Dancing Away with My Heart: (Part 2 in Dancing with Artem Chigvintsev trilogy)

10

"Artem.." Maks jumped up. "It's not what it looks like." Maks had a habit of not wearing a shirt when he slept and It really did look like what Artem thought.

Artem looked visibly upset but not with me, more with himself. He was speechless.

"Emma?" He said a single tear falling from his eye.

"No, Maks" I said "you don't have to hide it, we slept together last night, Artem deserves to know." I looked at the pain forming in Artem's eyes as Maks quietly looked at the ground. He went along with the lie that I was telling. We may not have actually slept together but if Artem can hurt me then I have a very good reason to make him feel the same pain.

Artem turned around and without even seeing his boys, he began to walk out the front door.

"Where are you going?" I followed him "you came all the way here, at least say hello to them"

"They don't deserve a man like me." he said with a straight face, "Neither do you.. I led you straight into the arms of another man, a man that you have loved for as long as we've been married.. he's always going to win over me, be with him."

Artem was speaking from the deepest pit of pain within his heart, maybe I shouldn't have told that lie, but all I can think about is my husband in bed with another woman. Waking up to another woman and not having the decency to tell me.

"When did it happen?" I asked him

"What?" he was caught off guard.

"I want to know how long you went before Janel had to make you confess to me." I spat, growing more and more angry with the realization that he had really cheated on me.

"Val's birthday" he said wincing at the thought. Val always throws a big birthday celebration every year and his birthday has become a sort of holiday in the dance world. His birthday happened to be over 2 months ago now.

"You have been living with this guilt for 2 months," I cried, "coming home to visit me and the boys, telling us you loved us.. " the amount of pain I felt in my heart escalated and I was dying to be back in Maks' arms where I could feel safe and loved. The only thing hurting the most is that I still love Artem, despite what he has done to our family.

"I do love you, but look, Maks will never hurt you, he never has. I can't say the same for me anymore. As for sleeping with him, I know that that is a lie. You aren't that kind of woman, Emma you are an amazing mother and would never do anything to take away from the boys being in a happy family."

"So.. I thought the same thing about you, you have always been my favorite man."

"I know you are just trying to hurt me back.. you don't have to because you have no idea how hurt I am with my own actions.."

I began to cry. "I think you are right, you should go before the boys wake up." I didn't want to give in to my vulnerability. I wanted to get him away from me before I prematurely forgave him.

"Momma!" Vlads voiced boomed through the house until he was standing before us, "Uncle Maks is here!" And then he saw his dad standing with me in the doorway.

"Daddy, your here too! Now everyone I love is in the same place!" He was so happy.

Artem hugged him and looked over to me and then to the staircase where Maks was walking down the stairs carrying Alek.

"Hey.. Buddy." Artem smiled at Alek.

"Hi daddy!" He said cutely.

Artem began to tear up and turned to walk out the door.

"Artem lets go for a ride," Maks suddenly appeared next to us having set Alek down.

"Boys your dad and I will be right back, just gotta go get something." Maks lied.

After they left, I got the boys dressed and fed them breakfast and they were both booming with joy wanting their favorite men to come back and be with them.