So, even if he was truly upset by his behavior, she didn’t care. He had crossed the line. His feelings meant nothing to her. But she had a game to play, and play she would. If she had to fake an interest to make her role believable, she would.

“Instead of coming up with a lie to justify as your actions, just tell me the truth?” Eden said.

“The truth?” Jermaine repeated the two words as if it were a foreign language.

Hearing Eden ask for the truth seemed so simple. The truth was something he never planned to give. Though now hearing her ask for it, it seemed like the best thing to do. If he had just told the truth from the beginning, he wouldn’t be living in hell now.

“Yes, Jermaine the fucking truth! After all these years, is that really something that needs to be explained? I thought our love was pure and we could talk about anything. But I was wrong. Calling you was a mistake, because what the fuck do we need to talk about. I know the truth. You fucked my sister and that’s all I need to know. I gotta-”

“Ok Edy. Ok. Just give me a second,” Jermaine interrupted.

He knew that if Eden ended the call that she would not call back. Instead, the next person he’d hear from would be her divorce attorney.

“I know this is going to sound cliché, but I love you and made a simple mistake. The situation with Envy was just a thing that happened. That’s it and that’s all.”

Eden lost it. His response to having an affair with her younger sister nearly made her blow a gasket.

“Are you fucking insane Jermaine? A woman’s menstrual cycle is just a thing that happens. Unexpected rain on a sunny day is just a thing that happens. You fucking my sister was not just a thing that happened. An opportunity was presented, and you made a choice, that’s what happened. Did you think that bullshit line would work?” Eden asked.

“Edy, I-”

“No, Jermaine. I was a damn good woman. And of all the women you could have slept with you chose to go flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. You know what’s funny? You are not the first of my exes to fuck my little sister. I guess Envy is just a better woman than me,” Eden cried.

Jermaine’s stomach lurched. Hearing Eden mentioning her exes did something to his psyche. He knew it shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help the way it made him feel. It was as if she was saying that if Envy hadn’t slept with her exes, she would’ve been with someone else. At least that’s how he interpreted it.

“Focus on her feelings and not yours,” he told himself.