Susan sat alone in the dark booth of the hotel bar, trying to make sense of her life. She stared at her half-empty glass of wine as her mind relived the events of the past week. She had often thought she had the perfect life. She had a wonderful husband and a good marriage. But in a blink of an eye, her whole world had been turned upside down.
She still had a hard time believing what she had seen. She had come home early on Tuesday, only to find her husband in bed with another woman. She had been absolutely devastated. Apparently ten years of marriage meant nothing to the man. She had thrown the woman out of the house, but her husband had refused to leave. He had sworn to her that he still loved her and he wanted to work things out with her. He said that he wouldn’t just walk away from ten years of marriage. Too bad he hadn’t thought about that before he decided to sleep with someone else.
Susan had been furious with him for betraying her. She had stalked around the house for two days, refusing to speak to him at all, until her boss called her and offered her a chance to go on a business trip for him. She had gladly jumped at the chance, desperately needing to get away from everyone for a while. And now here she was, sitting alone in some old hotel bar, actually feeling sorry for herself. ,br>
She looked down at her hand, which looked naked without her wedding rings. She had taken them off before she left, unsure of whether or not she would even return to him. But as she sat there alone, she realized how much she still loved her husband. The truth was, she couldn’t have asked for a better person to spend the rest of her life with. They had been childhood sweethearts and had married straight out of high school. At the time, they were only 18 years old. Everyone had assumed that at their age, their marriage wouldn’t even last a year. But Susan had taken great pride in knowing they had proven everybody wrong. They were deeply in love with each other, and while there had been some difficult times, they were both committed to making the marriage work. Or so she thought.
Seeing David with another woman was like dumping a bucket of cold ice water on her head. When had their marriage gone so bad? Or had it been like that for a while and she had simply been too busy to notice?
The more she thought about it, the more she realized it wasn’t completely David’s fault. Even though it didn’t give him an excuse to go running into the arms of another woman, she realized that she had been neglecting her husband. Her job had always been very demanding of her time and it had become even worse now that her company was in the midst of merging with their largest competitor. Susan worked as one of the top accountants for her firm and with all the negotiations going on between the companies, her overtime hours had skyrocketed. Susan was proud of the work she did. She had worked herself hard to graduate from college at the top of her class and to secure her first job as a corporate accountant. David had been very supportive of her for awhile too. But as the demands of her job increased, it started to place a strain on their marriage. He was unhappy with the amount of time she was spending away from home. He had told her many times exactly how he felt, but she had simply shrugged him off as being petty and jealous. Now she realized exactly how hurt he must have felt. She had chosen her job over her own husband, just like he had chosen another woman over her.
Realizing that both of them were to blame, Susan knew she couldn’t simply walk away from their marriage. At least not without trying to work things out first. They both had issues that had to be dealt with, but if they could find the love that they once had for each other, she thought maybe they could survive together.
Susan looked back down at her hand, regretting her haste in removing her rings. This was the first time in ten years that she had ever taken them off. A pang of guilt hit her and she felt the sudden urge to call her husband. She had left without even saying a word to him and she figured that he was probably worried about her. She decided that she would head on up to her room and give him a call…let him know that they needed to have a serious talk when she got back home.
She stared at her glass for a moment, then raised it to her lips, finishing off the wine. As she gathered her things and prepared to leave, she was interrupted by a man who sat down in her booth across from her.
“Hey darlin’. What’s a pretty thing like you doin’ in a place like this all by yourself?” he asked. Susan looked at him and realized immediately that the man was drunk.
“Uh…leaving.” she replied, as she picked up her things and tried to stand up.
The man quickly reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, forcing her back down into her seat.
“Where do you think you’re goin’? Don’t you know it’s rude to walk away from somebody when their talkin’ to ya.”
Susan yanked on her arm, trying to get it free, but this only caused the man to tighten his hold on her.
“I think I’d like to get to know you a little better.” the man growled as he moved around the table and sat down next to her, pinning her inside the booth. He leaned into her as he attempted to plant a drunken kiss on her lips.
“Get away from me!” she said, as she tried to shove the man off of her. She managed to knock him off balance for just a moment, but he quickly righted himself and leaned in toward her again.
Suddenly a large arm appeared out of nowhere and Susan saw the man being yanked from his seat and tossed on the ground.
Chapter 2
“I think that means NO!” she heard a deep voice growl, as she looked at the mountain of a man towering over her.
“Sorry man. Didn’t know she belonged to you.” the drunk mumbled as he picked himself up off of the floor and staggered away.
“Are you alright?” the man asked softly, taking a seat across from her. “Did he hurt you?”
Susan looked up at the man sitting in front of her. He was a huge man, extremely muscular, with long, curly hair and gorgeous blue eyes. Her eyes met his and Susan felt a surge of energy course through her body. She was unable to speak as she continued to stare into his beautiful face.
“Ma’am?” he asked softly, when he finally regained his composure.
Whatever Susan was feeling, he was feeling it as well. It was like some kind of immediate connection between them.
He waved his hand slowly across her face, causing her to pull out of her shocked stupor.
“I’m fine.” she whispered softly, when she realized the man was speaking to her. “I was just… heading back to my room.”
Susan tried to gather her things together once more, but her hands were shaking so bad, she could barely hold them. The man noticed and reached out for one of her hands, engulfing it with his much larger one.
She closed her eyes at the contact, feeling another spark course through her. What was this man doing to her? She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him again.
“Seems to me like you could use another drink first.” he said softly, noticing how badly she was shaking. “Let me buy you another one.”
Unable to find her voice, she slowly nodded her head. The man left the table and headed to the bar to get their drinks and Susan stared at his broad shoulders as she watched him walk away. If she had been smart, she would have collected her things and left while he was gone. But she doubted if her legs would work right now. She sat there and watched the man gather their drinks and head back to the table.
He sat down across from her again and slid another glass of wine in front of her.
“Thanks.” she replied, trying to calm herself down long enough to pick the glass up and take a drink.
"So, Miss..uh…”he stuttered, realizing that he didn’t know her name.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! My name is Susan. Susan Chandler.” she replied, reaching out to shake his hand.
“My name is Glen Jacobs. Nice to meet you.” he replied, as he took her hand in his once more. He held it tightly for a moment before reluctantly letting it go.
“So, what are you doing in a place like this all alone?” he asked curiously, noticing that she wasn’t wearing a wedding band.
“I’m actually in town on some business. The company that I work for is in the process of merging with it’s largest competitor and with all of the negotiating going on, they’re keeping me quite busy.” she replied, beginning to feel at ease around this big man.
“And what exactly do you do?” he asked.
“I’m an accountant. One of the top accountants in the company as a matter of fact. So whenever there is a financial crisis of some kind, they call on me to straighten it all out.”
“Sounds like a pretty difficult job.” he replied.
“It can be pretty stressful at times. But I’ve always liked working with numbers and it’s something that I do very well, so it’s not that bad.” she answered. “What do you do for a living, Mr. Jacobs?”
“Please call me Glen.” he replied. He hesitated for a moment before answering her question.
“I work for the WWE.” he whispered quietly, not wanting anyone else around them to overhear. The last thing he wanted right now was to be bombarded by fans.
“The WWE?” she repeated. “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of them before. Is it a fairly new company?”
Glen smiled. Apparently this woman had no idea who he was.
“Well, up until recently, it was known as the WWF, but a lawsuit forced them to change their initials.”
Susan shook her head in confusion. She hadn’t heard of the WWF either.
“WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment. I’m a professional wrestler.”
he stated softly, when he realized she had no idea what he was talking about.
Susan stared at him for a moment before she started laughing.
“Of course! The WWF.” she replied. “God, you must think I’ve been living under a rock all my life. I know about the WWF. I used to watch a little wrestling when I was younger, but that’s been so many years ago, I had completely forgotten about it.”
She stopped and took another good look at him.
“You’re certainly a lot bigger than any of the guys I remember seeing back then. Are they all your size now?” she joked.
Glen chuckled softly. “No. I’m one of the bigger guys around today. Although there are a few who are my size and some that are even bigger.”
Susan laughed softly, thinking for a moment that he was simply joking with her. She couldn’t imagine a man any bigger than the one she was talking to now.
“You’re serious?” she asked, when she realized he wasn’t joking.
Glen nodded his head and smiled. “You don’t believe me do you?”
He slid to the edge of the booth and looked toward the corner of the room, before pointing in that direction. Susan peeked around the edge of the booth to see who he was pointing at and her eyes grew wide when she saw several large men sitting around the tables in the back of the room.
“You see that guy sitting against the wall?” he asked.
“The one with all the tattoos?” she replied.
“Yeah. His name is Mark Callaway, otherwise known as the Undertaker. Our characters are brothers.” Glen stated.
She looked back at Glen and smiled.
"I can see the resemblance.” she laughed, noticing that they appeared to be close to the same size.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many big men in one place like this before, but I guess if there all as nice as you, I don’t have anything to worry about.” she added with a smile.
Glen smiled as he took another drink of his beer. This was turning out to be a very interesting evening!
Chapter 3
The couple chatted for a while longer, feeling more and more at ease around each other as the time passed. The electricity between them was unbearably strong and Susan found herself staring at him on several occasions, before she caught herself and pulled her eyes away from him. Glen felt the attraction too. He was inexplicably drawn to this woman and he couldn’t bring himself to walk away from her.
Finally, Susan finished her drink and gathered her things to leave. It was getting late and she needed to get some rest before her business meeting the next day.
She stood up from the table and looked back down at Glen.
“Thank you so much for helping me. It’s been very nice talking to you.” she said as she extended her hand to him again.
Glen rose from his seat and took her hand once more.
“Can I walk you to your room?” he asked softly. “Just in case that jerk is outside waiting on you somewhere.”
Susan looked into his eyes and was completely unable to resist him.
“Yes.” she whispered softly.
Glen led her out of the bar and they headed toward the elevators.
“What floor are you on?” he asked, as the door closed behind them.
“Fifth floor.” she replied.
Glen pushed the button, then turned around to face her again. The second that he saw her looking at him, he knew he had to have her. He had felt the chemistry between them all night and he wasn’t about to just let her slip through his fingers. He approached her slowly, raising his hands to cup her face. Susan saw the look in his eyes, but she was helpless to pull away from him. She wanted to know what it felt like to kiss this man.
He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers and Susan immediately pressed her body against him. He quickly deepened the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck, moaning softly against his lips. He backed her against the wall of the elevator and finally breaking the kiss, began to trail a small path up and down the side of her neck with his lips. Susan closed her eyes, giving in to the passion she was feeling at the moment. For the first time in days, she wasn’t thinking about her husband or her marriage. Her only thoughts were of this huge man who was holding her and the incredible sensations that he was stirring within her.
Realizing that the elevator had stopped, Glen glanced at the panel long enough to close the door back and hit the button for the seventh floor. When the elevator finally stopped again, he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her down the hallway, stopping in front of one of the doors.
Susan looked at the number on the door and realized immediately she wasn’t on her floor.
“Where are we?” she whispered softly, as Glen fumbled for his key.
“My room.” he replied softly, as he pulled her inside and closed the door.
Chapter 4
Glen closed the door and locked it, then he turned to look at Susan. Reaching out, he snaked one of his arms around her waist and pulled her against him before claiming her lips again. He kissed her passionately, slipping his tongue into her warm mouth when he felt her lips part beneath his. Cupping her cheek in one of his large hands, he angled her head to give him better access to her willing mouth. As the kiss grew in intensity, he held her tighter to his body and began to grind himself against her, so that she could feel his straining erection, even through the material of his jeans. Without breaking the kiss, he began to gently push her backwards, urging her toward the bed.
By this time Susan was completely overwhelmed by the pleasure of his touch. Raising her hands, she grabbed the front of Glen’s shirt and frantically pulled it free from his jeans, before trying to remove it from his body. Glen broke the kiss long enough to pull it over his head, before leaning down and capturing her lips again. Susan let her hands wander up his chiseled arms and across his well-muscled chest, enjoying the feel of his soft skin beneath her fingers.
