Suddenly, it hit me. “Vincent. You did go and get your sperm count checked, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did.”
BUZZ.
I gasped. “You’re fucking kidding me. You never did, did you? You let me go through all those treatments… you let me visit doctor after doctor. You blamedme!You let everyone else blame me! You stayed quiet while people whispered behind their hands. I listened to you tell people that you didn’t care that I was infertile! It wasyouall along!”
Cecil growled behind me again.
“It was notme.” His tone was cold. “It had to be you. Seraphina is pregnant.”
“Well, you might want to think about a paternity test, then.”
His eyes flared wide in true, genuine shock. I laughed. “That didn’t occur to you, did it? You didn’t think that a girl who would happily sleep with a married man and carry on an affair for years with the hope of one day prizing him free might actually cheat herself once she had him? Ha!”
He hadn’t thought of that. His fists clenched. “She wouldn't do that. Seraphina is innocent. She’s virtuous.”
I cackled like a hen. “Oh, this is priceless. That girl lied to my face for years, stole my things, and slept with my husband. If you really believe she’s virtuous after you watched her do all that, then she’s playing you harder than a coked-up executive on a squash court. Whose idea was it to frame me as a crazy lady who had a breakdown?”
“Youarea crazy lady who had a breakdown,” he growled. “You tried to kill me.”
No buzz. He was telling the truth. He thought I really did try to kill him. Of course, I didn’t mean to—my magic exploded out of me and tore the whole room apart. But he’d gotten hurt badly, and it was my fault.
A sharp stab of guilt plunged into my heart, throwing me off balance. When I opened my mouth next, it came out in a soft whine. “You were cheating on me, Vincent. It’s no excuse for what happened, but I caught you in bed with Seraphina. Both of you lied about that, and it made me look crazy. Two years, Vince. It was hell. I losteverything.”
“I didn’t mean for all that to happen,” he muttered, looking away. No buzz zinged over my skin. That was the truth, too.
“Maybe you didn’t. But you let it happen. I gave youeverything, Vincent.” I smiled at him sadly. “You threw me away like garbage. I hope Seraphina is worth it.”
He stared at me, inhaling angrily through his nose. I could almost see the thoughts buzzing in his brain. For the first time he wondered if he’d made a horrible mistake. The ex-wife he’d thrown away was standing in front of him, wearing couture, framed by a building she owned and a gold Lamborghini, looking better, richer, and more valuable than ever before.
He was furious. The mask was gone. This is the real Vincent I was looking at now.
“Of course she’s worth it. She’s giving me what Ialwayswanted. A family. My legacy. There’s nothing more important than family, Susan,” he spat out through clenched teeth. “Fuck all the rest of it. You know what? You’re just jealous. You can make fun of Seraphina all you want, but she’s young, and she’s beautiful, and she’s pregnant with my child.Youcouldn’t do that. You’re old and dried up— Ouch! Ahhh! What the hell?”
Cecil had bounced forward and sank his teeth into Vincent’s leg. “Grrr. Arr.” He bit him again. “Arrr.Arrogant asshole.”
“He bit me!” Vincent hissed, outraged. “Susan, your fucking dog bit me!” He smacked Cecil away, and Cecil bounded back in and bit him on the other leg. “Ow! You little—” Vincent kicked out, but Cecil dodged him and ducked down into a play-bow, before bounding forward, sinking his teeth into Vincent’s shin, and gnawing at his leg. “Get him off me!”
“Grrr. Grrr… yip! Yip! Yyyylittle prick!”
I took a couple of steps back. “He doesn’t seem to like you much, does he?”
“I swear—ouch! Susan… owww!” Vincent dropped into a crouch, trying to swat at Cecil before he ducked in to bite again. “Call your dog off right now. I will have this fucking thingdestroyedjust like I?—”
I went cold. “Just like what? Just like what, Vincent?”
He glared.
A wave of pure anguish washed through me. It took me a whole thirty seconds before I could speak, and when I did, the lump in my throat almost choked me. “Rusty didn’t run away, did he?”
Cecil lunged. Vince waved his arms frantically. “He did!”
Buzz.
Oh, God. That’s why the woman in the shelter was confused. She told me specifically that Rusty hadn’t come in as a rescue, and that he’d been put down some time ago.
“It’s true,” I whispered. “You took Rusty in to get put down, because you couldn’t be bothered looking after him when I went to jail.”
