“Are you still coming? We haven’t seen you for a few weeks,” I asked as I spoke to Alicia. There was a big charity fundraiser, and they needed lots of people to attend.
“Sure, I bought the dress,” Alicia replied.
“Darling, is everything okay?”
“Other than my husband prefers spending time with his assistant? Hunky-dory.”
“Alicia, shall I come over?” I inquired, somewhat alarmed. Alicia didn’t sound like herself, and I was worried.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll see you there, Winona. Look for the woman with the fat ass; that’ll be me.” Alicia cut the line, and Aaron came over. What the hell had got into Alicia?
“Okay?” Aaron asked as he stroked a thumb over my lips.
“No, Alicia was off. Aaron, I think she’s realising what we have known for a long time,” I replied.
“Can I say Thank God? Because I really don’t like Kensington.”
Aaron’s relief was heartfelt. The men suffered Oliver because of the wives’ friendship with Alicia. Aaron liked Alicia. She was a nice person, even if she was a doormat, but in his opinion, she wasn’t worth putting up with because of Oliver. He’d become an overconfident, arrogant asshole, and Aaron had no time for him. Not anymore.
Alicia
Oliver had spent the last week bending over backwards to show me how much I was loved. But whenever I brought up getting a job, he changed the subject. Guess that was a no. Slowly, I was forgiving him, but I didn’t trust him. My gut had twisted itself into knots. Undecided, I flipped between believing Oliver was cheating and then being certain he wasn’t. I couldn’t make up my mind for love or money. I’d scoured social media and discovered lots of photos of Oliver and Eve. They certainly looked like a couple, and the smiles Oliver was gifting Eve had once been reserved for me.
Was Oliver having an affair? I didn’t want to believe it, not after giving him over a decade of my life. Sadly, the evidence was there, despite Oliver’s claims. Devon flashed into my mind. I’d not thought about him in a decade.“Once a cheater, always a cheater,”Devon had stated. Maybe he’d been right. Had Oliver cheated through the years, and I’d not noticed.
“Ready, darling? You look gorgeous. Tonight, I’ll be the proudest man there,” Oliver said as he entered the lounge. Prepared for the critique, I waited for the next comment, the one that would put me down, and was shocked when it didn’t follow. Many things were starting to become clear.
“Yes.”
I began walking to the door when Oliver reached out and grabbed my wrist. He fastened a new diamond tennis bracelet around it. Uninterested, I glanced at it.
“Thank you, but that was unnecessary. You’ve given me at least ten of these.”
Oliver looked dumbfounded as I continued and headed outside.
“Darling, I’m sure it’s not that many,” Oliver said as he caught up and opened the car door.
“Actually, it’s fifteen. Would you like me to detail each time I received one?” I replied and climbed in. An insidious thought popped into my head. Had Oliver given me a new one whenever he’d had an affair?
Oliver smiled, but I swear he was grinding his teeth. “Then give it back,” Oliver demanded.
“No, it’s fine.”
Oliver grabbed my arm, tore the bracelet off, and threw it onto the drive. “If my generosity insults you, don’t wear it.”
Pain shot through my wrist; I gaped and rubbed where the bracelet had caught me. “I can’t believe you did that,” I whispered.
“Why not? Alicia, you’re being cruel, ungrateful, and spitting in my face. I went out of my way to buy something pretty, and you insult the gesture. That’s hurtful, Alicia.”
Instantly, I backed down. “Sorry, I never meant to.”
Oliver patted my hand. “Darling, I know you didn’t, you’ve been so stressed lately. Why don’t I pay for you to attend that spa you like?”
“That would be wonderful, thank you,” I murmured. I hated that place, full of snobs and self-important idiots.
“Alicia, the dress suits you. You look—”
“Perfect, I’m aware. Can we go, please? Honestly, I hate events like this,” I said, and Oliver forced another smile and shut thedoor. These types of functions were always about wealth and power, never about the real reason—charity. People attended to be seen as generous and kind.
