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
âYouâre such a weasel. Two freakinâ years, Eliot!â Alicia screamed at him.
He jerked back, startled.
âHow many nights did you claim to be working late but was cooped up in your sordid love nest instead, huh? You sent her the itinerary for our Paris trip, our anniversary celebration. You made me look ridiculous in front of a woman who was trying to destroy me.â
âShe had no right to ridicule you. She knew better. Itâs obvious that jealousy got the better of her. Iâm sorry.â
Anger blazed through her, a roaring beast seeking someone to devour. Yet somewhere in the back of her mind, a timid voice reminded her that she was talking about a dead woman.
Her bones ached at the thought. Grief shredded her insides. Unshed tears blurred her vision. She took a seat at the opposite end of the sofa, away from him. The sickening realization was that although sheâd lost someone sheâd once called a friend, sheâd really lost Kat and her friendship two years ago. It was the most cherished friendship Alicia had ever had, outside of her relationship with her mother. The loss was a knife straight through her heart.
Long before she took her last breath, Kat had tossed Alicia aside. Sheâd perpetrated a cold-blooded deception by pretending to be the dutiful friend until, finally, sheâd plunged the knife deep, violently twisting it with her malicious taunts and perverse sense of entitlement.
âNo, Eliot. Youâre sorry you got caught. Something tells me that if Kat were alive, you would have continued your affair. Donât try to deny it. Iâm tired of your lies. But tell me one last thing, Eliot. Why did I deserve your contempt? Why wasnât I good enough?â
CHAPTER 42
Hurricane-force guilt pounded away at Eliot. He lowered his gaze, unable to meet hers. He swallowed repeatedly. He could do with a boatload of antacid right about now.
Alicia reminded him of a delicate, injured bird, broken by his actions, and the unexpected tragic death of a woman who had so savagely betrayed her. He had never counted the cost, naĂŻve in his belief that Alicia was safe, that he could protect her from his affair. He never wanted to hurt her. To be honest, he thought he could have his cake and eat it, too. But now, he had to step up, contain the situation. Alicia must never uncover the whole truth. If she did, it would break her for good.
âAlicia, baby, how could you even think that? You, youâre my everything.â
âDonât âbabyâ me, Eliot. What you did went beyond disrespect. The both of you. The lying, the mockery, the deceit. Thatâs what you do to someone for whom you feel nothing but contempt. She called me âghetto trashâ, did you know that? If thatâs not contempt, then what is?â
He stood up, walked past her, trudged to the fireplace and leaned up against the mantle for support.
âI was so stupid.â Her bottom lip trembled as she spoke. âI thought we were in a good place. Paris meant so much to me because you encouraged me to return to college to finish my degree when I doubted myself. We discussed our future. All the while⊠All the while, you were⊠I canât even say it. Who are you, anymore? What kind of person have you become, Eliot?â
âI discussed our future because we have one together.â
She snorted. âYou canât be serious.â
âI am,â he whispered. âAlicia, my love for you, what we mean to each other, was never in question.â
âAnd yet you carried on with her. Why? Because I bored you to tears and you craved excitement? She threw herself at you and you couldnât resist her charms? Or maybe you acted on your attraction to her? Which one was it, Eliot?â
He understood her need for answers. But the simple reason was that heâd cheated because he could. Heâd taken what Katalina enthusiastically offered without hesitation. Heâd acted on his attraction and enjoyed the benefits of a no-strings-attached affair with someone he knew and liked. Because that was what his father had done.
His heart filled with self-loathing as he recalled the day when he was in his teens and had caught his father leaving a hotel with another woman. Later that night, his dad had called Eliot into his study and given him a lectureâhis fatherâs way of making sure Eliot kept his mouth shut.
âYour mother is my queen,â his father had said. âNothing and nobody is going to change that. Understood?â
There was no point in upsetting his mother by telling her what he had seen. His father had promised that he wasnât going anywhere.
The statement had confused a young Eliot. It didnât make sense. If his parentsâ marriage was on solid footing, why was his father cheating? But the adult Eliot finally came around to understanding, and heâd become his father.
âI messed up, Alicia. Let me fix it. Iâll do anything.â
âTell me how it started. And donât hold anything back.â
Without hesitation, Eliot launched into the story. âIt was the anniversary of Katalinaâs brotherâs death, two years ago. She was a wreck. She had no close friends besides you and me. I guess the pain of losing Arturo was still raw.â Inwardly, he winced. He burned with shame. He looked down at his trembling hands.
âGo on.â
He didnât want to. But he owed her. âWe had dinner at the Fairmont. Just to share a meal, talk, get her mind off things, distract her, really. But she had too much to drink.â
He placed his hands in his pockets. He wanted to sit, but her probing gaze deterred him.
âShe couldnât drive like that, so I offered to drive her home. She didnât want to go home. She thought Richard would be ashamed of her for coming home drunk, and she couldnât deal with his disappointment. She would rather sleep it off and go home
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