Chapter 4
I packed a bag that night.
Daniel followed me upstairs.
“Claire, don’t do this.”
I folded a sweater.
“Do what?”
“Leave when everyone is emotional.”
I looked at him.
“My lip is split.”
He rubbed his face.
“I know.”
“Your mother dragged me across the floor.”
“I know.”
“You stood there.”
His eyes filled, but I did not trust tears anymore.
“I froze.”
“No,” I said. “You chose.”
That landed.
He stepped back.
“I grew up with her.”
“So did Robert. He still stepped between us.”
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
“He never did before.”
“And you never wondered why?”
He had no answer.
I put my toothbrush in the bag.
Daniel grabbed my wrist.
Not hard.
But enough.
I looked down.
He let go immediately.
“Sorry.”
The word came too late.
I walked past him.
At the stairs, Robert waited.
“You can stay in the guest wing,” he said. “Evelyn won’t be allowed back tonight.”
I shook my head.
“I need somewhere that is not this house.”
He nodded.
“I’ll arrange a hotel.”
“No.”
I lifted my chin.
“I can arrange my own room.”
Something like respect moved through his face.
“Of course.”
Daniel followed me to the door.
“Claire, please. We can talk tomorrow.”
I turned.
“Tomorrow, you can decide whether you are a husband or your mother’s witness.”
His face crumpled.
I left.
At the hotel, I sat on the bathroom floor and cried quietly.
Not because Evelyn hurt me.
Because Daniel watched.
Because part of me still loved him.
Because love does not turn off just because respect dies.
My phone buzzed.
Robert.
Claire, Evelyn’s adviser is Malcolm Pierce. I know him.
A second message came.
He used to work for my company.
Then a third.
He was fired for fraud twelve years ago.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Evelyn’s secret was not only an affair.
It was revenge.
