Hana Pt. 02

This woman glowed beneath the praise and adoration of her husband. She stood beside him, her eyes looking reverently up at him as one would do their hero, much like Rochelle looked at Travis years ago. She smiled bashfully as he talked about her, practically swooning with his every word.

What was worse was her husband. The entire time he was speaking, he was looking at Hana. He wasn't addressing the crowd of over 150 people who came here to congratulate him. No, he was speaking to one person as if no one else was in the room. The way he beamed as he talked about her was nothing like Rochelle had ever seen before. Not even she, his wife of one year but partner of three, received the amount of veneration and reverence that he showed this other woman in that short 5-minute speech.

The two of them looked like they were exchanging vows up there. That was the first moment she saw it. Their closeness, their bond. Their souls were kindred in a way she could only dream. He never, not once, looked at her the way he looked at Hana that night. Never had Rochelle felt such humiliation before.

He denied this, of course; vehemently. But Rochelle couldn't unsee what she saw up there.

That's when all those long hours that Justin spent at work started to bother Rochelle. It was one thing for him to have his job as his mistress. It was another thing for his job to be personified in a woman who was a young, pretty, female version of himself.

From then on, Rochelle felt Hana's shadow over her marriage. Whether she was in the room or just on the other end of Justin's phone, his attention would completely follow her. The only time he wasn't jumping at Miss Perfect's beck and call was when he and Rochelle were actively having sex. And they weren't even doing much of that, currently.

Rochelle started to feel like the third wheel in her own marriage. She was the mistress, the side chick, the one who needed to stay in her lane. She felt forced to take a backseat to the whims of his "work wife".

That lonely feeling started to overtake her, filling her with bitterness. Every phone call, every missed date, every time he walked in the door at 9 at night, Rochelle died a bit more inside.

Justin didn't understand. He couldn't. For him, it was black and white. There was nothing inappropriate going on between him and Hana. He never even thought about having an affair with her. When he looked at her, he saw a partner; someone who, like him, was driven to success at all costs.

Yes, he admired Hana, but it was the same admiration he'd have for another man who was as badass as her. There was no lust in it. He didn't want to be with her. And he knew the feeling was mutual. So, Rochelle's claims that Hana was interfering with their marriage fell on deaf ears. It was ridiculous to even think about.

The disconnect between them grew. Rochelle found herself thinking about Travis more and more. At this point, she'd cut him out of her life and hadn't spoken to him for a few years, but now, she was beginning to get curious about his whereabouts.

How was he doing these days? What was he up to? Was he in a relationship? Did he still work for the company? Had he changed at all?

She began silently stalking his social media to satisfy her curiosity. She took interest in his life since the two of them fell out, wondering how much he'd changed.

He was still handsome as ever. He still pursued the same hobbies as before; had the same interests. His social media had changed with the times, but it was still reminiscent of when they were together.

One thing stood out to her. No photos of any new woman in his life. However, there were still plenty of photos of her.

That surprised her. She was sure there would be someone else by now. Another nubile young woman who was willing to grace his bed. He was definitely an eligible bachelor.

Over the following weeks, this became a daily routine of hers. In her free time, whether she was at the office or in her bed waiting for Justin to come home, she would fill those moments with sneak peeks into his life. Just a taste at first, but like that first puff, it only led to more.

After a while, she started giving him likes. She told herself that she wasn't trying to get his attention, but she couldn't help wondering if he even noticed. Did he even see her out of his thousands of friends and followers?

He did. One day, out the blue, there was a message waiting for her. It was from Travis, and it only contained one word.

"Hi."

That's it. Nothing super flirty. Nothing extravagant.

She responded, of course. It would be rude not to. Soon, the two of them were exchanging DM's on a daily basis, catching up on old times like a couple of lost friends.

When he asked if he could call her, Rochelle's stomach flip flopped. Deep down, she knew this was crossing a line into other territory. But she did it anyway, telling herself that there was nothing wrong with just talking to an "old friend".

Then came the day he was going to be in the next town over. There was a conference he was going to be at, and he wanted to see her. After much internal debate, she agreed.

As she sat in the audience watching him onstage, Rochelle felt herself going backwards in time. So did Travis. The two of them went back to that moment they met years ago.

