Page 55 of Am I the Only One

“How could you be so stupid?” she chastises as I slump my shoulders, silently scolding myself for being exactly that—stupid. “My god, Carly, you’re a politician’s wife; use your brain. Obviously, you need to get proof. Otherwise, it’s just your word against his—now, it’s worse. It’s your word against her word against his word. You’ve just made this whole situation worse. I mean, what a disaster. You have three people who are going to have three very different stories. No one will take any of these claims seriously. It’ll be a media joke if they ever get wind of this.”

What little confidence I had about this situation capsizes. “You think this will find its way into the press?”

“With all the missteps you’ve made? I think it’s a question of when not if. Come on, how often have you watched news coverage of a politician being caught with his pants down because his mistress went to the press? And why shouldn’t they when these media outlets dump money at their feet in exchange for just a snippet of the juicy details?”

“I can’t believe this.” After paying Emma sixty thousand dollars, I’ll be damned if I let that happen. I can’t let this all be for nothing.

“Listen, you need to talk to the girl you paid. At the very least, I would assume they’ve been texting each other, so ask her for her phone records before she realizes what they are worth.”

I’m freaking out, wondering what other mistakes I’ve made, and then my stomach knots and my eyes widen.

“What is it?”

“I’ve been texting her. If I can get the paper trail that connects Tripp to her, what does it matter when there’s a paper trail connectingmeto her as well?”

Margot stands and paces a few steps away from me before turning back. “Christ,” she breathes. “You really know how to screw yourself.”

This whole plan to walk away from this failed marriage with a sense of dignity and money in the bank to start my new life is a joke. “What if I bow out of the plan to leave Tripp so this doesn’t come to bite me in the ass?”

“You can’t do that,” she refutes. “You’re in way too deep. How much do you even trust this girl you paid off? Is she going to keep her mouth shut since you probably never even thought to have her sign an NDA?”

“Without a doubt. I’m safe with her, which is why I chose her.”

“Wait, you knew her before?”

“Yeah, her parents passed away a year ago and she’s been coming to me for therapy ever since. I trust her.”

“Then talk to her, ask her for whatever proof she has, and then give her whatever she wants in order to keep her mouth shut,” Margot insists. “Damage control should be your priority right now.”

With fear swimming in my stomach, I thank Margot for her help before rushing out, feeling like I have no time to waste.

Once I’m in my car, I call Emma, cursing each ring until she answers as I drive to my private practice office.

“Hello?”

“Emma, hi. It’s Carly. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“Um, sure,” she says hesitantly.

“I’ve been getting everything in place, but I need one more thing from you. I need any texts or emails that you and my husband have sent to each other to ensure the terms of the prenup have been compromised.”

My request is met with silence on her end, rankling my stress even more.

“Emma? Are you still there?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you get those for me? I’ll be at my office off campus for the rest of the day.”

“I don’t ...” She’s apprehensive. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why? There are messages that you have between the two of you, right?”

“I mean, yeah, but ...”

“Emma, I need those.”

“I can’t give them to you,” she tells me, and my hands are shaking so badly that I’m forced to pull off onto the side of the road.