Mandy stared at the well-dressed man standing in front of her his words echoing in her head Amanda black you've been served he said with a slight sadness there was dead silence in the office and for a moment Mandy felt as if time had stopped in her hand was the death sentence of a 5-year marriage with a quiet SOB she collapsed into her chair clutching the papers slow slowly the office began to come around the stares Whispers and disapproving looks began to build up Suddenly Mandy heard her friend's soft voice nearby Mandy come on kit said
softly taking her friend's hand and setting her on her feet let's get you to the conference room away from that Spotlight the blackhaired 30-year-old Woman Led her friend away from the gawking co-workers those who witnessed the show noted how Andy went from a boisterous flirty fun-loving blonde to a battered woman in just a few minutes some saw it as irony or humor others saw it as pity most already suspected the reason for the divorce how I I don't understand Mandy stammered things were just starting to turn for the better she wrapped her arms around herself
as if the Embrace would give her more strength kit put her arms around her trying to comfort her friend I don't know girl kit said softly did Eric say anything any hints that this was going to happen just the opposite she said panting like we were newlyweds again I thought he was making up for lost time abroad Kit only flinched slightly but Mandy noticed it Mandy mentally went over the last four months of her marriage in her head ever since Eric had come home from Afghanistan their sex life had been incredible it was even better
than it had been since his return from Iraq 2 and A2 years ago he was so passionate and sensual oh God she thought most of the time I can barely walk after this she smiled sadly wiping a tear from her eye it was so hot and exciting I mean after I got back from that business trip last week Mandy's smile warmed a little oh my God Keith Eric just wore me out we did it so often that I finally begged him to stop Mandy's smile disappeared as she looked at her friend's questioning face no nothing
happened when I was on that trip I told you it was over she objected kit nodded but didn't smile when was the last time Eric just hugged you or just kissed and touched you honey when was the last time he made love to you tenderly she sat in a Daz looking questioningly at kit what with a determined sigh kit looked at her friend before continuing Mandy she asked bluntly did he make love to you or just Mandy covered her face with her hands and sobbed deeply but why why did he do it she wondered then
suddenly froze no he couldn't know could he slowly raising her head she was horrified oh God kit she whispered he knows oh God please no please no tears filled Kit's eyes as she hugged her crying friend she knew Eric pretty well and if he really did know it was awful Eric nodded listening on his cell phone thank you sir he finally said when he heard that his wife had packages of photos and legal documents delivered hanging up he turned his attention to his laptop with a simple click he set in motion a process that would
change his Unfaithful wife's life forever she'll remember for the rest of her life he thought picking up the phone and dialing the number hello this is human resources came a pleasant young voice what can I do for you Mr Davis please Eric said coldly this is Eric black oh Mr Black said the girl quickly let me transfer you a few seconds later Eric was talking to the unsmiling man the conversation was short neither of them raised their voices but the hostility did not go unnoticed finishing the conversation Eric took a deep breath glancing at his
phone he saw that his wife had called him five times already not yet he thought trying to calm himself down not yet there was a sharp knock on the conference room door when kid opened it she immediately recognized the three men standing before her the first Was A well-dressed older man named Simon Samuels the vice president and head of their Branch behind him stood an imposing John Davis the head of Human Resources kit couldn't help but notice that Mr Davis's face was bright red and she could have sworn she could see the heat emanating from
his face behind them stood Anna Prescott the office manager and Mandy and Kit's boss Miss Garnett we need to speak to miss black Mr Samuel said grimly thank you for your help but please return to your desk all three went into the room and kit went out carefully covering the door behind her Miss Black we have a problem Samuels began Mandy walked quickly out into the parking lot trying not to trip she held tightly to the heavy paper envelope Mr Davis had given her inside were pictures gruesome pictures of her and Shawn Thompson the business
manager from the third floor Mr Davis briefly recounted his conversation with Eric Eric threatened to publicize the fact that the company had failed to follow the code of conduct he told Mr Davis that he would discuss this with his soon Tobe ex-wife at home before deciding whether to take any legal action Mr Davis informed her that they would meet with Shawn next time but that she should go home and talk to her husband before this gets out of hand he also informed her that they would all sit down with her and discuss her future at
the company tomorrow after she met with her husband Mandy had a hard time finding her car because she was still crying hard the bright sunlight reflected off the cars making them a little harder to identify her car wasn't that hard to find though the big black yundi Santa Fe wasn't so easy to hide Mandy climbed into it remembering the arguments that had led to Eric finally agreeing to rent a car for her he'd relented just before he left for Afghanistan she wiped her eyes put on her dark glasses and headed home a man in an
