Page 71 of Am I the Only One

Knowing he was having sex with her while I was getting ready for him to come home has the bile in my stomach turning sour. The truth twists around my gut, and when I sit up, I snap my words beneath my breath, “I told you to stay away from him!”

“I know, and I said I was sorry.”

“Sorry? You slept with my husband after I made it clear to you that—”

“You’re kidding, right?” Her tone is sharp, surprising me because she’s normally so even keel. “You’re the one who put me in this mess. This wouldn’t have even happened if it weren’t for you.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you would’ve done what I told you to do.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but it happened, and I thought you should know.” She pauses, and I’m certain she can hear my angered breathing on her end. “Look, I didn’t mean to upset you, but we need to figure out how we should handle this.”

“Handle what?”

“The money.”

“What money?”

Again, another stretch of silence before she says, “For sleeping with him.”

“I didn’t tell you to sleep with him.”

“Carly?” I hear Tripp call out.

Rushing across the bathroom, I crack open the door. “Yes?”

“I’m in my office,” he says from down the hall. “I want to talk to you about an event at Georgetown that I’ve just been invited to speak at.”

“Give me a second, I’ll be right there.” Shutting the door, I bring the cell back to my ear. “Look, I can’t talk right now. How about we meet at the diner tomorrow, say ten o’clock?”

“Fine,” she replies with an annoyed huff before hanging up.

Leaning my back against the door, I close my eyes and fight to keep the tears at bay, but it’s useless.

They fall anyway.

Ten minutes ago, I was completely found in the arms of my husband, and now I’m lost. He’s down the hall, two rooms away, and I’m not sure who I’m more upset with, him or her. Or maybe it’s myself. I was the one who stupidly thought I could outsmart my way from this marriage only to have lost over sixty thousand dollars plus whatever else she might demand. And for what? For hearsay evidence that won’t benefit me whatsoever?

She’s been no help at all and refuses to hand over any sort of hard proof that will invalidate the prenup, so this is what I’m left with. A sham of a marriage and crying alone in a bathroom with my heart in tatters wondering what it is about me that makes me not enough for him to want to be faithful to.

“Carly?” he calls again, and I quickly wipe the tears from my cheeks.

“Coming.”

I splash my face with water, but my skin is blotchy from the few stray tears. It’s nothing a small lie won’t cover if he should ask.

With a deep breath and my mangled emotions, I head down to Tripp’s office to find him sitting behind his laptop. At first glance, the burn of bitterness tangles around my heart, and before he can say a word, I feed into that very bitterness.

“Where were you today?”

His head pops up. “What?”

“This afternoon ... where were you?”

“At lunch with Jim McAvoy. Why?”

If there were any doubt about what Emma told me, he just vanquished it. There’s no way she would’ve known about this if it weren’t for Tripp telling her.

“And after lunch?”