Her True Love

By Yvonne Julius

Stephanie Phillips' life took a sudden turn and not in a good way, when her high school sweetheart husband Brian betrayed her in the worst way ,she thought they had it all, with 2 beautiful daughters and a beautiful home and she had the love of her life or so she thought. Until she met her younger brother's friend, Mark who was handsome and of course a Professional football player.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664187849

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Copyright © 2021 by Yvonne Julius.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/30/2021

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Stephanie had just finished unpacking her last box. She recently moved back into her parents’ home with her two daughters, Salia and Sasha. She has been married for ten years to Brian Phillips, a business professional who has worked his way up the corporate ladder. In their home, they had fine Oriental rugs on the floor and custom-made fireplace and fancy home décor—they had it all.

She closed her eyes, thinking back how she got here . . . living back with her parents. At this point, she is now separated from her husband, the only man she ever loved.

It all started on December 31. Brian called and asked if she would like to go with him to his cousin Natalie’s New Year’s Eve party. She felt a rush of excitement when he talked on the phone and when she heard his deep voice—a voice that gave her chills just like it did when they first met. She thought that it would be exciting to go. They didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans, and Stephanie and Natalie had been friends since grade school and still were good friends now. She was like another sister, and her sister, Cynthia, already had the girls for the weekend.

She was wearing a new hairstyle, and her nails were freshly manicured and polished. She thought it was the perfect opportunity for Brian and her to get out and count down to the New Year and enjoy her husband’s company, and this is when it all happened. This is the part where her life changed.

Stephanie noticed that Brian seemed a little frustrated and had a bad attitude, but she ignored it. When they arrived at the party, they saw a few friends and relatives. Natalie had rented a two-level suite, which had a nice view. The music was good. There were a lot of bottles of champagne. She also had meat and cheese platters and fruit and vegetable platters. Natalie greeted them as they came in. Stephanie was busy talking to Natalie, and the next minute Brian had left her side. She didn’t think much of it. She made her way around the party. She looked for Brian and she finally found him dancing with some woman. They were smiling and talking. They seemed very familiar with each other, and Stephanie didn’t like what she saw. Brian never noticed her watching them.

Natalie was standing nearby and saw everything. She went over to talk with her. She told Stephanie she had to tell her something, but she did not want to tell her that night, but Stephanie said she wanted to know, so Natalie said the lady that Brian was dancing with is who he is cheating on her with.

Stephanie was in disbelief, but she has known Natalie since grade school and she knew it was all true, whether she wanted to believe it or not. At that moment Stephanie’s mind was so clouded, but she clearly knew she was ready to go home and not be made a fool of at this party. Natalie let her know it’s been going on for some time and she needed to know.

Stephanie did not see Brian for a while, which didn’t make the situation any better. All kinds of thoughts ran through her mind. A few minutes before midnight, the New Year, Brian came rushing to her side.

Before they had the champagne, she thought of what he had been doing: They came to the party together as husband and wife, and they had not even danced one time together. She felt it was a waste of her time coming to the party. What a way to bring in the New Year.

Stephanie didn’t want to make a scene. She let Brian know that she was ready to go, but he was not and he was not happy to hear that. He wanted to stay. She didn’t. He said after the champagne, they would go. A few minutes later, everyone started counting down, glasses clinking. Brian barely kissed Stephanie, but they wished each other Happy New Year. A few minutes later, they were on their way home in the car. Neither spoke one word to the other. When they arrived home, Stephanie went to take a shower to try and cool off before she would confront Brian about the conversation she had with Natalie earlier. She would not tell Brian that Natalie told her so he would not be upset with her.

Stephanie went into their bedroom. Brian was still fully dressed, lying on his back on the bed. Before Stephanie could open her mouth, Brian blurts out that he didn’t want to be married anymore.

She asked him, What did you say?

He repeated it again and she said, Oh, is it because you’re having an affair with that married woman you were dancing with at the party?

Now Brian was surprised by what he just heard. He asked her, How did you find out?

Stephanie said, Oh, so it is true. You’re not going to deny it and you’re giving me an attitude, telling me you don’t want to be married anymore, and to top it off, you’re messing with someone else’s wife while her husband is trying to keep our country safe. Stephanie was looking at him, waiting for an answer or explanation as to why this was happening. She wanted to know if she had done something to make him be with another woman. He still would not answer her. This made her become frustrated with him. It seemed like she was talking to herself.

It was already after 1:00 a.m., and there was no one she could call at this hour. She went downstairs to try and clear her mind. She sat on the couch and cried. This hurt her so much, starting the new year with her husband wanting out of their marriage, and to top it off, he was cheating on her. They had so much together—their daughters, the home they had, and the many things they did together as a family. All was lost. She never thought this would happen to her. She cried again. She did not know what to do next. How would her days and nights be? Even though she was hurting, she still wanted Brian to hold her. She still loved him. At that moment, she never felt so alone in her life. As much as she still needed Brian, her daughters would also need him.

