Betrayal Book 01

"And what was the end of it with Jill? Did you agree to keep silent?"

Amanda refused to look at me and shook her head. I thought there must be more to come, so I pressed her again. "What the hell else happened?"

"Jill asked me not to go to our room that afternoon as she wanted to entertain big dick one last time."

"And did you agree?"

She hung her head and just nodded.

I could not leave this alone now, I was angry with her for colluding in this affair. So I asked her simply. "Why?"

She told me that Jill had told her that it was only a holiday romance and it would soon be over. Then she said with a little exasperation I her voice. "She's my sister for God's sake, I've always looked out for her! She said it was no different to me keeping my mouth shut about the Spa weekend and anyway what James doesn't know won't harm him!"

"And what about Mandy? Did anyone give a single thought about her during all this? After all, it was her Hen Party and it seemed that her mother was only interested in satisfying her base carnal sexuality."

"Mandy was so out of it the night before, so she would not have able to notice anything, but Sharon was around but after talking to her I found out that she had not noticed her mother's absence the previous evening. I was relieved about that and only hoped that it would stay that way."

I was so completely unhinged by this latest revelation that I stood up and was about to leave the room when she asked. "Don't you want to hear the rest of it?"

"You mean there's more?"

"Oh yes, so much more to relate yet!"

I wasn't sure that I wanted to hear any more details, so I said. "Just give me a summary then."

Amanda took a few minutes to collect her thoughts and said. "I kept away from our room that afternoon and waited until Jill phoned that he had left. All my clothes were still there and I needed to get changed into something more suitable for the evening. The room stunk of sex and I found four used condoms just like the one you found in my case lined up on the top of the TV. Jill was lying naked on the bed and had that dreamy look on her face. She told me she had been well and truly fucked and would be sore for a week. Looking pointedly at the line up of used condoms, I said 'He must have some stamina to fill four of those. She said quite simply, 'Oh they're not all his, he brought two of his pals in as well' I tried to reason with her about what she was doing and how that it was bound to come out this time, but she said that nothing would come out if I followed the 'On tour' rules."

She paused for moment as if trying to sort out the chronological order of events, then continued.

"Where was I, oh yes, this was on the Thursday and the lads had to leave to catch their flight home that evening. Thank God, I thought now maybe we can get some semblance of normality back. With the boys away there was no opportunity for any more sexual activity that night, but on Friday a new crowd of men, not boys arrived at the hotel. I could see Jill and most of the others were interested immediately and the flirting started as soon as they joined us around the pool. I was determined not to get involved, so I told Jill that since this was the last night, Mandy, Sharon and the rest of us planned on going to a night club further down the coast. She took Sharon aside and spent some time talking to her privately. Things appeared to be OK when we went to the room to get changed for dinner and clubbing until just before we were to leave, Jill pleaded that she felt a migraine coming on and begged us to go on without her. I was concerned and offered to stay with her, but she insisted I go with the rest of the party."

"So that's what we did and we had a great time. We got hit on by a few guys we were dancing with in one club, but they were polite enough and did not cause us any bother."

"Later on when we got back to the hotel I went to our room to find the door wide open and on entering I saw my worst nightmare. Jill was on the bed was surrounded by four or five men with their cocks erect patiently awaiting their turn. On the bed she was entertaining two more! One of them spotted me and shouted to his mates, 'hey reinforcements have arrived' and started to reach for me. I turned and fled before they could lay a hand on me. I went to Reception and asked if they had a vacant room tonight. They were concerned that there was something wrong with my room and wanted to go check, but I told them that my sister was snoring so loudly that I would never be able to get any sleep."

"They laughed and quickly found me a room and that's where I spent the night. The images of what I had witnessed kept me awake for a long time. As you know our flight was an early morning one and we were to be picked up at eight in the morning I had yet to complete packing my case. Early the next morning, I just had to go in and disturb them. I entered the room not knowing what I was going to find. In the end all I found was Jill on the bed and sound asleep. She looked very used with red marks on their breasts and what looked like bruising on their inner thighs. I woke her up and told her that she had better get a move on if she wanted to catch our flight. She cursed loudly and jumped up and ran into the toilet to get showered. I looked around the room for my stuff to find that it was scattered everywhere."

She hesitated clearly unsure of how much to tell me before continuing.

"The first thing that struck me was the number of used condoms that were also lying around, some on the TV as before but others both sealed and unsealed were also lying where they were dropped. I was mortified, I could not leave the room like that, so I slipped a plastic bag over my hand and proceeded to pick them up and place them in another bigger bag. I all I counted tent condoms and when Jill came out from the shower, I handed her the bag and said 'yours to dispose of I think' She didn't turn a hair and told me she would get rid of them before we left. I hurriedly completed my packing, throwing my clothes in any old how. I guess that's why I never saw the condom that blocked the washer. I had my shower and dressed. Jill was still packing, so I simply left without saying another word to her and went down to check out. The rest you know."

"OK, I guess I understand and accept your theory of how the condom arrived here, but what I cannot for the life of me understand, is why you condoned her behaviour? Didn't you realise that by remaining there that you were aiding her in her adultery?"

