The Witch Of Alpha

A Little Bit Of Betrayal

"Okay, I was thinking the bistro in downtown? Does that work for you?" He asked.

"Sure, that sounds great! Would you want to just carpool? We can go in my car?" I asked, feeling nervous.

"That sounds perfect." He smiled.

"Okay let me just grab my things," I started grabbing my jacket, purse, phone and keys. I then walked behind him and announced to my staff that I was going out to lunch and they gave me knowing smiles and called out their goodbyes.

I walked out with him to my car and unlocked it so he could climb into the passenger seat. Being this close to him, I could smell that he had this powerful apple pie scent that made my mouth water.

"Why do you smell so delicious??" I asked him then face palmed at how dumb I sounded.

"What do I smell like?" He laughed at me face-palming.

"Like apple pie. Don't you smell yourself?" I peeked up at him from my hand.

"No but I smell you!" He laughed again, harder this time.

"Well I showered this morning so I know it can't be that bad." I picked my head up and laughed.

"No it's great, it's like coconut and the ocean breeze." He looked into the distance like he was picturing an island resort.

"Well I'm glad I don't smell like dirty feet." I said which made him sputter out a laugh.

I put the key in the ignition and off we went, making casual conversation about the weather and our hobbies. I learned that he loved to go running - that makes one of us.

We arrived at the restaurant laughing and smiling. My face hurt from all the smiling, I can't remember the last time I smiled this much. We walked in to the restaurant and got a booth for 2. We sat and chatted about growing up in this smaller city and he talked about his family lovingly and so did I.

"I actually have a three year old daughter who is my entire life. Every day she does something new that just amazes me. I know that every parent thinks their kid is special but I just know my little Lina is more special than those other basic kids," I said jokingly. He smiled and nodded.

"Knowing her mother now for two days, I can already say she is definitely special if she takes after you." He always had a way of making me blush.

"That's sweet, thank you." I didn't know what else to say after that.

Just then the waitress came and took our lunch orders and we both ordered sandwiches.

"So tell me about your husband." He said, not seeming so excited about the subject matter.

"Well, we're married?" I shrugged, not excited about it either.

"That doesn't seem to enthusiastic." He pointed out.

"Well I guess I could tell you, we got into a big fight last night and I haven't seen him since he left. We haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye lately." I winced as memories of last night flooded back.

"Sounds like he's kind of a jerk." He huffed.

"He definitely is whenever he's mad. He's not so bad when he isn't mad but I never know what will set him off these days. It feels like he uses any excuse to get pissed at me. Ugh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling all this to a client." I sighed. It had felt good to tell someone but I had to be more professional.

He reached out to give my hand a reassuring squeeze. "You can tell me, I won't judge. Trust me, you already have my business. No one else is making those shirts but you. But I like you, I think we could be great friends, and part of the friendship role is being here for you when you need to vent." He smiled gently at me and I exhaled heavily.

"Well, he has been getting more and more...aggressive. In front of Lina, even. I'm afraid to even say anything to him that he could remotely get mad over and, you know, it's sad to be afraid of your own husband." He squeezed my hand empathetically, telling me to continue.

"And...he's been cheating on me for a long time. It makes me wonder why I'm not good enough." I said, a small tear escaping my eye which I wiped away quickly.

He squeezed my hand tighter this time and I looked into his eyes. "You are more than good enough and he's an i***t if he doesn't see that. Can I tell you something?" He asked seriously.

"Of course!" I said with a weak smile.

"You are insanely beautiful. You own a successful company which makes you a boss b***h. And you are an amazing mother. If he can't see your worth, then he doesn't deserve you." it was so gentle but so filled with emotion, I couldn't believe this was coming from the man I only just met yesterday.

"You don't know me well enough to know those things for real though..." I looked away, sad to know that the man I married didn't feel the same way.

"A person only needs five minutes with you to know how perfect you are." I looked back up at him and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach.

Just then we were interrupted by the waitress bringing our food and he let go of my hand. I couldn't help but be sad at the loss of his touch.

We started eating and he looked down at my neck which I rushed to cover better with my shirt embarrassingly. "Are those bruises?" He asked after swallowing a bite.

I looked away, trying to hide my shame. He reached out and grabbed my hand again, looking so worried. "Well...our fight...escalated last night. He got really mad." His jaw clenched in anger.

"I'm going to give you my phone number. The next time that you're afraid that he's going to hurt you, you call me, okay?" He said, holding his hand out for my phone. I unlocked it and handed it to him. He put in his number and saved his named as "Emergency" so that Sam wouldn't see his name in my phone and find another reason to hurt me.

"Thank you..." I said quietly.

We finished up our meal, back to small talk about our thoughts on sports.

We were back to laughing again as the waitress brought us the check. We were walking out when I peered over to the bar area and saw my husband sitting at the bar top with his arm around another woman who leaned in and kissed him.

It felt like my whole world was shattering. I knew he cheated on me but I've never actually seen it in action. That was it. I was done giving him chances. Angrily, I took out my phone and took a picture of the two of them. Evidence if we took this to court.

I grabbed Everett's arm and pulled him out of the restaurant. I was so upset and could barely contain the angry tears that were threatening to spill. Before we got into the car, Everett pulled me into a fierce hug and the tears just came pouring out. "I'm assuming that jackass in the bar was your husband?" to which I nodded, still pressed into his chest.

"I know you've only known me two days, but I can promise you that if you need a safe place for you and your daughter to stay, I have housing and rooms available in our community. You would be safe and he would have no way of ever getting to you." he looked so earnest, I nodded taking his offer seriously. With my parent's gone, I really had no where else to go to get away if we needed to.

We reluctantly separated and got into my car, heading back to the shop. "Thank you for being so good to me. You barely know me but have already been a better friend to me than anyone else ever has." I told him honestly.

He grabbed my hand again and squeezed it. "I would do anything for you, I already know it." And I knew that he meant it. My heart felt like it was broken before but somehow, Everett was putting it back together, piece by piece.

We had arrived back at the shop and I was sad that our time together had ended. I could tell by looking at him that he felt the same way.

"Could I see you again tomorrow? I just want to make sure he doesn't do anything to hurt you again." He looked so worried for me.

"I would like that," I smiled at him, squeezing his hand.

"Thanks for joining me for lunch!" He smiled that huge grin that seemed to be iconic for him. "Until tomorrow..." He kissed my hand before getting out of my car and heading back to his SUV.

I just stared after him, knowing I was getting feelings for him. And after what I saw with my husband today, I felt absolutely no guilt about it.

All I knew was, I could NOT wait for tomorrow.