Liam felt himself holding his breath, he was unsure why, but as soon as he heard the change in Wura's tone and the hesitation in her voice, he had a feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen.
Wura took a pause, what she was about to say next would be the direct cause of why she began an affair with Mero. She was unsure if she wanted to revisit such a hated part of her life. She did not want to talk about this, in all honesty, she felt that the night of the knight's summer festival was when she lost all her control and senses, and truly it was.
"The men were out celebrating their release and service, and ideally, I was not supposed to be there, but I just felt so empty, and so alone, and I did not want to be alone anymore, so I joined them," she began.
She looked at Liam, wondering if he was still listening, and he was. His eyes were hurt, she could see it clearly, but his attention remained fixed on her. She wanted to know what was going on in his mind at the moment.
"I joined Mero, Elihu and the others at their table. It was cold that night, or perhaps I was the one who felt cold from how dead I felt on the inside. They were enjoying themselves as usual. I am sure that I put an end to their enjoyment when I arrived, but I did not care at that moment.".
"They were drinking, and I wanted to try it. I had never tasted alcohol before, and I was curious as to how it tasted and why people drank it so much. I tried some ale, but it was so bitter that I regretted it, then Elihu offered that I try mead instead, and I preferred that one since it was sweet.".
"I continued drinking since the mead was sweet, and before I knew it, I drank more than I could handle. I believe that I began to speak nonsense, due to that, Mero wasted no time in getting me back to my quarters. He carried me and tolerated my misbehaviour," she continued.
"We reached my quarters, which is your bedroom, and he placed me on the bed. I was so intoxicated, nothing made sense to me, I could not tell my right from wrong, and then I saw you. I saw you in Mero's eyes, and I felt so much comfort, so much warmth, and thinking he was you, I did the unforgivable, I... I... I kissed him," Wura sighed.
Liam looked away, that was what he did not want to hear, The first time his wife cheated on him was in his own bedroom, it was so hard to swallow. He felt a lump in his throat.
Wura felt Liam tense up, this was the moment she had dreaded telling him. She knew that there was much worse to come.
"Liam..." she called softly.
"What did Mero do?" Liam asked. That was all he wanted to know.
"Liam," she called again.
"Answer me, what did Mero do?".
"He... he... pulled away after the shock of the moment cleared up. I did not know what was wrong with me. I did the wrong thing," she said.
Liam remained silent.
"I was unconscious after that, he tucked me in and left. It was not until the next morning that I woke up with a splitting headache and I remembered all that had transpired the night before.".
"I felt so embarrassed and guilty. Mero wanted to forget it and pretend like it never happened, but I had to apologize for my stupidity," she said.
"Little did I know that stupid mistake and singular act opened the door of attraction, and I felt myself starting to view Mero in a different light. Feelings that I never entertained before flooded my mind and before I could control it, it was already too late.".
"Things become worse when Mero admitted that he was starting to feel the same.".
Wura heard Liam sighed, it was a sigh of pain. She could feel it, she could hear it, and she regretted it.
"I wanted to stop things from escalating further. I did not want feelings like that to grow, and so I tried my best to stop it. I knew that Nora liked Mero, so I tried to get them together, and I regret it so much because it was the worst thing I did to Nora.".
"She asked to no longer be your personal maid, why is that?" Liam asked, he already had a feeling that he would not like her response.
Wura sighed, "She said that because she is angry with me, and she has every right to be.".
"Why?".
"Because she and Mero started a relationship. I thought that they were good together, and I wanted them both to be happy. especially Nora, but what I could not control was the fact that Mero's heart was somewhere else, somewhere it should have never been, because just like me, he was beginning to develop feelings he should not have.".
"We both ignored our feelings, and I realize now that was not the best way to deal with such a delicate matter," she said.
"So you and Mero began your affair then?" Liam asked, the pain evident in his voice.
"No, we avoided what we felt for each other, whether it was good or bad and we focused on living and running the kingdom smoothly. Then the rumours of war started and before there was any time to breathe, then whole problem with Olamide and the East escalated and we were thrown into uncharted territory, or at least that was how it was for me.".
"Mero... he had the same feelings for you as you had for him?" Liam asked.
Wura nodded slowly and said, "Even more intense than mine.".
She had to admit the truth, that was the only thing that would set her free. They needed to unload everything now so later there would be nothing hidden that could return to bite them later.
Liam exhaled deeply, this was all too much for him to take at once. It felt like his unhealed wound was being hurt deeper and deeper.
"When did you two begin your relationship?".
"Mero was with Nora, and I wanted them both to be happy, but all that was thrown away when Mero and I went to a little village that had been attacked by the East, we stayed there for almost two weeks to deliver aid and rations, and that was when we sunk in deeper into our mistake," she sighed.
"When you say sunk in, what do you mean?" Liam did not want to ask, but he had to. In order to save his mind from raging and cooking up all sorts of unhappy scenarios, he wanted to know the truth for sure.
"I started to feel things that I knew I should not feel and I just lost all my self control when Mero told me that he felt the same," Wura sighed.
"He told me that he loved me," she said and Liam looked away.
"I instantly reminded him of Nora, she loved him and wanted to start a family with him, but he said that he would be doing himself the greatest betrayal and hurting Nora if he married her because someone else was in his heart.".
"You... right," Liam scoffed.
Wura nodded slowly.
"And your response was yes," he scoffed.
"Not at the beginning, Liam. You should believe me, the last thing that I wanted to do was hurt you. Mero also acknowledged that having these feelings was wrong because he was loyal to you, we both knew it, yet we made the mistake and I admit that I was so weak.".
"I was conflicted because I knew that I am loyal to you and that you would return, but the other part of me was in doubt and disbelief and Mero and I began our relationship and we knew the consequences but we still continues regardless," she said.
"You were with him..." Liam said.
"No, no, never. I... we... we only kissed and shared our thoughts, that was it. I did not want to go any further because deep down, I knew that I still belonged to you, my soul and my body. I just had so many conflicting emotions concerning Mero, because he is a good man and was always there for me," she sighed.
Liam did not want to admit that it was a relief to him to hear that.
"How can I trust you, you might simply be lying," he said.
"No, no. I am not lying, Liam. I would never lie to you, that is why I am telling you all this. Please do not doubt me, just listen to my heart," she placed his hand on her heart.
He looked at her and could see the sincerity. He did not mean to sound so harsh, but his mind and heart were in pain.
"Alright," he said reluctantly.