She started to get very agitated and was pulling at her wedding ring, a sure sign that she was desperate to find the words to explain her position. Finally, she said.

"Put yourself in my position, I was a four or five hour flight from home, my little sister had placed me in an impossible position. I knew if I returned home early there would be questions that I could and would not answer. I also knew that poor James would immediately suspect something and was amiss if I refused to provide a believable response and I also knew that he would ferret out the truth eventually. I thought that if I remained with them I could get her to realise that she was destroying her marriage and get her to change her ways."

We both paused for a while, I went to the toilet and when I returned, she asked. "What do you intend to do now? Are you going to say anything to James? You know that it will destroy their marriage if you do?"

"What makes you think that he does not already suspect Jill of fucking around behind his back?" I asked.

She went pale at that question. "But how could he possibly know, if everyone keeps their mouths shut, he will remain in ignorance?"

"Give him some credit for fucks sake" I almost shouted at her. "You said yourself that she was showing the signs of wear and tear from her sexual Olympics! Do you think he won't notice? He's been without sex for almost a week! I don't know how often they have sex, but I would imagine that it they are anything like us, he will have been only too eager to welcome her back."

She clearly hadn't thought about that and just sat there with tears running down her cheeks. She wasn't sobbing or crying hard, just the silent tears.

Chapter 5 – James gets the Pi's Report and another family wedding event

As it turned out, I did not need to inform James about Jill's behaviour as James called me at work the next day and asked if we could meet that evening before going home. We agreed to meet at what was becoming our regular, the Travel Lodge Bar. I arrived to find James already there waiting with our beers lined up. He looked pretty awful and he said. "Don't say it. I know I looked like death warmed up. I've already received that comment from my PA. I need to talk to someone about the PI report that was emailed to me this afternoon." He then handed me the summary sheet attached to the report and I quickly scanned through it. It pretty much mirrored what Amanda had revealed to me the previous night. I handed it back to him and asked him. "What do you intend to do?"

He said. "I just don't know. Mandy's wedding is next weekend and the last thing I want to do is spoil her big day, but I don't know if I can act as if nothing has happened for that long. It was bad enough when I only suspected her of cheating but now I have the proof, how can I not say anything?"

I thought about it and said. "Don't you have that big commission in Plymouth due to start soon?"

He nodded in the affirmative, so I suggested. "Why don't you take yourself off down there for a few days, at least until Thursday, that way you limit your contact with Jill to phone calls?"

"That's a great idea." He said as he jumped at the idea. "It's far enough away that I need to stop over and I can use the time to think this through properly. God knows I love her, but this time it's different. I forgave her for her last indiscretion, but this time it's too much!"

We talked around the issue for another hour, but I didn't share Amanda's confession and theory about the condom incident, he had enough on his plate the sad bugger.

When I got home, Amanda quizzed me on my meeting, but I refused to discuss it with her. She was angry at my refusal, but I was still mad at her for putting herself into the position of abetting her sister's infidelity, however many excuses she dreamed up.

So life at the Cairn's house was no bed of roses either that week!

Saturday, and Mandy's Wedding day arrived. We were all in church awaiting the bride's arrival and we all arose as she walked down the aisle holding her father's arm. She looked absolutely radiant and so happy that I had a lump in my throat when I thought of the heartache that would welcome their return from honeymoon. James looked as proud as a peacock, nodding and smiling to everyone as they made their way to the altar. Once he had handed her over to Adam he stepped back and joined Jill on the front row. Jill looked very smart in her designer dress, complete with a stylish fascinator on her head. I watched her closely and she seemed to be tense as if expecting something to happen, but the ceremony went off without a hitch. The reception was held in a large country house and for once the photographer didn't keep everyone waiting for hours. The speeches were all very good, the best man's in particular was very humorous and caused much blushing from both the bride and groom. James speech was more subdued and I noticed that he never once mentioned Jill during it, though he did make reference to honour and faithfulness. I watched, as Jill seemed to squirm a bit when he said that, but I may have been imagining it.

The remainder of the evening went without any cause for concern. True to his word, James had not let his marital problems intrude on his daughter's big day. I thought he did very well. It was Amanda, who told me later that she noticed that he did not once dance with Jill nor spend any more than a few minutes in her company. She also commented on the fact that, they were both circulating and talking with the many friends that descend on these events, so she concluded that was the reason.

The Monday following the wedding, James called me and informed me that he and Jill were separating. He would say no more than that, but did add that he had asked her to leave, which meant, in his opinion that as her closest relatives, Jill would be descending on us soon. I asked. "What happened when you showed her the report?"

He replied succinctly. "She didn't deny it, told me she still loved me, she wanted us to talk about it, but I refused and told her this time it meant divorce."

Sure enough about an hour later a crying Jill turned up in a taxi and asked if we could put her up for a few nights. Of course, Amanda went into big sister mode and took Jill away for some words of comfort. That was the last thing on my mind, I did not want her in our house at all and told Amanda that, but later I had to compromise for the sake of my marriage. Amanda was adamant that no matter what Jill had done, she was still family and in dire need of support. Within days, Jill had settled in to our home as if it was her right. I lost control of my drinks cabinet and TV remote control overnight. She was drinking heavily and Amanda kept making excuses for her.

