Romance: The Betrayal: Romantic Suspense With A Bizarre Twist

        The Betrayal

Although Justin had broken up with her 3 years earlier, Jodi hoped for a reconciliation. Justin had long since moved on, while Jodi, a cosmetologist, never even had a coffee date with anyone. When they first broke up, Justin was on the fence about getting back together.

As time wore on, however, his feelings for Jodi were diminishing faster and faster. Conversely, Jodi's feelings were getting stronger for Justin, despite his snubs.

The couple met when Justin came into the hair salon where Jodi worked, to get his hair cut. She thought he was the hottest guy she ever met, but felt that he was "out of her league." Justin was a partner in a large law firm who played polo, was a member of a posh country club, and who traveled all over the world.

Jodi came from a blue-collar family, whose father was a construction worker. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom, but worked part-time, "doing hair" in the basement of their modest home.

While in high school, Jodi excelled in history and math, but her family was unable to afford her college tuition. She wanted to become a teacher, or even a doctor, but her dreams were dashed when her father lost his job.

Jodi had to go to work to help support the family, and in her spare time, she decided to go to beauty school. She paid for her beauty school tuition out of the money she made from working at the local hardware store, and after about a year, she passed the state boards to become a licensed cosmetologist.

On Jodi's 27th birthday, her friends took her out to a local bar to celebrate. Although she met a few eligible guys that sparked her interest, she couldn't get Justin out of her mind. All she could do was hope that he would make a second appointment for a hair cut, and return to the salon.

As luck would have it, Justin returned to the salon a couple months later, and to Jodi's complete surprise, he asked her out. Their first date took them to Justin's country club, where Jodi met his friends.

Justin was 12 years older than Jodi, although he acted much younger. Even though Justin acted young and vibrant, she found his friends to be boring, stodgy, and arrogant. Despite her disdain for his friends, she quickly fell in love with him. He treated her like a queen, and even offered to pay for her to go back to college.

The couple soon settled into a mundane dating routine, and although Jodi was still happy, she could sense that Justin was becoming restless. He seemed irritated and distant with her, and started going out a few times a week.

Most of Justin's family members liked Jodi, however, his mother never warmed up to her. She never thought that Jodi was good enough for her son, but remained cordial to her.

Justin's mother, Caroline , on more than one occasion, tried introducing her son to various women. These women were all professionals, and a few were lawyers, just like her son.

Justin's father, Peter, also an attorney, stayed out of his wife's matchmaking schemes, as he was in his own little world, with a mistress of his own and a huge drinking problem.

Justin didn't invite Jodi to his grandmother's birthday party, and when he arrived, he was greeted at the door by one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. He never saw her before, and wondered who she was there with. Little did he know, his mother invited her in an attempt to get him interested in someone other than Jodi.

Her plan worked. Justin and the other women, whose name was Christine, hit it off almost instantly. He couldn't stop looking at her, and was intrigued by her New York accent.

Christine worked as an entertainment attorney, who represented a number of big name sports and music personalities. She even invited Justine to a sporting event which had been sold out for weeks.

Even though Justin had no intentions of breaking up with Jodi, he could no longer ignore his feelings for Christine. They soon started having lunch dates at 5 star hotels, and even managed to plan a getaway weekend to the Poconos.

When Justin started becoming increasingly distant from Jodi, she started to suspect the worst. By this time, Christine was pressuring Justine for a commitment. Although they've only been seeing each other for about a month, their relationship was growing more and more intense.

The sex was amazing, and Justin never experienced anything like it before. Christine was willing to try new things in bed, and seemed to want sex multiple times a day. Jodi, by contrast, was rather modest, and her sexual appetite was diminished by her escalating depression, and the side effects from the medication she was taking.

As the months passed, Jodi was getting ready to go to Florida for a hair show. She and Justin were drifting further and further apart, but they still managed to maintain a dim spark of excitement between them. On the evening before she was schedule to leave for her trip, Jodi and Justin went out for a romantic dinner, and then came home and spent the next three hours making love.

After their love fest, Justin turned over and went to sleep. Jodi, the eternal romantic, want to cuddle, but Justin rebuffed her advances. The next morning, Justin drove Jodi to the airport, and he couldn't help but feel profound relief. He would now be able to spend the next week with his new "friend," Christine, and called her as soon as Jodi boarded the plane.

For almost the entire week that Jodi was on her business trip, Justin stayed with Christine at her downtown apartment. The couple enjoyed cooking dinner together and waking up next to each other. Justin didn't know how he would tell Jodi that he no longer loved her, and he even wished that she would stay in Florida for the long-term.

He was not responsive to her text messages, and only took her phone calls sporadically during that entire week. The week flew by quickly, and before he knew it, Justin found himself at the airport once again, but only this time, he was picking Jodi up. She was elated to see him, but he cringed when they hugged.

Jodi sensed that something was wrong, and was starting to worry. Justin told her that he was tired because he spent the entire week working on a brief for an upcoming legal case.

The couple trudged through the holidays together, but as Valentine's Day approached, Justin could no longer suppress he desire to be with Christine. Although he knew that Valentine's week was not the most appropriate time to break up with Jodi, he felt it was necessary, because he wanted to spend Valentine's Day with Christine.

He didn't bother with formalities, and simply blurted it out. He told Jodi that he was no longer happy with her, but didn't volunteer any information about his other woman. He further explained that he just needed time to be "by himself," and that "maybe" he would come to his senses and come back home to be with her. After Jodi pressed him for answers, he finally came clean about Christine.