With an equal desperation, Glen unbuttoned Susan’s blouse and slid it down her arms, letting it fall in a puddle around her feet. Then reaching around her, he unfastened her bra and removed it as well, letting it join her shirt on the floor. Then he moved his hands lower and unzipped her skirt and pushed it down her hips, along with her panties. By this time, they had reached the bed and Susan began to lower herself down onto it when she felt the back of her legs come in contact with the mattress. Glen eased them both down onto the bed, being careful not to crush her as he positioned himself over her.
Finally breaking the kiss, he trailed soft kisses down her jaw toward her ear. He heard Susan’s sharp intake of breath when he sucked the lobe in his mouth and nibbled it lightly. Susan let her hands wander across the broad expanse of his back, feeling the muscles twitch as he moved. Her whole body felt as if it was on fire, and the feeling of his skin against hers was enough to drive her mad.
Glen began to kiss down her neck and across her shoulders, alternating between gentle bites and light flicks of his tongue. He gradually worked his way down to her breasts, sucking and biting the sensitive flesh until her nipples were hardened and raised. Susan squirmed helplessly beneath him, the sensations threatening to drown her. His every touch was sending shock waves of pleasure through her and she moaned loudly in anticipation as she felt his lips travel over the soft skin of her belly as he moved lower down her body. Positioning himself on the bed between her parted legs, he traced the outline of her folds with the tip of his tongue. Then using his fingers to pull them apart, he found her sensitive clit and began to stroke it as well. Gasping loudly, Susan came almost immediately at the contact. Fisting her hands in his long hair, she cried out loudly as she writhed and twisted beneath him.
Smiling at her responses to him, Glen backed off for a moment to let her cool down before he started the whole process all over again. His erection was now throbbing painfully within the confines of his jeans, but he did his best to ignore the pain, wanting instead to concentrate only on her pleasure. He continued to tease her, bringing her to the brink over and over again, backing off each time before he let her fall off. She cried and pleaded with him to end his wonderful torture, but her pleas continued to fall on deaf ears until he finally decided to take pity on her. Pulling himself from the bed, he quickly fumbled with the button on his jeans, as he tried to remove them. Susan whimpered loudly at the loss of contact and she opened her eyes to look up at him.
“Hurry…Glen…Please hurry!” she pleaded as she reached out for him.
Once he removed his remaining clothes, Glen quickly rejoined her on the bed, laying himself over her once more and positioning himself at her entrance. He caught her lips in another fierce kiss as he began to push himself inside of her. Susan arched her hips upward against him, trying to take all of him inside. He filled her completely, stretching her warm flesh around his pulsating shaft. Breaking the kiss, Glen moaned loudly at her tightness before he began to kiss and nibble on her neck and throat again. Susan clawed frantically at his back, desperately trying to get him to increase his pace. Matching her desperation with a fierceness of his own, he began to thrust harder and faster, pushing her closer and closer toward her release.
“More…please Glen…faster” she panted, digging her nails painfully into his shoulders.
Sensing how close she really was, Glen began to move even faster, murmuring his own words of encouragement in her ear.
“Come on baby….so close…I can feel you.” he moaned softly. “Cum for me baby…come on.”
The sound of his deep voice rumbling in her ear was the last straw and she cried out loudly as the wave of pleasure crashed over her. The sound of her moans and the feel of her body tightening around his own was more than Glen could take and he fell over the edge with her into a world of pleasure that was more intense than anything he had ever felt before.
When he finally drifted back to earth, he realized that he was still laying on top of her. Gathering her in his arms, he rolled onto his back bringing Susan with him so that her head rested on his shoulder, her legs still entwined with his. Smiling down at her, he realized that she was already asleep. He stared at her sleeping form, still amazed at the connection he felt with this beautiful woman. He closed his eyes as images of her replayed over and over again in his mind. He didn’t know much about her…yet. All he really knew was her name. But it didn’t matter. There would be plenty of time later to discover everything about her--because now that he had found her, he wasn’t about to let her slip away from him.
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Susan began to stir in the bed as she awakened, slowly coming to the realization that she was resting against something that was incredibly warm. At first she snuggled deeper into the warmth, content to simply lay there and enjoy it. But as all of her senses began to come back to her, she realized that whatever she was laying against was moving. Jerking her head up, she froze when she saw she was lying in bed next to Glen, who was still asleep and snoring lightly. Her mind began to replay the events from the previous night and she realized that she had slept with this handsome man that she had met in the bar.
“Oh my God!” Susan screamed in her mind. “What have I done?!”
Scrambling from the bed as quickly and quietly as possible so as not to awaken Glen, she searched frantically around the floor for her clothes. She dressed herself as fast as she possibly could, then casting one last glance at Glen’s sleeping form, she headed out the door, still buttoning her blouse as she went. She stumbled to the elevator, collapsing in relief when she was safely inside.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” she said out loud to herself, as she pushed the button for her floor. “You’re a married woman, for crying out loud!”
Fighting back the tears that threatened to spill, Susan left the elevator and hurried to her room. She knew she had to get packed and get out of there soon, before Glen came looking for her.
“What makes you think he would come looking for you?” she asked herself, as she quickly undressed to shower.
“Oh he will.” she replied, feeling another wave of panic hit her. “After last night…I’m sure he will.”
Susan quickly showered and dressed, and then packing the remainder of her things, she left her room and disappeared into the hallway.
Chapter 5
Glen stretched and rolled onto his side, reaching out for Susan as he moved. He ran his hand up the mattress towards her pillow, before he finally realized that she was no longer in the bed with him. Sitting up quickly, he glanced around the room searching for her. Hesitantly, he called out to her, thinking that maybe she had stepped into the bathroom for a moment. When there was no answer, he climbed out of the bed and looked down at the floor, noticing that all of her clothes were gone.
"Shit!” he muttered, grabbing his jeans up off of the floor. “I’ve got to find her before she leaves.”
Picking up the phone, he tried to dial the front desk with one hand, while trying to slip his jeans on with the other. It rang several times before the desk clerk finally answered.
“This is Mr. Jacobs in room 725. I need you to connect me to Susan Chandler’s room. I know she’s on the fifth floor but I’m not sure about the room number.”
“Just one moment, sir.” the desk clerk replied and Glen fidgeted nervously as he listened to the man type away on his keyboard.
“Did you say Susan Chandler?” the clerk finally asked.
“Yes! Susan Chandler! Fifth floor!” Glen repeated, starting to lose his patience.
“I’m sorry sir. She’s already checked out of her room.”
“Fuck!” Glen mumbled under his breath as he slammed his fist against the desk. “Look, I know you don’t normally do this kind of thing, but I really need to get her information from you. It’s extremely urgent that I find her.” Glen stated.
“I’m sorry sir but it’s our policy to not give out any of that information…”
“Look buddy, I don’t care about your stupid policies. I need that information now and if I don’t get it from you, then I’m going to come down to that front desk and beat it out of you!”
“I’m afraid I can’t give you that information sir. If you’d like you can come down here and speak to the manager…”
That’s all Glen heard before he slammed the phone back down on the desk. Grabbing up the remainder of his clothes, he got dressed and headed out of his room. He stormed toward the elevators, thankfully finding one that was empty. When he reached the ground floor, he headed in the direction of the front desk, clenching his fists when he spotted the clerk that he had spoken to only moments before. The clerk happened to look up and he spotted Glen stalking toward him from across the lobby. Glen almost chuckled when he saw the poor man’s face lose every ounce of its color. Before the man had a chance to hide, Glen was right in his face, grabbing his shirt and pulling him halfway across the desktop.
"I want that information and I want it now!” he growled. “And if I don’t get it right this minute, I’m going to take this…” Glen shouted, raising one of his large fists, “and put it right through your face!”
By this time, the clerk was so frightened he couldn’t find his voice to reply. Fortunately for him, Mark happened to venture into the lobby at the same time and he quickly rushed over to pull Glen off of the poor man.
“Dammit Glen! What the hell is wrong with you?” Mark asked, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from the desk.
He was completely stunned by Glen’s behavior. Glen was the one who was always so quiet and so friendly to everyone. Mark didn’t think he had ever seen him that upset at anyone before.
“What’s a matter? Room service run out of food or somethin’?” Mark joked, trying to ease the tension a little bit.
“Fuck you!” Glen shouted, casting one last glare at the frightened clerk before walking away from Mark and stalking back to the elevators.
Glen managed to duck inside and close the door before Mark had a chance to join him. But Mark wasn’t about to give up that easily and he caught another one and followed Glen back upstairs.
When Glen reached his floor, he headed back to his room, with Mark hot on his trail.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Mark asked again, as he followed Glen into his room and shut the door. “What did that poor man do to get you all bent outta shape so early this mornin’?”
“I don’t want to talk about it Mark!” he grumbled, as he sank back down onto the bed and placed his head in his hands.
“This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with that pretty lady I saw you leavin’ the bar with last night, would it?” Mark asked with a smirk. “What happened? Was she disappointed the Big Red Machine wasn’t able to live up to his name?” he chuckled.
Glen raised his head and glared at him. “I don’t recall inviting you in here!” he growled.
“Look man, I’m just jokin’ with you.” Mark replied, pulling up a chair and taking a seat in front of Glen. “Now come on, what’s wrong? As long as I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you this upset before. So what’s the problem?”
Glen let out a loud sigh of defeat. He knew Mark wasn’t going to leave him alone until he told him what the problem was.
“She stayed with me last night.” Glen finally replied.
“The girl from the bar?” Mark asked and Glen nodded his head in response.
“So what happened? You two have a fight or something this mornin’?”
Glen shook his head. “When I woke up this morning, she was already gone.”
“And… what exactly does this have to do with you tryin’ to kill that poor man downstairs?”
“I was trying to get her personal information from him. I’ve got to find her again. I need to talk to her.” Glen replied.
“What for? Did she steal somethin’ from you?” Mark asked.
“Just my heart.” Glen finally answered, smiling when he remembered how wonderful last night had been with her.
“Oh for the love of God! Don’t tell me you’ve gone and flipped over some little ring rat! You of all people should know better than that!” Mark yelled.
“She’s not a ring rat!” Glen yelled back. “She’s in town on business. When I talked with her last night, she didn’t even know who I was!”
“Look, Glen. For whatever reason, this girl obviously got to you good. But this is crazy! Tryin’ to chase down some woman that you don’t even know. I mean…it’s pretty obvious that she doesn’t want to be found! She didn’t leave you a phone number or an address. Hell, she didn’t even leave you a note saying ‘Thanks for the good time last night.’ You just need to just forget about her and let it go.”
“I can’t do that Mark.” Glen replied.
“Why the hell not!”
“I can’t explain it.” Glen stuttered. “It’s just…last night…we had this immediate connection. It was incredible. I’ve never felt that connected to anybody before. Not even Marissa and we were married for five years. I just need to find her again. I have to talk to her.”
“Look, I know how disappointed you were when you’re marriage didn’t work out.” Mark replied. “I know how badly you want to have a real family, with a wife who loves you and kids of your own. But you can’t just start stalking some poor woman who obviously doesn’t want anything more to do with you than have a one night stand.”
Glen sighed in frustration. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke again.
“The first time you saw Sara…did you know right away that she was the one for you?” Glen asked.
“Of course!” Mark replied. “All she had to do was smile and she had me wrapped around her little finger. I’ve never been able to get straightened out since.”
“So then, why is it alright for you to fall in love so quickly but when I do it, you think it’s crazy! What’s the difference?”
“The difference is that Sara didn’t take one look at me and take off runnin’ in the opposite direction.” Mark joked as Glen glared at him again.
“Look, I hear what you’re saying.” Mark continued. “But I honestly think you’re making a huge mistake by tryin’ to track her down. It’s best to just leave things as they are and move on with your life.”
“Mark, I appreciate your concern but I’ve already made up my mind.” Glen replied. “I’m going to look for her. As soon as I get back home, I’m going to hire a private investigator to find her for me. She’s the one for me, Mark. I know she is. And I’m not going to just let her walk away from me!”
