How Much Worse Can This Get?

"Yeah, we got them by the throat. But, this is the hard part, Jackson. I need you to brace for impact. She has been seeing Mr. Dubois for a very, very long time, even before you were married. My fact-finders say he was bragging that he had sex with Dakota the morning of your wedding just a few hours before the ceremony. According to Dubois, Dakota told him she was going to give you sloppy seconds on your wedding night."

I should have been furious and become homicidal but all I could think to say was, "How would your investigators learn that?"

"It's better that you don't know Jackson. A lot of the really good stuff we can't use in court anyway. And, if I wasn't such a good attorney, we might even get in trouble for it." He laughed loudly at his attempt at humor.

"Shit EH, the kids. I wonder if they are mine?" I could tell just by looking at him that there was more bad news to come. "There's more, isn't there? Holy shit EH, could she be married to him too? You know one of those people that lead two different lives with two different families, a bigamist I think it is."

"Oh, Dubois is married alright, but not to your wife. He has a family of his own. He's been married for ten years, has three children, all under the age of eight. Burning his ass will be easy if you're up for it."

"I don't know EH, I don't want to fuck up the lives of his wife and kids."

"Well Jackson, I think you would be doing his wife and kids a favor. If you choose to watch and listen to the videos of Dakota and him, you'll see that he pretty much shreds you and his wife to pieces. Dakota doesn't really join him in all that talk, but she doesn't shut him down either. In fact, my people picked up information that indicates he only married his wife because Dakota wouldn't divorce you to be with him."

"Jesus fucking Christ, EH, given everything you have found out, why would she want to stay married to me?"

"We haven't figured that one out yet buddy, but we are working on it. Just give us time pal."

"I can't hold it together much longer. When can we have her served?"

"In good time Jackson, but I'm working on something that will make it worth the wait."

Life went on. Dakota was very affectionate. She had the girls on their best behavior, and we made love a little more often than in the past. There was no change, however, in the manner of our lovemaking. She always seemed very satisfied. I didn't think she was that good an actress to be able to fake her satisfaction all these years. It just made her cheating all the more disturbing.

Oh, I was a realist and knew that all women faked orgasms at some point during their lives. Well, at least 80% if you believe one survey's results. However, years ago, I had asked her if she ever did, and she had answered yes. I told her that it hurt me, and I asked her not to do that anymore. My ego wasn't so fragile that it couldn't take it, I told her. I stressed with her the need for us to be open and honest with one another.

At any rate, maybe 25%-30% of the time we had sex she didn't orgasm. It never seemed to bother her all that much. She said men were far more focused on orgasms than women. According to her what was more important was that 100% of the time with me, she felt safe, warm, and loved. I guess I was a sucker?

I was just driving myself crazy, going round in circles, trying to understand her actions. How she could say that and still be cheating on me. So I decided that it was best if I was the one to do the faking until I could get this over with. What the hell was EH waiting for anyway?

The following Monday, I got a phone call from him asking me to come to his office once more. EH was one of those guys that would be on his death bed cracking jokes. He never took anything seriously, but looking at him now, I thought he would be physically ill soon.

He just slowly nodded his head. "Look, Jack, I uh, I'm not quite sure what, I mean how to tell you this, but it could change your outlook on custody."

"They aren't mine, are they?"

"We won't know for certain until we have DNA done, but no, I don't think they are yours. But, it's worse than that."

"How much worse could it be, EH? If they're not mine biologically?"

"They know Jack."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I sharply interjected.

"The girls know that Dubois is their natural father. My people got a video of the four of them, Dubois, Dakota, and the girls together, picnicking at the park last Sunday. They were calling him Daddy. He and your wife were holding hands, kissing, and playing games with Sheridan and Helena."

That's the point where everything went black.

When I came to a couple of minutes later, I remembered Dakota telling me while I was moving the lawn last Sunday that she was going to take the girls to the park. What a cunt!

The next thing I remembered was EH's paralegal had a cold wet towel pressed on my forehead and I could hear him calling my name.

"Jackson, what happened to you? You passed out, let me call the paramedics."

"No, I'll be fine. I was shaking my head trying to restore the blood flow to my brain. "Sorry about that EH. Jesus, it's like my whole life has been a fraud."

"Buddy, you just said the magic word."

"What word?"

"Fraud. I've been thinking, you are a nicer man than I am. But, if I was in your shoes, I would want real permanent revenge. I wouldn't be satisfied with tipping off his wife and divorcing Dakota. I think I might have a way to do that. Did you know that you can have a marriage annulled for fraud?"

