I take a deep breath to steady myself and the nausea roiling in my stomach. "Might I remind you that I was there through everything? You were in Switzerland, skiing when the accident happened. I never left Peter's side; I even slept in the hospital for weeks while Suzie took care of Eliza. I was there through all his physical therapy, taking him to his appointments, making sure he did his exercises at home, even though he'd yell at me the entire time. I even moved to a new place with him that was wheelchair accessible. I did the shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, caring for him, even though he hated me for it. I took a sabbatical just to be able to take care of him. And for all of that, he yelled at me, he called me names, he told me I was worthless, and he blamed me for everything. And then I find out he'd been cheating on me for the entirety of our relationship, that thewoman who died in the car accident with him wasn't a work colleague or a friend, but hisgirlfriend."
Clarissa tries to take a breath, no doubt to refute what I'm saying and continue to spread the lies about me that have been circulating. Thatshe’scirculated. But a single glare from Suzie shuts her up.
"Of course, I left after that. If you and your son weren't going to respect me and my daughter, I wasn’t sticking around. I refuse to let her believe it's okay to be treated that way, no matter the circumstances."
I switch my gaze to Peter, and I'm satisfied when he looks away. His discomfort doesn't stop me from saying what I want to say. "You might have taken three good years from me, and wasted them all, but you sure as hell couldn't take my dignity, even though you tried."
Peter still won't look at me, and though I don't smile, a slight flare of triumph starts up in the center of my chest. Suzie squeezes my arm, letting me know she's proud of me. And behind me, I see the two volunteers exchange a very different kind of look this time.
I'm about to thank them for letting me spend time with the puppies before I escape for the evening, when something over Clarissa's shoulder catches my eye. She's winding up to respond to me, when a tall, striking man with perfectly tousled, wavy salt-and-pepper hair steps up beside my adversary. He's wearing an incredible cobalt-blue suit that sets off his blue eyes, which meet mine in a stark moment that steals my breath before he turns to Clarissa.
He looks furious, and I suddenly can't breathe, my entire body stiffening in response. Suzie feels the change because her arm tightens around mine.
"What's wrong?" she whispers in my ear. I can't answer; I'm still staring at Viktor, wondering why the hell he suddenly showed up here.
"Is there a problem?" he asks, his gaze splitting from Clarissa to Peter to me for half a heartbeat and back.
"Viktor." Clarissa's frigid greeting might as well be a sneer. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"On an invite from my law firm. They know how important I find it to support the care of animals."
Clarissa snorts. "It figures. You'd rather support the animals than take care of your wife and son."
"You’rethe one who left." There's a subtle current of anger in Viktor's words, and his tone has grown chillingly quiet. Even the puppies have fallen silent in their pen in response to the quiet menace radiating from the man. "You took our son and wouldn't let him near me. You spoiled him and turned him against me."
"I'm not spoiled, you son of a bitch," Peter says, speaking for the first time.
I suddenly feel faint, my head spinning with all the information flying at me, too many things becoming clear in too short a time.
"I have to—" I'm already moving, dragging Suzie with me. "I'm going to?—"
I start running and barely make it to the toilet in time to heave up what little I'd eaten this evening. Suzie's heels tap on themarble flooring as she catches up to me and pulls my hair back while I continue to wretch.
I expect her to make some joke about repeating our college days, but she remains silent. She's quiet until I'm seated in one of the chairs in the powder room again, and she hands me a wet paper towel to use on my head and neck.
"So you want to tell me what the hell is going on?" She drops into the other chair and crosses her arms over her chest.
"That's the guy," I finally manage.
"What guy?" Suzie sounds annoyed as she looks, her eyes narrowing at my cryptic response. But her eyes widen in a snap. "That guy?Thatguy? He's the mystery man you spent the wild night with?"
I nod miserably because it's painfully obvious who that guy is after everything that's come to light in the past fifteen minutes.
"Leah, are you nuts? That's Viktor Antonov, Clarissa ex-husband. TheBratva boss."
"I didn't know that when we ran into each other and he asked me out. How was I supposed to know? Clarissa goes by her maiden name. And so does Peter."
"Oh, shit, Leah." Suzie drags her hand down her face. "You had no idea he was Peter's dad?"
"No. Peter mentioned his dad was a mobster, but I just figured he was some lowlife who left them when Peter was a kid. He never mentioned his name, not even once. There weren't any pictures, and there sure as hell weren't any conversations about him. "
"That... this is so bad." Suzie doesn't even know how bad it is yet.
"Okay, well," she takes a deep breath and sits up straight, slapping her thighs. A look of determination overcomes her shock. "It was just one night with him. He hasn't contacted you in two months, and you'll never have to see him again if you don’t want to."
Suzie looks to me expectantly, but her face falls when I don't respond, and she sees my expression. "What?" she asks with dread.
"That's not it," I say quietly, biting on my lower lip until it hurts. "I, uhh?—"
