Our Secret

“Melanie...”

“Please go away.”

“Melanie, it wasn’t my fault.”

I took five large steps away, hoping to catch my father’s eye. Alex grabbed my wrist.

“Please, give me five minutes,” he hissed, keeping a smile on his face for those who’d begun to turn their eyes to us.

I laughed bitterly. “Absolutely not.”

“A minute, then.”

“Alex,” I said, and then swallowed back the lump of emotion his name gave me. “Alex, please just leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you, okay?”

“Why not? What did your mother tell you?”

“God!” A tear dropped down my cheek and I met his eyes straight-on for the first time. “You broke my heart! And this is inappropriate, and you know it! So just stay away from—”

“I didn’t send you away,” he said, eyes sparking. He was breathing heavily. “It wasn’t me.”

I looked anywhere but him. “You fucked her that night.”

He laughed and my eyes shot up to his in disbelief. He thought it was funny?

“We were married, Melanie, it’s like I could be like ‘no, gotta be faithfu