Forgive (Available in paperback & eBook- SAMPLE)

Chapter 5

I'm sorry but this won't be a long chapter like the others. The holidays have kept me busy and away from my writing. I'm surprised I managed to write what I did. Anyway, this is an important chapter so please read it carefully so you don't miss anything. As always, thank you for your support. I appreciate you all. Hope you're having a great holiday. Have you another chapter next Friday. :)

(Ben)

Waking early the next morning, I discovered Emma's side of the bed empty. I wondered where she was as I tossed aside the covers and shuffled to the bathroom. After emptying my bladder, I washed my hands, turned out the light, and then moved to the closet to get dressed.

Several minutes later, I left the bedroom and made my way to the kitchen. There, I found Pete sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in one hand and a doughnut in the other hand.

"Morning, bro," he muttered.

"Morning." I poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, taking a sip. "Where's Emma?"

"I asked her to have breakfast elsewhere." Pete polished off the rest of his doughnut in two big bites and took a drink of coffee. "We need to talk, Ben. You might want to sit down."

I pulled out a chair and lowered myself onto it. "You have my attention. Start talking."

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. Looking into my eyes, he said, "Emma tells me you've changed, and she doesn't know why because you won't confide in her. Why don't you confide in me? You know that whatever you tell me will stay between us. I can keep a secret."

"So you want to know what's going on." I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want the burden of knowing?"

"I'm sure," he said, nodding.

I smirked. "You're going to wish you didn't ask me, but here goes. Emma cheated on me."

"No!" Pete thundered. "Hell no!"

"Calm down," I ordered him. "I'm only going to tell you this once. There won't be any repeating myself."

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. His hands unclenching, he said calmly, "Tell me everything."

"It happened four months ago," I started. "Emma told me she was meeting a friend, who was in town for a few days on business, at the Baldwin for dinner. Surprisingly, I finished work early that evening and thought I would drop by the hotel to meet her friend."

I paused to take a sip of coffee. "I ran into a friend of mine in the lobby. We hadn't seen each other in a while so we found a quiet corner to catch up. We had been sitting there for about ten minutes when the elevator doors parted and Emma walked out with a man. They embraced, he kissed her on the mouth, and she left."

"And from that you came to the conclusion she cheated on you," Pete said.

"Let's look at the facts," I uttered coolly. "She wasn't having dinner with a friend, if a friend even existed. She was in that mans room for well over ten minutes. I'd bet my bank account they weren't talking. When he kissed her she didn't pull away. Tell me that doesn't scream unfaithful to you."

"The man she was with was probably her visiting friend and just because she went up to his room with him doesn't mean she slept with him. You know the Baldwin has little sitting areas in their rooms. They could have been sitting down talking. As for the kiss, he initiated it. She didn't."