Chapter 6
Susan sat in her business meeting, trying her best to concentrate on the presentation that was being shown. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t focus on it. Her mind kept replaying the events of last night over and over again, until she was so nervous she thought she would be physically ill.
Glen had been absolutely wonderful. There was no doubt about that. Susan didn’t think she had ever felt so alive…so needed…so wanted…as she had last night. But that didn’t hide the fact that what she did was wrong. She was a married woman…she had taken vows to always be faithful to her husband and she had always taken those vows seriously. But last night she had broken them so easily…thoughts of her husband had never even crossed her mind. And now, here she was, having committed the same sin that she had been so angry at her husband for committing only days earlier.
She had checked out of her hotel room early that morning, wanting to be gone in case Glen came looking for her. She had already checked into another hotel across town, where she would stay for the remainder of her trip. She assumed that since Glen worked with the WWE, he would be leaving town soon, so she didn’t think she would have to worry about running into him again. At least she hoped so. Even as bad as she felt for sleeping with him, she wasn’t sure that she could find the strength to resist him if he were to come to her again.
So her only concern now was what she was going to do once she returned home. She had already decided to try and forgive David for cheating on her, even before she had met Glen. And there was no way she could ever keep a secret like this from him. She had to tell her husband…she had to. But how would she tell him? And how would he react? She couldn’t help but wonder if he would be somewhat understanding with her given their current circumstances or if he would be angry with her and refuse to forgive her for what she had done. Well, she would worry about that when the time came. For now, she needed to concentrate on her meeting, before she lost her job as well.
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Glen packed his things and headed back down to the lobby to check out. He found himself scanning the area, hoping that by some small chance he would see Susan again. The desk clerk nearly panicked when he saw Glen approaching him again, but this time Glen barely paid him any notice. He was too lost in thought to care.
Mark stood off to the side, watching as Glen searched the room. He didn’t know what had happened between his best friend and this mystery woman who had just disappeared without so much as a goodbye, but he was already starting to get worried. He had never seen Glen act like this over a woman before, not even when he had first met his ex-wife Marissa. As much as it bothered him to think it, he hoped that Glen wasn’t able to find her. If he did, Mark was sure that he would probably be in for a lot of heartache and the last thing he wanted was for Glen to get hurt. He hoped that Glen would give up his foolish ideas and forget about her and find him somebody that he really could have a future with.
“You ready to go.” Glen asked, as he approached Mark and motioned toward the doors.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Mark replied, grabbing his bags and heading out the door.
Glen took one finally look around the lobby, then sighing deeply, he turned and followed Mark outside.
Chapter 7
Despite Mark’s silent wishes, Glen’s determination to find Susan did not disappear. If anything, it only got stronger. Thoughts of her filled his mind for every waking moment of the day …her moans and cries haunted him every night in his sleep. Mark could tell that things were starting to take their toll on him. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days and his performance in the ring was starting to deteriorate. He had tried talking to his friend again, but all he got was the same response. For some reason, Glen wasn’t going to quit until he found this woman. Mark didn’t know what else he could possibly do to discourage him.
A couple of days later, Glen was finally able to take a few days off and he headed to his home in Tennessee. Once he got there, he called his good friend Mike, who was an old college buddy of Glen’s and who now just happened to work at the local police department. He briefly explained his situation to Mike and asked him if he could recommend someone for the job. Mike gladly gave Glen the number of a private investigator named John and told Glen that he was one of the best in the business. According to Mike, if John couldn’t find this mystery woman, then she would never be found.
Glen quickly took down the number and gave him a call. Once again Glen briefly described the situation to John and told him that he had to find Susan no matter what.
“It’s very important that I find her.” Glen stated. “Money is no option. I’ll pay whatever I have to but I need you to find her as soon as possible.”
“I can understand your urgency.” John replied. “But you do understand that it might take me quite awhile to find her. I mean, you’ve given me very little information to go on.”
“I understand.” Glen replied. “Just try to get me the information as soon as you possibly can.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see what I can do.” John replied.
Glen talked with him for a few moments longer, making sure to give John his cell phone number in case he needed to get in touch with him for anything. Once Glen hung up the phone, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, John would be able to find Susan soon and then he could have her back in his arms once again.
******************
Susan stood in her driveway and stared at her house, trying to gain the courage to go inside. She knew David was waiting for her on the other side of the door and she dreaded the thought of having to go in and face him. She still wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to tell him about her one night stand, but she knew that she had to do it. Hopefully, once they got everything out on the table, they would be able to work through their problems and become a happy couple again.
Reluctantly, Susan opened the door and stepped inside. She saw David sitting on the couch in front of the television and he quickly stood up when he saw her come in.
“Susan! I’m so glad you’re home! I was so worried about you!” he said, as he rushed toward her and gave her a hug.
Susan cautiously hugged him back, then stepped away from him again.
“Look, babe…I’m sorry! I swear it’s over with her and I’ll never see her again. From now on, there’s only you. Please forgive me.” he pleaded, as he took Susan’s bags and sat them down beside the door.
“David…We have a lot of things we need to discuss.” Susan stated. “But not now. I’m worn out from my trip and I really would just like to take a hot bath and go to bed. We’ll talk later. I promise.”
Susan bent down and picked up her bags and headed upstairs, with David following quickly behind her. She bypassed the master bedroom and headed instead to one of the smaller spare bedrooms, where she had moved after she had discovered David’s affair.
“Susan…please come back to our room. You should be sharing a bed with me instead of sleeping in here by yourself.” he pleaded.
“No David.” she replied, shaking her head. “I’m not going to move back into our bedroom until we get all of this mess worked out. When I’m ready, then I’ll share our bed with you again.”
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take my bath.” she added, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
David nodded his head and reluctantly turned to go. Susan followed him to the door.
“I promise….we’ll talk tomorrow. Okay?” she said softly.
Smiling, David leaned down to kiss her softly.
“Okay babe. Goodnight.”
He turned and walked away and Susan closed the door and headed to the bathroom to take her bath, already dreading what tomorrow would bring. She didn’t know how he would react to the news but all she could do was pray that David would be willing to forgive her for her mistake and that they would soon be happy again.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Susan called her office and told them that she was taking the day off. After spending most of the night worrying about what she would tell David, she had gotten very little sleep. She decided that her hard work had earned her at least one day off and she intended to stay in bed for most of the morning and hopefully get more rest. Looking at the clock, she realized that David had already left for work, so she wouldn’t have to deal with him until later that evening. Snuggling back down into the bed, she closed her eyes and finally drifted off into another restless sleep.
********************
“I did it, man. I found somebody to look for her.” Glen told Mark, when he returned to work a couple of days later. “I’m going to find her and when I do, I’m never going to let her go again.”
“I hope for your sake that everything works out buddy.” Mark said as he shook his head. “But I’m tellin’ you right now…don’t get your hopes up. It may be that your dream girl doesn’t want to be found.”
“Don’t start with that again Mark!” Glen growled, as he stood up and picked up his bags.
“Sorry!” Mark replied, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Look, I hope everything works out for you, okay?”
“It will. Don’t worry. I’ll see you after the matches.” Glen said before he turned to head toward his dressing room.
Mark watched him leave, shaking his head in frustration. Glen truly deserved to be happy, especially after everything he had been through with his ex-wife. But for some reason, Mark couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling that something about this whole situation wasn’t right. He felt bad for being so negative toward Glen’s feelings, but he just didn’t want to see his friend hurt again. Sighing, he picked up his bags and headed toward his own dressing room, wondering if there was anything else he could do to help his friend.
*****************************
That night over dinner, Susan and David discussed their future together. David admitted to his mistakes and swore to Susan that if she would only give him another chance, he promised it would never happen again. They also discussed Susan’s hectic work schedule and she promised him that as soon as the merger was completed, she would agree to take some much needed time off. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about what she had done. Every time she tried to say the words, her voice seemed to fail her.
“Maybe I don’t need to tell him right now anyway.” she thought. “It would just spoil the good mood and we certainly don’t need that to happen. I’ll just wait and tell him later.”
After dinner, they moved to the couch, and after a couple of passionate kisses, David was begging her to move back into their bedroom with him. He insisted that he wanted to show her just how much he loved her and missed her. Susan told him that she would work on trying to forgive him, but it would take some time before she would be willing to trust him that much again. She felt bad for not being able to forgive him so quickly, since she was guilty of doing the same thing. But even so, it still hurt her to know that he had betrayed her like that. Maybe with a little bit of time, she would be willing to forgive him completely. She just hoped that when the time came, he would be just as understanding with her.
Chapter 9
Three weeks later, Susan still hadn’t told David about her affair. She never seemed to be able to find the right time to tell him…he was in a bad mood, somebody interrupted them, one of them was distracted by their work. The longer she waited, the worse Susan felt. It was wrong to keep this secret from him and she knew the longer she waited to tell him, the angrier he would be when she finally did tell him.
“I’ll tell him tonight.” she said to herself, when she pulled into her driveway and saw that he was already home.
As she got out of her car and headed toward the house, she mentally tried to prepare herself for the confrontation. But when she entered the house, she was surprised to see that all the lights had been turned off and the living room was bathed in candle light. The stereo was playing softly in the background and David was sitting at a small table in front of the fireplace, which also contained candles and a place setting for two. Smiling, he got up and walked to her, leading her back to the table and helping her into her chair. Then he went to the kitchen and brought back two plates of food, setting them down on the table. He sat back down across from Susan and the two of them shared a very romantic dinner together.
When they were done, David cleared the table, then came back and joined Susan again. Realizing that she couldn’t put of the inevitable any longer, Susan finally gathered her courage to speak.
“David…there’s something I need to talk to you about…”
“Wait. Before you say anything, I’ve got something I need to say to you.” David interrupted. “I have to tell you that I’m so very grateful that you’ve been so patient with me these past few weeks. I know I hurt you Susan and I want you to know that I’m truly sorry. I love you more than anything else in this world and I swear, I’ll never do anything to hurt you again. I just…I wanted to thank you for forgiving me for what I did. I know it had to be hard on you and I want you to know how much I admire you for it. I’m honestly not sure if I could have done the same thing if the tables had been turned. You’re an incredible woman Susan…and I’m glad you’re mine.”
David reached across the table and grabbed her hands, bringing them to his lips and kissing them gently. Across the table, Susan’s face paled as she lost every ounce of her nerve. He just told her he wasn’t sure he could forgive her if she were to cheat on him. How could she ever tell him about her affair now? He would leave her for sure, and she certainly couldn’t let that happen.
“Maybe he doesn’t need to know. Will it really hurt anything if I don’t tell him?” she thought to herself.
“Now, what were you going to tell me?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"I….uh…dinner was incredible. I can’t believe that you did all of this just for me.” she lied, hoping that he didn’t catch the hesitation in her voice.
“The nights not over yet, babe.” he said.
David stood up from the table, gently pulling Susan up with him. He pulled her next to him and held her tight as they slow danced, glad to finally have his wife back in his arms. After a while, their closeness from the dancing became too much, and he leaned down to whisper in Susan’s ear.
“Come to bed with me…please.” he pleaded in a soft voice. “It’s been so long.”
Susan looked up into his eyes and she realized that they had been apart for way too long.
“Yes.” she whispered softly, letting her husband pick her up and whisk her away to their bedroom.
***************************
Hours later, after several intense hours of lovemaking, Susan laid awake in their bed, listening to her husband snore beside of her. She remembered their conversation from earlier and the more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that she really didn’t have to tell him anything.
“It was only one time and it was in a city miles away. Nobody knows what happened that night except for me and Glen and there’s no way I’ll ever see him again.” she thought to herself. “The only way David will ever know is if I tell him.”
Susan finally realized that she had nothing to worry about. She would keep her mistake to herself and her husband would never find out that she had been unfaithful. Smiling, she rolled over and snuggled close to her husband, and for the first night in weeks, finally slipped off into a peaceful sleep.
