Page 63 of Husband to Go

“Go on.”

I take another deep breath.

“Well, before I knew who he was, the two of us met and some stuff happened between us. When I found out he was your fiancé, I tried to call it off, but it was hard. I couldn’t say no to him for some reason, and before I knew it, we were sneaking around behind your back. But don’t worry: I saw him a couple days ago and officially called the whole thing off. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I was the cause of your ruined wedding. I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t look at Veronica while I confessed, but now, I glance up. To my surprise, she doesn’t look upset, merely annoyed.

“Okay,” she says, already turning away with disinterest.

“You’re not mad?”

She shrugs.

“I’m mad that he left me for some dumb shit like this. Like I care what you two were doing. I told you – I was okay with him getting nookie on the side, so long as he didn’t embarrass me.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

“Yes, but with yourdaughter?” I ask in disbelief. “You were okay with that?” This conversation is blowing my mind.

She sneers.

“I saw the way Tanner looked at you. I’m not the idiot you think I am, Kylie. If Tanner wanted to have some fun elsewhere, who was I to deny him?”

I almost choke.

“You knew the entire time?” My voice is getting higher and higher in pitch. I’d been beating myself up about this whole thing for weeks. I’ve sobbed thinking I was the worst person on earth, and yet this entire time, my mom knew. She sighs dramatically, studying her nails again.

“I didn’tknowknow, but I had my suspicions.”

I blink.

“Why did you go along with the whole thing then?”

She shrugs.

“Why not? I told you, Tanner is a billionaire. Do you know how much money that is? Even if we got divorced afterwards, I would have gotten a lot of alimony. That’s worth something.”

My mouth drops open as I stare at her. OMG, it was all about the money. It wasalwaysabout the money. I mean, his big bank account was one of the first things she told me about Tanner, but I thought there was more there. Evidently not.

Veronica holds up her hand again, admiring her diamond.

“At least I still have this baby, and I’m going to keep it. I’m going to keep all the other things he bought me. Whatever was gifted leading up to the wedding, I’m keeping, too. That bastard isn’t going to leave me with absolutely nothing.”

Realization hits me. Veronica doesn’t care about Tanner. Shenevercared about him. Veronica is just a greedy person who wants to get her paws on as much cash as possible. Their entire relationship was built on nothingness, and I have no reason to feel guilty. She didn’t even care that her fiancé was sleeping with her daughter; that’s how messed up things are.

It shouldn’t be surprising though. I’ve been seeing the evidence for years. All throughout my childhood, Veronica was never really there for me. Instead, she was always looking for a man to fill the void, and now, she’s moved on to filling it with material goods.

Yet, I still did a terrible thing. Granted, I didn’t realize that Veronica and Tanner meant so little to one another, but still, I made a series of bad choices and that’s something I need to apologize for.

“Well, I’m still sorry about everything that happened,” I say quietly. After this, I’m going to need some time to myself. I’ve done some soul searching, but now, I need to come to terms with who I am.

“Oh, shut up, Kylie. That’s bullshit.”

I gape.

“What?”

She sneers.