I thought Sebastian was going to explode when I asked if he'd had sex with Renee. His eyes looked wounded and then they turned very, very angry and his face flushed with his fury. I was afraid for a minute he was going to spontaneously combust.
"No! I never had sex with her in any way, shape or form."
"I feel like I need to run down a checklist so you don't try to weasel your way out of this. So no dick in pussy? No dick in mouth? No --"
"No to anything with her! You know damn well I wasn't like that, Layana -- or at least I thought you did. Before I met you, there were only two other girls I had sex with, and I had year-long relationships with each of them. And before you ask, neither one of them was Renee. I wasn't a dog on the hunt and except for you and the other two girls, I didn't have sex with any of the girls I dated."
"How do you know if you were so drunk for that entire week?" I shot back. "I mean, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Renee had secret triplets and came here to demand back child support. Nothing would surprise me at this point, Sebastian, with the way you've been withholding the information that you've been having dinners and lunches with her and you dated her in college."
"What bearing does it have on anything, Layana? None! I already explained I didn't remember her, and she had to tell me who she was. Do you want an accounting of every girl I've ever dated? Because I can guarantee I don't remember most of them. Most were like Renee -- a few dates and that was it. They were inconsequential to my life. And if any of the other girls I dated crossed paths with me again now, I'd also tell you that I don't know them, and I'd count knowing them from now."
"Just to clarify, Sebastian, yes, I do want an accounting of every girl you've ever dated if they show up and you have secret dinners and lunches with them and start forgetting our anniversary that you always made a big deal of and if you travel out of town on business with them and if you somehow get lipstick on your neck from them and if secret phones start showing up with naked pics and nasty texts. At that point, yes, I think it would be nice if you came clean and owned up to knowing her so I don't feel like you're hiding something and that you've suddenly become the man of a thousand excuses!"
"I'm not making excuses, Layana," he snapped. "I feel like I'm being held responsible for shit that she's pulling."
"Well, at least you're admitting that she's pulling shit right now. That's progress. Admitting there's a problem is always a good first step, and so far, you've been fighting your corner pretty hard."
Sebastian scrubbed his face with his hands, and when he took them from his face, his eyes were bleak, and I could read the exhaustion in them.
"I was so excited about everything this deal would mean for us, Layana. It was huge for the company, which meant you and I would be in a good place to start our family, and you'd have the option of not working. Now it feels like the biggest mistake I ever made in my life because I've hurt you in the pursuit of it."
I sat down on the bed, suddenly feeling as tired as Sebastian looked.
He knelt in front of me, his hands on my knees. "I'm sorry, Layana. I was so focused on this deal that I ended up pushing you to the side. I was so excited about celebrating the deal, I forgot the anniversary of the day I met you and my life changed forever in the very best way."
"Sebastian, do you want to know how many women like feeling as if another woman's taken top spot in their husband's life? None. It's telling me I'm not your priority and that shouldn't be happening."
"It was the deal, not the woman. I was focused on making the deal happen. That's it. Renee could have been a man for all I cared about her. It was the deal, it was the way to a better, more stable future for us, and it was the last step before you and I could start trying for a baby. I fucked up but I promise you I fucked up for the deal, Layana. Not for Renee."
"You have an answer for everything."
"That's because there is an answer for everything, but it doesn't mean I'm guilty of anything other than bad judgment. You know how much we've been looking forward to us having a baby, and we've put it off and put it off, and suddenly, I've got a deal in front of me that could change everything."
"And it has been changing everything, Sebastian, but not in a good way. I'm on edge now, wondering if you're telling me the truth, wondering what she's going to pull next --"
"Nothing. She's not pulling anything next because I'm done with her shit. The phone was the last straw. And you don't have to wonder if I'm telling you the truth, Layana, because I am."
"But the lie about knowing her --"
"I still don't consider it a lie but I'll apologize for it. As soon as Renee told me who she was, I should have come home that night and told you I had a meeting with a woman I actually dated for a week in college."
"And why didn't you? It seems so simple, and before Renee, you used to tell me a lot more."
"Layana, it took a year to get the right deal from her and then to hammer out the actual agreement. It involved a lot of negotiation and I didn't tell you because I didn't want to fucking jinx it. I won't do that anymore. I swear it."
I sighed, just feeling too much.
"Did you take the pregnancy test, Layana?" his hand brushed against my cheek.
"Yes." I sighed again.
"I know you're mad at me, but I'd really like to know the results. Are we going to be parents?"
"Sebastian, this whole situation between us has me so unsettled it's not even funny. I've been feeling like I don't even know if we're at a point where we should think about being parents yet. I don't like what's going on with your work right now. Renee upsets me and the thought of you having to deal with her for the next year while she keeps trying to get to you...it makes me sick."
"Hey, hey, hey," he said, watching my eyes well up with tears. "I'm going to handle Renee. I'll pull out of the deal. Between you being upset and the deal and the shit she's pulled? No amount of money is worth what she's costing us."
"What if you can't get out of the deal? She said on the phone there'd be huge penalties. Do you even have enough money on hand to get out of it?"
Sebastian blew out a deep breath. "I'll figure it out, Layana."
"I want her out of our lives."
"She will be," he promised. "Please tell me what the test said."
"I cried when I saw the results."
Sebastian's face fell, but then turned determined. "That's OK, Layana. We hadn't really been trying, but we can start getting serious about it, and if not this time, then it'll happen another month."
"No, Sebastian. I was crying because I am pregnant. I want to be happy about it, but I feel like Renee is trying to come between us and you're letting her."
"She won't. I'm not letting her come between us, and I'm going to make sure she's out of our lives."
Unfortunately, Renee proved him wrong the very next day.