Mandy and Adam returned from honeymoon a week or so later and were met by Sharon and Gary. I don't know what James had told Sharon about the separation, but she came firmly down on the side of her mother, almost as if he had been the one to have an affair! Soon they were all round at our house ensconced with their mother and Amanda.

It was Amanda who later told me that Jill slanted the explanation she gave to imply that James had encouraged her to take a lover and that it was only when he decided that he couldn't cope with the reality that the separation happened.

I was furious with her and asked why she did not put the facts to them straight and she said. "Jill was in such a state that if I had I couldn't bring myself to alienate her from her daughters!"

"And what about James, you have just let her assassinate his character by not countering her suggestion that he was complicit in this? I honestly despair of you! Just how much more bullshit are you going to allow her to spout?"

Amanda was not having that and she retorted. "Do you know that he has cut her off without a penny? He's cancelled her credit cards and changed the bank accounts and stopped her allowance. She's practically destitute!"

"I don't believe that for a minute that he would cut her off just like that. There must be more to this than we are being told."

I called James and asked him about her allegations that she had been left without any funds and he denied it immediately. The anger in his voice was obvious when he said. "Look! I told her when we broke up what was about to happen and that it would take a few days to make the arrangements! For your information, I have transferred £2,000 into her account this week and will continue to do so each month until the divorce is finalised!" He suggested that we needed to get together and discuss the financial arrangements to prevent any future misunderstandings. I agreed, but he was off to Cornwall again and would be gone for at least a week or two. He promised to call me on his return.

Eager to set the record straight, I related this to Amanda and Jill and she had the good grace to admit that she had in fact received confirmation of the payment when she went to the bank that day. I suggested that she should enlighten her daughters that their Dad was not forcing her into penury. Things got a bit heated after that as Jill refused point blank to tell them the truth. Finally with my exasperation getting the better of me, I said. "Fine! If you refuse to enlighten them, then I will and about more than just the financial situation!"

Amanda and I disagreed totally about my disclosing the information and we had a major confrontation. At one point, she told me. "Look, it's none of your business and you would be better served by keeping your nose out!" After that it was inevitable that we did not speak to each other for several days. Jill was fully aware of our disagreement, Christ you could not keep an argument like that one quiet and every evening after I returned from work, she just sat there in our lounge, remote control in hand and swigging back my Brandy. She had habit of letting a secretive little smile come over her face whenever Amanda and I were together in the same room. It was not an attractive trait and I knew she was up to something! So I made a mental note to watch her closely over the next few weeks.

Amanda and I managed to get back on speaking terms at least, but neither one of us retracted or apologised for the harsh words that were spoken during our argument. Sex was definitely not on the agenda and I tentatively raised the subject with her. She said. "I'm not comfortable with 'doing it' with Jill just along the landing. What if she hears us?"

I controlled the temptation to respond as I wanted and instead asked. "When is she going to start looking for a place of her own? She has enough funds to at the very least, rent a flat or something."

Amanda promised to raise the subject with her, but did not want her to feel as though she was getting pushed out while still so fragile."

Fragile my arse! She was anything but fucking fragile. I was ready to explode, but I bit my tongue and controlled my temper. It would not be productive to start another fight with Amanda over her sister. After all she had agreed to raise the matter of her moving out with her, so I decided to quit while ahead.

James returned from his business trip to Cornwall and called me. He requested that Amanda and I meet with him to discus his divorce from Jill. He specifically stated that he did not want Jill for this meeting. We presented ourselves at his house at the appointed time and he ushered us into the dining room. He opened the conversation and said. "As you may have gathered from my call. I have decided that divorce is the only viable option. Jill's behaviour has made any chance of reconciliation impossible."

After collecting his thoughts, he then summarised the financial arrangements he had agreed with his solicitor and gave us a brief summary. He explained that to fund the two weddings, he had been forced to take a second mortgage on the house and this meant that there would be little equity left when it was sold. He had a problem, in that his company had been nominally paying Jill a salary and clearly he was obligated to support her until she found another job. He said that he was proposing continue with the monthly payments to her at the current rate and would maintain this for another six months or until their divorce was complete. She would be entitled to half of his private pension frozen at the point of their separation, but this would not fall due until his nominal retirement date. Jill's car had been on lease to his practice and the contract terminated immediately.

He handed Amanda the sheet summarising all this and she agreed to discus it with Jill. He smiled and said. "I don't care if she agrees to my proposals or not, I am filing for divorce based on 'irreconcilable differences' If she chooses to contest my proposed settlement, then I will have no option but to use the PI's report and change the grounds to adultery!"

Amanda was clearly shocked by his hard-nosed attitude. She had never seen this side of James. This was the decisive architect and project manager side to him that he rarely if ever displayed socially. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but wisely decided to remain silent.

We returned home and Amanda took Jill into the dining room for a talk. I was glad that it was not me that had to inform her that James's attitude had hardened. I could hear the raised voices and decided not to get involved.