Caught in the act

Nancy

“So does this mean that Ford Buildings was unable to meet the schedule for the first phase of the investment? It's time to cut off their funding then,” I heard my husband say as he came up the stairs and walked down the hall to our bedroom. 

After dinner, the men of the house always had a conversation by the fireplace while drinking wine and then retiring to their rooms; today was no different. I was nervous because I didn't know how Bruce would react when he saw the surprise I prepared for him. After dinner, I had rushed to tidy the room. 

“Ha, no that, McCoy. Morton Investment didn't become the best in the region by doing charity and being condescending. I demand that you defund these fucking idiots by tomorrow!” He was shouting into his cell phone, but he stopped in surprise as soon as he opened the door and found red rose petals scattered across the floor and on the large bed, contrasting with the milky white sheets, a table with champagne, chocolate, and even a decorative cake; immersive music playing softly on the room's stereo; and finally, I was there in red lingerie, lying sensually in the middle of the bed. 

“Hi, babe… Did you like the surprise?” I asked a little shyly and a little suggestively, with a smile. 

He put the phone in his ear again and said, “Wait a minute, McCoy.” And then he looked at me with a frown. "What does all this mean?" He asked, pointing to the room with his cell phone. 

My gaze was a little lost. “Well, today is our wedding anniversary, so I thought I'd give you a special surprise,” I said, sitting on my legs. "Did you like it?" I asked with a sly voice and a small smile. 

“Did I like it? Are you okay, woman? What the hell is that? You look ridiculous. Did you lose your sense of dignity? Why do you like to embarrass yourself so much?” He said this, making a face. 

"What? I thought you would like it…” I said. 

“Good heavens,” he said, covering his mouth as he chuckled mockingly. “Don't you think you're too old to venture into young things? Have you ever looked in the mirror before? Have fucking sense, woman. You are already the mother of two children, and we would even be grandparents if Amber decided to have a child now. Did you know that? Just get out of there and take off that ridiculous outfit. Today was a very busy day; try not to make me more stressed than I already am,” he said, turning to go to the bathroom.

But not before adding. “And clean up this fucking mess. Can you imagine something like that? Almost forty years on your face, and you still think about naughty things. What a shame,” he commented, gesturing to me and the room's decor as if it were something promiscuous, and then he went back to talking on his cell phone and went to the bathroom. “That’s about what I was saying—no funding for these lazy fuckers…” his voice became muffled as he closed the bathroom door. 

I sat there, still on my legs, not even being able to fix my gaze on anything. Why the hell had I even listened to my friend Lanie? Why have I done this? I cleared my throat, got out of bed, and quickly went to the closet, taking off my lingerie to put on my usual pajamas, completely ashamed of my attitude. What was my problem? Why the hell had I done that? What was I thinking? 

I breathed through my mouth with embarrassment taking over me and quickly returned to the room, starting to collect the rose petals, getting rid of the decorative balloons, throwing away the cake, and getting rid of the champagne before he returned from the bathroom. As soon as he came back, already wearing pajamas too, he went to lie down peacefully on his side of the bed and soon fell asleep as if nothing had happened. 

I went to the bathroom to take off the makeup I had put on my face and ended up looking at myself in the mirror. My eyes were blue and big, my nose was small, my mouth was full, and my dark hair was long and straight, reaching down to the middle of my back. I even considered myself beautiful, but my husband was right, I was forty years old and should behave like it. 

What did I think when I prepared that surprise? That Bruce would want me as a woman again? He had stopped doing that so long ago that I barely remembered what it was like to feel a man's touch. But he was right. What would my children say if they found out that their mother wore an erotic bunny costume in an attempt to seduce their father? It was certainly a shameful thing to think about. I couldn't stop the tears from falling from my eyes. Bruce was right; it was already too late for me. 

That night I stayed there in the corner of the bathroom crying, feeling pity for myself for never having had my husband's love, and when I got back to the room, I laid down on the edge of the bed, so I wouldn't wake him up and give him a reason to yelled at me and offend me even more. But I ended up waking up in the middle of the night because my throat was dry from having been crying until late. I turned on my lamp and realized that there was no drinking water in the room. I sighed resignedly. Furthermore, I would have to go downstairs to get some water for myself. 

I noticed that my husband wasn't there in bed, but I didn't worry too much; he usually goes out to smoke in the early hours of the morning sometimes, so he must have been doing that. I put on my nightgown and went down to the kitchen. As soon as I got there, I drank the water and decided to take a jug in case Bruce or I needed it later. 

When I was returning, I noticed a sliver of light coming from Candace's room, as the door was ajar. I went over to close the door and started to hear moans and panting coming from inside. I was confused. Wasn't her husband on a work trip? Was she cheating on Harald? What a clueless girl! 

I opened the door to her room to talk some sense into her, but what I saw right away made me freeze in my tracks. It was Candace and Bruce in the middle of sex. The water jug ​​slipped out of my hand and shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor, which made them startle and notice my presence there. 

"What? Nancy?” Bruce stammered, still stunned. 

“Oh, shit,” Candace shingles, climbing off my husband's lap in a hurry. 

“What are you doing here, Nancy? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” He asked as he fumbled with the duvet, trying to cover his nakedness. 

I stepped back, completely stunned by the sight. My eyes widened horribly, and my heart was beating so hard it almost burst out of my chest. “No, Nancy, no,” he pleaded with his hands outstretched to me, coming towards me. “Don’t tell anyone what you just saw here…”

A loud, broken scream came from my throat—a scream of crying and fury, a scream of pain and sadness, a scream of disappointment, and my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. The scream was so loud and so terrifying that even the bats hidden in the treetops around the mansion took flight and fled.