Thinking of what comes now.

Ruth ended up dozing off after a couple of hours. Ishtar had been too busy healing him to say anything, but he still understood the situation was stressful for the poor blonde. He had told her insane things, asked her for sex right after it and had her do most of the work while she had to be careful not to make his injuries worse. Now that the pain was gone and the post-coital clarity had settled, Will could sympathize better with what Ruth was going through, so he totally understood why she’d fallen asleep after all that.

Now that he had some time to himself, Will decided to put all matters in order. For starters, the fact that the pain he’d been feeling was mostly gone was yet another testament to Ishtar’s incredible power. There was still a stinging sensation on top of the numbness in the affected areas, but he could pat himself on the sides and feel comparatively little pain. It was to the point where Will could carry Ruth from the sofa to his bed and get her under the blankets. Really, Ishtar was amazing. To be able to turn sex into healing was… insane. Truly, everything she was was meant to make sex a fuel source for anything.

‘Ughhhh… I’m too weak for this right now. Remember to praise me more tomorrow.’

He’d be sure to do that. What she’d done was nothing short of a miracle.

Then there were the more pressing matters. Jack Evans, Cynthia’s husband, wanted him away from her. In any normal situation, William wouldn’t have much ground to fight that, but this wasn’t a normal situation in the slightest. He had sent an… agent to deal with him, to threaten him with **** and even gave him a warning that his loved ones could be next if he didn’t back off.

Will’s heart ached as he thought of Cynthia. What was she going through right now? Did her husband keep this a secret from her or did he threaten her as well? Will dearly hoped it was the former, because if he had laid a single finger on her, broken ribs and an injured jaw would only be the first things the son of a bitch would have to deal with.

Will put on some boxers and sat on his couch. He took a deep breath, but thinking of the night’s events made him livid. It was true that he and Jeremy weren’t the closest friends, having only met here at university, but the way he’d spoken and hit him… There was no remorse there. And then there was the thing that pissed him off the most.

Cynthia was her husband’s personal wallet? He wouldn’t have cared if they kept fucking so long as she didn’t leave him? What the fuck was going on!? How did such a self-respecting woman like Cynthia ever marry a guy like that!? Will found himself gritting his teeth so strongly it caused a few stings of pain from not being fully healed.

There was no way he wouldn’t do anything about this, but he was thinking clear enough that he realized too much was going on and he didn’t know where to start. What should he do about Cynthia’s husband? Walk up to him and beat the living shit out of him? That sounded way too tempting right now, but what about the consequences? Would that really solve anything? If he was as influential a man as Jeremy had said, then perhaps that would only make things worse.

Then there was the fact that Ruth now knew about Ishtar. What would she do after she’d had time to process it? And besides, now that she knew, Will felt the need to tell Reina and Cynthia. Hell, perhaps even Anna. If the secret was out, then the people most affected had the right to know, didn’t they?

‘I hate to break your record, Will, but how long are you going to avoid thinking about Amelia?’

It was like a cold dagger piercing his chest. William winced and pinched the bridge of his nose.

‘Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. Still hung up on seeing her kiss her husband?’

‘It’s… complicated, Ishtar. I’ve been completely avoiding thinking of her because of it. And besides, she’s been avoiding me since then, too.’

‘Right, she has. Which is… weird.’

‘I’d love to clear things up between us, but now isn’t really the time, is it?’

‘I guess not. Well, if you want my opinion on Cynthia’s husband, I’d say beating him up is your best bet.’

‘How so?’

‘For whatever reason, I don’t feel lust coming from him. Meaning there’s nothing there for me to take advantage of. Remember what we did to the pervert on the bus that one time? Yeah, we can’t do anything like that to this guy.’

‘Should we just rely on the police, then? Though I have a feeling that’s not gonna work if this guy can send someone to beat me up, drop his name and not worry about it.’

Will groaned audibly while Ishtar groaned in his head in unison.

‘Who would’ve guessed that involving yourself with a married woman had consequences?’

‘Hey, YOU’RE the one who pushed me into it.’

‘I just wanted a quick fuck. You’re the one who fell in love and went all in on her. Oh, hey, that’s a funny innuendo.’

‘You’re gonna make me cry.’

The two of them went quiet for a moment before they snickered and started laughing together. And it felt good. The situating felt dire, but at the end of the day, Will still had Ishtar to support him. Things would work out, he knew it.

Then there was a knock on the door that froze their laughter.

Author's Note: Next chapter is the begining of things starting to stupid. I'm excited.