Travis saw her out there in the audience looking up at him, sitting there with her shapely legs crossed. She looked like she hadn't aged a day. In fact, she looked even more stunning now than she did when they were together. The young, naivete was gone from her eyes. It was replaced with maturity and poise that was both sexy and intimidating.

But even with that, he knew. He saw it in her eyes; the way she still hung onto his every word. He knew he was going to fuck her that night.

The next morning, room service brought breakfast to his hotel room. They ate together, and then Rochelle had sex with a man that wasn't her husband for the second time. The third bout was the next day, right before she had to fly home to her real life.

The amount of guilt Rochelle felt on the plane ride home was immeasurable. This weekend, she did what she swore she'd never do. She cheated on her husband. A lot. It was raunchy. It was sweaty. It was nasty. It was depraved. It was just what she needed it to be.

But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was how much she enjoyed it. While Travis was an accomplished lover who knew her body well, all of her enjoyment wasn't a testament to his skill.

She enjoyed letting go of all the bile she'd been swallowing since Hana entered the scene. She enjoyed not being in the shadow of another woman. She enjoyed having a man desire her so much that he had to have her.

It wasn't just the sex. It was the feeling of being sexy.

The strange thing about the whole ordeal was, she didn't get that rush of feelings she used to have for him. The sex was still insane, and she loved the attention he gave her, but no part of her wanted to be with him. She'd outgrown that woman who was in love with him. Despite what she was doing, she still loved her husband. She still wanted to make it work with Justin. There was always hope that somewhere, somehow, the two of them would find a way back to each other. Travis was nothing more than a Justin surrogate.

In this sense, Travis's worst quality was what she needed. His aversion to commitment and his habit of withdrawing when things got a little too intimate was perfect. It was like a built-in fail-safe. Rochelle would never have to worry about him pressuring her to leave Justin. There would never be an ultimatum. The two of them could enjoy each other as temporary lovers, and then Travis would retreat to a safe distance.

At least, that was the plan.

What she didn't realize was how much Travis missed her. He regretted losing her. It wasn't until he saw how much another man cherished her that he realized the mistake he made in letting her go. While this affair was a fling for Rochelle, it was a second chance for Travis. He was intent on correcting a horrible mistake.

So, Rochelle started secretly "dating" Travis behind her husband's back. She met up at conferences whenever she could convince her job to send her to one. They took mini vacations to see each other. They had phone sex. She sent him naughty pictures.

But it wasn't enough for Travis. He wanted more. So, he floated the idea of them taking a luxury cruise together.

Rochelle originally rejected that idea. Two weeks was a big risk, much more so than their weekend liaisons that could easily be explained. Plus, it sounded a little bit too...intimate; too relationship-y.

Travis was insistent, though. He tried to concentrate on the fun they would have, and not on his secret agenda. He told her how much he wanted to see her in a bikini or have sex with her to the sound of crashing waves. It would be fun to have an extended time together, and to not have their entire relationship crammed into a single hotel room.

Eventually, he wore her down. However, there was still the factor of her husband. No way would he believe that her job would send her away for two entire weeks. Was it even worth the risk to try?

It was actually a conversation with Justin that gave her the final push. It happened one morning a few weeks prior to the cruise. (Note: This is from Hana part 1, the bedroom scene). It started off like most mornings did. The two of them were getting ready for work. Rochelle was a bit sexually frustrated that morning because the night before, Justin came home at about 9:30. He barely had enough energy to speak to her. He just removed his clothes, took a quick shower, and flopped into bed.

With Travis being so adamant about wanting to spend time with her, that made Justin's apathy even more grating. Rochelle wanted him to want her, to rip off her clothes after a long day at work and relieve all his stress using her body. But with the way he just flopped into bed, the message was loud and clear.

So, that next morning, she was in a ornery mood. As an act of passive aggression, she decided to test the waters by floating the idea about a two-week conference. She just wanted to see what his reaction would be.

Just as she anticipated, he was suspicious.

Honestly though, she felt a strange sense of relief at that. A part of her wanted to get called out. She wanted to know that he wasn't so far gone that he'd jump at any chance to get away from her.

