Hell, there was barely a road to drive on.
I had been following him for only ten minutes, but I sensed we were near his destination. For the tenth time, I ignored the vibration of my phone from my pocket because I knew it was the twins who were calling me.
I switched my headlights off and took the same turn behind him but made sure to drive extra slow so I didn’t wreck Dominic’s car and also so he wouldn’t see me. I didn’t worry about losing Ryder because his car was the only car on the trail, and his taillights still shone brightly like a beacon.
I jumped when I drove over a pothole that caused the car to lurch. I gripped the steering wheel tightly and blew out a nervous breath. I was wired and couldn’t control much of my body because I had a sudden case of the shakes. My entire body trembled with fear and anticipation of what was going to be the outcome of my mission.
I didn’t have to wait long to find out as Ryder stopped his car up ahead and parked it in front of a white Range Rover. I could see the colour and make of the car because when Ryder got out of his car, he left his keys in the ignition and his headlights switched on. I stopped driving, put Dominic’s car in park and switched off the ignition. I exited the car, closed the door quietly and thanked God for the dark of the night as cover.
I said a little prayer, and on unsteady legs, I made my move.
I ducked down and crept forward until I was not too far away from where Ryder stood. I hunkered down behind a hedge only a mere twenty meters or so from him and the white Ranger Rover. I was close but not close enough because I couldn’t hear what was being said. I could only hear the tone of Ryder’s voice and that of another voice.
A female voice.
My blood ran cold knowing it was a woman Ryder drove out here to meet. All kinds of things were running through my mind, but I couldn’t settle on one thought. I felt like my eyes were deceiving me, and what I was witnessing wasn’t really happening.
“You liar.” I whispered as I watched Ryder lean into the window of the white Range Rover.
My chest squeezed when I heard laughter from the female in the driver’s seat. I didn’t know what she was laughing at, or what Ryder was doing to make her laugh, but what I did know is that he kept his head, shoulders and arms inside the driver’s window of her car and was making her laugh.
I felt sick. I felt weak. I felt numb.
I didn’t want to stick around and find out what he was doing to make her laugh because I feared I’d do something that would hurt me more in the long run. I lowered myself back down to my hunkered position, reached out and gripped onto the bush that I was hiding behind and inhaled and exhaled deeps breaths.
I’m going to pass out.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to continue taking deep breaths. When the urge to faint passed, I focused on not vomiting. My stomach was churning and rolling, and there was a pain in my chest that I had never felt before in my life. It was a similar pain I felt when my parents died, but for some reason, it was much worse.
Ryder… he was cheating on me.
He was betraying me, and I had the proof, but I still couldn’t believe what was unfolding before my eyes. I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t want to. I just wanted to erase the image and sound of Ryder and the woman’s laughter. I didn’t want to think of him smiling because it reminded me so much of the smile he used to show me whenever he saw me.
Home, I told myself. I need to go home.
A strong woman would have confronted Ryder, and possibly run him over with his beloved car while the bitch he cheated with watched, but I wasn’t a strong woman. I was a shell of the woman I used to be, and what I just witnessed would stay with me forever.
I was broken.
I numbly retraced my steps back to Dominic’s car and when I got back inside the vehicle everything felt wrong. The silence was unbearable, but I didn’t want to hear anything else. My heart was slamming into my chest, and the pain I felt with each beat was the only reminder that I was still living, but surely there was more to living than feeling so dead inside?
The taste of sickening infidelity in my mouth urged me to start Dominic’s car. I quickly reversed until I came back to the main road where I switched my headlights back on and safely pulled onto it. I hated how I felt. I was numb to what I was experiencing, but yet my chest hurt. I couldn’t cry, but I knew that’s what the hurt I felt wanted me to do.
My body knew something was wrong, but my brain hadn’t reached the point where it was on the same wavelength. I understood what I saw and what it meant, but I didn’t feel any kind of way over it. I just couldn’t believe it was real.
I found myself laughing hysterically like a crazy person when I realised only hours before that Ryder asked me if I was cheating on him, when it fact, he was the cheater.