Today is October 30th. To many people that isn't much, but to Zachariah it was a day that could make or break his family. Today he had to admit his shame. He was a cheat. He was a cheat that had no regard for his wife when he committed an act, whether it be adultery or something as simple as going to the store. He'd realized this a long time ago. Do you think he ever thought to change?

If your answer was no, then you were right. He never changed. He never even considered it. Now he just might lose his wife, and maybe even his family. He really should've considered the consequences of his actions, he thought as he looked at his brother, Philip.

You would think Philip was a voice of reason. Nope. Philip was a bad person, a very bad man. He'd done some pretty terrible things and didn't mind doing them again. He was the last person he should be talking to, Zachariah thought. Think about it, coming to your immoral brother with a situation pertaining to morality. No. You just don't do that. Philip looked at him.

"What?" He asked, "We're you expecting some kind of moral advice? Did you want me to tell you that you were wrong? You were wrong, but hey! You had fun while you did it, huh?"

Zachariah sighed. He felt as if he had been sighing for years. Sighing at how hard his life was. Or how tiring it was. Or how boring it was. He'd been sighing for a while now. With her there was no sighing. It was almost like when he first met Esmeralda and he didn't feel so tired of life anymore. "No," he said, "I guess I wasn't." Maybe he chose the wrong brother to seek comfort from.

**

Philip looked at his brother with nothing short of a menacing grin. Zachariah hadn't been the most daring of the brothers. No, no that title was all his. Harry...eh, maybe. Zachariah? No. Zachariah never did things like this. He was always mommy's good boy. Daddy was always proud of him. Zachariah set the standard, and it may have been because he was younger and never got a chance to prove himself, but Philip resented that about him. Always had and always would.

"Look, brother," he started, "I can't really help you. It would defeat my purpose in life. Truly." Zachariah had the face of a miserable person, whose life had beaten down on him. In a way it had, but Philip didn't care. In fact, he relished in it. The good boy had done something bad and now he was suffering through his shortcomings. Philip hated Zachariah. And now he was laughing at his pain.

**

Darla picked up the paper she had dropped on the floor. "Bills." One enveloped thrown in the bin.

"Bills."

Another letter in the bin.

"Bills."

Another.

"Annoying relatives."

Another.

"Ugh! Why does Eleanor keep sending us mail?" She shouts up the stairs at her husband. She throws the letter on the table this time. Phillip comes out of his home offices and stares at her.

"What?" He says after a moment.

"Why is your niece sending us mail. This is the fourth one in the last week." She said as if she had something against Eleanor. She had a sneer on her face, and if looks could kill, Eleanor would be fucking. Annihilated. Philip sighed.

"I'm doing a job for her. She wants me to check up on a patient that's been really sick lately. She's been sending me his papers so that I can see if I can get a clear understanding of what may be wrong." He took the letter off the counter and walked back to his office. He turned and paused. "Is that a problem?" He asked.

Darla snorted in contempt. "Of course not," she said. He nodded and went back upstairs. Darla shook her head.

**

The time had come and both Esmeralda and Zachariah had been dreading it greatly. Esme cooked up dinner, enough for a small army as she had given birth to seven children in her lifetime. Zachariah stood, hovering as if he didn't know his place in her life anymore. Maybe he didn't.

He couldn't touch her, her trust far too betrayed for that. Couldn't comfort her, not when he was the source of her discomfort. He wondered when his life became so complicated. Maybe it was when he decided an affair was the best thing that could've happened to him. He had finally had something that took the boring, drab out of his life. He didn't consider Esme, he never considered Esme. Esme who, having since heard the news, looked like the life had been sucked out of her. He almost wished he hadn't told her, but he figured she at least deserved that respect.

When their children and their spouses had all arrived, they'd eaten dinner casual chatter thrown around the dinner table. It all seemed so proper, but everyone had their secrets at that table. "So dad," Marc started, his third glass of wine in hand, "Why are we here?"

"Marcus!" Eleanor whisper shouted.

"What?" He said, turning to look her. He may have had three glasses of wine but his eyes looked very sober. Zachariah raised his hand when Eleanor opened her mouth to reply. "It's a legitimate question."

Marc nods slowly, looking shaken for some reason. His father never agreed with him. Not on anything, especially not on something being legitimate. He shook his head and sobered up, going to get a glass of water. When he sat back down, Zachariah stood up. "Your mother and I have an announcement," he said.

"You two aren't having another kid are you?" Henry asked, a smile on his face. Esme grimaced and everyone gasped. Before everyone could get annoyed or excited, Zachariah- ever the patriarch- raised his hand. Everyone closed their mouths. "Fortunately for you guys, your mother is not pregnant."

"So what's the catch?" Eleanor asked.

"Well, kids," Esme said, but Zachariah cut her off.

"I've shamed our family," he said.

"What do you mean?" Drake said.

"Well-"

"Your father's been having an affair!" Esme shouted.

A/N: I lied, I'm sorry. I said I was gonna upload this yesterday. Better late than never right. The next chapter will be up by Friday, hopefully. Gracias, if you're still reading this, and as always, no bigotry allowed.

Love you lovebugs ~Minah