Feeling encouraged, she expressed her desire to be intimate with him. Not just sex, but intimacy. She understood how passionate he was about his work. That was one of the things that she found attractive about him. But she also wanted a place in his life.

She told him, "Babe, I would love to just sit next to you and watch TV. Or take a bath together. Or even sit in the same room and read a book. I don't care what we do. I just want to be around you more."

The two of them began making out. She was touching him. Smelling him. Tasting his skin on her lips. She could feel how much he desired her.

But then, his phone rang. And who was on the other line?

Just like that, she went back to playing second to his work wife. He couldn't get away from her fast enough. He just had to rush into the office, to be at her side so the two of them could conquer the world together.

Hana was Robin to his Batman. Rochelle was nothing more than Alfred. Her only role was to keep the mansion tidy and make sure that Bruce Wayne had a home to come back to.

Fuck that.

As she stormed out of the room, her thumb was already searching for Travis's phone number. By the time she sat in the driver seat of her car, she was telling Travis how excited she was about their trip.

***

Now, looking back at everything, that decision to run away didn't seem so empowering. It was a massive mistake, in so many ways.

It was supposed to be a fantasy. And for the first week and a half, it was. She and Travis did all the things a couple would do. They went dancing. They got drunk. They gambled in the casinos. They had a fuck-ton of sex. It was so much fun.

But then, things got a little too real. They flew too close to the sun.

In Barbados, the two of them took a stroll on the beach. It was beautiful. It was romantic. It was perfect. Rochelle felt a peace she hadn't felt in a while.

And that's when Travis did the one thing he wasn't supposed to. As she leaned her head on his shoulder, taking in the beautiful sunset, he admitted his true intentions for taking her on this cruise. He was in love with her and had been for a while. He regretted letting her go to find happiness with another man. He felt like this was fate giving the two of them a second chance.

Then he asked her to leave her husband.

The two of them got into a massive argument. Why did he have to ruin everything? Why couldn't he be like he was before? Why would he complicate something that was supposed to be so simple?

That was the end for Rochelle and Travis. Ironically enough, that final picture that Hana took, the one with the two of them strolling on the beach holding hands with her head leaning on his shoulder was the final picture of them as a happy couple. That picture was the most painful for Justin to see because it was the one that looked like she was moving on to another man. But in fate's twisted sense of humor, it was the one that ended everything for his wife and her affair partner.

She and Travis weren't some couple enjoying a getaway. They were two people trying to rewrite history, only in different ways. He was trying to rewrite the past. She was trying to rewrite the present by using Travis's affection to patch over the colossal hole in her marriage.

Rochelle called Justin from Barbados. She needed to hear his voice. She needed to feel his love. She needed to know that her marriage was worth fighting for.

But he was distracted. Something was going on at work. Something big. And he couldn't be bothered to have a serious conversation with her. Even after a week and a half of not speaking to her, he didn't miss her at all.

That absolutely crushed her.

From then on, the cruise wasn't fun anymore. It was sad. Travis slept on the couch. They ate separately. She went to the pool alone while he watched movies in the room.

When they were finally docked at home, the two of them didn't even share a kiss goodbye. They hugged briefly, like two people who once knew each other but were now strangers. Then they went their separate ways.

And now, being back in the home she shared with her husband, everything felt so empty. For the first time, Rochelle looked around her and realized that she was unhappy here. Travis may have been fake, but he showed her what she really wanted from a husband. She wanted what Travis pretended to give her. She wanted Justin to really want to do those things with her.

But he wouldn't. Maybe he couldn't. Whatever the reason, she realized that what she needed from him wasn't something he was going to give.

And now, she was waiting for him to return home. They needed to talk. Not about Hana, or his job, or how much he was neglecting her, but about where they went from here.

But as the clock continued counting the hours that Justin wasn't here, Rochelle grew even sadder. An ominous epiphany struck her.

He knew about her affair. She didn't know how he knew, but she was sure of it. And her marriage was truly over.

A torrent of emotion swept her away, resulting in deep, soulful sobs. They were so powerful that they made her fall to the floor and hug herself to keep her body from shaking.

She wasn't just a sad woman crying. She was grieving the death of her marriage.