*****************************
Glen paced back and forth in his hotel room, cell phone in hand, as he debated whether or not to call John again. He had expected the investigation to take a little while, but as the weeks began to drag out, he started to get more and more impatient. He still hadn’t heard anything from John and he wondered what was taking him so long to get back in touch. Finally, Glen gave in and dialed the number.
“Yeah. John here.” the voice on the other line answered, after the fourth ring.
“Hey John. It’s Glen Jacobs. I was just wondering how the investigation was coming along.”
“No luck so far. I thought I might have gotten a couple of leads on your case, but I checked them out and they were worthless. I’m still looking though. Just be patient with me. Give me enough time and there’s no doubt that I can find her for you.” John replied.
“I know you’re doing what you can. Just keep me up to date.” Glen sighed, before hanging up the phone.
Sinking down onto the bed, Glen began to wonder if maybe Mark was right. Maybe he was wasting his time trying to chase Susan down. If she had wanted anything more to do with him, then she would have talked with him that morning instead of slipping out while he was asleep. But the connection that they had shared with one another….it had been incredible. And he knew it wasn’t just his imagination. Susan had felt it too. He was sure of it. He saw it in her eyes…felt it in her touch. How could she just walk away from something so amazing?
Exhausted, Glen stretched out on the bed and closed his eyes, as images of Susan’s face clouded his mind again.
“Soon baby. You’ll see me again soon. I promise.” he thought, as he quickly began to doze.
Chapter 10
A couple more weeks passed and Susan and David had quickly settled back into a comfortable routine. Things were better between them now than they had been in a long time and Susan felt sure that the worst days were behind them. Now they could look forward to their future together, which she was sure was going to be wonderful.
She rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for another day at the office, moaning as she felt a wave of nausea hit her. She barely made it to the bathroom in time before she was sick again. She had been sick off and on for several days and at first she assumed that she had just caught some sort of bug that was going around her office. But now days later, she wondered if it wasn’t something more serious. She thought maybe it could be due to all of the stress she had been under lately. Between her job and her marriage, she certainly had plenty to worry about.
“Maybe I’ll feel better soon, now that everything is alright.” she thought to herself, as she turned on the hot water and stepped into the shower. “But if I don’t start feeling better in a day or two, I’ll go to the doctor.”
Then pushing the thought to the back of her mind, she finished getting ready and headed off to another day at work.
**************************
“Hey, man. You alright this mornin’?” Mark asked, as he looked over at Glen, who was sitting in the passenger seat of their rental car.
“I’m fine. Just don’t feel like talking.” Glen grumbled in response.
“Still no luck finding your mystery woman?” Mark asked.
“Don’t start with me this morning, Mark! I’m not in the mood!” Glen warned.
“You know, I’m startin’ to get worried about you. You know we’ve been friends for a long time and I’ve never seen you like this before. Your fallin’ apart, man. Your in-ring performance has gone down-hill so fast that Vince is startin’ to really complain and in case you haven’t noticed, you look like shit! When’s the last time you actually got a good night’s sleep?”
“Dammit Mark! I told you not to fuck with me this morning!” Glen yelled. “My work is fine, I’m fine, everything’s just fuckin’ fine! So leave me the hell alone!”
Mark glared at Glen for a long moment before finally turning his attention back to the road.
“You know, I hope to hell you find this woman soon. Hopefully she’ll be willing to give you a little bit more of whatever the hell it is that’s got you so tore up in the first place, then maybe you won’t be such a pain in the ass anymore!”
Ignoring Mark’s comment, Glen continued to stare out the window, watching the scenery fly by him. Shaking his head in frustration, Mark slammed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. It was going to be one hell of a long trip!
*******************
A few days later, Susan sat in her doctor’s office, waiting on the results of her tests. She was still feeling sick and she had started having a few dizzy spells, which really concerned her. Whatever was wrong was obviously not going to clear up on its own, so she had quickly made an appointment with her physician. She sat on the table, twiddling her thumbs as she waited for the doctor to come back. Finally, she entered the room and took a seat in the chair across from Susan.
“Well, Mrs. Chandler. I think I’ve figured out what’s been making you so sick.”
“What?” Susan asked nervously, hoping that it wasn’t serious.
“You’re pregnant.” the doctor replied with a smile.
“Pregnant?” Susan repeated in surprise.
“The sickness you’ve been having is nothing more than morning sickness and the dizzy spells are perfectly normal too. Lot’s of pregnant woman complain of feeling light-headed for the first two or three months of the pregnancy.” the doctor stated.
Susan stared at her in shock, wondering for a moment how this could have happened. They had always been extremely careful with birth control before, neither of them wanting to have a child before they were both ready for the responsibility. But Susan realized that in the weeks since they had made up, they had been less cautious, although neither one had complained about the lack of protection.
“Do you know how far along I am?” she asked, suddenly feeling excited at the prospect of being a parent.
“According to information that you gave me, I would estimate that you are approximately 6 weeks along.” the doctor replied.
“Six weeks.” she repeated, her hands automatically going to her stomach, amazed at the thought of the new life that was growing inside of her.
Thanking the doctor, Susan quickly got dressed and left the office, anxious to get home and share the news with her husband. After ten years together, they were finally going to start their family. On the drive home, she turned up the radio and began to sing along with the songs, feeling more happy and carefree than she had in a long time.
“Six weeks.” she repeated again with a smile as she wondered how her husband would take the happy news. She hoped he would be as thrilled as she was. Maybe this baby was exactly what they needed to firmly cement their relationship. After everything that had happened, she was thankful that they had been able to work through their problems and stay together. She was glad now that she had decided not to tell David about being unfaithful….
Susan suddenly wheeled into an empty parking lot, slamming on the brakes and putting the car in park. Grabbing her purse from the floor, she dumped the contents onto the seat next to her, rummaging through them as she searched for her calendar.
“Six weeks!” she thought again, as she found the current day’s date and began to count backwards. She and David had only been back together for three weeks! She realized with growing horror that six weeks took her back to week of her business trip…and her night with Glen.
“Oh God!” she moaned, as she felt another wave of nausea hit her. She barely got her door open in time as she lost her lunch in the middle of the parking lot.
Once she felt the wave of sickness leave her, her mind began to race as she tried to comprehend what was happening. If the doctor’s estimate was correct, then there was no way that it could be David’s child. She hadn’t been intimate with her husband for several weeks before she discovered his affair and they had only resumed their relationship three weeks ago.
“This is not happening! How could I have been so stupid? So careless?” she thought in a panic, as she remembered that fateful night so many weeks ago.
“I’m carrying another man’s child!” she thought and she began to cry as the realization hit her.
“I can’t let this happen! I won’t do this! I’ll get rid of it. I’ll have an abortion and David will never know that this happened.” she thought, but then she realized that this child was part of her too and she knew she could never bring herself to go through with it.
“I’ll just have to lie to David about how far along I am.” she said to herself, knowing that three weeks was a big difference, but she hoped that she would be able to pull it off without him suspecting anything.
“I hate to lie to him again but he can’t know the truth.” she thought, as she finally pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home. “It would destroy our family and I’m not about to let that happen!”
Chapter 11
The weeks passed by quickly and Susan was now almost four months pregnant…and already starting to show. Thankfully, David had taken the news well and he seemed thoroughly excited by the prospect of being a daddy. Susan felt guilty for lying to her husband about her due date, but she felt that she was doing the right thing by trying to keep her family together.
She thought of Glen on occasion, more so now that she knew she was carrying his child. Even after all the heartache, memories of their night together could still make her smile. Glen seemed like a nice enough man...he was quiet…gentle…and he seemed like a very caring person. She found herself wondering if their child would have those same qualities.
On a couple of occasions, Susan had been brave enough to flip the channel over to the wrestling programs, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, curious as to what kind of character he played on the show. So far she hadn’t seen him wrestle, although with his size, she was sure that she would recognize him the moment she saw him. But for the most part, Susan tried to push all thoughts of him from her mind. Once she started thinking about him, that’s when the panic usually started to set in. What if David discovered the truth? What if things didn’t go as planned and he suspected that the baby wasn’t his? What if she lost her husband and her family fell apart?
“Don’t be ridiculous!” she would tell herself, in a vain attempt to make herself feel better. “You’re doing the right thing. Nobody knows what happened that night. There’s no way he could ever find out. It was a chance encounter…one night of passion. Nothing more. I’ll never see that man again as long as I live.”
*************************
John smiled when he saw the beautiful woman pull into her driveway and enter her house. Fortunately for him, she had yet to seem suspicious about the strange car that had been following her for the past few days. John however was getting more and more excited with each passing day. Based on the description that Glen had given him, this had to be the same Susan that he had been so desperate to find. But he had been extremely surprised when he had gotten here and discovered that she was married. That was one important detail that Glen had omitted from his description and John assumed that he probably didn’t know. He hated to be the one to break the news to the big man after he had been so anxious to find her, but John felt it would be best to have everything out in the open before Glen did something that could cause them both a lot of problems. Sighing, he gathered the necessary information, then headed back to his hotel to call Glen.
*************************
Glen sat alone in his hotel room, flipping through the channels on the TV while he waited for his dinner to arrive. He jumped when he heard the shrill ring of his cell phone and he dug frantically through his bag to find it before it stopped ringing.
“Hello?”
“Glen? This is John.”
“Hey John! I was beginning to worry about you. I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“Yeah, I know buddy. But I’ve got some great news for you. I found her.” John stated.
Glen was silent for a moment, as he let John’s words register in his mind.
“You’re sure it’s her? You’re sure it’s the same woman?” Glen finally asked.
“Positive. It took a lot of searching but I finally found her for you.” John replied.
“Oh man, I can’t believe it! You got an address and phone number for me?” Glen replied, barely able to contain his excitement.
John gave him the information, pausing for a moment, as he tried to prepare himself to deliver the rest of the news.
“Look, Glen. I’ve got more information that I think you should know about…”
“Nothing else matters. I’ve got what I need. You don’t know how much this means to me man. I’ll make sure to give you a hefty bonus for all the work you’ve done. Thanks again!” Glen replied, as he hung up the phone.
“Glen…wait!” John shouted, but he was already gone and there was nothing but silence left on the other end.
Shaking his head, John hung up the phone.
“Wonder which one of them will be more surprised when he sees her again?” he chuckled.
Chapter 12
Glen stared at the phone number that John had given him. He couldn’t wait to hear her voice again! Picking up his phone, he dialed the number, then let in ring twice before hanging up. Calling her wasn’t good enough.
He decided he would go to her instead…when he talked with her again, he wanted them to be face to face. He wanted to show her just how much he had missed her.
He called Vince, and although he was extremely upset with Glen for his horrible timing, he finally relented and gave him a few days off. When he had made all of the arrangements, he packed his bags and headed out the door. He called Mark from the cab as he headed toward the airport, wanting to let his friend hear the good news.
“This better be good!” Mark grumbled, when he finally answered his phone.
“Oh it is man!” Glen replied. “I’m just calling to say goodbye!”
“Goodbye? What the hell are you talkin’ about?” Mark asked.
“I found her! I finally found her! I’m on my way to the airport right now!”
“The airport? Well, you can just turn yourself around and head straight back here! Have you forgotten you’ve got a big title match tomorrow night? Vince will kill you for sure.”
“I’ve already talked to Vince. I finally got him to agree to let me take a few days off. By the way, you’re getting another title shot.” Glen replied. “Listen man, I gotta go. I got a plane to catch. I’ll call you and let you know what happens.”
“Yeah…okay.” Mark replied. “And Glen…remember what I told you.
“Yeah..yeah. Don’t worry. Everything will work out. I know it will.” Glen stated, before hanging up the phone.
“Fuckin’ idiot!” Mark growled, wishing there was some way he could stop him from leaving. But even he had to admit, Glen had sounder happier tonight than he had in a long time. He just hoped that everything would work out for him. He couldn’t bear to see his friend hurt again.
“Oh yeah! Everything’s going to be fine now that I’ve found her.” Glen thought to himself. “And this time, I’m definitely not letting her go!”