After hearing the news, Jodi broke down, and didn't think she would be able to function at work the next day. Of course, Justin told her that he didn't mean for it to happen, but when he met Christine, an instant connection was made. He didn't really want to divulge so much information about how he felt about Christine, but he felt that unless he "drove his point home," Jodi wouldn't take him seriously.

Jodi was blindsided by the breakup. She tried to keep busy with work and going out with friends, but she couldn't shake the despair she felt. Although she was asked out on dates, she always declined.

In Jodi's eyes, nobody would ever hold a candle to Justin, and she had no desire to date anyone because she knew it would never progress into anything further. In the meantime, Justin and Christine were seen around town at various restaurants and social events.

On one occasion, Jodi caught a glimpse of the couple getting out of a cab. This almost pushed her over the edge, but she managed to hold onto her dignity. After three years passed, Jodi's feelings for Justin were still as intense as they were when they first started dated. Justin's feelings for Jodi, on the other hand, were almost non-existent. Sure, he had fond memories of their time together, but never really felt as though Jodi was his soul mate.

Jodi eventually started seeing a counselor because she was not bouncing back from the breakup. Her sleep pattern was disrupted, her diet was poor, and she stopped socializing altogether. The only social stimulation she got was when she went to work, and even there, her social interactions were severely limited.

The counselor was worried for his patient's safety, and feared that she was spiraling into a deep, dark depression. Jodi was eventually referred to a psychiatrist, who adjusted her medication and sent her on her way. When the medication kicked in after a few weeks, Jodi's mood brightened, and she started  considering dating again.

Jodi met a nice guy at the gym, and when he asked her out for coffee, she felt flattered. Like Justin, Brandon was older, distinguished and well-educated. Their coffee date was pleasant, but according to Jodi, there was no spark.

When Brandon asked her out for dinner, Jodi hesitated, but decided to give him another chance. She was very critical of other men, but hoped that she would once again, find love. Brandon took Jodi to dinner and a play, and as the date was coming to a close, Brandon leaned in for a kiss.

Jodi had no intentions of kissing him, and in fact, she had no intentions of ever seeing him again. All she could think about was Justin. Three years have passed, and still, her love was as strong as ever. Jodi's co-workers were worried about her, and when she had too much to drink one night and drunk dialed Justin, they really became concerned. Fortunately she hung up before he answered the phone, but her number showed up on his caller ID.

Justin was curious to find out what Jodi wanted. His relationship with Christine was starting to cool, and lately, he started thinking about how much Jodi loved him when they were together. He hesitated at first, but after a couple days, Justin returned Jodi's call.

You could have knocked her over with a feather when she saw Justin's number come up on her caller ID. She was shaking as she answered the phone, and as soon as she heard his voice, she broke down sobbing.

Something stirred in Justin's heart, because he too, felt tears welling up in his eyes. Their phone call was brief, and in fact, it lasted only seconds, because Christine walked into the room just as Jodi answered. Justin took this as a sign.

Jodi knew that Justin still felt a connection to her. She quickly put that phone call out of her mind, and tried to focus on her job. She went on a few more dates, and much to her surprise, Jodi found a guy with whom she clicked with.

Her friend introduced her to an accountant who was from the same town that she was from. In fact, they lived within a few blocks of each other when they were teenagers, but they went to different schools. He went to a private, all-boys school, and Jodi went to a public school.

At first, the relationship progressed slowly, but after a few months, Jodi started developing strong feelings for her new friend, whose name was Nathan. He took Jodi to meet his family in New Hampshire, and they absolutely loved her. Unlike Justin's mother, Caroline, Nathan's mother, Kerry, felt that they were the perfect couple.

As their relationship grew stronger, Jodi's feelings for Justin were becoming distant memories. In fact, days went by where she didn't even think about Justin at all. Justin, on the other hand, couldn't get Jodi out of his mind. His relationship with Christine was hanging by a thread, and he yearned for the relationship he once shared with Jodi.

He was starting to realize that breaking up with her was a mistake, and he hoped that she was not involved with another man. Justin finally raised enough courage to call Jodi back, and when she answered, his heart stopped. He almost hung up, but was able to whisper out a weak, "Hi Jodi, how are you?" Jodi was gracious and warm, and replied, "Hi, Justin, it's nice to hear from you."

The conversation was strained and awkward, but in Justin's mind, the ice had been broken. He was certain that he could get back into Jodi's good graces once again, so that they could pick up where they left off. Their conversation consisted solely of small talk, and neither one asked about the other's personal life.

Jodi almost felt sick to her stomach when she heard Justin's voice, because it brought back the painful memories of their breakup. She was grateful that she had Nathan, because he filled the void that Justin left. When she told Nathan that Justin called, he became suspicious. Why, he thought, would Justin call Jodi, out of the blue, after three years apart. Did Jodi initiate the first call, he wondered? Jodi finally confessed to Nathan that she did, indeed, "drunk dial" Justin days before.

It seemed that now, the tables were turned. Justin was the one who was pining away for Jodi, while Jodi, on the other hand, was blissfully "in like" with someone else. It never occurred to Justin that Jodi would move on and start a new life with someone else. He also felt that Jodi was his "ace in the hole," in case his relationship with Christine didn't work out. Would he and Jodi ever reconcile, he wondered?

Even though Jodi was happy with Nathan, she couldn't get Justin out of her mind, and wanted to connect with him again, just to find out more about his relationship status with Christine.

Jodi felt a twinge of guilt for thinking about calling Justin because Nathan had been so good to her. She didn't want to be shady or go behind his back, so she talked to him about her intentions.

Jodi felt that she needed to get Justin out of her system once and for all before she would be able to move forward with her relationship with Nathan. A total commitment to Nathan was out of the question, in Jodi's mind, unless she was completely over Justin.