The Billionaires Betrayed Love

There’s no easy or simple way to break somebody’s heart. But he had been practicing doing exactly that just as hard as she practiced the cello. This was Luke and Laura’s (love?) song: he cheated, and she forgave him. They were great for a while and then he cheated again. Laura was ashamed to realize that Luke had been continuously cheating throughout their entire romance.

Monogamy was not his forte. As long as Laura was willing to put up with it, he was content to repeat the same pattern of affairs and empty promises that kept her hanging on. It seemed that Luke and Laura were just going through the motions and Luke kept stringing her along as she kept hanging on to him in hopes that things would get better.

Things came to a head when she found Luke in bed with his latest conquest, a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Laura. Before, he had always had the decency to cheat on her outside of their apartment.

Laura had not planned to come home early that day, but like all artists, some days were better than others. She had been struggling all day with the music for an upcoming concert and she had finally decided she needed a break.

She Ubered home with her cello in tow to the downtown, studio-style loft that she and Luke shared in a nicer part of the city. Laura fished for her keys in her purse after she exited the freight elevator. She opened the door and her senses were assaulted simultaneously.

First, she heard moaning from the section of the loft that served as their master bedroom. But before investigating further she saw a trail of clothes on the floor leading her directly to the bedroom area. Rumpled pants, a wrinkled shirt, and a lacy red bra lying next to a pair of stiletto heels made a suspicious pathway to their queen sized futon where she discovered Luke and his latest conquest.

Their moaning stopped when Luke’s hussy du jour shrieked his name. This was not as an excited utterance, but a shocked shout of being caught in the act of lovemaking with another woman’s man.

Laura picked up one of the woman’s shoes and threw it, hitting Luke in the back, where the sharp heel punctured his skin and started to bleed. He was human after all, Laura thought, although his hurtful serial love affairs were inhumane.

“Get OUT!!! Both of you,” Laura screamed. “You have 2 minutes to dress and leave.”

“Hey Hon. He didn’t tell me he was involved,” the woman casually mentioned as she fastened her bra in the front. “All’s fair in love and war anyway, right?” At that comment, Laura wanted to throw the other stiletto heel at this woman. “Shut up!” shouted both Luke and Laura, the former grinning at their shared disdain for the woman in front of them. Luke tried to establish solidarity with Laura from the put down.

“Sweetheart,” Luke pleaded with Laura, “it’s not what it seems. You’ve been so caught up with your cello that I guess I felt neglected. It was just sex.” His words seemed especially jarring considering the two women in the room shooting daggers at him.

In the past she might have listened to him reason with her as he convinced her that he should be forgiven. He would win her back, assuring her of his love, only to repeat the cycle a few weeks later.

None of these hookups, to the best of her knowledge, had taken place where they lived together, however. Luke had crossed the line. She had to stand firm and look him in the face, a handsome face, of this...man...a proven and repeated long-term liar and a cheat.

“No,” Laura managed to speak out after Luke’s latest “not what it seems” woman let herself out of their home. “No, Luke. There is no way I will trust you again,” Laura said in measured words. “How can I ever know if you are telling me the truth or just lying to me?” She sank down to the floor, exhausted by the domestic situation she was still trying to process.