What We Say in the Dark Ch. 04

[Author's note: Cassie's husband is cheating on her with a younger woman, Lily. Cassie was ready to confront them but Lily has turned the tables, blackmailing Cassie into doing what she she's told. Lily threatens making Damian choose between the two women. It's a choice Lily is confident will only go one way: hers. Cassie has to find a way to cope, and to get back her life and her husband]

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THE PAIN IT BRINGS

Cassie always had to be on her guard. The feeling could strike her anywhere: in the coffee shop, or taking the boys to the library, or just walking along the street. Small things seemed to trigger it. Tia kissing her husband at the school gates almost brought Cassie to her knees with the weight of her failure pressing down on her. As the days passed, she began to normalise it, as if it was an injury she'd sustained that she was trying to live with. However, sitting alone at swimming lessons with the boys doing laps in the pool in front of her, Cassie had time to sit and brood.

Lily had invited her to a private chat, sending messages every so often. Nothing too inflammatory, just keeping tabs on Cassie, making sure she understood her new position. The chat description was Lily's doing, it read: 'talk with Lily's bitch'. When the phone pinged, it sent a shudder down Cassie's spine. Because it was the same alert as when her friends messaged her, she kept hearing the sound, until it felt like her own phone was victimising her, prodding her to remember what Lily had made her do in her own bedroom.

Cassie looked at her phone, opening the chat app and reading the latest set of messages from a couple of hours ago:

L: I need a night out. Your husband should take me somewhere nice. He needs time off from his sad little life with you to devote his attention to me. Please arrange.

The timestamp of the next message was an hour later:

L: Is your phone working bitch?

Cassie had screwed up her nerve and replied:

C: I won't do it

She felt a thrill of pride that she had stood up for herself against Lily's manipulations, but now she was waiting, dreading the next phone ping and Lily's response.

"Cassie!"

She looked up from her phone. Tia and Billie were making their way along the side of the pool towards her, Tia careful on the wet tiles in her high heels. Cassie raised her hand and waved, moulding her mouth into a smile.

Billie slid easily into the seat next to her, crossing her legs and arranging the folds of her skirt across her knees. Tia made it safely to the chair next to her, teetering in her shoes.

"I told you," Billie began, as if this was the tail end of a long conversation, "You are an accident waiting to happen in those things."

Billie swung a slender leg forward, showing off her ballet flats, continuing, "I'm going to live longer than you are."

"But you won't look as good," Tia crooned, shuffling in the chair until she was comfortable, arranging her dark hair so that it cascaded over one shoulder.

Billie waved and a girl the same age as Cassie's twins waved back as she hung onto one of the lane marker ropes.

"Hope's really coming along," Tia remarked, "She'll be graduating to Stingrays soon. Unlike mine."

Billie nodded, smiling at her daughter as she began her next lap.

"She moves so well through the water, don't you think?" Tia continued.

"Her mother's genes," Billie replied, "Athletic ability is nothing to do with me. I just supply the brute force and ignorance."

Tia began to clap, ignoring Billie's comment. Across the other side of the pool, her daughter Olivia jumped off the diving board. Cassie watched her two friends, their attention locked on their daughters. It felt normal, sane, just like every other week that they'd been here, and a thousand miles away from what Cassie was dealing with. Billie turned to her.

"Hey, parent drinks tomorrow night, are you coming?"

Cassie blinked, trying to focus on the question. "Uh, I hadn't really thought."

"Come on. Tia's coming, there's a bunch of us, plus other halves are invited too."

Cassie repressed the dark feeling that sprang up, trying to divert her own train of thought.

"You bringing yours?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah. Morgan's got a thing until seven but she'll be there. So?"

Her phone pinged. Instinctively, Cassie reached into her handbag and retrieved it, holding the screen so it was hidden from her friends. There was a message alert; Cassie opened it.

L: Need a reminder?

There was an attachment: a thirty second video began to auto-play on her screen. It showed Cassie stripping off her underwear until she was completely naked in front of the viewer. Cassie watched as the figure on the screen looked up at the camera and tried to cover her crotch and her breasts with her arms. The video froze on a close-up of Cassie's face, showing the shame of being forced to disgrace herself.

Cassie typed a response and then pushed her phone hurriedly into her bag.

"I'll be there," she told Billie, "But Damian has something else arranged."

