“It’s not the big bad wolf you need to be afraid of kitten; it’s the devil in disguise that you sleep next to.”

She thinks she’s found the perfect husband—the one in a million who isn’t like the rest...my best friend Dane Ashford.
He would never betray her.
He would never lie or cheat on her.
He loves her.

It would hurt to hear the truth, to know it's all a lie, but then she could move on and so could I.
Maybe then she would understand why I was miserable around her all these years.

I’ve even convinced myself a time or two that she deserves to know the truth—but this isn’t my story and that’s not how it’s going to play out.
 

This isn’t some redemption plan where my hands will now be washed clean.

I’m just as culpable in this story, in fact, I’m worse.

I’m the man who led her right into the lion’s den.

I played along for years.
I allowed her to fall in love with him when I knew it wasn’t real.
Instead, I took the coward’s way out, staying involved in her life just enough that it satisfied my f--ed up need for her.

But it wasn’t enough, it will never be enough.

There’s only one way this story ends…her husband has to die and I’m the man that has to do it.

Losing the only woman I’ve ever loved is a small price to pay for her safety, even it means I destroy myself and my family in the process.

There is no redemption arc for men like me.
I’m not the one you run to when you’re scared.
I’m the one you’re running from.