Under Cover Lovers
One afternoon Brent was walking towards their kitchen, Shantell's phone lit up on the counter. He didn’t want to look but they were coming in back to back impossible to ignore.
His heart pounded as he read the texts between Shantell and her ex-boyfriend. It hit him like he was slapped in face - I knew it was to good to be true Shantell had been cheating, and this wasn't a one-time thing.
Brent's mind raced thinking back on certain times she wasn’t acting like herself and the late night text the sudden errands, the times she seemed distant. It all made sense now. The betrayal cut deep, especially knowing how much he had sacrificed for their family.
What made it even worse was learning that her ex-boyfriend has a family of his own.
Brent stood frozen, the phone still in his hand, unsure of what to do next. He thought of their children, sleeping peacefully upstairs, oblivious to the chaos that is about to unfold.
As he heard a car pull up outside, Brent knew he had to make a decision. Confront Shantell now? Wait and gather more evidence? Or Leave? The weight of these choices pressed down on him as footsteps approached the front door.
Brent confronted Shantell about meeting her ex-boyfriend his voice calm. It caught Shantell off guard. Shantell quickly came up with a bunch of lies denying everything. Despite his doubts Brent chose to believe her desperately clinging to the life he'd worked so hard to build.
He buried his suspicions and pain deep inside forcing himself to carry on as if nothing had happened. Brent continued his daily routine - working long hours looking after the children and maintaining a healthy household. But the weight of his conscious and Shantell un loyalty had began to take its toll.
Months passed, Brent's clothes hung loose on his frame dark circles forming under his eyes.
One evening, while Brent was doing his daily routine cleaning up after dinner Shantell noticed his gaunt appearance.
"Brent, you're losing weight?," she remarked a hint of concern in her voice.
Brent paused dishes in hand and replied with a bitter laugh "Really? Between work in the morning then coming home and having to work around the house and stress..." "Plus doing drugs of course."
The confession hung heavy in the air. Shantell's eyes widened as she realized the extent of Brent's struggles.
To be continued...