the hurt and anger that bubbled up inside made her feel like she was going to explode.
''I'm afraid so,'' Dom said.
''Neal confirmed it to me. He felt horribly guilty about it.''
She laughed bitterly, shaking her head with her eyes cast to the ceiling. ''Horribly guilty, huh? And that excuses everything.''
He put a hand on her shoulder. ''No, not at all. It doesn't make it right. I still can't believe that my cousin would waste a girl like you for a girl like her.''
That was just too much for Kel. ''I have to go.'' She had to go, because if she didn't he would see her cry.
''How could you this to me?'' she asked him when she saw him. At that point, everything had sunk in and she was so angry at him that she could spit.
''I...'' He could not respond; he could not meet her scathing eyes. There was so much that she just did not understand and there was so much that she was refusing to accept.
''I trusted you.''
She didn't yell, though her tone was full of frost. She wanted to cry, and she wanted to scream at him, yet she didn't want to give him the satisfaction by doing either. Her look was enough.
''Kel...''
''At least you have the decency to not make excuses for yourself.'' She shrugged, focused her eyes on him for a moment. ''Or maybe you don't know what to say.''
She was right; he didn't know what to say. Whatever he said would be no good anyway, because she would just ignore him.
He had never seen her like this. It only made him feel worse.
It was a mistake. Why couldn't she understand that? He slipped up, caved into the loneliness that afflicted him when he was away. Worst of all, he did it with a girl that bragged to him afterward.
He wished he could have told her himself. It would have still hurt her, but not like this had. She would have rather heard it from him than a rumor that got way out of hand.
''It was only once,'' Neal said finally. ''I made a mistake.''
''Only once?'' she said.
He looked away as she glared at him again.
She acted like their marriage was so perfect. It wasn't. It wasn't in the best shape when Neal had cheated, strained by their time apart and by the absence of their children. He loved Kel, but a relationship needed more than love.
And he found that with Anna? she would ask him if he told her that, and he would almost be able to see the smoke coming from her nostrils.
No. He had not found that from Anna. He had found lust and he had found an escape, and both came with a heavy price tag.
''Is that all you think of me?'' she asked. ''That you can cheat on me for a night because it's only once.''
''I didn't say that, Kel!''
She shook her head.
''I made a mistake, Kel. What else can I say? I'm sorry.''
''Sometimes, Neal, sorry just isn't good enough.''
For a moment, Kel let her hurt show. The expression in her eyes hit Neal like a whip. Then her face became frost once more, and she began to act as if nothing had happened. It tore Neal apart, and he hated himself more than ever.
It didn't matter that he was sorry. He betrayed Kel, and manipulated her trust. He had spent her trust and her respect, and for what? He may be able to earn back some of what was lost, but she would never think of him in the same way again. Sorry could not fix that any of that.
Okay so I've been juggling this in between school and the original novel that I've been working on. There really isn't that many ideas that I have left so after that I guess I'll just do occasional oneshots. I have an idea for a multi-chapter fanfic but I'd have to develop it more. Anyway... Please read and review.