old Chevy sedan parked nearby pressed a button on his phone thank you Bob Eric said calmly no no that's it please tell Ron that you guys did a great job and deserve the bonus thanks again goodbye looking at his lapt Top Eric sighed again one more call he thought one more and there would be no turning back but why would he even want to go back all that was left was an Unfaithful wife who'd ripped his heart out and a broken marriage he could never put back together again Eric shook his head and pulled out
his cell phone he quickly dialed the number and waited first call second ring third ring a soft click and then silence Eric sat emotionless staring at the video stream on his laptop finally after a few minutes A Tear rolled down his cheek Mandy pulled the big SUV onto the highway and groaned she hoped she could avoid rush hour traffic she pounded her fist on the steering wheel at this speed she knew her usual 30-minute drive would take over an hour she thought about her marriage how unlikely it was that she'd be able to salvage any
of it Eric had found out about her Affair before Iraq he might have forgiven her but not now the pictures had been taken while he was in Afghanistan she sobbed realizing what he must be thinking although the odds were slim she had to try to save the marriage simply because she loved him funny way of showing it isn't it she reproached herself cheated on him more than once but both times he'd gone abroad to serve his country she shook her head quick quickly as if trying to push away the guilt and shame but the tears
flowed again trust was not something that came easily to Eric his childhood had been rough his father ran away from him and his mother when he was young and his mother was an alcoholic in the 5 years they'd been married Mandy had only seen his mother twice once at their wedding and once when their son was born it had taken him years to trust Mandy when they met in college she knew he was a soldier she thought she had accepted it he had already served 2 years and was on his way to getting an engineering
degree they dated a year before Eric proposed to her she could still hear her father's reaction no Mandy this has nothing to do with Eric her father said I think he'll make a great husband it's more about you I don't think you'd make a good military wife don't get mad honey but it's damn hard to be a good husband or wife when your spouse is gone for a year Mike LX Mandy's father had been in the Navy for 4 years when Mandy was a little girl she could still remember the fights her parents had gotten
into during that time she'd always known that she and her mom had had a rough time and that he didn't want that for his little girl you were right daddy Mandy snorted and shook her head you were so right I made a terrible soldier's wife they bought a very nice starter home and Eric got a good engineering job life seemed so promising and then Uncle Sam called when Eric found out about his assignment she scolded him mercilessly for leaving her to top it off when Eric left for Iraq she was already 4 months pregnant Mandy
wiped her eyes as she made her way through the flow of traffic she remembered the loneliness she felt as she continued on without Eric sure her mom and dad had done everything they could to help but the sleepless night night alone ate away at her she needed Eric to hold her all this time to hear his voice Whispering that everything was going to be okay but he wasn't there for her she realized she was being selfish but that didn't make the Nights any less cold and lonely her mother had moved out in the last month
before the baby was born and that had helped a little Mandy and her mom Lisa had a very close relationship in most areas their personality were so close that it seemed like they were more like best friends than mother and daughter but there were some things her mom just didn't want to talk about the details of her marriage while her husband was in the Navy was one of them when Mandy tried to turn the conversation to that topic her mother always got very upset Eric came home the day after Randy was born for a moment
Mandy thought they had become a real family but it didn't last long he left after only 10 days and she was alone again her mother saw some of the signs and begged her not to give in to them she kept going on and on about the damage that one mistake could do to the lives of so many people of course she wouldn't go into detail but Mandy suspected that her father might have been having an affair they had always been Pleasant and polite to each other even friendly but never passionate it was more like they
were friends living in the same house Mandy remembered how she had struggled with depression and loneliness in the months after giving birth going back to work helped at first then she was assigned to a project with Shawn Thompson where Eric had the rough handsome looks of a neighborhood boy Shawn could be a male model his soft baritone and handsome smile made Mandy's heart skip a beat whenever he entered the room he held himself with such confidence and made such an impression she knew he was married to an attractive wealthy Society lady from New York she
and her children had moved to the area just a couple of years ago she had even met his wife at a party once she was beautiful cosmetically speaking and her personality was perfect for one of those housewife reality shows but that only made Shawn even more arousing just a month after they started working together she gave in to Temptation gave in she wrinkled her nose that's [ __ ] I'm the one who flirted with him a short two-day business trip with the project team gave her the opportunity to turn that flirtation into a full-blown romance
