“How could that woman do that to you?” she babbled on.
I spun around at her. “That woman’s name is Alyssa, and she did nothing to me.”
“But they said she blackmailed you into leaving with her.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” I said, waving her off.
“Then why’d you leave?”
“Because, Audrey, I wanted to.”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed and sat her down at the kitchen table. I thought about the best way to say this to make her understand.
“That is not any of your business,” I finally said, hoping she’d get it. I didn’t want to be rude to Audrey, but I also didn’t want her meddling in my life. “Did you get the letter?”
She blushed in embarrassment, and it was no doubt because of my directness.
“I’d hoped we could talk about that.” Her chin dipped.
“There is nothing to talk about. This is no longer a marriage. It hasn’t been since the moment you invited someone else into your bed.”
She winced at the mention of her infidelity.
“But in all honesty, we were doomed from the start, Aud, constantly pulling in different directions.” I sat across from her and reached into my pocket, pulling out my wallet. Finding what I was looking for, I handed it to her. She looked at the small band in her hands, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I carried this around for a long time, wondering when and if I would ever put it back on after the night I found out, not even when we decided to work it out.”
“I still love you, Luke. What happened with him was a mistake,” she whimpered.
“And a part of me will always love you too, but it’s over, Audrey, and you need to find a way to accept that.”
The pained expression on her face saddened me, but my heart and mind had finally caught up with each other.
She stood, straightened her shirt, and wiped her eyes. “I guess this is goodbye then, Luke.”
Nodding, I watched as she walked away. I berated myself for ever making her believe there was hope for us in the first place. Relationships were hard work, add cheating to the equation, and you’re headed for disaster inevitably.
I couldn’t get Alyssa off my mind. I’d only come home because I had no idea where to go, but I was hoping my brother, Seth, would be able to help me. He was an incredible detective. Together, we’d solved several of his cases.
Seth had an eye for detail and tracked his criminals down like a hound dog. He was meeting me here in the next few hours, and I had no doubt he’d make sense of all this because right then, I was pretty much helpless.
My insurance company was still trying to track down my car. I’d only remembered my car had a tracking device this morning.
“Where are you, Alyssa?” Rubbing my forehead, I was fucking exhausted. I hadn’t slept since she left. I leaned my head on the tabletop, and within a few minutes, I was dozing off.
Too exhausted to move, I stayed where I was.
ChapterThirty-Three
Alyssa
Present Day
Every time I thought of Gracie, the aching in my chest only grew, and the ability to think and reason became more and more difficult. The police were looking for me. They were probably on my tail. I didn’t know how to stay under the radar the way Luke did, but I had no choice other than to do this on my own. I had to release him from the responsibility he felt for me.
Luke had done all he could for me. He was the reason I’d even made it this far.
Leaving him the way I did was the hardest thing I’d had to do. He’d been nothing but kind to me, and I knew what he felt about me far surpassed friendship or concern.
