“And does your heart want Jesse? Still?”
Eliana stared at the stars as she considered the question and how best to explain the convoluted mess of feelings roiling within. But when she felt Clem’s hand grab her own, threading their fingers, a sob escaped, and with it, the words followed.
“No,” Eliana cried. “I don’t want Jesse. Not now. But I want him not to have done this. I trusted him. Ilovedhim with everything in me. And he just didn’t care. I want him to have meant the words he’d said. He was supposed to have my back, instead of stabbing me in it. I want tounderstand. We’ve invested so many years, so much work, into this marriage, and now it’s for nothing? How could he? Why would he? Why wouldshe? What about Milo? Do they think we’re that blind? That naive? How could I have misjudged two people so completely, Clem? I want to wake up, and this all have been some crazy, twisted nightmare.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes as she kept her gaze locked on the stars above.
“Even now, knowing about the money and seeing how I’ve let myself be reduced to this pathetic state, with no resume and no references and no credit, I still wish it was all a lie. Because to be betrayed like that, by two people I trusted so much, how am I supposed to move on from that? How could they do that to me, Clem?”
She grew quiet as she considered her own words. “But Ican’t think about feelings because I need to be strong. I have to think about the girls and what the future will look like. I have to get a job and make a plan so that when the time is right, I can walk away, free and clear—secure in the knowledge that he’llneverhold power over me again.”
“And you’resureyou don’t want me to intervene?”
“No.” Eliana huffed a laugh. “I really don’t. I would’ve told you everything sooner . . . but I knew you’d probably need a cool-down period, and I can’t really tackle you through a text.”
“But we are going to get revenge, right? We’re not letting them get away with this?”
“Absolutely not,” Eliana seethed. “That’s why I need evidence. Before I decide where I want to take this, I need to know how far he’s gone, what all lines he’s crossed. He may be a shit husband below the surface, but he’s a good dad. I always believed so . . .before. But now I don’t know anything for certain. I just . . . I don’t want to hurt our girls for the sake of my pride.”
Clem was silent for a beat. “Do you remember that show we used to watch all the time?Criminal Minds?”
“With the sexy nerd?”
“Yes, Dr. Reid. Anyway, why don’t we just do what they did? To beat the criminal, you have tounderstandthe criminal. Their minds work differently, so we get in their heads. Figure out their motivations. Then use it against them. Get in that same mindset and fuck them up.” Clem raised her free hand, waving it before them as if showcasing a headline, “Cheating Minds. . . it has a nice ring to it.”
Eliana nodded. “And once I have all the information—once I understand and I’m in a better situation—I can lay all the cards out on the table.Ican be the one who chooses what happens next.”
“Hell yes!” Clem cheered, squeezing her hand. “Bury their asses. Literally.”
Eliana groaned, then tilted her head to side-eye her friend. “I genuinely worry about you. A lot.”
“You shouldn’t,” Clem said, grinning up at Eliana. “Do you knowwhythere are so many more men convicted of murder compared to women?”
“Testosterone?” Eliana asked, scrunching her nose at the random question.
“No, I didn’t ask why mencommittedmore murders,” Clem huffed. “That’s a different discussion. I asked why men wereconvictedof more.”
Eliana shrugged.
“Women don’t get caught.”
Eliana squinted, studying her friend’s too-honest expression, and then turned her gaze back to the sky. “I’m just going to pretend the last minute of this conversation never happened.”
“That’s your prerogative.” Clem nodded. “So what’s next?”
“Next, I’m going to do what I should have done after I saw the flowers,” Eliana sighed. “I’m going to talk to Milo.”
10
BURN IT DOWN
Her side of the bed?? This bitch is vile.
Josh is not a good dad. A good dad would never put his family at risk for the cheap thrill of a homewrecking maggot.
I hope Emma takes everything.
Good dad?? FFS. What an example he’s setting.
