Once we’re married, she’ll do whatever you say I won’t interfere
Standing just outside the patio doors, Thad seen enough.
I pushed the doors open and stepped inside
The chatter died instantly. I looked at the stunned, guilty faces around the room, and let a slow, chilling smile spread across my
face
Isn’t this a family dinner? Why wasn’t the actual wife, invited?”
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
09.57
2
The moment Andrew saw me, he froze, his mind clearly struggling to reconcile my presence with the movie ticket he’d sent me to.
He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
Instinctively, he dropped Jenna’s hand, his voice trembling when he spoke. “Leslie… what… what are you doing here?”
It was the first time in all our years together that I had ever heard pure panic in his voice. His eyes darted around, refusing to meet mine. After so many years of carefully constructed lies, I wondered if he felt even a flicker of guilt.
Jenna was even worse off, her face chalk–white, rendered speechless. She was no doubt replaying the scene in my office, realizing
the woman she had so smugly described her affair to was the wife she was plotting against.
I walked further into the room, one deliberate step at a time. The festive atmosphere evaporated. Andrew’s parents and the crowd of relatives shifted uncomfortably, suddenly finding the floor fascinating. His mother, who had been so warm and solicitous to me for years, now huddled in a corner, the picture of humiliation. The chorus of friends and family who had just been singing Jenna’s praises fell into a dead silence.
The cavernous living room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Then, from a corner of the room, came the sharp shatter of glass.
It was Andrew’s other aunt, the one who’d stormed out earlier. She’d apparently returned. She had thrown her teacup to the floor and was now pointing a shaking finger at Andrew and Jenna, her face contorted with rage.
“You two,” she spat, her voice ringing through the silent room. “You adulterous pair! How could you do this to Leslie?”
No one moved to stop her.
“And you!” she roared, turning on the self–righteous relatives. “You pack of ungrateful vultures! I couldn’t stand to listen to another word. Have you all forgotten everything Leslie has done for this family? Or have you just conveniently misplaced your conscience?”
Her words were raw and ugly, and the fragile silence shattered completely. The first to snap back was the aunt who had been prais- ing Jenna just moments before.
“Now, that’s not fair,” she sniffed. “Leslie married into the Cole family. For better or for worse, she’s a Cole. It’s her duty to help the family. It’s not something you hold over people’s heads.”
“Exactly!” Andrew’s feckless younger brother chimed in, puffing out his chest. “When Andrew’s company was in trouble, she’s the one who offered to go to her family for help. Nobody forced her. And frankly, if she weren’t so stubborn about this divorce, none of
this would be happening!”
