I mean, I’m rarely wrong, but stranger thingshavehappened. ItisDC, after all.
Of course I was willing to give Liam the benefit of the doubt. Besides, having that particular emotionally charged conversation wasn’t going to take place there, at work.
In the fucking US Capitol building.
No fucking way.
Except…
Iknew. Even though I wanted to gaslight the hell out of myself and pretend it didn’t happen, my gut wouldn’t let it drop.
I decided the best course of action would be to wait and see what happened next. Because on the remote possibility I was wrong, I didn’t want to accidentally trigger Liam and dredge up his painful past.
Or do damage to an innocent man’s life.
Or get myself arrested for assaulting a senator.
Unfortunately, I wasnotwrong. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve felt unusual tension build in Liam, a jumpiness he’s never exhibited before, and I knew I needed to talk to him about it. Because I wanted him to know that I knew the truth. And that, despite the anger I’ve held at “the ghost” on Liam’s behalf all these years, if he wanted to cash in his hall-pass fuck with Ward Callahan…
I was good with that.
Really good. I mean, the guy’s gorgeous.
Until I realized Liam likely already had cashed that chit in without letting me know first.
Thatpissed me off and set me on a journey to get proof before I confronted him. I really hoped he’d come clean before the confrontation, meaning I’d still be pissed, but at least he’d taken the step to atone.
He did not. Meaning I was now on a quest.
This morning, I remembered the old cell phone. The one in Liam’s desk at home.
The one I never saw him carry on him, but he refused to throw away, even though he never used it. And the one that managed to travel between our houses, despite never being used.
Imagine my utter lack of surprise when I left work early, claiming I felt sick, headed home, and retrieved that phone from his desk, just to find it fully charged. And locked.
Not with the same passcode he’s always used on both his work and personal phones, either.
Without success, I tried several passcodes that seemed obvious to me.
But when I had a thought…
I felt sick inside as I pulled out my personal cellphone, hit Ward Callahan’s Wikipedia page, and then tried 1016.
The phone unlocked.
October 16th—Ward’s birthday.
Even before I swiped into the pictures and then read through the e-mail account, I already knew in my soul what I’d find.
I wish I could say I was shocked but I wasn’t. Not about finally confirming the identity of Liam’s ghost and proof of my husband’s infidelity.
When I married my husband, we’d been dating for nearly four years. I understood he was a package deal by default, a ménage, even ifhedidn’t consciously realize it because one of the participants was perpetually MIA.
Honestly? I choose to believe Liam did not realize it back then. Not really. Hell, I’m not even sure if he fully understands thatnow.
There havealwaysbeen three people in our relationship and, later, our marriage: me, him, and goddamned Ward Mason Callahan.
Fucker.
