~JOEY
Lydia refused to talk to me for days. When ever she came out of her room to do anything and ran into me, she would just walk past like I wasn't there.
I knew I was wrong about what I did, and I have tried so hard to apologise. But my wife wasn't having any of that.
I was pretty sure that if it wasn't that she had amnesia and had nowhere to go, she wouldn't even be with me in the same house.
Helpless and feeling lonely since she wouldn't talk to me, it was kind of a relief when a week later, I got an emergency call about a patient.
The surgery I had to do stopped me from thinking and overthinking everything for a short while, and now, I had Rowan to help me.
"I can't believe you chose not to tell her. That was a terrible decision, man," my best friend chastised me after I told him what happened.
I groaned.
"I know, alright? I already figured that out when she went all ballistic on me. I mean, all I wanted to do was protect her. She didn't need to know that she was pronounced dead. That is irrelevant now," I grumbled.
"I see your point, but what you think doesn't matter. You still should have told her. It's up to her to decide if it is irrelevant or not. Hell, you have her death certificate and everything," my best friend countered, and my guilt worsened.
I held my hands out.
"Okay. Okay. I get your point. I am drowning in guilt enough as it is. I am going to need you to actually help me. She won't talk to me. I have no freaking idea of what I am supposed to do!"
Rowan sighed and was about to say something else when I interrupted.
"Hold on. Before you say anything, I need you to know that something else happened. And I have a feeling that Lydia is more mad about that than the fact that I didn't tell her about the death."
My best friend narrowed his eyes at me.
"What did you do again, Joey?" he asked, slightly nervous.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Morgana came to visit."
Rowan cursed softly.
"What the hell, dude? I have told you several times to fucking stay away from that woman. All she wants to do is sleep with you, and that's bullshit. You should cut her off. Hell, your wife is back now. What else could she possibly hang around for this time?" he snapped, and I could practically feel his anger.
"I'm sorry. It's just...I tried. I tried to get her to stop coming to see me when Lydia got missing. She's just...she's persistent. That woman is like an annoying itch that won't go," I groaned.
"You've got no excuse, man. What the hell? I was pretty sure Lydia misunderstood the entire situation. Or wait. Did you sleep with her and you're just in denial?" he asked.
I raised my eyebrows at him.
"You know I would never do something like that to my wife. No, I did not sleep with Morgana, okay? She's just a...hell, she's not even a friend. She is what she is."
I was frustrated beyond belief, and I didn't know what I was going to do.
Rowan was silent for a while before he spoke again.
"Okay. What was the scenario like when they met? I mean, between your wife and who I'm pretty sure is now her ex best friend. What happened exactly? Was it a reunion first and the fight later or...run me through it. I need to know what I am working with here," he asked, how voice calm enough to make me know that he was worried about me.
"Lydia and I were having breakfast. Morgana came with food. And she might have said that she missed me."
Rowan groaned again.
"She missed you? What the hell does she miss you for?" he snapped. I rubbed my temples. That woman was a lot.
"First off, whatever is between you and Morgana, you should not have let it happen in the first place," he started.
"There is nothing between us. Hell, she's just..." before I could say anything else though, my phone rang.
My heart leaped with hope. It was probably Lydia. The moment I picked up the phone though, my eyes fell on the caller.
Talk of the devil.
It was Morgana.
Rowan smirked at me and said: "You say there's nothing between you and Morgana, fine. But does she know that?" he asked.
I cursed.
Before I could decide if I wanted to pick the damned call or not, the call ended.
I heaved a sigh of relief, but another call came in immediately.
I was surprised to see that this one was from Lydia.
"Hello, love. How are..." i started to say, but my wife wasn't interested in my pleasantries.
Her next words shocked me down to the marrow.
The call ended as abruptly as it started, and I bolted into a standing position.
I needed to get home.
"Hey, dude. Chill. What's up? What is going on?" my best friend asked, and as I turned to face him, I realised that this entire thing was turning into something bigger and I had no idea what I was going to do.
"Morgana is at my house. She's at home with Lydia and it's driving my wife crazy and Lydia is threatening to...I need to go. I have no idea what that crazy woman thinks she's doing, but I need to go. I need to protect my marriage."
I was rambling, but I didn't care. All that mattered was getting Lydia to believe me. And getting Morgana to leave, of course.
But as I drove back home at top speed, I could not help the panic that was pressing down on my chest.
Because what the fuck did Morgana think she was doing by showing up at my house with her luggage?
What did Lydia mean by saying that my 'mistress' had come to live with me?
With us?