Payback's A Bitch

**

Ten months later, Jason was sitting at a conference table with his divorce attorney across the table with Morgan and hers. Even though, after Barry's inquiry, the district attorney was willing to go forward with charges against Cliff and Shelley, Morgan refused. She was living with Kyla and her husband, but recently moved into a small apartment. Jason was also living in a three-bedroom condo apartment, having sold the house in order to divide the finances. Tommy was living with him, but Kyla would pick him up to visit his mother. Initially it was brief visits, as Jason had concerns about Morgan's mental health, but four months ago turned into three days a week. Other than texts and emails, this was the first contact Jason's had with his soon to be ex-wife since Kyla dragged her from the house screaming.

The lawyers did all the talking. It was shared custody, with Jason being the primary. Assets were divided evenly with alimony or child support. After a few months to calm down, Jason accepted Morgan was always going to be a part of his life as Tommy's mother. So, for his son's sake, he let Morgan off easy. Everything was signed and he was officially no longer married. He shook his attorney's hand and was ready to leave.

"Jason, can I have a moment?" Morgan said. She wore a nice, but classy dress which accenting her slender figure and legs. He really was going to miss having sex with that body -- almost as much as missing the woman who was once his best friend for most of his adult life.

"Fine..." Jason said, staying as the lawyers left.

"Can we go some where? I really need to talk to you," Morgan said.

"Bit late, isn't it?" He replied coldly.

"Obviously, it's not to try and get you back. I understood that was no longer an option long time ago," she said and smiled.

"Fine, how about the café across the street," Jason said.

"Perfect... I need a moment, but I will meet you there in ten minutes. Okay?"

Jason nodded and left the room.

Jason was sitting in the back of the empty café when Morgan approached the table. He noticed she didn't have as much eye makeup on, and her eyes were a little red.

"Thank you so much. This means a lot," Morgan said as she sat down.

They ordered coffee and tea, and small talked a bit about Tommy, like they were old acquaintances who haven't seen each other in years. It was friendly, but not as intimate as people who lived together for over a decade.

At one point, Morgan paused and said, "Jason, I really need to apologize. I'm sure you could tell when we last spoke, I wasn't fully myself and made things so much harder on you."

"Okay..." Jason said flatly.

"First, please believe me hurting you was the last thing in the world I ever wanted to do. I never would've given Dunn two seconds of my time if it wasn't to try and spare you the pain of discovering what I did," Morgan said.

"And what exactly did you do, and why?" Jason said crossing his arms.

"How much do you want to know?" Morgan said.

"Everything. Divorce is final; not like it will affect anything now." Jason said.

"But, it will because I still love and care for you. I want to still be part of your life in some way. I want us to still co-parent even if we are no longer married," Morgan said.

"You want to get back together?"

Her eyes watered. "Yes... But, I told you I know it isn't possible. Fine, I will tell you everything. You deserve to know everything, just know how sorry and ashamed I am about it."

"When did it start?"

Morgan shrugged. "That weekend I went to Shelley and Chris's cabin with the other couples and you were dealing with a work thing and couldn't come. One night, we were all pretty hammered after. It ended up just me and Chris sitting by the fire after the others went to bed. It was getting cold, so he went in for a blanket.

"It just happened... he was being friendly, but really flirting and I was loving the attention. I mean, I don't get the stares and catcalls I used to. We kissed and his hands went between my legs... It didn't go further that night, but Chris started pursuing me after that. We'd have lunch and text each other. Again, I was enjoying the attention and had no attention of cheating. One day, he picked me up to go for lunch, and drove me out of town to a secluded park for a picnic. He kissed me again, and... I'm sorry, but I let my hormones get the better of me.

"I felt so ashamed and scared you'd notice. I was so bad that I developed an ulcer. I tried to be extra nice to make up for my guilt -- I'm sure you noticed when I started giving you frequent blowjobs again. I was sure that I'd never let that happen again, but Chris asked me out for lunch the following week, and I didn't say no. Not even when he drove me to a motel instead of a restaurant.

"I know that it doesn't matter, but we only had sex maybe five times over those months. Once in his car, the other times in a motel and always with protection. Just vaginal sex, no oral or anything. And, it wasn't as good as with you -- I swear.

