I point at the empty bottle of wine on the floor, which I must have kicked out of the bathroom when I was dragging Cassie. “Hey, I don’t judge you for treating yourself on your honeymoon. But I wasn’t here. You drank that all by yourself.”
Making sure to stay as far away from me as possible, Cassie walks over to the dresser and grabs the pill bottle, which she shakes in front of her. “I counted them. The bottle is almost empty. I only took a couple every night.”
She’s not sure. I can read it on her face. Cassie might throw accusations around, but she has nothing concrete.
“You’re not the only one who felt jet-lagged,” I say with a shrug. “I took some as well.”
I get up and walk over to her. If she really believed I wanted to kill her, she would have tried harder to get away from me.
“Don’t come near me!” she screams.
“Come on, sweetie. Let’s take a deep breath.”
She shakes her head, her eyes practically bulging out. “I told Darren about what you did. I’m serious. Heknows. If something happens to me, they’ll…arrest you.”
Oh. Oh! I’m done, aren’t I? Cassie is going to walk out of here freely and I’ll never step foot in the U.S. again. I think she sees the realization on my face even before I open my mouth. She’s gone too far, said too much.
“You little bitch!” I snap. “So used to getting your way. Youwantedtomarry me. All you cared about was messing with your ex and destroying your sister.”
Cassie steps back until she’s against the wall, but there’s a hint of relief in her eyes. She didn’t make this all up. “And I won. Darren and I are getting back together. I’ll divorce you and then I’ll be with a real man. One who can take care of me.” Her voice is shaking, but her eyes are full of hatred.
“Is that right? You think he’s going to stick by you now, when he dumped you before because you were never going to be good enough for him? He wants a nice little wife, the house, the snotty kids. They’ll hate you and you’ll end up like your mother.”
She takes a shaky breath as she tries to push past me, but I wrap my hand around her wrist, squeezing it tight.
“It’s over,” she says, her face contorted in pain. “You can’t get back to the States without a passport, and you can’t live there without me. I almost feel sorry for you. Your big dream has gone.” She presses the fingers of her other hand together, then spreads them out wide in front of her face. “Poof! And here’s the difference between us: you still need me but I don’t need you anymore.” She’s trying to sound tough but there’s regret in her eyes. Fear.
“Geez,” I say, releasing my grip just a touch. “It’s no surprise no one loves you. You think Darren does? Then why isn’t he here with you? Why did he let you marry me?”
“You”—her jaw quivers—“you don’t know anything.”
I need to buy time until I can figure out my next move, and it’s working. To show good faith, I release her wrist.
“Your sister definitely can’t stand you.”
A spark goes off in her, angst turning into anger. “What does Taylor have to do with this?”
“Her name’s not Taylor.” If Cassie is determined to ruin my life, I’m not going to go away so easily. “And she’s a much better person than you’ll ever be.”
Cassie scoffs. “She’s a loner and a weirdo. Her mother almost killed her.Wait, is something going on with you two?”
A thought flashes in my mind, so simple and yet unfathomable. What if I explained the truth? I married the wrong sister for the wrong reason. I could be with Reese, and Cassie could be with whoever the fuck she wanted to. Cassie and I could still pretend to be happily married. I could work harder at convincing her to invest more money in the inn, to let me handle it. It could work. In theory, at least.
“We’re in love,” I say, feeling like a teenage boy declaring my feelings for the first time. Jittery and full of crushing hope.
When Cassie opens her mouth, it’s to let out the highest-pitched shriek I’ve ever heard. Then, she whips around. I grab her by the waist so forcefully she stumbles back onto the bed. Before she can move again, I straddle her, pinning her down on the sheets. I’m about to take hold of both her wrists when she turns her head to the left, looking for something off to the side. I do the same to see what’s so interesting to her, and our eyes land on the iron at the same time. It’s on the board, in the middle of the room. The distraction lasts only for a split second, but it’s enough for Cassie to push me off her. Then she reaches for the iron, just as I do, too.
Like I said, I’m not a violent person. But in that moment, all I can think of is how good it will feel to smash the cool metal piece into her ugly little face.
Chapter 29
Thérèse
Now
Any place would feel dull after Paris, but the house seems dreadful as I park my car out the front. Before going in, I spin the flowerpot and grab the spare set of keys, the one the Realtor used to get in. I’m not interested in receiving visitors.
Everything is quiet inside, just as I—we—left it. The smell of rotten leaves and pollen from all the flowers Cassie spread around the house for the wedding fills the air, making me want to retch. I haven’t slept a peep since I left Olivier, and only picked at the meal I was served on the plane.
