Chapter 84

• Haven stood at the front door of his home, his hand resting on the door handle for longer than required. His heart was overwhelming with the encounter that anticipated him. He knew Alexis, his wife, would be angry. The occurrence with Vanessa—his ex-girlfriend—had been an outright catastrophe. He reviled beneath his breath for indeed permitting the circumstance to rise the way it did. When the door squeaked open, Alexis was sitting on the living room couch, her face rigid and her eyes red from crying. The quiet of the house was onerous. The pressure in the air was discernible, and Haven's stomach churned as he closed the door behind him.
• "Alexis," he started, his voice scarcely over a whisper. "I can explain." Alexis didn't react at the beginning, her eyes penetrating through him like blades. She had each reason to be angry, hurt, but there was a glint of something else in her look. Disillusionment, perhaps, or a deep-rooted disloyalty that made Haven's internal parts bend with blame.
• "Explain what, Haven?" Alexis at long last said, her voice consistent but cold. "Explain how you ended up in a circumstance like that? Explain why I saw you and Vanessa in the beginning?"