**************************
It was late in the afternoon when Glen finally arrived at his hotel. He checked in, showered and changed his clothes, then headed out to find Susan. He asked the desk clerk for directions to the address that John had given him, then he hopped into his rental car and took off. About an hour later, he pulled into her driveway and got out to look around. He was greatly impressed with the house, it was a large two-story structure that had obviously been well maintained. It looked like it cost a pretty penny too. Apparently, Susan hadn’t been lying to him when she told him what a great paying job she had.
Taking a deep breath, he finally forced his feet to move and he headed to the front door. He had waited long enough to see the woman that had haunted his dreams every night for the past few months. He had to see her now! Taking one last breath to calm his nerves, he rang the doorbell…and waited for her to answer.
Inside, Susan hurried around the kitchen, trying to finish the dinner that she was cooking. David was due home at any moment, and she wanted everything to be ready by the time he got there. She jumped when she heard the doorbell ring, wondering who could possibly be visiting her that late in the evening. Then she realized it was probably David…locking himself out of the house was one of his annoying habits that he just couldn’t seem to break. Smiling to herself, she hurried to the front door to let him in.
Chapter 13
Susan turned the knob to unlock the door, then pulled it open.
“I see you forgot your keys…” she began, her voice trailing off when she saw who was standing in front of her.
Glen smiled when he saw her. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered.
“Hey darlin’. Remember me?” he asked, noticing the surprised look on her face.
“Oh my God! What are you doing here?” she stammered, all of the color draining from her face. She stared at him in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing. This wasn’t supposed to happen! He wasn’t supposed to be here!
“I came to see you.” Glen replied with a smile. “I haven’t been able to get you off of my mind since that night….”
“You have to leave! You can’t stay here!” she interrupted, as she began to tremble. She knew that David could pull into the driveway at any moment.
Glen noticing her shaking and he stepped inside the house, wanting to comfort her.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you, but I just …I wanted to see you again.” he said, as he reached out for her.
“Glen, leave!” she repeated, this time pushing against his chest to try and get him to move. “You have to leave! Please!”
“Leave?” Glen replied in confusion. “Come on Susan…you don’t mean that. Let me come in and talk to you for a few minutes ….”
“No! You have to leave now!” Susan replied, getting more frantic by the minute. “My husband is due home any minute! He can’t find you here!”
“Husband? You mean you’re married?” he asked.
“Yes! I’m married! Glen please!” she begging, instinctively clutching at her stomach, as she looked frantically up the street, praying that David was running behind this evening like he sometimes did. He couldn’t come home and find Glen here. It would ruin everything!
Glen could only stare at her in shock, completely floored by her revelation. Married? She was married? He thought back to that night when he had met her in the bar…she hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring then. Had she gotten married since then?
“Glen please!” Susan repeated, her voice pulling Glen from his thoughts. She gripped her stomach tighter as she felt a wave of nausea hit her. He had to get out of here now! Her nerves couldn’t handle much more!
“Okay. I”ll go.” he said softly, seeing the tears that were now running down her face. He realized that if she was married, then there was nothing he could do to change her mind. But as he turned to go, his eyes were drawn to her hands, which were now pressed tightly against her stomach, showing off the bulge that was now noticeable beneath her shirt.
“Your pregnant?” he asked, turning back to face her once more.
But Susan wasn’t in the mood to talk to him anymore.
“Goodbye Glen.” she said as she took a step back and tried to shut the door. But Glen wasn’t through with her yet and he reached out with one of his large arms to hold the door open.
“Susan? How far along are you?” he asked.
Susan looked away from him, her mind spinning with a million thoughts. She couldn’t tell him the truth…it would only cause more problems. She had to protect her family. Turning back to him, she opened her mouth to reply but her hesitation had already given Glen the answer he was looking for.
“It’s mine, isn’t it? You’re carrying my child.” he said softly.
Susan looked up at him in shock. How could he possibly know…?
“No! It’s not yours!” she denied frantically, shaking her head violently for emphasis. “This is my husband’s baby…”
“Don’t lie to me Susan!” he said a little more forcefully. “I can get a lawyer and apply for a paternity test once the baby’s born if I have too.”
“Just tell me…” he added, his voice softening again when he saw how upset she was. “If it’s my child, I have a right to know.”
Susan closed her eyes as the tears silently streamed down her face. She realized that there was no way to deny it…Glen would see right through her if she even tried.
“Yes.” she whispered softly. “It’s your baby.”
She jumped when she felt him gently cup her face in his hands. Opening her eyes, she looked up into light blue ones…and immediately felt herself getting lost in his gaze again. God, this man was nearly irresistible!
“Susan..?”
“Glen please. You have to go!” she pleaded, finally coming to her senses. “He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know about that night. Please just go before he comes home. He can’t find you here!”
Reluctantly, Glen let her go and backed away from her.
“Okay. I’ll go for now. But we are not finished with this discussion. I have your phone number. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can meet someplace private where we can talk.” he stated, before he turned to head back to his car.
Susan nodded as she watched him get into his car. As soon as he was out of sight, she ran back into the house and rushed to the bathroom. After the waves of sickness had finally passed, she collapsed onto the floor in tears. Her worst nightmare was coming true. What was she going to do now?
************************
Outside, Glen headed back to his hotel room, thoughts of Susan running rampant in his mind. Mark had been partially right…maybe searching for Susan had been a stupid idea. He was completely heartbroken to find out that she was married. He had hoped when he finally found her that he could just come in and sweep her off of her feet and take her away to be with him forever. He realized now that dream could never happen…she already belonged to someone else…she would never be his. But despite his disappointment, he also realized that if he had never found her, then he would have never known that she was pregnant with his child.
Glen smiled at the thought. He had always loved kids and he wanted nothing more than to have kids of his own. When he had first met his ex-wife, he was thrilled to learn that she already had two children of her own. He had always treated them as if they were his but still…it wasn’t the same. He and Marissa had tried for a couple of years to add another member to their family, but after so many failed attempts, doctors had discovered that she was no longer able to have children. Glen had been extremely disappointed to say the least, but he had loved his wife dearly and promised to stand by her anyway.
However, she wasn’t as eager to stand by him and his traveling lifestyle quickly got to be too much for her to deal with. She finally left him, taking most of their things with her when she moved out, while he was on the road. And as if that hadn’t been bad enough, then she had turned her daughters against him, telling them that he had cheated on her several times during their marriage. Of course nothing could have been further from the truth…he had been completely faithful to his wife, but she easily convinced her daughters that he was lying and they in return had told him they wanted nothing more to do with him.
Now here he was, faced with the reality that he was actually going to be a father. He couldn’t help but feel excited, even if it wasn’t under the best of circumstances. He could understand Susan’s reluctance to tell him the truth…the last thing he wanted to do was to cause problems in her marriage. But he definitely wasn’t going to just turn his back and walk away. He wanted to be a part of this child’s life…he would be a part of his child’s life. He just wished he could be a part of Susan’s life as well.
Chapter 14 a
Susan pulled into the parking lot of the roadside diner, checking the paper where she had written her instructions from Glen to make sure she had the right place. True to his word, he had called her that morning and Susan had agreed to meet with him, only if they could go someplace that was far enough out of the way so she didn’t have to worry about running into anyone she knew.
She still wasn’t sure what he wanted with her…after all she had made it perfectly clear that she was a married woman. As far as the baby was concerned, she was more than willing to release him from any potential support, financial or otherwise. Between her husband and herself, they were quite able to afford the child on their own. She assumed that was what Glen was so concerned about…most men who were unprepared for fatherhood usually liked to dodge those kinds of responsibilities. Susan assumed that Glen was concerned about how much money she was going to try and take from him for child support. She hoped once she explained the situation to him and ensured him that she wanted nothing more from him, he would more than gladly leave her and the baby alone.
She could see that Glen was already inside and she felt his eyes on her as she got out of her car and entered the diner. She looked around the place nervously, noticing that it was almost deserted except for a couple of elderly men who were sitting at the counter, talking and drinking coffee. She smiled faintly at one of the waitresses as she slowly made her way back to Glen’s booth.
“Hi.” he said, as he smiled at her and stood to help her into her seat.
Despite the circumstances, Susan couldn’t help but return his smile. He really was a true gentleman and if she wasn’t married, she would have grabbed him up in a heart beat.
“Thank you.” she whispered softly, as Glen took his seat across from her again.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, as he picked up his menu and looked it over.
“A little.” Susan replied, picking up her menu as well.
They sat in silence as they tried to decide what to eat, until they were interrupted by their waitress, who could barely keep her eyes off of Glen long enough to take their orders.
“I think I’ll just have a small salad and a glass of water please.” Susan said, as she handed the woman her menu.
“Oh come on now! Surely you can eat more than a salad…you’re eating for two now, remember?” Glen fussed, before turning back to the waitress.
“Add a cheeseburger and some fries to her order and give me the same.” Glen told the waitress, as he flashed Susan another smile.
She rolled her eyes at him and smiled back, surprised that he seemed to be so concerned about her condition. The waitress continued to stare at Glen for another moment or two before reluctantly walking away. Susan turned her gaze to the window, trying to concentrate on the passing traffic instead of the man who was sitting across from her. This whole situation was so awkward…she felt like she was cheating on her husband all over again. They sat together quietly for a few minutes more until Glen finally broke the silence.
“You look good Susan.” he said softly, causing her to turn and look at him in surprise.
“Thank you.” she replied, blushing at his comment.
“How have you been? Everything going okay so far with you and the baby?” he asked.
“Everything’s fine.” she whispered, turning her gaze back to the window.
Glen watched her, sensing how nervous she seemed around him now. His heart ached with his longing for her…he would have gladly given anything just pull her into his arms and hold her and never let her go. But he realized that could never happen…she was already married and no matter how badly he wanted her, he wasn’t willing to break up a marriage for his own selfish motives.
“Look, Susan…about yesterday…I’m sorry for just showing up at your house like that. I didn’t intend to cause any trouble.” Glen said, desperately trying to clear the air between them. “I just wanted to see you again so badly. If I had known you were married….I wouldn’t have bothered you.”
Susan looked at him and nodded. “It’s okay Glen. You didn’t know and you left before anything bad happened.”
“Anything bad happened?” Glen asked, looking at her in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean? Your husband doesn’t hit on you or anything does he?” His blood was already boiling at the thought.
“No. David would never hit me.” Susan replied softly. “He just doesn’t know about you…about that night. I never could bring myself to tell him…he would be so disappointed in me.”
“How long have you been married? I don’t mean to be nosy but…that night…you weren’t wearing a wedding ring. Have you gotten married since then?”
“I’ve been married for ten years.” she stated, cringing a little as the events of that night played over again in her mind.
Glen gave her a questioning glance. So she had been married that night…that explained why she had left without talking to him the next morning. It was obvious that she regretted what they had done.
“But your rings…”
“You’re right. I wasn’t wearing my wedding rings that night.” Susan answered. “David and I had a big fight a few days before I left to go on that trip. I found out that he had been cheating on me.
I was so angry, I took my rings off…I wasn’t sure that I wanted to stay married to someone who could be unfaithful to me.”
Susan grew quiet when the waitress approached their table again to give them their food. She placed Susan’s plate in front of her, then turned to Glen and smiled at him seductively as she placed his food on the table, making sure to lean over far enough to give him an enticing view of her chest….if he had been looking. But instead, he ignored the woman completely, his eyes never leaving Susan as he watched the different emotions play across her face. Frustrated, the waitress threw Susan a hateful glare that also went unnoticed, then turned and walked away. Once she was gone, Glen broke the silence again.
“So what happened between you and your husband? I mean…obviously you were able to work things out…you’re still together, right?”
Susan nodded. “I had to forgive him, especially after I was guilty of doing the same thing. We had some issues that we had to work out…it wasn’t all David’s fault. I went home and we had a long talk and we agreed to try to work out our problems. So far, things have gone really well.”
Glen felt his heart tighten a little more at her words. As selfish as it was, a small part of him wished that they hadn’t been able to work out their problems. Then, maybe she would have been free to be with him.
Chapter 14 b
“I’m glad you were able to work things out.” Glen lied, forcing himself to smile at the comment. “I guess when you have ten years invested in something, it’s worth fighting for to make things work.”