Billie squeezed her knee excitedly. "Good. Girls' night. Yay!"

Cassie leaned back in her chair, ignored now as her friends focused on their children. Cassie sought her own out, finding both boys battling each other playfully in the shallow end while their teacher tried to restore order.

A girls' night, which meant Cassie on her own among her friends in the local bar, while her husband fucked the pretty, slim, younger blonde woman who was slowly, brutally destroying Cassie's life.

---

Cassie meandered through the mall, checking the time every few minutes. She was on edge. For the third time, she completed her circuit of the food court, eyes nervously dancing from woman to woman, looking for the tell-tale long blonde hair of her nemesis.

"Hi Cassie."

Cassie turned to see Lily walking up to her, dressed in tight jeans and a loose cotton top. She was wearing strappy sandals with a modest heel, just enough to overtop Cassie as she came to a halt in front of her, looking down. Cassie looked up into the beautiful face of the woman who was ruining her life, the emerald-hard eyes. Lily smiled.

"I'm so excited," she said, "We're way overdue for a shopping trip."

Cassie allowed the younger blonde to hook her arm through Cassie's and lead her towards the shops.

"Are you looking forward to this as much as I am?"

Cassie didn't answer. Lily's excitement was palpable, but the feeling of being led along by the arm surfaced the dark emotions again. Too late, Cassie regretted her clothing choices, comparing the way her casual top and loose pants hid her own figure as much as Lily's tight jeans accentuated hers. Cassie felt out of place and frumpy.

"What are we doing?" Cassie responded.

Lily patted Cassie on the arm.

"Well, I was thinking we should make an effort tonight. It's date night after all."

Cassie frowned, but Lily had brought them to a halt. She was grinning conspiratorially at Cassie, indicating a shop with a nod of her head.

"Girl should look her best for her man," Lily said, guiding them both inside the lingerie shop.

Cassie allowed herself to be escorted through the doors, standing mutely in the middle of the floor when Lily released her arm to look at the displays. Cassie felt lost and unsure, watching the blonde woman move from mannequin to mannequin as she inspected the outfits. She paused by one of them.

"What do you think?" she called over her shoulder.

Cassie's eyes flicked to the display but she didn't move.

"Come and see."

Lily held out a hand, beckoning. Reluctantly, Cassie walked over to stand in front of the lingerie.

"Tell me, what do you think?" Lily repeated.

The mannequin was dressed in thigh-high sheer black stockings, held up by lacy straps from a black bustier with an intricately detailed front panel. The outfit was completed by a black thong.

"I don't know what you're asking."

A shadow passed over Lily's face, irritation at Cassie trying to ruin her fun.

"I mean," Lily continued in a more careful, measured tone, "Do you think Damian would like this?"

Cassie's eyes remained locked on the outfit. She couldn't bear to look into those green eyes.

"Is that what you brought me here for?"

Lily laughed, but there was little mirth in it.

"Still feeling sour?"

Cassie couldn't bring herself to answer. She could feel Lily watching her but refused to face her tormentor.

"Look," Lily continued in a quiet voice, "It's important that you and I get along. The last thing that either of us needs is Damian's life getting disrupted by you going off the rails or doing something dumb."

She paused to let her words sink in.

"It's not a situation I would have chosen either, having to share a man with his dreary housewife, but it is what it is. So, we're going to make the best of this and lay down some ground rules. Speaking of which, when I ask you nicely to arrange date night for me, I don't expect to have to roll out the big guns every time I get attitude from you."

Lily stroked the lace of the bustier, then said, "Maybe not this. Let's find something with a bit more buzz."

Over the next half hour, Lily progressed through the shop with Cassie following meekly behind, silent except for the occasional yes or no to Lily's questions as she began to choose pieces. Cassie's stomach was churning with the indignity of helping her husband's lover pick out the lingerie for a date with him tonight. She could feel Lily's demeanour changing too, and it made her secretly glad to see the smile fading from the beautiful blonde woman's face. Cassie wasn't enjoying this at all, and it was good to see Lily enjoying it less and less too as she had to keep pushing against Cassie's passive resistance. Eventually, Cassie built up the nerve to speak.

"Are we done?"

Lily sighed, replacing a bra set back onto its rail. She had a number of items draped over one arm, her free hand now resting on her hip. Cassie could see that Lily was bristling after the comment and allowed herself a little smile. It wasn't all going the way that Lily had planned it.

