Chapter 2 – Confessional Booth

Jude walked quietly through the doors of the studio. The calm composed look on her face did not betray the storm that was brewing within her body. She was on a mission. She planned to confront her lying husband, the incriminating evidence hugged tightly against her body. Walking quickly through the lobby, she made a beeline for Jamie's office, ignoring the polite hellos from the receptionist and a few of the artists signed to the label. Placing her hand on the doorknob of his office door, it all came to the surface. Jude felt the anger in her start to boil, driving her to twist the doorknob and throw the door opening, not caring if she was interrupting.

"Jamie we need to-" Jude stopped short when she realized she was talking to an empty office, the desk looking as if it hadn't been touched all day. Jude stood in the door, staring dumbly for a moment, allowing her failed attempt at a confrontation to add to her anger. "Where in the hell is he?" Jude muttered to herself, pulling the door shut with a little more force than necessary. She glance quickly around, not noticing the way everyone looked away quickly, suddenly very occupied with whatever they were doing. Not seeing him in any of the usual places, she decided to go directly to the one person who would know.

Jude took a moment to calm her nerves, taking a deep breath, before she knocked gently on Pagan's office door. Hearing a muffled response from within, Jude pushed the door open and stepped through the door way. He was shuffling papers around on his hopelessly disorganized desk, looking about as lost as Jude felt.

"Jude, Love! I wasn't expecting you to come in today. How are you?" Pagan said, standing up and making his way toward Jude. He was happy to have an excuse to ignore the paperwork, it never was his forte. Jude smiled weakly as Pagan kissed her on the cheek, feeling her anger dissipate under the gaze of Pagan's friendly eyes.

"I'm alright, just looking for Jamie. Do you know when he will be back?" Jude glanced down at the floor momentarily, wondering if Pagan knew. What if everyone knows? What if I was the only one too blind to see? She glanced back up, pushing the thought from her mind and covering it with another sad smile.

"Not for two weeks at least my dear, he is down in Los Angeles taking care of some business at our U.S. office." The anger flashed momentarily in Jude's eyes as she thought about what else he was taking care of in Los Angeles. Pagan noticed the darkening of her eyes, and put a hand on her shoulder. "He forgot to tell you?" He sighed heavily, shaking his head slightly. "The boy has become so scattered lately. Try not to be too mad at him. He's just trying to make everything work." Jude nodded, cringing on the inside at Pagan's words. You have no idea everything he is 'making work.'

Jude leaned against the door of the rehearsal space, sliding down the cool metal until she connected with the ground. Letting out a sigh she fought back tears. What do I do now? Should I call him and confront him? Jude shook her head as soon as she thought it. This wasn't the kind of thing that you just casually mention over the phone. Should I fly down there? The thought of showing up and possibly finding Jamie with her in Los Angeles seemed horrifying. She didn't want to see her, and she didn't know what she would do if she did. Jude got up and started to pace.

"I don't even know what I would say." Jude said out loud to the empty room. "What do you say to your husband when you find out he's got another wife?" As the thought echoed in her mind, she felt her balance falter and she searched for something to sit down on. She connected with the couch, sinking into the tattered fabric. She felt a safe familiarity surround her as she laid her head down, succumbing to the emotional exhaustion that had been weighing on her. She closed her eyes slowly, finally allowing herself to sleep.

"Dude wake up" Jude jumped as a hand gripped her shoulder, shaking it. Her eyes flew open as she tried to place the voice. She sat up slowly groaning at the splitting headache that was leftover from her emotional breakdown. Disoriented, she tried to focus her eyes on the person in front of her, whose hand still rested on her shoulder.

"Speid?" Jude said, looking confused, trying to figure out what he was doing in her house. It took a second to realize they weren't in her house, and she struggled through her grogginess to remember how she ended up asleep at the rehearsal space. She didn't get long to contemplate the question before Spied echoed it out loud.

"Sleeping on the couch Jude? Is there trouble at la casa de Andrews?" It was clear from the tone of his voice that Speid was only kidding, but the reality stung Jude and she turned her head away to hide the cringe that she couldn't keep off of her face. Speid felt her shoulders tighten and the smile fell off of his face. "What is it Jude?" Speid gently turned her face toward him, lifting her chin so that she was looking at him. He noticed the tears about to fall. "What happened, Jude?"

"He's, I mean he's got," Jude said, stumbling over her words. The look in her eyes was something in between sadness and desperation. "Oh Speid, how did this happen?" Jude cried, burying her head in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"What happened?" Speid said again, his mind racing through the possibilities. Jude rarely broke down like this, so he knew it had to be bad. "Did he cheat on you Jude?" His fists clinched involuntarily at the thought. I'll kill him for hurting her. Jude took in a ragged, shaky breath, trying unsuccessfully to calm herself. She looked up pitifully at him.

"He's got another wife Speid." Jude's voice cracked and broke as she said it, and Speid's face went pale. Of all the things that had run through his mind, the word wife was not included. Dozens of questions raced through his mind, but he couldn't bear to ask them, so he just held Jude tighter and let her cry on his shoulder, silently vowing to get to the bottom of this, hopefully without ending up in jail for murder.

Jude sat silently next to Speid, as he gingerly held the ominous folder between his fingertips. Once she had cried herself out, Speid had made coffee and when she seemed a little less shaky, he asked her what had happened. Jude told him about the picture and the detective, but she couldn't bear to relate all of the details aloud, so she had simply handed him the file. She watched him as he slowly read over everything that the detective had compiled. When he was finished, he closed the folder and sat back, allowing it all to sink in. Jamie was married. Not only was he married to Jude, he was married to a woman in California. He had a house, a bank account, and approximately two million in assets held jointly with this woman. He had a child. He was living a double life.

After several long minutes, Jude couldn't bear the silence any longer. She started talking, partially to Speid, partially to herself. "I keep asking myself how I went so long without any idea. How do you hide something like this?" Jude sighed, shaking her head sadly. She looked into Speid's eyes and asked the question that was haunting her. "Was I the only one who didn't know?"

"No." Speid said, his voice swelling with a ferocious conviction. "If anyone had known, there is no way you would have married the bastard. I would have told you, and I think that anyone else who even claims to care about you would have done the same. He fooled us all Jude." Jude nodded, feeling both relief and pain. It helped to know that she wasn't alone in her ignorance, but somehow knowing he had lied to everyone just made it seem so much bigger, and so much worse.

"My entire life is a lie." Jude said quietly. The emotion was gone from her voice, and a numbness had begun to set in. She glanced up from her cold coffee and sighed. "What do I do now?"