"When I told you, I think I said I ended things from the hospital, that's not exactly true. I stopped having sex with Chris about seven weeks before Dunn confronted me with the pictures of us leaving a motel room. However, I still was letting him take me for lunch a couple times a week. That is what I ended. I knew there was zero chance of us if he was still around -- of course that didn't matter."

Jason sighed. "You still haven't said the why. I thought we had the perfect marriage; that's why this hurt so much. I felt completely blindsided and a huge fucking idiot. To realize my perfect wife had a long term affair with another man..."

"I told you: it was stupid vanity. He was fawning over me, like you used to and other men used to, and I enjoyed it. I thought our marriage was good too -- and I was perfectly satisfied with our sex life. I didn't let him have me for the sex... I don't know why I did it other than being caught up in a stupid fantasy and acting like a stupid teen bitch. Even though Chris and Shelley are also through, I have absolutely no interest in any type of a relationship with him -- ever."

Jason was silent for a moment and then said, "Okay. Now tell me about Dunn, the truth."

Morgan looked down at her tea and shrugged. "He approached me at the bar, before I was that drunk or took that pill. I threatened to call the bouncers, when he showed me the picture of me and Chris leaving a motel room holding hands. We were always careful to be discrete and the one time... He threatened to tell you and told me I needed to be nice to him. I told him to fuck off, but was really scared he'd tell you. He approached me again, after I was pretty fucked up drunk and on the X. First he said he just wanted a sexy dance, but when we started I felt warm and my self-control was gone. I remember flashes, not everything I did. I'm sure you know, if it wasn't for the drug and alcohol, I never would have."

Jason snorted. "Even if he promised not to tell me if you fucked him?"

"Yes," Morgan snapped, "Because I would've known better. I knew when he told me that he was telling you anyway. I actually was going to leave right there to come home and do damage control, but... Shelley talked me into staying."

"So, if Dunn didn't confront you, how long would the emotional affair with Chris have continued?" Jason crossed his arms.

"I don't know... After we stopped having sex, I felt less guilty about going out with him. It became solely about the attention once more." Morgan said, "Again, I am so, so, sorry. Even though we are not married, I do want to make it up to you -- earn your respect again."

"How can you do that?" Jason snapped, "Think I'd still want blowjobs or maybe some anal on the side?"

"No... nothing like that," Morgan said crying, "I couldn't handle having sex with you knowing it was just sex. I just mean... I don't know... take Tommy short notice if you have a date or something. I'm sure you're already seeing people again. Cook for you... Something. Jay, it's killing me that you hate me right now and I want to fix that."

"I don't hate you... I hate myself that I still love you," Jason said, "But, not enough that I would be stupid enough to give you a second chance. Sorry, if Chris seduced you that easy, and then Dunn... I will never trust you again."

"I understand," Morgan said, tears running down her cheek, "But, can we at least get along. Try to be friends."

"Who is he?" Jason said.

Morgan blinked. "What?"

"I know you. The only way you could so casually mention me dating is if you already were yourself. Who is he?"

"I met him at a party Kyla threw. He works with her... It's not serious, I was just lonely," Morgan looked down, "I mean, we were through, so I didn't think it mattered."

"How long ago did you start fucking him? I'll make Kyla tell me if you don't..." Jason said leaning forward.

"I..."

"How long after you initially moved out? Tell me that," Jason said.

"A couple weeks... maybe three..."

That was during the time he was still flip-flopping over giving her another chance. Her refusing to attend counseling at that point sealed the deal, but obviously she just had moved on. Jason shook his head. "That hung up on losing me, weren't you? Not that it's any of your business, but besides the 'Palm Sisters,' I've still been too upset over us ending to even consider dating anyone." He stood up. "I'm sorry, but after knowing you thirteen years, I'm finally getting to know what type of person you really are. Was Chris even the first you cheated on me with? Forget it, I don't want to know the answer and definitely do not want to have any relationship with you other than sharing custody of Tommy. And thanks for making me have no regrets for divorcing your cheating ass. Bye."