Susan nodded again, as she picked at her food.
“What about you?” she finally asked, curious to know more about this huge man that was sitting across from her. “Have you ever been married before?”
“Yes. My wife and I divorced about a year ago.” Glen replied.
“I’m so sorry.” Susan replied, wondering how anyone could let a man like Glen slip through their fingers. “How long were you married?”
“Almost five years.” he answered with a sigh and Susan took it as a sign that this was a subject he didn’t like to discuss.
“I’m sorry Glen. I shouldn’t have asked you about that. It’s none of my business.”
“It’s okay, Susan. It’s not really that big of a deal…it’s just kind of a long story.”
“Well, we’ve got plenty of time while we eat…if you feel like talking about it, that is.” Susan replied with a smile.
For the remainder of their lunch, they discussed Glen’s marriage…his ex-wife, her kids, his disappointment at having failed at the one thing that meant the most to him. Listening to his tales about his painful divorce, Susan was even more thankful that she had been able to work things out with her husband. She hated the thought of ever having to go through something like that with him. But at the same time, Susan couldn’t help but feel sorry for Glen. His ex-wife had obviously hurt him badly. He seemed like such a good man…he certainly deserved to find someone who truly cared for him and who could make him happy.
Once Glen had finished talking about his marriage, they both grew silent again for several moments, until Glen finally spoke again.
“Look Susan…about the baby…”
“I don’t want anything from you Glen.” Susan interrupted. “I know you’re probably worried about how much child support I’m going to ask from you and I just want you to know that I don’t want or expect anything from you. David and I are quite capable of handling everything. You can leave here with a clear conscience and know that you will never hear from me again.”
Glen stared at her in surprise for a moment before he finally spoke again.
“Susan, I’m not just going to walk away from my child. I’ve waited forever to have a child of my own and I’m not going to pass up the chance to be a father. Money is the least of my worries.”
Susan looked at him in shock. Was he telling her that he wasn’t going to stay out of her life? That he wasn’t going to leave her family alone?
“Glen…you can’t be serious. I’ve already told you…David doesn’t know about you…he thinks this is his child. I can’t tell him the truth…he can’t find out about what happened between us that night.” Susan replied, trying to keep the panic from creeping into her voice.
“Susan…this child is as much mine as it is yours. I’m sorry if my presence causes a problem for you…the last thing I want to do is cause trouble in your marriage. But I’m not going to give up my child…”
“Glen you can’t….I’ll have to tell David the truth…I can’t let him know. Please don’t do this. Please….just go and leave us alone…” Susan pleaded.
“Susan…”
“No Glen. This is my life…my marriage…my future that you’re talking about. I’m not going to let you waltz in here and destroy everything that I’ve worked so hard to keep together.”
“I’m not talking about your future…I’m talking about our child.” Glen replied calmly. “Look…just sit down and tell your husband the truth…I’ll even take all the blame for it…he can be angry with me instead of you..”
“I can’t do that.” Susan replied, the tears beginning to fall at the thought of losing her husband.
“I’m sorry Susan but I’m not going to just walk away. I can’t do it.” Glen replied. “I’ve already made up my mind. I’m going to look around town for an apartment or a house that I can rent and I’m going to stay here on my days off, when I’m not traveling. I want to be near you and the baby. I want to know that things are okay with the both of you and I want to be there when my child is born…”
“NO!” Susan yelled, as she scrambled from her seat and grabbed her things. “You have no business here! Just stay away from me Glen! Just go away and leave me alone!”
Susan quickly headed for the door and Glen jumped up to follow her.
“Calm down Susan…please. It’s not good for you or the baby..” Glen pleaded, as he caught her gently by the arm and tried to turn her around to face him again. Susan wrenched her arm free from his grasp and slapped him hard across the face.
“Leave me alone!” she screamed, before turning and running out the door.
Glen rushed to the doors to follow her outside, but just as he reached them, the waitress who had brought them their food stepped into his path.
“Forgettin’ somethin’ handsome” she purred, as she held up the piece of paper in front of his face. “Don’t go tryin’ to run outta here without payin’ your bill…I’d hate to have to call the law on you…even though the thought of you in handcuffs does sound mighty nice.”
Glen glanced at the ticket, then reached for his wallet and jerked out two twenty dollar bills.
“Here. Keep the change.” he growled, throwing the money at the woman as he rushed passed her and headed outside.
By this time, Susan was already pulling out of the parking lot and Glen kicked his tire in frustration as he watched her leave. He considered following her, but he was afraid if he upset her too much, he might cause her to wreck and he certainly didn’t want to put her in any danger. He decided instead that he would head back into town and look for a place to stay. He would try talking to Susan again later, once she had a chance to calm down. He needed to find a way to get through to her and make her understand how badly he wanted this child. He had to…because there was no way in hell that he was going to walk away.
Chapter 15
After searching for a couple of days for someplace to stay, Glen finally purchased a small house that was only a few miles from Susan’s home. He decided that since he was definitely going to be staying in town quite a bit, he would be better off in the long run if he just bought him a place outright, instead of trying to rent something. That way he could make sure that he stayed close to Susan in case something happened to her or the baby. He ordered enough furniture and appliances to fill every room, although he didn’t know exactly why he had insisted on furnishing the spare bedrooms too. It wasn’t like he was going to have any company...he would make sure that nobody beside Susan knew he was there. Well, except maybe for Mark. Glen sighed as he picked up the phone to call his friend, already preparing himself for the “I told you so” speech that he was sure he was going to hear. Glen dialed the number and it rang several times before Mark finally answered.
“What!” he yelled, causing Glen to jerk the phone away from his ear.
“Somebody needs to teach you some manners, boy! Didn’t your mama teach you the proper way to answer a telephone?” Glen teased.
“Sorry man. You just would not believe how crazy things have been around here for the past couple of days. And I’m stuck here right in the middle of it while you’re off chasin’ some woman halfway across the country! It’s about time you called anyway…where the hell have you been? Did you find her?” Mark asked.
“Yeah …I found her.”
“And…How did it go? Was she surprised to see you?”
“Uh…yeah…you could say that.” Glen replied, recalling the look on Susan’s face when she had opened the door and found him standing there.
“Well! What the hell happened?” Mark asked impatiently. He assumed that things hadn’t gone too well…Glen didn’t sound like he was exactly beaming with happiness. But then again, he didn’t seem to be too disheartened either. He couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had happened between the two of them.
“Well…I showed up at her house…I tried to talk to her…and she told me I had to leave.”
"Leave? Why? What was the problem?” Mark asked, getting more curious by the minute.
“The problem is…she’s married. That’s why she left that morning without talking to me. She regretted what happened between us and she didn’t want her husband to find out.”
“Married?” Mark repeated, feeling sorry for his friend. “Look, I’m sorry man. I know how disappointed you must be but…”
“There’s more.” Glen interrupted.
“More? Don’t tell me you beat up her husband or something stupid like that.” Mark chuckled, knowing that it was very possible considering how obsessed Glen had been with this woman.
“She’s pregnant.”
“Pregnant?”
“Is there an echo in here? Yes, pregnant……with my child.” Glen added reluctantly, knowing that Mark was going to go through the roof.
“What?! How the hell did that happen?” Mark yelled in surprise.
“Didn’t your mama teach you anything?” Glen teased, amused by Mark’s reation. “You want me to explain it to you or do you need me to draw pictures?”
“Can it, smart ass.” Mark growled. “You know what I meant. How can you be so sure it’s yours anyway? Don’t you think it’s possible she could just be lying to you to get to some of your money?”
“Not a chance. She tried to deny that it was mine but I saw right through her. I finally got her to admit that it was mine.”
“And what exactly does her husband have to say about all of this. I’m sure he was none too pleased with you showin’ up on her doorstep, especially since she’s havin’ your baby.”
“He doesn’t know.” Glen replied. “She never told him about the night that we spent together. He thinks the baby is his.”
Mark took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he said something to Glen that he regretted. What in the hell had his friend gotten himself into this time?
“So she’s married…she’s having your baby…her husband doesn’t know and I’m willin’ to bet that she doesn’t want you anywhere near her. So why the hell are you still there?” Mark asked.
“I’ve been looking for someplace to stay.”
“You do have someplace to stay…it’s called a hotel!” Mark answered. This boy was gettin’ stranger by the minute!
“I mean someplace permanent…someplace I can stay on my days off.” Glen replied.
“Glen…what in the hell are you talkin’ about? She doesn’t want you there…you don’t have any reason to stay. Just forget about her and come back home.”
“Mark…you know how long I’ve waited to have kids of my own. I’m not going to just walk away from this child. I want to stay here and be a part of this kid’s life.”
“Have you lost your damn mind?! The only thing you’re going to be a part of is a big mess! If she doesn’t want your help, then there’s no point in trying to force it on her. Leave her alone, let her stay with her husband and let them raise the baby!”
“I can’t do that. Look, Mark. I’ve got to go.” Glen stated, wanting to get off of the phone before Mark tore into him too bad. “We’ll discuss this more when I get back in a couple of days.”
“I hope you know what you’re gettin’ yourself into!” Mark replied.
"Everything will be fine. Stop worrying about me! I’ll talk to you later.”
Glen hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad he had that out of the way, although he knew that it was far from over with. Mark was going to have his ass when he got back. But it didn’t matter. All that did matter was the fact that he wanted to be here…he wanted to make things right with Susan and the baby. And that was something that both Susan and Mark were going to have to learn to deal with!
Chapter 16
For the next few days Susan was a nervous wreck, looking over her shoulder whenever she went out and jumping every time the phone rang. Her biggest fear was that Glen would call or come by the house when her husband was home. That was the last thing that she needed. She couldn’t understand why Glen was so insistent about hanging around. She was sure that he could have his choice of any number of women and more than one of them would surely be willing to have a child with him if that’s what he wanted. So why did he insist on trying to keep this child in his life. It didn’t make any sense. What was he up to?
Sighing, Susan took out the piece of paper with Glen’s cell phone number and turned it over in her hand. She needed to call him…she had to find a way to convince him to leave her and her family alone. She couldn’t let him ruin everything that she had worked so hard to protect.
Susan dialed the number and waited patiently while the phone rang several times. Just as she was about to hang up, Glen finally answered.
“Hello?”
“Glen? This is Susan.”
“Susan? Are you okay? Is something wrong with the baby?” Glen asked, surprised that she would be calling him.
“No. The baby’s fine.” Susan replied. “Listen…is there somewhere we can meet and talk? I think we have a few things we need to discuss.”
“Uh..sure.” Glen replied, giving his new address to her. “Meet me there in about an hour.”
“Is it private?” Susan asked, not wanting to take a chance on someone seeing them together.
“Yeah. It’s private. Don’t worry…no one will know you’re there.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in an hour then.” Susan replied, before hanging up the phone.
**************************
An hour later, Susan pulled into the driveway of the house, double checking the address that Glen had given her.
“What is he doing here?” she wondered, as a feeling of dread began to form in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if maybe he had friends or family in the area. Maybe one of them let him use their house. Hesitantly, she got out of her car and walked to the door, where she knocked softly.
Glen hurriedly opened the door and let her in, his breath catching at the sight of her. He still thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even if he knew he could never have her for his own.
“How are you feeling today?” he asked, as he helped her remove her coat.
“I’m fine. How are you?” Susan replied, wanting to keep things as civil as possible between them.
“I’m good. Here…come on in and have a seat.” he stated, as he reached down to take her hand and tried to lead her to the couch. Susan gasped and pulled away, her skin still tingling from the contact. She still couldn’t believe what an effect this man had on her. She knew she had to be careful around him. She couldn’t let things get out of control again.
“Sorry.” Glen said apologetically, realizing that he had probably made her feel uncomfortable again. He guided her into the living room and helped her sit down on the couch.
“Thanks but I think I can manage.” Susan stated, smiling at Glen’s attempts to help her. “My stomach’s not that big yet. I can still get around pretty good.”
Glen nodded his head as he sat down across from her.