they dated a few more times but she cut it short just before Eric returned home upon his return Eric had changed the Carefree Country part of him seemed to have died she knew his trip had been difficult and that he'd lost some close friends while he was there she even remembered his phone call the day after the worst had happened the Hummer in front of him had hit an improvised explosive device killing three of his friends and maming another Eric took it hard Mandy remembered letting him cry on the phone because there was little she
could say to comfort him she'd even choked up telling him how much she loved and missed him mostly because she really meant it but partly because of her shame at having been with Shawn just 5 days ago for the first few months after his return she' just held Eric In Her Arms trying to get him back to his old self she had no doubt that she loved him and her affair with Shawn was just a season of weakness then when everything seemed to be going so well again the orders came for his deployment to Afghanistan
she was crushed it was no surprise that two months after his departure she found herself back in Shawn's arms she knew there was no excuse but in the end the loneliness and fear overpowered the guilt she'd pursued Shawn again and it had taken all her charms to lure him away from the marketing succubus he'd started hanging out with after their Affair had ended she felt her face flush with shame at what she'd done of course you're ashamed but that didn't stop you did it Mandy reprimanded herself she tried to hold back the tears but couldn't
feeling the self-loathing pouring out with each new tear Shawn had spent several weekends at her house he had even managed to talk her into taking on another project for a moment Mandy even considered leaving Eric then reality set in she Randy and her parents traveled to Fort Bragg North Carolina to meet Eric when he returned for RNR the trip there was stressful to say the least Mandy was sure her parents suspected her but they hadn't told her yet then she saw Eric and all worries vanished when he put his arms around her and kissed her
she remembered why she had married him in the first place they spent every hour revitalizing their marriage and strengthening their family Mandy smiled weakly as she remembered that time Eric had been so passionate so tender so incredibly loving that she had sworn to herself at that moment that she would remain faithful to him for the rest of her life then ER Eric told her that he wasn't going back into the army that he was going to be a civilian 4 months after returning from Afghanistan she cried openly knowing that soon they would be a real
family again when she returned from Fort Bragg she severed all relations with Shawn much to his disappointment and anger she put everything she had into preparing for Eric's return Mandy even started seeing a doctor about her fears and loneliness she was diagnosed with clinical depression and began receiving counseling and medication as the months went by she felt herself getting stronger both mentally and emotionally every day she vowed that she would make up for it all by becoming the best wife Eric could ever hope for finally when he returned a few months later she fulfilled her
vows she didn't deny him anything not her body her attention or any part of her love although kid was right things were different when Eric came home this time he was more cautious and didn't share his heart as freely she just thought it was because of what happened when he was overseas now she was beginning to realize that he already knew about her Affair and the thought terrified her Eric stared gloomily out the window watching the light rain fall on those unlucky enough to get caught he could tell that the small outbreak wouldn't last long
soon the the sun would shine again not yet Eric thought not yet he stared at the small dot on the laptop screen it had been stationary for a while but now it was finally moving his wife's SUV had been stuck in traffic but was now moving forward taking a deep breath he looked at his watch it was time to make the call depending on what was said this could be the last time he spoke to the woman he had deeply loved for the last 6 years of his life Mandy nearly Twisted the steering wheel when
her cell phone rang a quick glance told her it was him she said a short prayer took a deep breath and answered Eric yes it's me he answered baby please she said trying to suppress a sob please let me try to explain to tell you how sorry I am honey Eric there was only silence honey she said are you still here yes for the moment he answered briefly honey where are you are you at home with Randy I don't have a home Mandy he said and his voice only gave away the pain for a second
you took care of that where are you it doesn't matter I'm just waiting for me there was hope in her voice like you've been waiting for me sweetheart Mandy couldn't hold back the sobs that caught in her throat she had never heard so much pain and anger in his voice before and certainly not in hers Eric please I have so much to say I screwed up so badly I know I screwed up but I need to talk to you there's so much I need to tell you I love you baby just you there was silence
on the other end of the line okay Mandy Say What You Need to Say but I doubt it'll make a difference you slept with some other guy while I was gone not once but many times so what the hell do you think you can say that's going to make any difference please Eric please for us she begged through her tears don't leave us until I see you please baby don't leave us he hissed as you did to us no she screamed into the phone I know what I did but I never gave up on us
I was lonely and scared I know that's no excuse but that's the way it was but I love you and I Believe in Us honey I really want to put things back together are you serious he asked in Surprise Eric hesitated wondering if she really believed what she was saying you mean you haven't abandoned us what about the way you screamed his name when he hit you over and over again tell me how the hell you could even think that didn't mean damn near abandoning us all she could do was cry as she made her
