The Ultimate Betrayal by Kimberla Lawson Roby

called her. Her hands trembled and her body tightened, but she knew she had to get this over with.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey, beautiful, how are you?”
    “Not good.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “Are you?”
    “Of course I am. Why would I want you to be unhappy?”
    “What we did never should have happened. Which is why I begged you to leave me alone. I told you I didn’t want to see you.”
    “I hate that you’re feeling so torn. You’re caught in the middle of two men. One you feel obligated to be with and one you love from the bottom of your soul.”
    “Why do you keep saying that? How many times do I have to tell you that it’s Phillip who I love?”
    “Sweetheart, have you forgotten the way we made each other feel yesterday? We were so in sync that not even the best writer alive could properly describe it. What we shared was beautiful and very much meant to be.”
    Alicia held the phone in silence.
    “You have to tell him,” he said.
    “Tell who what?”
    “You have to tell your ex the truth. Otherwise, you’re going to feel more miserable by the day. Maybe before you saw me again, it was easy to pretend you didn’t love me, but now you can’t deny anything.”
    “Love isn’t everything.”
    Levi chuckled. “Are you listening to yourself? I mean, do you really believe what you’re saying?”
    “Why won’t you just find someone else to be with?”
    “Because there is no one else for me. All I want is to love and take care of you for the rest of my life.”
    “Not that any of this even matters, but how will you do that? What job are you gonna get?”
    “I’m opening a restaurant. Mom still has hers there in Mitchell, but I’m opening an upscale one, the kind no other restaurant in town will be able to compare to.”
    “And what bank do you think is going to give an ex-drug-dealer a business loan?”
    “I don’t need one. Remember years ago, when I talked to you a couple of times on the phone?”
    “And?”
    “You said something about all my money being confiscated, even my offshore accounts, but what did I say?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “I told you that you obviously didn’t know me very well.”
    “That’s beside the point.”
    “I don’t see how it is. Especially if you’re worried about how we’ll be able to pay bills and live the kind of life you’ve always been used to.”
    “Why won’t you just accept that what we had was great, but it’s over?”
    “There’s a chance that maybe I could have. But not after yesterday. When you and I were making love, you were exactly where you wanted to be. I knew you’d been thinking about me and wanting to be with me again for a long time. Way before I even emailed you on Saturday.”
    “That’s not true,” she said, although she knew she’d never fully gotten Levi out of her system. She wasn’t sure she ever would, but she had also made up her mind to love, honor, and cherish Phillip. He was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
    “It is true, and when are you going to come see me again?” he asked.
    “I’m not. Once we hang up, you and I are finished. No more phone calls, no more visits, no anything.”
    “Remember before I was arrested, how you and I would lay up for hours after making love, laughing, talking, and holding each other? Remember how you hated when it was time for you to go home?”
    Alicia couldn’t take this anymore. “Just stop. What we did yesterday was wrong, and I take full responsibility for it. All I can do now is ask God to forgive me, and move on. If you call me again, I won’t be answering. If you send me messages, I’m going to delete them.”
    “We’ll see.”
    “I mean it, Levi.”
    “So do I.”
    “You take care.”
    “You too.”
    Alicia ended the call and felt relieved. Maybe now Levi was finally taking her seriously. If for some reason he wasn’t, that was his problem. It was something he’d have to deal with and get over on his own. She was marrying