\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ice floods through my veins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t look away from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zach stands up like nothing happened, crosses his hands, and presses down on Naomi\u2019s chest. \u201cAfter rescue breaths, you compress in rhythm-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone yells out, laughing: \u201cNaomi! Thought you said CPR was totally innocent?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy\u2019s your face so red?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naomi sits up, spitting back: \u201cYou\u2019d blush too if Coach touched you! Mad you didn\u2019t get a turn?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone roars with laughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Zach? He doesn\u2019t correct her. Just smiles. Fondly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hands are shaking on the steering wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wait until dinner to catch Naomi.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s goofing off with her roommates, laughing loud enough to hear from across the quad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach invited you to dinner and you said no? Stop playing innocent, babe!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s called strategy, dumbass. Make him chase!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naomi fake-coughs. \u201cYou guys are delusional. I barely know him. Stop\/spreading rumors!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A cold laugh bubbles up in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barely know him?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barely know him, but you\u2019re showering in my bathroom and fucking in my bed?\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next-inviting me to watch you check into a hotel?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walk past the crowd and sit directly across from her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One look at my clothes, my hair, my makeup-she knows I\u2019m not a student.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:52\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hot Shower, Cold Heart: How Water Temperature Exposed My Military Husband\u2019s Affair\u00a0<\/p>\n
0.9%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes flicker nervously. Then she smiles. \u201cHi! Um, you looking for someone? There\u2019s plenty of space-you don\u2019t need to share a table.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ignore the act. \u201cNaomi. You know Zach\u2019s my husband, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zach\u2019s thirty years old. At that age, unless a guy\u2019s gay or dying, he\u2019s married.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And our wedding photo\u2019s hanging right above his bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no way she didn\u2019t know.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her roommates go silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naomi blinks innocently. \u201cOh! Should I call you Mrs. Carter? Is something wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I don\u2019t answer, she gasps like she just figured it out. \u201cWait-did you see the CPR demo? Mrs. Carter, I promise it was just training. Totally professional.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is she fucking serious right now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Does she think I\u2019m some clueless housewife?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smile coldly. \u201cYou\u2019re in clinical med, right? Senior year-you\u2019ve taken Surgery by now. Check the cardiovascular chapter. I\u2019m listed as co-editor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Vivian Ashford. Deputy Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the military hospital.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking forward to your rotation in my department.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face drains of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My gaze drops to her wrist. A jade bracelet glints softly under the fluorescent lights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNice bracelet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice is flat. \u201cBut it belonged to my father. I\u2019d like it back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naomi\u2019s head snaps up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her lips tremble. Her face flushes red.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, she takes it off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Four years ago, my dad died of cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:52\u00a0<\/p>\n
52\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hot Show\u00a0<\/p>\n
191\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hot Shower, Cold Heart: How Water Temperature Exposed My Military Husband\u2019s Affair\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.1%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before he went, he pressed that bracelet into my hand. \u201cVivian\u2026 this has been in our family for generations. Zach loves you. Pass it down. Then I can rest in peace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zach cried that day. Swore he\u2019d take care of me forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I lost it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a year, I couldn\u2019t eat. Couldn\u2019t sleep. The guilt nearly killed me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zach kept saying he\u2019d buy me new jewelry. Better jewelry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Turns out, he didn\u2019t lose it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He gave it to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pull into the driveway, USB drive with the dashcam footage in hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zach storms out before I even get the door open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou went to the academy today?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice is sharp. Angry. \u201cWhy the hell didn\u2019t you talk to me first? You embarrassed Naomi in front of everyone!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have any idea how to act like a fucking adult?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2661 (1)\u00a0<\/p>\n
(0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:52\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hot Shower, Cold Heart: How Water Temperature Exposed My Military Husband\u2019s Affair\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.4%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Hot Shower, Cold Heart by Mark Twain 2 \u00a0 Chapter 2\u00a0 Chapter 2\u00a0 Ice floods through my veins.\u00a0 I can\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-giving-my-husband-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}