"We've been married for eighteen years, EH, how the hell can I get an annulment?"

"In our state, if the marriage is a fraud, the length of time is irrelevant. You just have to file within four years of discovering the fraud. I won't blow smoke up your ass, it wouldn't be easy, but it might be worth a try. If you can get an annulment, you wouldn't have to pay any alimony. You probably won't have to pay child support anyway, but it is a possibility depending on the judge."

"What! You can't be serious. Child support?"

"Unless we can prove Dakota and Dubois deliberately and fraudulently had you raise Dubois' kids there's a chance you'd be stuck. But that's not my real reason for suggesting the annulment. If we file for divorce, your case won't get a mention in the public eye.

"But, if we file for an annulment after an eighteen-year marriage, I'm betting the tabloids and news outlets will be all over it. We will publicly shame them both. It makes our case for back child support all that much more feasible too. And that's where I can get my 40%. I could even give you a 5% discount. Plus you get the 'ruthless' you asked for."

"Your largess is touching EH. It grabs me right here." I taped on my heart.

"There's even more Jack, we found some other interesting little facts."

I listened to what he had to say, and then we started making plans and saying our goodbyes. By that time, I was pretty well past being shocked by anything.

When I returned to the office, I was ambushed by Frannie.

"Jack! What is wrong with you? You look like death warmed over. I'm going to take you to the doctor's right now."

"No Frannie..."

"But Jack..."

"I said that will be all, Ms. Graybull!" She looked shocked at my tone but reluctantly left. She seemed incredibly downcast. I didn't care because I had got an education in EH's office earlier.

I had expected it at some point, and I wasn't disappointed. Less than thirty minutes after dismissing Frannie, Dakota's lithesome figure appeared in my doorway. She was obviously braless, wearing four-inch 'come fuck me' heels, and showing cleavage down to her navel. Damn. she was good-looking. What a waste.

"Frannie called me. She said something was wrong..."

I gave a sarcastic snort which interrupted her. I was trying to, without a great deal of success, maintain my composure. I was trying to formulate a cognitive response when I realized she was staring at the photographs. She had looked for them as if she knew right where they would be.

She gave a deep sigh and settled into one of the chairs in front of my desk. She wasn't wearing panties either. Does she really think that will help? "You were there...you saw us." She looked sad, but her words were spoken with only a little sense of despondency, mostly in a matter of fact manner. They cut me to the core in any case.

"It doesn't mean anything Jack. It's just a fling. It doesn't in any way compare to what we have together."

"Tell me something Dakota, I know that wasn't the first time. How long?"

"No it wasn't the first time sweetheart, but it's only been going on for a couple of months." She almost sounded sincere.

"Two months. How many times?"

"I think it's only been three or four times baby, and never before at the house. I screwed up, it's over, let's just forget it."

The lies rolled off her tongue without a hint of guilt. She wasn't sweating or wringing her hands. She didn't look away, she didn't even blink. She was stone cold lying while looking directly into my eyes the whole time. I knew she had no intention of giving up her boyfriend.

"Thank you for being honest with me, Dakota. I think most cheaters would have just lied and claimed it was the first time. Like drunks saying, 'honest officer I only had two drinks' kind of thing. But you told me the truth. You gave me a peek into your soul and let me see who you really are, and I appreciate it." I had what I hoped was a benign look on my face.

I noticed just the faintest flittering of her eyelids at my last statement but nothing more. She must have recognized something in my expression though.

"Don't do this, Jack, it won't end well for you. You will be hurt in ways you can't fathom. It would be so unnecessary. Just leave it alone, and let's go on with our life as it is. I love you, you love me, and we both love the girls. Please just let it go."

"It almost sounds like you're threatening me, Dakota."

"Oh honey, I'm sorry if it sounded that way. That's not how I meant it at all. What I meant was that you are in control of how much you let my failings hurt you, hurt us. But

mostly Jack, it will hurt Helena and Sheridan. They didn't do anything wrong, I did. Please, let's talk about it more when you get home tonight. I know I can make you understand."

"Ok, we'll talk more tonight. But I really need to get back to work right now."

She walked over to me and planted a smoldering hot kiss on my lips and shoved her tongue down my throat before I knew what she was doing. Maybe she mistook me for her boyfriend?

"We're so good together babe; don't let my weakness throw our family away." She turned and sashayed out the door like she didn't have a care in the world.