Jason blocked out whatever excuses she was trying to make as he walked out. He felt stupid for thinking that maybe they could become friends again. How beautiful she looked at the meeting with the lawyers, a small part of him was still considering even trying counseling to reconcile. Instead, he left mostly angry with himself for being a sucker to not have seen how his beautiful wife was more concerned with some one making her feel beautiful than having a relationship with him. He resolved to going back to just texting with Morgan and letting Kyla being the go-between for Tommy traveling to each apartment.

Three days later, when it was time for Morgan to have Tommy for a few days, he texted her and didn't receive any reply. After four hours, he became a little concerned, and texted Kyla to see if she knew what was up with his ex-wife.

Kyla didn't respond to the text, but called twenty minutes later.

"Hello..."

"Hi, Jason," said Kyla in a frantic voice, "You need to come to Westview Memorial Hospital, Morgan's been admitted."

"What happened?"

"She's been beaten up, quite badly."

"By who?" Jason was concerned it was a mugging or rape attempted.

"It was Jeanelle, Wes's wife -- I guess she must have found out and tracked Morgie down to her work."

"Wait, is Wes the guy she's been dating the past ten months -- he's married?" Jason shook his head in disbelief.

"No... that's Mark, but it's more casual than dating... they're mostly friends. I don't think they've even been intimate yet," Kyla said in a weird tone.

"What did this Jeanelle find out about?" Jason asked sharply, deciding not to mention he knew Kyla was lying to cover for her friend.

"It happened once... I mean she still really loves you and was an emotional mess dealing with the divorce. One thing led to another one night and..."

"Wait, Wesley Sharpe? Her lawyer who's like fifty?" Jason nearly dropped his phone.

"Jason, she's in rough shape, please come see her," Kyla said, "And bring Tommy."

"Is she going to live," Jason said.

"What? Yeah, but she's got a cracked bone in her..." Kyla started.

"Kyla, you know what Tommy had to see the last time I took him to see his mother in the hospital and how it affected him. Tell my ex-wife Tommy will have to wait till she's out to see him. And, considering she didn't wait till our divorce was final to start acting like a slut, tell her I'm rethinking our custody arrangement. She already told me she was fucking that Mark before I made the final decision to divorce her ass. I'm starting to question whether her personal judgments will have a negative impact on our son."

"You heartless asshole; I'm not telling her that. She's barely conscious," snapped Kyla, "How dare you threaten to take her son. If you were more of a man, maybe she wouldn't have needed to get some real cock on the side."

"Fuck you, Kyla and tell Morgan things are changing." Jason shook his head and hung up.

He immediately called his divorce lawyer, who listened and started to work on a petition to grant him full custody of Tommy. Jason was now willing to play dirty and pull out any stops to keep Tommy away from his mother as much as possible. Having an affair with a client was a huge faux pas, while not directly illegal; Morgan's attorney could be accused of exploiting his client for sexual purposes. That leverage could be used to get Wesley Sharpe to convince Morgan to go along with the new arrangement. As well, Morgan's history of drug use -- as she fully admitted to willingly taking ecstasy --could be brought up to request a drug test. Jason knew Kyla and her husband were big pot smokers, and was sure Morgan partook from time to time. Jason also called Barry to have him look into anything else to help get him full custody.

Morgan was still admitted in the hospital when her attorney received the petition three weeks later. Jason wasn't surprised she didn't contest it. Her new attorney, as Wesley Sharpe refused to keep her as a client, said that Morgan's only concern was she still had visits with Tommy, which Jason agreed as long as they were supervised by a family worker, and the option to revisit the arrangement at a later date.

Despite what Morgan said, apparently her relationship with that Mark did mean something. Not enough for her not to cheat on him with her former lawyer, but enough to sign the agreement to keep the video of her fucking Sharpe in his office from getting out. Jason seriously doubted it was just the one time for Sharpe's wife to be suspicious enough to hire an investigator. Jason's lawyer friend, Barry, pulled some strings with his DA friend so Mrs. Sharpe plead guilty for assault, turned over the video and received a suspended sentence.

Jason was aware after what he pulled, Morgan would probably now hate him, but she was the one choosing a lover over her son. Surprisingly, he did not feel guilty for any of it and was now ready to move on with his life.