"I was done, but now, y'know, I think I'm not. I think we need to buy one more outfit."

Lily strode off, beckoning Cassie to follow. They stopped in front of one of the displays Lily had been looking at earlier.

"I was really hoping that we'd be able to see eye to eye on this situation, but clearly you're not going to do that."

Lily was inspecting the lingerie, her fingertips touching the fabric.

"This wouldn't suit me, but it's still hot, don't you think?"

Cassie nodded. The dark burgundy bustier was plain, silky satin with a tiny lace detail between the breasts that exposed skin. The g-string was of the same material, inset again with a lace panel over the crotch. The outfit came with dark thigh-high stockings, clipped to the bustier by thin straps.

"Here's what's going to happen Cassie," Lily began, gathering up the items from the shelf below the display.

"Tonight, I'm going to wear the little black outfit that you helped me pick out. You're going to wear this. Following me so far?"

Lily paused, waiting until Cassie nodded.

"Good. I'm going to go on my date with your husband, which will finish at my place. He's going to get the treat that we've picked out for him and I'm going to fuck him until his balls are as dry as the Sahara. Then, when I'm done, I'll let him come home to you where you'll be waiting for him, all dressed up in this."

"Why, Lily? Why would you want me to do that?"

Lily smirked and Cassie realised that she had misjudged the other woman badly. A knot of tension gripped her stomach.

"I think you need to learn a lesson, bitch. We're going to play a game called fuck the husband. I'm going to fuck him as much as I can over the next few weeks, and so are you. Then we're going to tally up the score."

Lily leaned close, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"So, he's going to fuck me tonight and then it's your turn. Let's see if he has the energy left to also hump his sad-sack wife. Then we add up the points, after."

"I don't understand. Why are we keeping score?"

"Oh, bitch, that's the beauty of the plan. Whoever wins gets the prize."

There was a hard gleam in the beautiful green eyes now. Lily was just waiting for Cassie to say it.

"What's the prize?"

Lily grinned. "Winner takes all. Loser gives up the right to his body."

Cassie's eyes went wide.

"Oh, you get it now, bitch? Yeah. Fair fight. He fucks you more, I walk away. He fucks me more, you never fuck your husband again."

Lily's fingers stroked Cassie's cheek tenderly.

"I play to win. By the time I'm through, Damian's going to be fucking me whenever I choose while you continue to run around managing his life for him. I'm going to enjoy that big, thick cock of his while your pussy is going to dry up from lack of use. He isn't going to want to come near you after he's upgraded to me."

Cassie tried to fight them back, but tears began to form in her eyes. Lily smiled in triumph.

"Now, be a good little bitch and pay for all this."

---

Damian said goodbye at seven o'clock, heading out to the city to meet up with some work colleagues, so he said. Cassie briefed the babysitter before putting the boys to bed. Finally, she was ready to head out on her own night.

She had selected a floral maxi dress that flapped delicately around her ankles, and a pair of low heels. Cassie didn't bother with makeup. Smoothing the dress over her body, she was acutely aware of the feeling of being constrained by the lingerie beneath. The bustier hugged her figure, pushing up her breasts into prominent cleavage under her dress. The g-string sat snugly over her crotch, its back strap running tightly between her buttocks. But it was the sensation of the stockings as they brushed against the material of her dress as she walked that kept drawing her awareness back to what Lily had done to her, of the contest that she was now locked into. Cassie paused at the front door, the picture of a demure suburban housewife, but the sensation on her skin reminded her of the racy lingerie she was hiding beneath. As she walked, she could feel the g-string she was wearing and began to feel disgusted with herself for allowing Lily to do this to her.

But there was something else; there was a more subtle feeling of wearing sexy lingerie discreetly in public. As Lily had intended, she would be among her friends in the bar tonight secretly dressed like a porn star. Deep down inside, she felt her stomach flip, but she couldn't tell if it was from nerves or a perverse form of excitement.

Walking into the bar, she soon spotted her friends. Everyone was huddled towards the back in a private area, chattering away to each other with drinks in hand. Tia noticed her and waved. Cassie waved back, but diverted to the bar, opting to stall the inevitable dive into school politics and who was being mean to whom. A white wine would steady the nerves.