Susan looked around the room, noticing how new everything looked.
“Whose house is this Glen? Do you know somebody that lives around here?” she asked.
Glen hesitated for a moment before he answered her. He was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to take the news well.
“It’s mine.” he replied softly.
Susan’s jaw dropped as she stared at him. “What did you just say?”
“I said it’s mine.” Glen repeated. “I bought it a couple of days ago. I’m going to stay here when I’m not working.”
Susan could only stare at him in shock. So much for talking him out of anything. She realized now that he had been more than serious when he told her he wanted to stay close to her and the baby.
“Glen…you can’t do this.” she pleaded, her fear threatening to overwhelm her. “David can’t know the truth. He would never speak to me again if he found out what happened.”
“Susan, I know you’re worried about your marriage, but you’ve got to tell him the truth. He deserves to know what happened between us that night. He deserves to know that this is not his child. I’m sure that he’ll be angry at first, but if he truly loves you then he’ll be willing to work things out with you. You gave him a second chance…why shouldn’t he do the same for you.”
“You don’t understand. You don’t know him. He would never forgive me…especially since I’ve waited so long to tell him. Glen…please…”
“I’m sorry Susan. I know I can’t force you to tell him but I’m not going to just go away. You’re going to have to deal with this one way or another.” Glen replied as gently as possible, not wanting to upset her again.
“Please…don’t do this to me.” Susan pleaded. “I’ll do anything you want…I’ll pay you money…I’ll even sleep with you again if that’s what you want…”
“Susan….”
“I’ll do it right now.” she stated, as she tried to steady her hands long enough to unbutton her blouse. “I’ll do whatever you want Glen…just promise me that you’ll leave my family alone.”
In a matter of seconds, Glen was beside her on the couch. He grabbed her wrists and jerked them away from her shirt.
“Stop it, Susan. You know I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”
“Let me go!” she cried, as she struggled against him, causing Glen to tighten his grip on her.
“Not until you stop fighting me.” Glen said softly, trying to get her to calm down.
Susan continued to struggle, trying her best to break free, but she realized that he was too strong for her.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she sobbed, as she ceased her struggles and began to cry.
Glen loosened his grip, afraid that he was hurting her.
“I’m sorry baby. I swear the last thing I want to do is hurt you.” Glen answered, as he wrapped his arms around her.
Susan turned into his chest and continued to cry, as Glen did his best to soothe her. He pulled her against him and held her tight, rubbing her back as he tried to comfort her. He didn’t think he had ever felt as low as he did at that moment.
“I’m so sorry. I never meant for you to be hurt by all this.” he whispered softly, as he caressed her.
Eventually, Susan began to calm down and she immediately became aware of the heat that was radiating from his large body. Closing her eyes, she rested quietly against him as she replayed the events of that night over again in her head. She remembered how safe she had felt…how comforting his embrace had been to her…those were the same sensations that she was feeling right now as he held her again. Opening her eyes, Susan looked upward at Glen’s face, meeting his gaze. His eyes locked on hers, and he stared at her for a moment before he raised his hand and gently ran his fingers down her cheek. He leaned in slowly, as if to kiss her, but Susan regained her senses, and realizing what he was doing, she quickly pulled away from him. She jumped up from the couch and began to straighten her clothes.
“I see what you’re doing now.” she stated coldly, turning around to face him again. “You’re doing this on purpose to break up my marriage, aren’t you? You think if you can start enough trouble, David will leave me and then you can have me all to yourself.”
Glen looked at her in shock. How could she even think he would do something like that?
“That’s it, isn’t it?” she asked again, taking a step closer to him. “You want to break up my marriage so you can have another go at me. Isn’t that right Glen?”
Glen held up his hands in defense. “The last thing I want to do is break up your marriage Susan. I know firsthand how hard it is to go through a divorce. I would never intentionally do something like that to hurt you.”
“Don’t lie to me! That’s exactly what you’re trying to do! Well, it’s not going to work! I’m not going to just stand by and let you ruin my marriage!” Susan yelled, as she headed toward the door and slipped on her coat.
“Wait Susan…please. We need to talk about this.” Glen pleaded as he followed behind her, desperately wanting her to stay and talk to him.
“There is nothing left to talk about Glen. I want you to stay away from me and stay away from this baby! If you come near me again, I won’t hesitate to go to the police and press charges against you for stalking!”
Susan turned and jerked the door open, heading outside to her car.
“Susan…wait…please!” Glen called after her, but she didn’t offer a reply. Glen watched in frustration as she climbed into her car and drove away. Slamming the door closed, he turned and punched the wall, leaving a huge hole in the sheetrock. He hated this. He knew this whole situation was less than ideal, but she was going to be the mother of his child and the last thing he wanted to do was to fight with her.
Glen walked back to the couch and took a seat, as he thought about the things she had said to him. He realized that maybe part of what she had said to him had been true. Maybe deep down, a part of him really wanted her marriage to fall apart…at least then she could be with him and they would have a chance to raise their child together. Glen shook his head at the thought. How could he be cruel enough to deliberately wish that kind of pain on her? It didn’t matter now anyway. He was sure that after what just happened, she would probably never speak to him again.
Glen sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. Maybe Mark had been right. Maybe it would be best if he just packed up his things and left town. There was no future left for him here. The woman he loved was already married to another man and the child that he so desperately wanted would be raised by someone else. With his travel schedule, Glen knew he would be a part-time father at best. They could at least provide it with a happy home and the stability that children so desperately deserved and needed. Maybe it would be better just to bow out and let Susan and her husband raise this baby. Sighing again, Glen picked up his cell phone and examined it. Then taking a deep breath, he turned it on and dialed the number.
Chapter 17
Mark watched as Glen sat alone in the corner of the locker room, lacing up his boots. He had been extremely quiet and withdrawn since he had returned from his trip and Mark assumed that things hadn’t gone well with Susan. He could see that his big friend was hurting. He just wished there was something someone could do to help ease his pain. Mark walked over and took a seat beside of him, hoping to bring him out of his sullen mood.
Glen nodded at him as he took a seat.
“You all ready for your match tonight?” he asked, as Mark sat down.
“Yeah. You?” Mark asked.
Glen nodded again. “Yeah. It’s good to be back to work. Maybe it’ll help keep my mind off of things.”
“I take it that things didn’t go well with Susan?”
“No. I tried to talk to her…but she was too upset. She’s terrified that if her husband finds out about what happened between us, then he’ll leave her.” Glen replied.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do yet?” Mark asked.
“I don’t know. I’d give anything to be able to help raise my child, but Susan’s adamant about not wanting me around. I know I could force the issue in court if I had to but that would only cause more problems for her and the last thing I want to do is hurt her again.”
“Well, you’ve still got some time left to think about it before you need to make a decision.” Mark replied.
“I know. That’s the reason I called Vince and came back to work a few days early. I wanted to get out of there before I did something that I regretted.”
“Just give it some time. Who knows… maybe she’ll start to feel guilty and she’ll come clean with her husband and then you won’t have anything to worry about.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” Glen replied softly. “Look, I gotta go. It’s almost time for my match. Catch you later, okay?”
“Yeah. Talk to you later.” Mark replied, as he watched Glen disappear out the door, wondering if his friend was going to be alright.
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Over the next few weeks, Glen returned to his new home on his days off, although he made no attempt to contact Susan. He thought it was best if he waited until he had made his decision about what to do before he talked to her again, not wanting to cause her any unnecessary grief. However, on occasion, he would drive past her house, sometimes parking down the street in the shadows, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Somehow it made him feel a little better just knowing that she and the baby were doing well. She was starting to show more now and every time he looked at her growing stomach, he longed to take her in his arms and hold her and feel his child moving inside of her. He would watch her until he was certain that everything was fine, then he would head home and crawl into his own empty bed and dream of things that could never be.
*************************************************
For a few days after her encounter with Glen, Susan had been completely on edge, waiting to hear from him again. She had honestly not expected her threats to work…Glen knew she couldn’t file a police report without taking a chance that the truth would come out. But after several days had passed without incident, Susan began to feel at ease again. She hoped that maybe she had been able to convince him once and for all to leave her alone.
Susan tried to push all thoughts of Glen to the back of her mind, wanting to concentrate instead on her future with her husband and upcoming baby. She was a little concerned about David…he had seemed to have lost a little of his enthusiasm about the baby, but she just assumed that the idea that he was going to be a father was starting to hit home. There was no doubt that this baby would be a big change in both of their lives. But she was sure that he would make an excellent father and she tried to give him his space to deal with things at his own pace.
Since becoming pregnant, Susan had cut back on her hours at work. Now at five months along, she worked mostly in the mornings, occasionally working over into late afternoons if they were shorthanded around the office. This often left her with plenty of free time in the afternoons to do whatever she wished. She kept herself busy by turning one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery. She spent hours on top of hours working on every small detail. From the paint to the furniture to the decorations, she wanted everything to be perfect for their new arrival. With each passing day, Susan was even more grateful that she had been able to keep her marriage together. And now they were going to be a real family and nobody, including Glen, was going to tear them apart.
Chapter 18
Glen continued to travel home each week on his days off to check up on Susan. He was still conflicted over what he was going to do and it didn’t look like the answer was going to be easy to come by. There had been many times when he had thought he had made a firm decision, only to change it again a few hours later. After bouncing back and forth so many times, he discovered that if he poured all of his attention into his work, then he often didn’t have time to think about it at all.
One night, after another grueling match against HHH, Glen flipped himself over the top rope and made his way back up the ramp, ready to head back to his hotel room for some rest. Once he was safely behind the curtain, he removed his mask and quickly headed back to the locker room to shower and change. As he made his way though the backstage area, he was stopped by a noise coming from behind a large stack of boxes. He looked around and noticed that the immediate area was completely deserted, so he crept closer to the sound, curious to see what it was. Glen peeked around the corner of the boxes and was surprised to see a small girl, curled up on the floor crying. Creeping closer, he knelt down beside of her and rubbed her back gently, as he spoke to her.
“What’s a matter, little one? Why are you crying?” he asked softly, hoping that his large size didn’t frighten her.
“I can’t find my mommy.” she said between sniffles, looking up at him with her big, brown eyes.
Glen smiled at her when she looked up at him. She was a beautiful little girl and she couldn’t have been over five or six years old. He wondered where her parents were.
“Well, come with me and we’ll see if we can find your mommy, okay?” he replied, reaching out to help her up. Glen picked her up off of the floor and carried her back out into the hallway.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?” he asked, looking around to see if there was anyone else nearby who could help him.
“My name’s Ashley. And you’re Kane.” the little girl replied, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck so she wouldn’t fall. She stared at him for a moment before she spoke again. “You’re not so scary without your mask.”
Glen smiled at her again. Maybe she should tell that to some of the women he had tried to date in the past.
“Okay Ashley. Can you tell me what your mommy’s name is or tell me what she looks like so I can help you?” he asked her, as he headed toward his dressing room again.
“She works here.” Ashley replied.
“She does?” Glen answered in surprise. “I’ve never seen you around here before. Do you know what she does?”
“She fixes people’s hair.”
“Well, let’s go see if we can find her then.” Glen replied, heading in the direction of the makeup and wardrobe area. He rounded the corner and spotted Trish talking with Jeff Hardy further down the hall.
“Hey guys. This pretty little lady here is telling me that she’s lost. Either of you know who her mother is?” Glen asked as he approached them.
“Ashley! I bet you mother’s worried sick about you! How many times has she told you not to go wandering off like that?” Trish asked, when she saw who Glen was holding.
“I take it you know her mother then?” Glen asked as he looked down at the little girl again.
“Yeah. She belongs to Jenna, the new girl in makeup.” Trish replied.
“Come here baby and I’ll take you to your mom.” Trish said, holding her arms out for Ashley to come to her.
“NO! I want Kane to take me!” Ashley yelled, wrapping her arms tighter around Glen’s neck.
Trish smiled again and shrugged her shoulders.
“What can I say big guy? I think she likes you.”
Glen chuckled as he tried to loosen Ashley’s grip on his neck so he could breathe.
