The Affair

CH 7: Sudden Epiphanies

“I fold.”

Izzy grunted before relenting, “Yeah, me too…what about you, Tai?”

The brunette in question never once removed his firm gaze from his opponents’, his tone both challenging and smug as he returned, “I’ll raise.”

“Really? Wow, you must have a really good hand – nobody’s been able to beat Matt all night!” Joe remarked, the excitement upon his face quite evident as he and Izzy exchanged glances.

Smirking, Tai returned, “I’m feelin’ pretty lucky, I guess…no shame in raising the stakes, right?”

“Right” Matt agreed, now mirroring his friend’s smirk as he flung an arm warmly across Sora’s shoulders. “So whatcha gonna raise, buddy? Two bucks?”

Tai snorted. “I was thinking something more along the lines of fifty. As I said, I’m feelin’ pretty lucky.”

“Must be” Matt replied matter-of-factly, his bottom lip protruding slightly as he nodded his compliance. “Alright then, let’s see whatcha got.”

Lying his cards down onto the table, Tai confidently returned, “A full house, my friend…read ‘em and weep.”

There came a succession of stunned “oohs” around the table before Matt chuckled, admonishing smugly, “Now, now, my friends, don’t start celebrating just yet. I just so happen to have a royal flush.”

“What? No way!” Tai exclaimed, his eyes widening once his gaze rested upon the cards in question. “How the heck is it possible for you to win seven times in a row!?”

“Oh, it’s possible” Izzy assured him before taking hold of Matt’s winning hand. “There, you see? He’s got an Ace, a Jack, two Kings, a-”

“Wait!” Tai shouted, now leaping up from the table amidst his sudden excitement, “There can’t be two Kings! Goddammit, Matt, I bet you’ve been suckering us out of our hard-earned money all night!”

Matt blinked. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, now wait a minute…are you calling me a cheater?”

“Hell yes, you’re a cheater! You cheat in poker almost as good as you cheat on your wife!”

Gasping at this revealing admission, Sora frantically looked about at her stunned friends, her cheeks growing hot the moment Izzy demanded, “Oh my God, Matt, is it really true? Have you been playing the field behind Sora’s back?”

“Hell yes, it’s true! Matt was screwing my woman for a whole three months and still would be if it weren’t for the fact that she’s dead now!” Tai hollered, soundly striking the tabletop with his fist in order to expurgate his inner frustrations. “Hell, he’s already got a beautiful woman that’s fun and smart right in front of him, but apparently that’s not good enough – he has to ruin everyone else’s lives, too!”

“Why you backstabbing son of a bitch!” Matt snarled, Sora abruptly crying out as he leapt up from his seat and smashed his beer can against the tabletop. “If you’re gonna accuse me out in the open like that, at least be a man about it and own up to your own faults!”

Tai snorted. “What the hell are you talking about? I never did anything wrong to Mimi!”

“Oh, yes you did! Do you honestly think she was blind to how you look at my wife?” Matt demanded, his eyes now an electric blue due to his outer seething. “Don’t you think she could tell by how you talked to Sora and by how tenderly you touched her that she was always going to be second best? Fuck, man, Mimi pointed it all out to me…you’ve been wanting to score with my wife all these years, but now that I know what’s going on it’s never gonna happen – she belongs to me!”

“Belongs to you?” Tai reiterated, by this point beyond miffed. “Since when is Sora some emotionless object to own? Only a real man would know the difference between a trophy wife and his true love!”

“Why you smarmy little-”

“Stop it!” Sora screamed, by now in tears, “Both of you just stop it!”

Matt immediately shook his head. “Sorry babe, but he’s gone way too far this time – I refuse to sit back and watch him fantasize about you spreadin’ your legs for him any longer!”

“Spreading her legs?” Tai repeated, his features contorting along with his complete shock. “By God, of course you would be the one to suggest such a horrendous thing! I’ll openly admit that I have strong feelings for your wife, Matt, but none of them involve the bedroom since I actually view Sora as a woman opposed to some object!”

That did it. In a flash of coruscating silver, Matt thrust his arm out across the table and toward Tai’s midsection, Sora screaming bloody murder the moment copious amounts of scarlet burst forth from the area of sudden attack and splattered haphazardly about the card table.

Choking, Tai staggered forward and fell against his chair, the metal furniture toppling over in accordance with his efforts to stand as Joe and Izzy frantically rushed over to his side.

“Oh my God, man, are you ok!?” Joe demanded, completely aghast as he happened to glance down at the pocketknife protruding from his friend’s stomach.

When Tai merely nodded in return Izzy exclaimed, “C’mon you guys, we gotta get him to the hospital – it’s deep enough that he could actually die!”

Gasping, Sora went to go to her friend, but Matt cruelly held her back, his tone completely cold and vindictive as he snarled, “He’ll be fine, Sora…there’s no way in Hell I’m gonna lose you to some half-witted jerk-off!”