Stephanie was having mixed emotions. She was very upset with him about his cheating and his announcement concerning their marriage. She thought, Would they still sleep in the same bed and would she want to be intimate with him still? She was not ready to tell her family. They would have a lot of questions, especially her mother and sister, and she knew how they felt about Brian.

She fell asleep on the couch and woke up before Brian and slid into their bed next to him. He didn’t move or ask her if she was okay. He smelled so good. She wanted to lie closer to him, but the thought of him cheating kept her on her side of the bed. It felt like her heart was being ripped apart. She didn’t want to cry while Brian was there. She had to make some decisions because she was in a life-changing situation. What would Brian do next?

Since he gave her the biggest shock of her life, now she could not underestimate what he would do next. How long could she live in the same house with him and pretend everything was the same?

She drifted into a deep sleep. She felt Brian touching her and kissing her neck. They kissed and he knew how to caress her body, and she was holding him so tight. He was about to remove her gown when she was awakened by Brian telling her he was going to go watch the football game with his friends. She wanted to talk about last night, but he didn’t. He seemed like it was just another day for him; like life goes on.

While she was feeling so emotional, she told him she’d see him later. He left and she was left with many thoughts on her mind.

Stephanie got calls from her mother and sister. They wished each other a Happy New Year and Stephanie’s mother asked her if something was wrong. She could sense something in her voice. Stephanie told her, No, everything was fine. She was too embarrassed to talk about her situation because her marriage was almost perfect. She told her mother she’d talk with her later.

Brian was a successful businessman and a good husband and father, and he always spoiled her and the girls. In fact, he recently bought her a brand-new BMW for her birthday. He was always sending her on shopping sprees, and they always would go on mini-vacations as a family. He would treat her like a queen, and their trips would be so romantic. She asked herself why Brian would need another woman’s affection when he had it all with her, Stephanie knew for sure that woman would not take any more from them than she already has. She knew she had more class in her little toe than that bitch had in her whole body.

Brian came home barely talking to Stephanie. She was in one room and he was in another. She decided to take a long relaxing bubble bath with her favorite wine and candles. When she was done, she went into their room. Brian was already in bed watching TV, so she got in the bed and said nothing to him. She lay down and he asked her, Aren’t you going to kiss me good night? Being who she is—she still loved him—she turned to him and kissed him fast, but before she could turn back around, he grabbed her and held her tight. He started kissing her. It was hard for her to say stop because it felt so right. She kissed him back. He was touching her so passionately. She lost herself in the moment and they made love with compassion, but Stephanie was still hurting on the inside. They held each other a little while longer and they both fell asleep.

Stephanie was feeling hopeful. She was thinking maybe Brian had changed his mind, the way he made love to her last night. It was so amazing, but his actions showed differently the next day. He asked her what time she was picking up the girls, and she told him, Probably in a couple of hours.

He said, Okay.

She was hoping he was ready to talk, but he just asked her if she wanted something to eat and she felt disappointed. But she told Brian that she was hungry and said sure, he could bring her something back. So he left to get their food, and Stephanie went into their room and looked at their bed and thought about the night before. She wished that night never ended.

Brian came back and they ate in silence. She was happy for the time they spent together because there had been so much distance between the two of them.

Stephanie left to go pick up Salia and Sasha. When she arrived at her sister Cynthia’s house, they greeted each other and the girls came running to her saying they missed her. She said she missed them also. She told them to give her a few minutes with their aunt, so Cynthia attempted to ask Stephanie what was going on. She said that soon their mother and her would get together and talk about it, but of course, Cynthia still tried to pry, but Stephanie said, Let’s talk about you instead.

Cynthia said, Not right now, but we will get together soon.

Stephanie called for the girls and they left. As they drove home, they told their mom all about the New Year’s celebration they had at their aunt’s home. All Stephanie could think about was how her celebration turned into a nightmare, but she kept a positive look on her face so the girls wouldn’t notice the sadness she was feeling.

The girls grabbed their bags and ran inside. They were happy to see their dad, and he was waiting for them. He hugged them and they talked about their weekend to him. They were all laughing. It looked like old times as Stephanie stood by and watched them. She thought she probably should go and get dinner started.

While they were hanging out and they went upstairs, she grabbed the monthly bills so she could balance her checkbook, and of course, bills had to be paid. While the food was cooking, she went over the bank statement and noticed some charges that she was not familiar with. She saw a charge at Victoria’s Secret for two hundred dollars, and as she read some more, there was another charge for over three hundred dollars from some women’s clothing store that she never shopped at. She saw where he had been to a few restaurants, and it was not her he took. She thought Brian had not bought her anything lately, and she hoped he didn’t purchase these items for that woman. She had to ask him after dinner. She was feeling anxious