Chapter 7 Guilt

Flashback

5 Years Ago…

Axton frowned as two women approached his table. One of them, with black hair, was waving at him. The other had blonde hair, and Axton swore he recognized her face.

“Hey, Axton. Sorry for being late. I had to drag Sierra out of her room to accompany me here, and she was really hard to pull out,” the black-haired woman smiled while rolling her eyes.

“Wait,” Axton muttered, furrowing his brows. He glanced at the two women alternately, trying to piece together the puzzle forming in his mind.

This was a blind date, their first meeting. Yet, he found himself facing two women, both of whom happened to appear in the photos Callie had sent him.

So, which one of them was Callie?

“Oh, I’m sorry! My name is Callie. You’re Axton, right?” The black-haired woman extended her hand, which Axton promptly shook.

“To be honest, I was a bit surprised for a moment. I thought you’d come alone.”

“Ah, yes. This is my friend, Sierra. We’re always together wherever and whenever. So don’t be surprised if I brought her along,” Callie said with a smile, glancing at the blonde woman, who appeared uneasy with her friend’s explanation.

Axton frowned again. Did this woman have memory loss, or did she truly not remember him?

Or was it possible that this woman had a twin?

“And you’re not allowed to complain about Sierra and me. She’s always with me—even in the pictures I sent you, I made sure to show that she’ll always be with me, even on every date we have.”

Axton recalled that Callie, indeed, always sent pictures of the two of them together. Even a year ago, when Callie was still using her old blind-date account, she would send pictures of them both.

It seemed Axton had made a mistake this morning by not recognizing Sierra, even though he had seen her photo twice.

“So, you know Callie, Sierra?” Axton asked, raising an eyebrow and turning his gaze to Callie. “Her name is Sierra, right?”

The blonde-haired woman lifted her head, surprised. She blinked as if assessing Axton’s face.

Wow. A bit impolite, but Axton couldn’t help but enjoy the shock in her eyes as she pieced something together.

“Mr. Scott!” she exclaimed, standing up so abruptly that several people nearby turned their heads in confusion.

What a shame—it was the first time Axton had been forgotten when everyone usually remembered his face after their first meeting.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Kayleigh,” Axton said with a short chuckle.

Sierra’s mouth opened in disbelief. She remained standing as Callie tried to tug her arm to make her sit down.

Honestly, Axton wanted to laugh right now.

This blind date had turned into an unexpectedly amusing surprise.

All he had planned was to meet Callie at the bar and have fun on the dance floor. Maybe a glass or two of beer wouldn’t hurt for their first date. But instead, he discovered that his new secretary was Callie’s friend—and apparently, the three of them were tangled in some ridiculous connection.

“Wait a minute,” Callie said, looking back and forth between Axton and Sierra as though trying to understand the situation. “How do you two know each other?”

Axton laughed and took a sip of his beer. “She interviewed for a job at my office this morning. She’s now my secretary.”

“What?!” Callie exclaimed, turning her head toward Sierra, who still seemed to be processing the unfolding facts. “So, he’s the one who made you hang up on my call?”

“What if I said yes?” Sierra replied, directing an unreadable gaze at Axton.

Axton furrowed his brows, growing more confused as the conversation veered into incomprehensible territory. His confusion deepened as Callie grabbed her beer glass.

At first, he thought she was going to drink it. But he was wrong.

Callie splashed the beer into his face, leaving him utterly stunned.

“Callie!” Sierra shrieked in shock as she saw Axton’s face and clothes drenched with beer. “What are you doing?” She looked panicked, her voice loud enough for Axton to catch clearly.

“Pouring beer on him because he deserved it. Does he think he’s some kind of prince so he can interrupt our phone call, Sierra?”

“Have you lost your mind?!” Sierra groaned, clearly frustrated, as she hastily pulled tissues from her bag.

Axton blinked, thoroughly taken aback.

What the hell is this?!

***

Axton regretted every ounce of emotion stirring in his chest when he found Callie staring at him as he walked out of the bathroom in the middle of the night.

She knew.

Axton knew Callie too well; she couldn’t hide anything from him, not even the pain that lingered in her heart.

The bedroom lights had been turned off minutes ago. Axton lay on the sofa, where he’d been for hours, before heading to the bathroom to do what he often did when seeking release. But he knew Callie wasn’t in the right state for that. In fact, Axton couldn’t even remember the last time they’d been intimate since Callie’s health had started to deteriorate.

Now, Callie was asleep again. Her tears had likely dried on their own, unchecked, because Axton wasn’t there to wipe them away. Instead, it was Sierra who had been by her side, holding her tightly as though her embrace alone could lull Callie back to sleep after learning the devastating truth: her husband had slept with her best friend.

