Our Wicked Lies GledĂ© Kabongo (summer reading list .txt) đ
- Author: Gledé Kabongo
Book online «Our Wicked Lies GledĂ© Kabongo (summer reading list .txt) đ». Author GledĂ© Kabongo
Alicia gasped. But inwardly she was thinking that Kat had gotten off lightly with just a shove.
âAnyway,â Richard continued, âMaxim told me what heâd overheard. Iâll save you the details, but needless to say, it confused him. He demanded answers. I couldnât lie to him. I did my best to cushion the blow. Then I hired a private investigator to follow his mother.â
Alicia was afraid to ask the next question, but she did. âWhat did the investigator find out?â
âHe confirmed what Maxim had overheard. She and Eliot met regularly at an apartment in Chestnut Hill. She told us she had to work, even on days she was supposed to be home having dinner with us or attending one of Maximâs events.â
The enormity of the deception was dawning on Alicia. The affair was so intense; instead of meeting at a hotel, theyâd gotten an apartment and met there regularly. Maybe Kat was more than a side salad, after all.
âIs that why Maxim is so angry, because he knows?â
âYes. He asked me why she didnât want to be with us. âMr. Gray has his own family,â heâd said. Then heâd asked, âWhat if she leaves us for Mr. Gray? Lily and Marston are cool, I guess. But theyâre my friends, not step-sisters.ââ
Alicia wanted to cry. No child should ever be in the middle of an adult situation like that. Maxim was a boy who needed his mother, but she was too busy giving her time and attention to someone else.
âI was tempted to tell him she had already left us,â Richard said in a doleful voice. âThat our home was just her physical address, a place to put her head down at night. But that would have deepened the wound. I couldnât do that to him. Heâs struggling as it is.â
âIf you knew all this time, why didnât you say something to Kat?â
He didnât answer at first. Silence hung between them, raw and awkward. Heâd stopped pacing now, and his legs were planted wide, arms crossed, cheeks flushed with anger.
Then he said, âDo you know how humiliating it was sitting at your dinner table the other night, knowing Eliot was screwing my wife?â
Alicia sat quietly, her hands folded in her lap. There was a coldness in his eyes she had never observed before, not once in the four years she had known him. Shame sliced through her. Was his question of condemnation aimed at her, too? Heâd spoken as if he thought Alicia was in on their deception and had also caused him pain.
âI had no idea what was going on, Richard. I thought it odd you didnât reprimand Maxim when he mouthed off to his mother. Later on, Kat said you two were struggling in your marriage. I had no way of knowing how bad things really were.â
He wrinkled his nose as if he smelled a dead rat. âYou had no idea? Not even a sneaking suspicion? Youâve been married to the man for two decades.â
âHow could you not know your wife was cheating?â she shot back. âIf Maxim hadnât overheard her on the phone, she would have continued to fool you. She would have remained free to carry out her plans to destroy my family, while pretending to be my friend.â
Richard collapsed onto the cushion next to her on the sofa. He rubbed his jaw, as if exhausted by the whole sordid mess. âIâm sorry. I didnât mean to imply you were his silent enabler. Maybe this is my fault, too. Perhaps I neglected her.â
âNo one but Eliot and Kat are responsible for their actions,â Alicia said.
âI know that. But if I feel responsible in some small way, it will keep me from having terrible thoughts that consume me day and night.â
âWhat kind of thoughts?â she probed.
His gaze wandered around the room. Then he turned to her and said, as if no one else could hear, âRevenge. It would solve my problem if they were both dead.â
Alicia eased away from him as if he carried a contagious disease. Rina had called Richard a long-suffering husband. What other pain besides infidelity had Kat heaped upon him? What had brought him to the point of thinking about vengeance and murder? Or perhaps the answer was simple. Alicia didnât know Richard at all. Sure, their families socialized, and their kids got along, but what did she really know about the man?â
âYou donât mean that. The pain of betrayal can drive people to dark places, but it doesnât mean theyâll act on those feelings, does it?â
âI suspect Katalina was unfaithful in the past with other men as well,â he said, sidestepping her question. âI donât have proof of anything, but a pattern may be emerging. Iâm no saint, but there is only so much humiliation a man can take.â
Alicia stared at him. His confession left her feeling as though her head was being held underwater and she was about to run out of oxygen. Yet somehow, she could see it clearly now. Katâs callous disregard for how her actions affected others. Her dishonesty, superficial charm, and ability to the break the rulesâin this case, her marriage vowsâwithout a sliver of guilt or remorse. Isnât that the very definition of a sociopath? Alicia shivered.
âAre you okay?â Richard asked.
âIâm fine.â She was anything but.
âI should go,â he said, and stood up.
âWhat are you going to do?â Alicia asked, panicked at the thought that Richard might make her a widow before she had a chance to leave Eliot.
âIâm taking my son and moving on. Iâll make sure she never sees him again.â
As a woman with children of her own, part of her still wanted to defend her former best friend, but she bit her tongue. Old habits and all that.
âYou do what you have to do,â she said.
âHow about you?â he asked.
âMy brain says to divorce him, butâand I know youâll think me foolishâmy heart is still holding out for
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