The Secret (Watty Award Winner) | ✔️

Forty Eight - Steven

Ch48 - Steven

Thunder rumbled through the night sky, like the ominous growl of a lion before it attacked it's prey. The irony of it all did not escape Steven's attention.

How appropriate Sarah should die tonight, of all nights... he smiled to himself.

Steven had been hiding inside the thick brush outside of Sarah's home when he saw a man walk her to the front door, and kiss her. It was the same man who had picked her up earlier in the night. And then the stranger left, he actually went back home! Steven hadn't been anticipating that.

He had seen the two of them leave together earlier, only to return some time later to the house next door. He assumed the man must live there. Steven had followed after them, lurking outside of the windows, acutely aware of what was going on inside.

So, Sarah has herself a boyfriend, even though she's still married to me...

He found the whole scenario very interesting. It disgusted him to think of Sarah with anyone else other than himself. She was his wife. She should only be sleeping with him, not with some two-bit loser she barely knew.

Or had she known him all along? Had they been in on this together, plotting the whole ridiculous scheme right underneath his nose?

Did Sarah leave me for this no-good, blue-collar asshole?

Steven sat in the rain, debating his next move, when suddenly the man ran out of the house and drove off in his piece-of-shit truck, leaving Sarah very much alone. It was almost too perfect! Although part of him was a little disappointed. Steven enjoyed the thought of killing the man who was obviously sleeping with his pretty, young wife. It would have been fun getting to him first and forcing Sarah watch as he took the man's life right in front of her. Appropriate, too, she deserved every horrible fate he could think of.

Reluctantly, he had to admit that the man leaving was probably for the best. Steven didn't have a weapon on him, he planned on using his hands to finish Sarah off. He knew he was strong, stronger than most men, and he wanted to savor his wife's life as it drifted away from her. He wondered if he would be able to feel her spirit pass through his fingertips as his hands gripped her neck, squeezing.  He was anxious to find out. Slowly, Steven crept through the darkness and toward the patio. He softly turned the handle on the back door and slid it open quietly.

Silly country people, he scolded. They always leave their doors unlocked, assuming no one will break in.

He had to bite his lip from laughing out loud. They were making this too easy for him! Especially now that the damn dog was out of the way. He suspected it hadn't been Sarah's canine in the first place, she knew nothing about caring for animals. And Steven had noticed the dog's toys, laying in the yard while she was hidden inside, having sex with this strange man. He assumed the beast belonged to the adulterer, that stupid man who'd so foolishly left Sarah alone.

Oh, what he will find when he returns...

Steven stepped deeper into the darkened kitchen and waited for Sarah to enter. He knew she would eventually, most likely to lock the back door. How fun it would be to have her find him there, waiting patiently—the look on her face would be priceless! She had to know at this point that her secret had been found out. He'd left her father's compass in a place where it would have been noticed quickly, there's no way she missed it. All of her lies were now out in the open, no more hiding from them.

As luck would have it, he didn't have to wait long.

Steven could feel his heart, beating rapidly in his chest as Sarah walked in and turned on the kitchen light. Finally, after months of believing she was dead, their eyes met. He attempted a smile, but could feel his face morph into a grimace. The sight of his wife made him sick, and hatred churned through his veins.