Did Axton feel guilty? Deeply. The guilt was suffocating him, threatening to drown him entirely. But what could he do?

Axton didn’t know how long it took for him to fall asleep. Maybe he’d only managed two hours that night. His mind had been screaming at him, and he had no control over it.

Now, here he was, sitting at the dining table as he always did every morning with his wife. Except, for the past few months, the table hadn’t been theirs alone. Another woman now shared the space—Sierra Dove Kayleigh, who always sat beside Callie.

“How are you feeling? If you’re not fully better, you could have breakfast in your room,” Sierra said, glancing at Callie, who was preoccupied with the bread on her plate as she walked in, dressed for work.

“I’m fine. I don’t know why I suddenly fainted. Isn’t that inconvenient?”

Sierra turned her head, and Axton cursed inwardly when their eyes met by chance.

He swore nothing had been the same since that first night he touched Sierra. And he hated it.

“Not at all,” Sierra said, shaking her head. “But I’d prefer it if you didn’t faint so often.”

“Blame my lupus,” Callie replied with a soft laugh.

“If I could, I would blame that disease,” Sierra said, shrugging. She then stood up, signaling that she was done eating. “I’ll be off now,” she added, straightening her shirt as if she didn’t want it wrinkled after sitting. She filled her water bottle, slipped it into her work bag, and headed toward the door.

But something felt off.

Sierra hadn’t touched her food—there was nothing missing from her plate. Yet, no one stopped her. Even Callie let her leave without a word.

“Take care, Sierra,” Callie said with a smile, allowing Sierra to kiss her cheek as she always did every morning.

Axton had watched this scene unfold for months, but today, something about it felt different. This morning… Callie didn’t smile the way she usually did, and Sierra didn’t smile at all.

They were suffering—both of them—from what had happened.

“Did you know I invited my college friends for lunch here today, Axton?” Callie asked, peeling an apple and slicing it into small pieces before handing one to him.

“Oh, really?” he responded.

“Yes,” Callie nodded. “They think I’m seriously ill because I don’t go out anymore. So, they decided to come here.”

“That’s good. You can host them here instead of going out, Callie.”

“Are you trying to confine me to this house, keeping me from seeing anyone?”

Axton frowned, startled by her question. “What do you mean?”

“It’s so unfair that everyone else can go out and live freely while I’m stuck here, losing everything—even my sanity—because I was ‘fine’ watching my husband sleep with my best friend. I must be completely insane!”

Her words were sharp, each one cutting deep as she began slicing the apple with more force. The knife slipped and nicked the tip of her finger.

“Callie,” Axton said softly, grabbing her hand to stop her. He took the knife away and used a tissue from the table to staunch the blood.

Something was wrong.

He could sense it—something was deeply wrong with his wife.

Callie lowered her head, and Axton saw her shoulders trembling as soft sobs escaped her lips.

“Callie, I’m sorry for what happened,” he whispered, gripping her hand tightly. It felt as though a knife was stabbing his own heart, tearing it apart with every sound of her weeping.

Callie had cut her finger, but it was Axton’s heart that felt pierced.

“Why does it hurt so much?” she murmured, her voice heavy with anguish. “I can’t bear to look at you, Axton.”

“Please, forgive me,” Axton begged, falling from his chair and kneeling at her feet. He held her hand, kissing it repeatedly.

“Why do I have to have this disease? Did I do something so terribly wrong?”

Axton shook his head. “No, Callie. You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s me—I’m the one at fault.”

Callie let out a bitter laugh. “Are you responsible for my illness, too?”

“Callie, please,” Axton pleaded, his voice breaking. He didn’t know what else to say to stop her tears or ease the pain gripping both their hearts.

He had made a grave mistake by letting his desires cloud his judgment, and he had hurt the love of his life.

“I’m sorry for hurting you. Don’t punish yourself—be angry at me,” he said, pulling her into a tight embrace. He was desperate to convince her that she bore no blame for what had happened between them.

Axton held her close for minutes, waiting. He waited for Callie to cry out all her tears in his arms. He stayed there, hoping his embrace could somehow bring her comfort.

“Axton?” Callie’s hoarse voice broke the silence. “Can I ask something of you?”

“Anything, my love,” Axton replied, releasing their embrace to look at her with all the love and sincerity he could muster. He took her hand and kissed it again.

For this woman, Axton would give his life and his world if that’s what she wanted. He would give her everything he could, even if it meant stealing happiness from others just to see her smile again.

“Go to work with Sierra. Can you do that for me?” Callie asked, her tear-filled eyes locking onto his.

Oh, God. Could Axton fulfill this request?