I was so shocked I just sat there dumbstruck and wide-eyed for about five minutes before I hit the intercom. "Ms. Graybull, can you come in please?"

"How long have you known Ms. Graybull? You told her about the photos didn't you?"

Silence. She was dabbing her eyes with a hanky as she sat stiffly in her chair as she looked downward.

"I'm waiting for an answer."

She looked up, "so now it's Ms. Graybull Jack, after all these years?'

"Yes, and it's Mister Healy for now."

"Are you going to fire me Ja...I mean Mr. Healy? You know I really need this job." She was openly sobbing now.

"Not if I get a truthful answer from you and you are willing to give an affidavit to my attorney. What will it be?"

"I've known for a while."

I disgustedly reached over and picked up the company phone. "Hi Georgina, I need to speak with William about a problem..." William 'Bill' Cody was the VP of Human Resources. Frannie interrupted me.

"Please, don't do it, I'm sorry Mr. Healy. I knew before you hired me."

"What did you know Ms. Graybull?"

She went back to her equivocating. I slapped my palm hard on the desk. It made a snapping sound, almost like a gunshot. It caused her to jump it startled her so.

"I am losing my patience."

"You know about her, well, her activities."

"I'm growing weary of the games Ms. Graybull. I'm tired of asking questions. Tell me a story. NOW!" I could see her trying to work out in her mind whether or not to tell me the whole truth. "I won't accept anything less than the whole truth Frannie." I deliberately softened my voice and my attitude. "Please, Frannie, you at least owe me that for having helped you out. I'm trying to figure out why you would betray me like this?"

She had to take a few moments to compose herself. She had been close to hyperventilating. Then she told me everything. Byron Dubois was her cousin on her mother's side. She knew about his relationship with Dakota, and that it started back in high school. And she knew Helena and Sheridan weren't my kids, and that in fact, having Dubois father the girls was a deliberate act.

It went on and on, every revelation was another dagger in my heart. But the knives weren't only for my now evaporated love for Dakota; they were daggers from Frannie's betrayal. For some reason, right now, her betrayal hurt worse.

"I trusted you completely, Frannie." Now I was the emotional one. "Why did Dakota want me to hire you so desperately?"

"To keep an eye on you. She wanted me to let her know if you were ever getting close to discovering her other life." She put her head down like she was embarrassed.

She's embarrassed now? Jesus.

"She also wanted me to let her know if you ever cheated on her." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

Oh for god's sake.

"I don't know if you can help me with this one Frannie, but do you have any idea why she wanted to marry me at all? Never mind the fact she was in here just now professing her undying love for me and pleading for us to stay married."

"You won't believe it, but she really does love you."

I gave a sardonic grunt. "Yeah, that would be a hard sell right now."

"It's true Mr. Healy. I asked her that very question myself many years ago. She told me that she truly loved you, but she needed Dubois."

"That's it; she fucked up my life because she needed your cousin?" I shouted it. I was incredulous, and there was more head bobbing from Frannie. "Why the kids, Frannie?"

"Jack... I mean Mr. Healy..." I just rolled my index finger at her, indicating for her to go on. "Are you sure you want to know? It will hurt more than you can possibly know."

People keep saying that to me. "How much worse can it get Frannie?" I was using that term a lot now and every time I did, it did get worse. This time was no exception. Her tears had stopped. She had a look of pity for me, but I could tell she wouldn't lie or even hide anything from me. I was about to get the unvarnished truth.

"Dakota told me that she had Byron get her pregnant so that her babies would come from an alpha male." She paused at this point and looked at me judging my reaction.

"I guess that means I'm a beta?"

"Yes, she wanted the children to have as she called it, alpha bloodlines, but wanted a beta, meaning you, to raise them so they would be kind and compassionate. She knew your personality would be better suited in the long term for raising her kids. And Byron agreed with her.

"She also told me that in order for her to be complete she needed both an alpha and a beta in her life."

I couldn't help it, I started laughing uncontrollably. It was just too ludicrous not to. I let Frannie leave after having first told her that I was going to set up an appointment with EH for her. And that I expected the whole truth from her. She just nodded her head in understanding and headed for the door. She stopped and turned back to me.

"What do you want me to say to Dakota Mr. Healy?"

"Jack is fine Frannie. I really don't care what you say to her. It no longer matters. Good night. Wait! Not that I care really, but do you think I'm a beta?"

She was crying again. "Yes I do, but that isn't a bad thing..."

"That will be all Ms. Graybull."

She let out a sob, turned, and rushed out, closing the door behind her.

End Part I