“Get the hell off me, you lunatic!” Sora screamed, only to immediately receive a vicious slap to the face.

“Don’t you dare call me a lunatic when I did this for you!” Matt growled, completely ignoring his friends as they watched on in mute horror. “Do you think that I actually like the thought of stabbing someone? He’s trying to get in your pants, Sora! You can’t trust him!”

“Well from the looks of things it’s you who I can’t trust!” Sora wailed, the tears now freely streaming down her cheeks as she tried her best to wriggle out of his demanding grasp. “Please let me go, Matt…we need to get Tai to a hospital!”

“Ooh, I see now…you do care more about his well-being than mine!” the blonde brusquely accused, his grip on her arms only tightening along with his rising resentment. “Lucky for me, I’ve got a little method to get that scumbag outta your head for a good while. C’mon, babe, we’re goin’ into the next room.”

Screaming, Sora frantically kicked and bit at her husband as he effortlessly tossed her up and over his shoulder, both Izzy and Joe now completely torn over which friend they should assist as Tai weakly tried to stand.

“Let her…go” he rasped, the rage in his eyes surprising Matt as he pivoted about on his heel due to the unanticipated request.

Instead of replying, however, the blonde haughtily stalked over to Tai and socked him square across the jaw, Sora crying out as she watched her friend fall lifelessly back into the security of Joe and Izzy’s arms in a limp, semi-conscious heap.

Before the designer could even think to call out to him, however, Matt had already slammed the door shut behind them and thrown her down onto their couch amidst his fury.

“Now” he began, slowly undoing the button to his pants, “let the lessons begin.”

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“Ah, she’s finally coming to! Give her room, my boy, give her room!”

Groaning, the woman in question slowly opened her eyes, their soft depths hazily resting upon two men in rather curious clothing. Finally gaining the courage to speak she rasped, “You…d-do you know where I am?”

“Why, you’re here at Base 66592, of course!” the eldest of the men jovially revealed, the wrinkles around his eyes creasing in accordance with his excitement as he politely held out his hand for her to accept. “I’m Paul Weathers, by the way, and this here’s my son, Damien – it’s a great pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Ms. Mimi Tachikawa.”

Shocked, the young woman audibly gasped. “H-how did you know my name? How did I even get here!?”

“Now, now, don’t fret, my dear…my son found you washed ashore and brought you back here to care for you. Although it’s completely against regulations to bring in an outsider, we couldn’t very well just leave you out there to die” Paul explained, his warm features softening as he gave her hand a gentle pat. “You don’t know how much of a relief it is to finally see you alive and well – you’ve been out cold for at least an entire week, now.”

Mimi blinked, her head beginning to pound in step with this monumental confession. She’d been unconscious for nearly an entire week? But what about Matt? And what about her wedding with Tai? Oh, she hoped that things hadn’t gone completely askew without her!

“Ma’am?”

She abruptly looked up, only to come to the realization that Damien had been addressing her. Shakily sitting upright, she finally managed to stammer, “Y-yes?”

Smiling, Damien returned, “Here on base it’s time to eat breakfast, so I’d be more than honored if you would care to join us. Shall I tell the cook to expect you?”

Mimi opened her mouth to decline, only to immediately feel her stomach give a violently contradictory rumble.

Laughing, Damien returned warmly, “Alright, then…come with me, my dear Ms. Tachikawa.”

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Trembling and weeping silently into the security of her pillow, Sora tried her best to ignore the possessive arm about her waist due to the new and unpleasant memories that it conjured.

After Izzy and Joe had left for the hospital, Matt had forced himself on her in a demanding and highly frightening manner, his twisted reasoning being that it was for her own good.

Although Tai was the initial cause of this sexual abuse, Sora couldn’t help but think that if he were her husband, he would most certainly respect her enough to believe the reality that she wasn’t an adulterer. He wouldn’t try to fuck the memory of her best friend away, nor would he beat her and call her a good-for-nothing tramp.

Biting her lip, Sora brushed away her tears and curled up into the fetal position, the tenderness in between her legs still quite colossal and excruciating to the point of maximum discomfort.

Oh, why didn’t Matt believe her? Why couldn’t he just accept the fact that Tai was her best friend and, in so being, she would always be ridiculously close to him?

After all, so what if he was handsome? So what if she often found herself having more fun with him than her own husband? She still loved Matt more than anything, didn’t she?

And then she suddenly knew the truth: she didn’t know anymore.

A/N: Bum bum bummm! LoL Yep, Mimi’s back into the picture – you didn’t see that one coming, right? :) Next chapter Sora’s relationship with Matt and Tai will become even more strained when she sneaks off to visit Tai in the hospital, light will be shed onto where Mimi is currently located, and someone will find out about Sora’s secret. Yay. :) REVIEW, PLEASE!!! I feel underappreciated. :( lol