way through the stream of traffic trying to get to him as fast as she could if only she could face him then he would see the remorse she felt and then maybe there would be some hope he continued bitterly I finally got proof that my [ __ ] of a wife cheated on me while I was in Afghanistan I guess we were both lucky I think I could have killed you in that [ __ ] if I had found out while I was in the states after a few seconds he sighed Amanda this will be
our last conversation if we get disconnected or one of us is put on standby there won't be another conversation Eric please she pleaded we can go to a counselor we can handle this baby we really can look there are a few things you need to know before you go home first of all I cleaned out all our accounts and maxed out all our credit cards I think you've been cheating on me for the last 3 years so I'm returning the favor he ignored her sigh you can keep the house because I'm pretty sure I can
still smell someone else's odor in our bed I packed everything I wanted it ended up only fitting in one suitcase so the rest is yours you can keep your SUV though I don't know how you'll pay for it as I suspect you'll be laid off tomorrow I have sent these pictures to all of your co-workers family all of our friends and even our church I have also sent them and a bunch of videos to several websites along with all your information I suspect you're about to become come very popular oh Eric no Mandy sobbed why
why don't you wait until we talk I waited Mandy he said calmly I waited 4 months after I came back but you didn't say anything and you wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't been caught would you baby what could she have said he was right as for your little boy toy Eric grinned I almost paid him a little visit but after a few meetings with his wife I don't think it would be necessary what a vindictive [ __ ] you might want to give Shawn a little warning he'd better run seems his wife's family
has some interesting connections to some very questionable people I'd be surprised if little Shawn makes it a year without an accident she'll probably come after his little [ __ ] too oh wait that includes you doesn't it Eric please give me a chance to make it up to you Mandy's cell phone beeped glancing at it she recognized the number Eric it's Mrs Johnson from next door I told you if you disconnect we're dead his tone was threatening startled Mandy answered softly okay okay baby I was just worried if something had happened to Randy Randy's fine
Eric's voice softened HEK with me now and he's sleeping soundly she breathed a sigh of relief speaking of Shaun's wife Victoria he said quietly when the two of you went on your little business trip last week he was interrupted by Mandy's cell phone ringing it was another neighbor calling honey it's Mrs Watson are you sure Randy's okay yes Randy and I are perfectly fine Eric said in a tone so creepy that Mandy began to panic he grinned now about Victoria Thompson she's quite something while you and that jerk have been acting like you should have
been acting for the last 3 years I spent two days getting to know his wife up close Mandy gasped in anger and pain at her husband's betrayal her tears flowed again I'd like to tell you that she's a hell of a lot better in bed than you are but the truth is she's not he declared between her whining about everything she wants and where how and when to do it there's no damn time for pleasure I'm sure Shawn would agree so congratulations Mandy you've won the best sex [ __ ] award Eric stop it please
Mandy begged please just just stop she started sobbing again she pounded her little fists on the steering wheel shouting curses at the surrounding cars as they crawled forward her composure slowly returned to her and she wiped away tears of frustration okay Eric she sniffled you won you got your revenge you broke me she was silent waiting for his response but all she heard was silence but I still love you Eric she said quietly there's no excuse for what I did I know that but all I'm asking for is a chance to make it up to
you I'm begging you please please let me explain myself there are some medical issues you should know about if you ever Lov me please meet me please baby medical reasons he snorted postpartum depression clinical depression bipolarism heck try post-traumatic stress disorder in the end it didn't matter did it Mandy you went and slept with some other guy anyway how did I know it really doesn't matter as soon as I did I hired some people to follow you they did a hell of a job too tapping phones and installing cameras all over our house even putting
one in our bedroom oh Eric she exclaimed do you really hate me so much that you're capable of all this is there not a drop of Love left well there was he replied quietly before I saw the video of you and him in our bed do you remember that time Mandy when Randy walked in on you Mandy AED oh God no please not again Eric voice was strained as he tried to control his emotions imagine how I felt as I sat there watching my 2-year-old son call another man daddy everything I felt for you died
right then as I watched you put our son to bed with both of you godamn you you [ __ ] Eric's voice trembled I guess I was lucky I didn't know that until we were at Fort Brag when I saw it I was shocked I almost got lost there and I was in a place where you can't afford to get lost Eric looked at his laptop and saw that Mandy was almost home a cruel smile contorted his handsome face as he continued in a cold tone has for hurting you Amanda I haven't even started yet
