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
The damage was done. She picked up the remote control and shut off the television. Someone had exposed them. Perhaps the anonymous texter Eliot had mentioned during their prep for the interview. It didnât matter who it was. Their lives would never be the same. Kat ruined lives and left others to clean up the mess.
But in reality, Alicia didnât care about public opinion of her. She had two daughters to worry about. Kat had ruined their lives, too.
As if communicating via telepathy, Lily and Marston walked into the family room, their footsteps heavy, eyes wet and dull. Marston spoke first, clutching her phone in her hand.
âIs it true, Mom?â
âGirls.â Aliciaâs voice was full of sorrow. âPlease sit.â
They obeyed. Lily shivered, then rubbed her arms as though trying to keep them warm. Marston, in typical Marston style, held it in, remaining poised and holding herself tall, despite everything. But she wanted answers. There was no point in lying to them. Alicia didnât want the girls to think badly of their father, but it was too late for that. She could no longer protect him. Everything was out in the open.
âWe thought Maxim was just upset when he told us, jumping to conclusions and just acting out,â Marston said. âBut he was right.â
Alicia nodded miserably. âYes, that poor child. He told the truth.â
Lily and Marston exchanged curious glances. âHow come Maxim knew about the affair?â
She exhaled and provided an abbreviated version of how Maxim accidentally found out and had been angry at his mother ever since.
Lily stood and raked her hair back, eyes glistening with unshed tears. âWhat are we going to do, Mom? Are you and Dad getting a divorce?â
âIt looks that way.â
âDonât tell me you would consider staying with Dad,â Marston said. âWhat he did is unforgiveable.â
âYeah,â her sister chimed in. âThatâs seriously disgusting. They both played you, Mom. I knew something was funny, the way Kat reacted when I showed her pics of you and Dad in Paris. I just shrugged it off at the time.â
âWhat do you mean, funny how?â
âI came back to the house a couple of days after you guys left for the trip. Iâd forgotten my curling iron. I ran into Kat. She had just come back from a walk. Anyway, I showed her the pics you guys sent. She was not happy. She gave me a fake smile to cover, but it was too late. I had already caught her reaction.â
âUgh,â Marston grimaced. âShe sat here that night of the dinner, acting like she was happy you and Dad went away. How dare she?â
Lily said, âAnd the bracelet she bought.â
âGirls, stop it. Youâre upset, I get it. But itâs not nice to speak ill of the dead.â
âIt doesnât change what she did, Mom,â Lily whispered. âI feel terrible sheâs goneâshe was basically like an aunty to us. And I feel awful for Maxim who will never see his mom again and Mr. DeLuca who lost his wife. But as far as Iâm concerned, what she did⊠how she tried to break up our family and steal Dad from you⊠that doesnât go away. She got her wish. Sheâs just not around to collect her prize.â
Alicia reached over and hugged a sniffling Lily. Marston embraced them both. When they pulled apart, Lily said to her sister, âDad screwed up your big day.â
âWhat?â Marston asked.
âYour graduation. Everyone is going to be gossiping about the latest development. Theyâll think Mom had something to do with Katâs death. Theyâll be looking at us sideways the minute we step foot on school property tomorrow. Colby sent me the link to a popular crime blogger website. Theyâre calling it the âBestie Murderâ if you can believe that. I mean, how unoriginal. Itâs even trending on Twitter.â
Alicia had forgotten all about social media, the digital equivalent of a snake pit in her opinion. She had a Facebook account she accessed once or twice a year. The Bestie Murder, she mused with disgust. Now, her daughters were caught up in the melee. The thought of them being targets ripped her heart right out of her chest. She could kill Eliot.
âGirls, itâs going to be okay,â she said.
âHow can you say that?â Marston asked. âIt will never be okay again. Donât put on a brave face for our benefit, Mom. Weâre not little kids. Donât stay married to Dad for our sakes.â
Her children were being brave for her, but she could see it in their eyes that they had been shredded to bits. They adored their father, and the thought of him not coming home every night, not being part of their daily lives, was too much to bear.
âProm is definitely off.â Lily swiped a tear.
Marston concurred, and so did Alicia. It had taken a lot to persuade Marston to give prom a go after the incident with Brandon. Now, with their family crisis out there for everyone to seeâand Katâs tragic, untimely deathâtrying to convince them to attend a party would be pointless.
Silence pricked the air. She had no words of comfort to offer her girls. Whatever she said would sound empty.
âThereâs just one other thing,â Marston said. âI donât want to keep secrets from you anymore. Dad did, and it didnât work out so great for our family.â
Alicia braced herself. In the past few weeks, secrets and lies had been popping up like weeds. She wasnât sure she could deal with much more.
âWhatâs going on?â she asked.
âDad went after Brandon and told him if he ever came near me again, he would destroy him.â
Aliciaâs eyes went wide. âWhen did this happen?â
âThe day Kat died.â
So that was what he was up to when he went âjoggingâ. Alicia was partly relieved. At least if he was with Brandon, he couldnât have murdered Kat, right? Alicia hated herself for even contemplating it, but with recent events, she could no longer trust her own instincts.
âWho else knows about this?â she asked.
âJust Brandon and his
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