Chapter 11 - TOO LATE TO CALL IT MINE
The necklace lay between us.
Brilliant.
Cold.
Ridiculous.
“Clare returned it,” Adrien said.
“Why?”
“I asked her to.”
“You had to ask?”
His eyes dropped.
“I should never have given it to her.”
“You shouldn’t have used my building to rescue her either.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that after somebody else finds proof.”
He closed the box.
“I was trying to help someone I’d known most of my life.”
“By lying to someone who shared yours.”
He swallowed.
For once, he had no quick answer.
“Were you sleeping with her?”
“No.”
“Were you planning to?”
“No.”
I studied him.
A month earlier, I would have taken that answer and built a shelter around it.
Now it didn’t cover enough.
“Did you tell her you loved her?”
“No.”
“Did you tell her you’d handle me?”
His face tightened.
“Yes.”
There was more honesty in that single word than in everything he had said since our anniversary.
“Did you think about how it would feel?”
“I thought you’d be angry. Then I thought you’d understand.”
“Because I always did.”
He nodded.
I hated how much that hurt.
“I loved you,” I said.
“I love you.”
“Then what did you think love allowed you to do?”
He looked toward the empty chair beside me.
“Can we try counseling?”
“You can.”
“Together.”
“I’m filing for divorce.”
He gripped the edge of the table.
“I don’t want that.”
“I didn’t want any of this.”
Silence filled the room.
He slid the velvet box toward me.
I pushed it back.
“Sell it. Repay whoever paid for it.”
“Willa—”
“It isn’t my gift.”
He stared at me.
Then he asked a question I wasn’t ready for.
“What was inside the cake?”
My throat closed.
“Martha said you took something out before you left.”
I stood.
“That’s personal.”
His eyes sharpened, searching my face.
I hated being studied by a man who had ignored me when I was right in front of him.
“You never used to shut me out.”
“You never used to make me afraid of what you’d do with the truth.”
I walked to the door.
He didn’t stop me.
In the hallway, Naomi handed me an envelope delivered during the meeting.
May you like
The return address belonged to Clare’s law firm.
They were accusing me of intentionally destroying her business.