Epilogue

Jason had seen Morgan from a distance, but when she walked into the lounge, it really had been over three years since he'd seen her close up or spoke to her in person. Whenever Tommy visited his mother, a lady from family services still would pick him up and then drop him off. The visits had progressed to unsupervised, but Tommy still would not be left with his mother for more than eight hours -- definitely not over night.

"Hello, you're looking good," Jason said, which was a lie. Morgan still showed signs of being the beauty she once was, but looked like she aged ten years instead of three.

"Thank you, but you're being polite. I look worn and tired, comes with not taking care of myself for a few years," Morgan said with a faint smile, "You, on the other hand, haven't aged a day since we last spoke."

Morgan ordered just a juice from the server, while Jason was on his third beer. To say he wasn't looking forward to this was an understatement -- especially for what would be waiting at home for him after.

"So, this is your party. What do you want Morgan?" Jason said flatly.

She looked nervous and shrugged. "I'm sure you know one of the reasons. I want to change our custody agreement. It doesn't have to be split, but I want to be able to have my boy stay with me for more than an afternoon. I want to be his mom again and not just some person he visits."

"Figured that," Jason said, trying to not show much emotion. Seeing her still brought up a lot of feelings from his past; time hadn't healed that wound quite yet. "You said one of the reasons."

Morgan sighed and shrugged. "I guess the other, and just as important, is Jason I really want to apologize to you and thank you."

"Thank me?" Jason couldn't help but laugh.

"You taking Tommy from me and forcing mental competency evaluations and supervised visits really forced me to accept that I was bottoming out and needed help. Once I stopped being angry and blaming you when you did nothing at all to deserve any of this, I got help. I needed a lot of it." She started to cry and grabbed a napkin for her eyes. "Things I said to you when I was angry, I never meant and was only said to hurt you. I hope you know a lot was lies -- especially you being bad at lovemaking. You were the greatest thing in my life, and I wrecked everything by having sex with four men while we were still married: Chris, Cliff Dunn, Wesley, and Mark. What I did to you by having an affair with Chris was inexcusable and completely justified you ending our marriage. The other things just compounded everything. I want to say how completely sorry I am about all of it. For the pain it caused you and especially caused Thomas. I really hope both of you can forgive me one day."

"Thank you, I do want to forgive you, but you and I..." Jason started, looking down at his beer.

"Jason, not to make any excuses, but you need to know, me agreeing to take that stupid drug that night had lasting effects on me," Morgan said, "It really affected my judgment and perception of what was happening around me -- I truly believed for years you were cheating on me throughout our marriage and conspired with a lover to take my son away. I felt I needed to try extra hard to please men around me or risk them betraying me as well -- even though I didn't trust them. I needed plenty of counseling and medication to fully recover mentally from that. I've now accepted many truths especially how you were nothing short but a loving faithful husband and devoted father protecting his son. You were so right to keep me from Tommy, and forcing treatment really save my life. The thing with Chris, was fully all me, but what I did after that horrible night... I was not myself for a long time."

"I know that, Morgie," Jason said, not liking seeing her so upset. There was too much history between them not to care when she was being genuinely contrite.

"No, I don't deserve to be called that," Morgan said between sobs, "Jason, please forgive me for how I hurt you when I was myself, and how I acted when I wasn't myself. I truly believe that I am myself again, and want the opportunity to prove to you, Tommy, and whoever that I'm ready to be his mom again. I will agree to whatever conditions you and Amanda agree to."

"Amanda?" Her saying that name caught him off guard.

"For the last two years, she's been more his mother than me," Morgan said and Jason could see how painful that fact was to her. "She should have as much say in things in this as you. I-I-I would also like to meet her. I don't expect to be friends or her to even like me, but I want to know the person raising my son."

Jason sighed. "Morgan, this is a lot. As I said, I will try to forgive you. The fact I still love you is what makes that difficult. And it is your long-term affair with Chris that hurts way more than what happened after. As far as the custody, I will discuss it with my wife, but I'm sure Amanda will support whatever I ultimately decide. For what it's worth, you are sounding more like the Morgan I once knew... but that's the one who broke my heart fucking another man behind my back for half a year. However, she was also an amazing mother and I want that woman back in Tommy's life."