“It’s okay Trish. I’ll take her myself. Thanks for your help.”
Glen made his way on down the hall, until he came to the wardrobe area. Ashley’s mother squealed and rushed toward them when she saw that her little girl was safe.
“Young lady, you are in big trouble!” her mother fussed, as she fawned over the small child.
“I’m sorry mommy.” Ashley replied, pouting her small lips. “I just got lost again.”
“Well, we’ll just have to make sure that it doesn’t happen again now won’t we?” her mother answered, hugging her tight.
“Thank you for bringing her to me. I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.” Jenna said, standing up and turning to Glen.
“It was no problem. I’m glad I could help.” Glen replied, smiling at the two of them. “Well, I guess I should go. I still need to take a shower and change before I can leave.”
He kneeled down on the floor in front of the little girl and motioned for her to come closer.
“It was very nice to meet you Ashley. You make sure that you mind your mommy and don’t go wandering off again, okay?”
“Okay.” the little girl replied, before moving forward and giving Glen another hug.
“You’re nice.” she said, when she released him and stepped away. “You’d make a good daddy.”
“You think so?” Glen asked her with a smile.
“Uh-huh. As long as you didn’t wear the mask.”
Glen smiled at her again. “I’ll try to remember that sweetheart. You behave for your mom now, okay?”
Glen stood up and turned to walk away before Ashley yelled at him again.
"ye Kane!”
Glen turned and waved at her again before disappearing out of sight. He smiled to himself all the way back to his dressing room. He couldn’t believe it but a five year old had just helped him decide what he was going to do. And after being around that adorable little girl for the past five minutes, he knew in his heart that it was the right decision. He was going to go back and talk to Susan and he was going to fight for his child. Ashley was right…he would make a good daddy… and now it was time for him to prove it!
Chapter 19
After a few more days on the road, Glen returned home, prepared to have a long talk with Susan. He knew that she would be more than a little upset with his decision, but he was determined to stand his ground. This was his child too and he had every right to be a part of his or her life.
It was early afternoon when he finally reached his house and he debated whether or not it would be better to contact Susan that evening or wait until the following morning. He finally decided it would be better to wait…he was tired from all of the week’s travel and he thought it would be best if he got a good night’s sleep first. That way he would be calm and refreshed and less likely to say something that he would regret. Once he got unpacked, he headed out to the store to buy some groceries and run a few more errands. Then he headed back home, prepared to spend a nice relaxing evening alone.
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Susan rubbed her throbbing head as she pulled into her driveway, surprised to see that her husband was home so early in the afternoon. He usually didn’t come in until late in the evening and an afternoon off was nearly unheard of. Susan assumed that maybe he wasn’t feeling well…after all, she wasn’t feeling so great herself. She had been scheduled to work until late that evening, but after fighting with a nagging headache all morning, she had finally convinced one of her co-workers to trade schedules with her. All she wanted to do now was take a nice, hot bath and then crawl into her soft bed and take a nap. That was always a surefire cure for her headaches.
Susan approached the front door and turned the knob, surprised when she found it locked. She knew that David never locked the doors when he was home....it kept him from locking himself out when he went outside. She dug through her purse for her keys, then unlocked the door and stepped inside. She was even more surprised to find that the house was completely quiet and there was no sign of her husband.
“He must really be sick.” she thought, as she headed toward the stairs. She hoped that it wasn’t anything too serious….she knew how much of a baby he could be when he wasn’t feeling well.
She climbed the stairs and moved quietly down the hall, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep. She noticed that the bedroom door was slightly ajar, so she tiptoed forward and peeked inside, expecting to see David asleep in their bed….but nothing in the world could have prepared her for what she was about to find.
Her husband was in bed alright but it certainly wasn’t because he was feeling bad. Susan stood frozen in place as she watched her husband make love to another woman. They were so caught up in each other, they didn’t even notice that she was in the room with them. She watched helplessly as she listened to their moans and cries, her legs nearly crumbling from beneath her when she heard her husband tell the woman that he loved her.
Susan’s mind was a whirlwind of emotion. How could he do this to her again? He had promised to no end that something like this would never happen again. And now he was here with….her! He was holding her…kissing her…telling her that he loved her!
“What about me?!” Susan thought frantically, trying to digest the sight that was before her. “What about our family?”
Susan quickly clamped her hand to her mouth as a strangled gasp was torn from her throat.
Startled by the noise, David turned his head, his eyes growing wide when he saw his wife standing in the doorway.
“Susan?! I…uh…I can explain. It’s not what you think.” he stuttered, as he clamored from the bed and tried to find his clothes. The woman sat upright in the bed and covered herself with the sheet as she flashed Susan a satisfied smirk.
Susan gazed frantically back and forth between them before blindly grabbing at the doorframe and stumbling back into the hallway. When they were both out of sight, she turned and ran back toward the stairs, David still yelling at her as she went.
“Susan wait! I’m sorry babe! It was just an accident. I never meant for this to happen! Can’t we at least talk about this?” he called out, as she ran out the front door and climbed back into her car.
Susan backed out of the driveway and raced back down the street. She had no idea where she was headed…all she knew was that she had to get away from that house before she did something terrible. Sobs racked her body and her tears began to blur her vision, eventually to the point where she could barely see at all. She continued to drive until she felt that she was far enough away from them, then she finally found a place to pull over beside the road and she let her tears fall freely, holding nothing back as the anger and betrayal washed over her.
She couldn’t believe that David could do something like this to her again. After everything she had done….all the trouble she had gone through to keep the family together….then he had to go and throw it all away. How could he possibly be so selfish?
Susan lost track of how long she sat there but she cried until she didn’t think she could cry anymore. When she finally got herself under control again, she pulled back out onto the highway and headed on down the road. She drove around for several hours, not really knowing where she was going or what she was going to do. She wasn’t about to go back home, she at least knew that much. She couldn’t face her husband right now…not without causing him severe bodily harm. And she didn’t feel like facing anybody else right now either. She didn’t think she had every felt so humiliated. How would she ever be able to face her friends and family again?
Susan continued to drive around until late in the night, her mind replaying the day’s events over and over in her mind. She wondered if David was with HER right now…if he even noticed or cared that she was gone. Eventually she began to get tired and she found herself pulling onto a familiar street. She scanned the area around her as she tried to figure out exactly where she was at. Even in her distraught state, she knew that she had been here before, although she couldn’t remember exactly when or with whom.
Almost as if it were second nature, she found herself pulling into the driveway of one of the houses. She stopped the car and got out, studying the front of the house for a clue as to who lived there. Suddenly, the memories came flooding back and she realized that she was standing in front of Glen’s home. She wondered how she had managed to wind up in his driveway…she hadn’t given him a conscious thought all day.
Susan turned to get back into her vehicle, determined not to bother Glen with her problems. After the way she had treated him, she was sure that he wouldn’t want anything more to do with her anyway. She climbed back in behind the wheel and started the car again before she remembered that didn’t have anywhere else to go. She had left the house in such a hurry, she forgot to grab her purse on her way out. She had no money, no credit cards, nothing to pay for a hotel room with. She began to cry again as she realized that she had nowhere else to go…nobody else to turn to. Taking a deep breath, she got out of her car again and slowly made her way to Glen’s door. She wondered if he would find it in his heart to help her after everything she had done to him.
She stood outside his door for a long time, trying to pull herself together before she knocked. Finally, she took a deep breath and raised her hand. She knew the least he could do was tell her no and turn her away.
Susan waited for several moments, then knocked again when she didn’t hear any movement from inside the house. She was just about to turn and walk away when Glen jerked the door open. Susan stared at him for a brief moment, trying to find her voice to speak. Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, she threw herself into his arms and began to cry again.
Chapter 20
Glen looked down at Susan in surprise as she cried into his chest.
"Susan? What’s wrong?” he asked, as he pulled her inside and closed the door back. “Is something wrong with the baby?”
Susan could only shake her head as she continued to sob. Wrapping his arms around her, Glen led her to his couch and helped her sit down. He watched as she pulled away from him and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes with her trembling hands
"Susan, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Glen repeated, starting to feel a little panicked by her behavior. He couldn’t imagine what could possibly make her so upset.
“It’s David…”she whispered softly, as she tried to get her breathing under control.
“David? What happened? Did he hurt you?” Glen asked, already getting angry at the thought.
Susan shook her head but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words to tell him what was wrong. Glen could only stare at her helplessly, as he tried to figure out what was happening. Then it hit him…she must have told her husband the truth about them…that’s why she was so upset. He could only assume that they had a big fight…and that maybe he had thrown her out of the house.
“Susan….did you tell David about us? Is that why you’re so upset?” he asked softly, as she continued to cry.
“No.” she whispered softly.
“Well then, what is it?” Glen asked again, starting to lose his patience. He was starting to become really worried that there was something very seriously wrong with her or the baby.
Susan closed her eyes and took several deep breaths as she tried to get her emotions under control. Finally, she was able to calm herself down long enough to tell Glen what had happened.
“David’s been cheating on me again.” she said softly, her voice breaking as the words crossed her lips.
“What? You can’t be serious.” Glen replied, watching as Susan nodded her head in response.
“What happened?” he asked softly.
“I came home early from work this afternoon and I found him in bed with another woman.” she replied.
“So you actually saw them together.” Glen asked, hoping that maybe it was all a mistake. “I mean…there’s no way this could be just some kind of misunderstanding?”
“No. I saw them with my own eyes. There was no misunderstanding.” Susan replied, then proceeded to tell Glen about everything that had happened that afternoon. When she was done, he could only stare at her in disbelief as he tried to digest everything she had told him.
“I’m sorry Susan.” Glen finally replied. “I know how much your marriage and your family mean to you. I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
Susan shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I guess I deserve it anyway. I guess this is just some kind of payback for all the lying I’ve done to my husband.”
“No Susan. Don’t think like that.” Glen replied, reaching out and pulling her into his arms again. “Nobody deserves to be treated that way.”
“I just can’t believe he would do this to me again.” Susan said as she began to cry again, while Glen held her and tried to soothe her. He could only imagine what she was feeling right now. He wished there was something he could do to help take away some of her pain.
He held her for a long while and finally Susan began to calm down again and she slowly sat up and moved away from him.
“I’m sorry Glen. I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have bothered you with my problems.” she said softly.
“It’s okay Susan. I’m glad you came to me. Besides, you’re safer here than you are out there on the road, especially while you’re so upset.”
“I just didn’t know where else to go.” she replied. “I left in such a hurry...I didn’t take time to grab any money or clothes….”
“It’s okay Susan, really. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. I’ve got two spare bedrooms here…you’re welcome to use either one that you want. Besides…you know I’m not going to let you leave here unless I know you have somewhere else to go.”
Susan smiled faintly at his words. It seemed like she learned a little more each day about what a good man he was.
“Now, enough about that. I’m willing to bet that you haven’t eaten anything all evening. Am I right?” Glen teased, hoping to make her feel a little better.
Susan shook her head. “I’m really not hungry Glen. I don’t think I could keep anything down right now anyway.”
“Come on. You’ve got to eat something. You’ve got a little one in there that you’ve got to feed.” he replied, pointing to her stomach. “How about some soup? It’ll be real simple for me to fix and it should be something easy for you to keep down.”
Susan started to protest, but she stopped when she looked up and noticed that he was already halfway to the kitchen. Sighing, she leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes, as she thought about what she was going to do. She couldn’t go back home, at least not as long as David was there. And she knew she shouldn’t stay here with Glen. She worried how that would look if David were to find out she was living under another man’s roof. But then again, why should he care. He was bold enough to sleep with another woman in their own bed…what gave him the right to say anything negative about her.
Susan sighed again when she thought of what a mess things were turning out to be. Not only did she have to suffer through her pregnancy and worry about carrying another man’s child, but now it also looked like she was going to have to suffer through a divorce at the same time. She was already dreading the thought…she was sure that David wasn’t going to be so willing to end their marriage. She hoped that things could be worked out peacefully…she didn’t think her nerves could handle much more at the moment.