‘I meant that having an affair with me wasn’t a big deal for him.’
‘But he has two children,’ he says.
‘No he doesn’t,’ I reply, perplexed.
And that’s when he shows me his phone. Nicu is referring to a text message with a video attached.
It’s of me in Liv’s kitchen, kissing her husband Brandon. I think I want to be sick again.
With the force of a tsunami, the video prompts images from last night to flood back. In my hungover state, I’d forgotten all about it, and now I’ve just made things a hell of a lot worse.
‘If you don’t mean Brandon, then who do you mean?’ Nicu asks.
Until this moment, Nicu knew nothing about me and the man I’ve spent the last three months having an affair with.
Chapter 55
Anna
Margot is like the weather. You can’t be one hundred per cent sure what you’ll get from one day to the next. Catty, funny, resentful, theatrical, melancholic ... She slips into moods as effortlessly as she might slip on one of her designer dresses. But tears? No, that’s not her style. However, they’re already running when I open my front door. Her hair is piled up on her head and her skin is red and blotchy.
‘What’s wrong?’ I ask, failing to hide my surprise.
‘It’s Nicu,’ she sobs.
‘Has something happened?’
‘He’s walked out on me.’ She exhales sharply from her nose and a thick line of snot falls, resting above her upper lip. She wipes it away with the back of her hand. ‘He’s packed his bags, taken the kids and gone.’
‘Why?’
Now she’s sobbing too hard to be understood.
I invite her in, step out to close the garage door that Drew left open, then follow her into the lounge. I hand her a box of tissues. She grabs a bunch and wipes her tears, nose and hand. Behind her,I spy Drew descending the stairs. He catches a glimpse of the back of her head, scowls and creeps out, quietly shutting the front door behind him.
When I offer Margot a hug, she hangs on to me for dear life. Only weeks ago we were the other way around. I feel the dampness of her cheek against my neck.
‘Anna, I’ve messed up,’ she admits as she lets go of me and sinks into the sofa.
I sit next to her.
‘You have no idea what a terrible person I can be,’ she says.
Oh I think I do.
‘It can’t be that bad,’ I reply. And then I twist the knife. ‘It’s not like you’ve killed anyone, have you?’
She hesitates for the length of a heartbeat before shaking her head.
‘Then whatever could it be?’ I persist.
‘I don’t want you to think badly of me.’
The horse bolted from that stable a long, long time ago.
‘I’ve been cheating on Nicu,’ she continues.
‘Who with?’ I ask.
