Our Wicked Lies GledĂ© Kabongo (summer reading list .txt) đ
- Author: Gledé Kabongo
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âYou wouldnât,â she challenged.
âYou went after my family. Iâm about to give you a nasty dose of your own medicine. What did you say to Alicia?â he demanded.
âNothing.â
âYouâre lying again.â
âSo, sue me,â she quipped.
âIs this a joke to you?â
âWell, yes. You getting all high and mighty, as if you hold all the cards.â
âMeaning what?â Eliot pushed.
âIf our affair is no longer a secret, Alicia will divorce you and take half your money. Your reputation will be tainted, and no one at Tillerson Brenner will respect you. Youâll be damaged goods. You know Arnie takes the firmâs reputation very seriously.â
âIâm not in the least bit concerned.â
âWhat about your Senate ambition? Can you imagine the scandal? An affair with a married woman, your wifeâs best friend no less. You can forget about the female vote for starters.â
He pretended to consider everything she said, but he had already made up his mind. âIâm willing to take the risk. My personal reputation may take a hit, albeit temporarily, but my skills and talent are irrefutable. Law firms all over the country have been after me for years. Iâll simply move to another city. As for Alicia divorcing me, Iâll make sure that never happens.â
Panic replaced her smug attitude. Her eyes went wide. She backed away from him. âYouâd throw away the senate run, your lifeâs dream, just like that?â
âIf it came down to a choice between Alicia and becoming a U.S. Senator, thatâs easy. Alicia wins.â
He inched closer, standing directly in front of her. âYou overplayed your hand. I warned you. I gave you plenty of chances to stop the madness, but you wouldnât.â
âAll of this, why?â she pleaded. âBecause you wonât leave your precious Alicia, hmm?â
âDo you want to revisit the pregnancy story, Katalina?â
âOkay. Iâm not pregnant. But Alicia believes I am. Well, Faith.â She smiled. It was diabolical and chilling, a predator anticipating the kill.
âMeaning what?â
âWell, your little wifey and I had a tĂȘte-Ă -tĂȘte going.â She paced the room. âI sent her a sonogram of our baby, told her you were leaving her, and threw in a couple of creative adjectives in our communication. She did not like âugly cowâ. I told her you only took her to Paris because you felt sorry for her.
âAnd the poor thing, she was so crushed, she came running to her best friend, Kat, broken hearted and pathetic. Admitted she was just a boring housewife, and you probably fell for someone more beautiful and exciting. I pitied her. I only wish I could have confirmed how much more beautiful and exciting your mistress is.â She tossed her hair back, as if she was in a shampoo commercial.
Eliot clenched and unclenched his fists. Blood rushed through his head. Coherent thoughts escaped his mind. He couldnât lose control of the situation, however. He would not hand over a victory to Katalina. What she did was unusually cruel, a callous disregard for Aliciaâs feelings and well-being. How could Katalina hurt her like that?
Hypocrite!
âYouâre a miserable wretch, and I wish I had seen it before. Richard wants out of the marriage, and your only child cannot stand the sight of you, so your alternative was to beat up on my wife.â
He picked up a throw pillow off the sofa and jammed his fist into it to calm his fury. âWhat? You thought I would leave her after Richard dumped you? Was that the plan, why you constantly threatened to tell her about us if I didnât leave her?â
âYouâre no better than me, Eliot,â she said. âYouâve been cheating on her for years. Donât stand here and pretend to be a Boy Scout. Weâre both two terrible human beings who hurt your poor, precious, Alicia.â
âI finally understand why you despise her so much.â Eliot guffawed. âYouâre jealous. Thatâs it. You want to be like her. You want to be the kind of mother she is. The kind of wife she is. You wish you had her heartâkind, generous, caring. You couldnât pull that off even if you had a personality transplant!â
âPfft. Please, Eliot. If I woke up one day and I was whiny, insecure, desperate-for-approval Alicia, I would kill myself.â
âShut your filthy mouth! You donât get to say her name anymore.â
âBecause sheâs so perfect, right? Well, let me tell you about your perfect little angel, Alicia.â
âIâm not interested in anything you have to say. Weâre done!â Eliot turned toward the door and began to storm out.
âOh, Eliot. Youâll want to hear this. Trust me,â Kat cooed from behind.
Eliot performed a three-sixty on his heels and marched up to her again, his height towering over her slight figure.
âI donât think so. You should have listened to me. But listen to me now. Iâm not leaving Alicia. Richard will end up dumping you. A man can only take so much. Maxim has all but written you off. Sounds to me like youâll end up alone.â He practically spat the last words. âExactly what you deserve.â
He hovered above her for a moment longer and took a deep inhale before marching toward the door.
âI could have given you the son you always wanted, Eliot, since Alicia didnât want to,â she called out to his retreating form.
He turned around, his expression sour. âItâs over, Katalina. Please, if you have one shred of dignity left, just stop. Stop with the drama and the lies.â He turned the doorknob.
She shouted, âThe miscarriage Alicia had three years ago wasnât a miscarriage. It was an abortion.â
CHAPTER 33
Eliot had no idea how he made it home without a major accident. As he sat in the driveway, his head on the steering wheel, his entire body trembledâaftershocks from the earthquake that had rocked him to the core.
At first, heâd thought it was just
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