Reaching the bar, she leaned over but instantly regretted it, feeling the unfamiliar g-string tight against her body. Lily would be with Damian by now; she would already have kissed him. His big, strong hands would have stroked her bottom and discovered that there was a surprise beneath Lily's skirt, just for him. Damian's face would be close to hers, murmuring a question in her ear. The green eyes would be sparkling with glee and anticipation. Cassie looked up.

The barman frowned. He'd said something, but Cassie hadn't been paying attention.

"I said, would you like a drink?"

Dumbly, Cassie nodded. "White wine please."

The barman flashed a smile and went to retrieve the bottle.

"Hey Cassie," a voice said, behind her.

Cassie turned, coming face-to-face with a slender woman half a head taller than her. Intelligent eyes surveyed her from an elegant, older face framed by long grey hair styled expensively in waves. Grey, because Morgan didn't mess around. If she was going prematurely grey, she wasn't going to hide it, she was going to own it. The fuck-it forties.

"I'm just... uh. Would you like a drink?" Cassie managed.

Morgan smiled. "That would be lovely. Same, I think."

The barman poured two wines and the women began to make their way over to the crowd.

"Once more unto the breach," Morgan muttered in a low voice.

They stood on the edge of the group, sipping their drinks, each warming themselves up for the cut and thrust of parental politics. Everyone had already segregated, naturally, into male and female. All the mothers were gathered around Tia, towering head and shoulders above the rest of them while her husband was thick as thieves with the other men on the other side of the room. Billie was with the husbands, laughing and sipping a beer in a long skirt and low heels.

"Looks like we're both on our own," Cassie commented, indicating Morgan's wife with the boys.

"Yes, as usual."

"You don't get, uh, put out by Billie hanging with the boys?"

Morgan shook her head, her long grey curls dancing. "It's good for her to be one of the guys every once in a while. I think I'm very safe from her straying. Besides, they're a good crew."

Cassie watched them interacting, Billie taller in her heels than most of them, laughing and smiling as they watched the game on the big screen.

"Figures they'd organise parents' night to coincide with the football," Morgan murmured.

There was a face she didn't recognise among the men, a shorter, stout newcomer. He was joining in hesitantly, nursing his beer, his gaze straying to Billie. Morgan took a hearty swallow of wine.

"Let's go. Game on," she announced.

Tia was talking to a woman that Cassie didn't recognise, nodding and smiling in a way that suggested she was being polite rather than genuinely interested.

Morgan made a bee-line for her. "New girl alert," she said.

Tia turned, her smile broadening as she locked eyes on the new arrivals.

"Morgan. Cassie, so nice to see you. This is Rachel. She's got Harley in Olivia's class, just arrived this term."

Morgan stepped into the conversation effortlessly, relieving Tia of the burden of smalltalk while Cassie hung around to the side. She didn't want to make nice with a stranger; she wanted to tap Tia or Morgan or Billie on the shoulder, pull them off into a booth and terminate a bottle of chardonnay with extreme prejudice. She had the burning need to tell someone about what had happened to her. She needed backup from her friends.

"Oh, so you're Olivia's... uh... mother?" Rachel was saying.

Morgan smiled graciously. "Miracles of IVF," she replied, glossing over Rachel's faux pas.

Rachel nodded a little too vigorously, struggling to backpedal from the awkward comment.

"I suppose it's just the same, isn't it?"

"Yes," Morgan laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Clearly, she was enjoying this. "Sperm, egg, petri dish, swizzle stick."

Rachel seemed to relax, taking a long sip of her gin and tonic. Cassie realised that she was already a few drinks in. Nerves, obviously, but Rachel was now warming up.

"So, how did you decide who provided the egg?"

Cassie heard Tia gasp. Morgan said nothing for a moment, a benevolent smile on her face.

"Well, Rachel, there wasn't much to decide. I provided the egg and Billie provided the sperm."

Tia snorted, expelling her wine in a sharp cough.

"We're quite cosmopolitan," Morgan laughed, turning to wave at another woman across the room. "Oh, excuse me."

Rachel blinked, opening and closing her mouth wordlessly as Morgan departed, leaving the three women standing there in a little circle. Cassie could see that Tia was struggling to hold it together, but Rachel was mortified.

"Don't worry," Cassie told her, "It's an honest mistake."

"I'm so sorry," Rachel stammered, looking over at Billie talking to Rachel's husband, "I didn't... I mean, you can't tell."