I still have a few more he heard Mandy gasp oh oh my God she whispered surprises he finished Mandy pulled her SUV over to the Curve and watched in horror as flames engulfed what had once been their home like I said Amanda the house and everything left in it belongs to you Mandy shook still not believing her eyes damn Eric what have you done that's a rhetorical question isn't it said Eric with a smirk I was trained to build under combat conditions Mandy doesn't that make sense I might know a thing or two about destruction
too where's Randy she shouted damn it Eric where the hell is my son our son is sitting 3 feet away from me sleeping in his car seat so tell me he said mockingly can you read the message I left in our front yard what she mumbled what message oh my God Eric grinned I wasn't sure people would be able to read it from the ground but the news helicopter they must enjoy the words cheating [ __ ] scorched on the front lawn I wouldn't count on the neighbors sympathy he continued I've posted the pictures all
over the neighborhood and paid a few teenagers to hand out extra copies around the block he paused for a few seconds and listened to his wife's sobs Mandy you might want to think Eric said bitterly about where you're going to sleep tonight and in the near future I guess you could sleep in your SUV until they come and get it or maybe no I doubt Shawn will be able to help I'm sure Victoria's already skinning him alive I guess that just leaves your parents I wonder how your dad would feel about having two [ __
] living under his roof what Mandy sobbed through her sobs damn it Mandy are you really that stupid you always told me your father cheated on your mother when he was in the Navy damn it your mother cheated on him mom she asked in a trembling voice Eric laughed cruy oh hell yes your father told me a little about it after I got back from Iraq why do you think he did it Mandy do you think he suspected his little girl was cheating on her husband just like her mom but unlike your father Eric continued
I can't live with a [ __ ] wife for the rest of my life maybe he stayed for you or maybe he still loved her I don't know it's his decision mine is to start over and hopefully find a woman I can spend the rest of my life with I'm sure I'll find someone who can love me be faithful and be a good mother to Randy please Eric Mandy sobbed I can be that kind of wife just give me one more chance to show you and I'm already a good mother to Randy I'm the only
mother he needs I guess that's what the court has to decide isn't it he said calmly of course the fact that I burned down our house and effectively bankrupted us probably won't go in my favor Eric saw a young man in a T-shirt and baseball cap get out of the cab and stop at the curb looking in his Direction Eric flashed his headlights twice and the guy headed toward him okay Mandy Eric said calmly looking at his watch there are a few things you still need to know and there's not much time left so listen
very carefully first so your bosses don't get too worried about my threats however Victoria is filing a similar lawsuit and will probably win I think the court will really like both her and all the evidence I gave her as for me Eric coughed well I don't like my chances in court so I took the job overseas I think Randy and I would really enjoy it no Mandy yelled into the phone you can't take my baby actually [ __ ] he's my son and I can don't Eric please she begged he's my son too Amanda he
said calmly in a few years he won't even remember you but don't worry I'll send you pictures of him at Christmas and we'll even call on Mother's Day and his birthday since we won't know where you'll be we'll just call your parents Mandy cried bitterly realizing the hopelessness of her situation Eric sat for a while concerned and somewhat alarmed by his own actions he knew he wasn't going to send her pictures or call her the thought of her desperately waiting for calls that would never come and reliving that revenge for years to come was more
cruel than he had previously thought goodbye [ __ ] he said coldly I hope you rot in hell he wiped a tear from his cheek as he listened to her hysterical screams begging for a son and hung up Captain black the guy in the tank top standing in front of him asked not anymore Eric smiled weakly I'm just Eric black well at least for a while longer the young man grinned and handed him an envelope with the numbers and passwords to the offshore bank accounts into which his funds had been transferred minus some fees of
course here are passports photo IDs and plane tickets for Marcus gray and his son Michael Gray the team said smiling Eric smiled even wider and began putting his old IDs and two SIM cards from his cell phones into a small metal bucket smirking he took a lighter and melted them into a small puddle of blackened plastic then he took a small Hammer smashed both phones and tossed the remnants into the bucket satisfied with his work he tossed the bucket into the trash can that was better than I could have imagined Eric grinned he quickly pulled
out his car keys and handed them to the kid tell Bob and Ron thanks for the rental he said quietly to whom the young man asked with a wide smile on his face I apologize Eric grinned I must have made a mistake a few minutes later Eric was already checking luggage at the airport he couldn't hold back A Smile as he thought about what was in store for him and his son in the next few weeks his contract didn't start until next month so they were going to spend a couple weeks on a secluded beach
with a pretty Lieutenant he'd met in Afghanistan they'd only been friends then but now that he'd gotten proof of his wife's cheating Eric couldn't wait to find out if there was more to it Mr Gray the man at the front desk said politely have a wonderful flight you and your son Marcus gray and his son walked through the lobby and started their new life
