Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
I’d barely slept a wink, though, even though Charlotte had been waiting for me in bed after Mom bailed me out. My mind was filled with thoughts of Jessica and that guy, the one I had learned was the person who had threatened my mother outside Jessica’s home the night she left me.
Even now, with my worry about what was going on with Charlotte, my mind couldn’t seem to let go of the fact that Jessica was already dating someone else. Did she let him touch her? My fists clenched tight as I stared at the wall.
My mind was in turmoil these days and had been since I realized she knew about the affair. No one can ever know about that, or I’d be in a world of hurt- not that I expected her to say anything, but still. I’d gone to great lengths to keep it a secret and had been very careful not to blur the lines.
Her own indifference had made it easy to do. Since we weren’t intimate with each other and I had convinced her that I was fine with it, there had been no reason over these past few years for her not to trust me. Of course, I wasn’t fine with it, but I had high hopes of us getting married back then and didn’t think too much about it.
But what red-blooded man could go that long without sex? She couldn’t be that green. And besides, I was sure I could talk her into my bed sooner or later, which I knew was a pipe dream after our first year together.
I came to believe that she was genuinely waiting for marriage since she was normal in every other way, except for that aloofness when we were alone together. I’d seen her with her family and friends enough to know that she was a warm, loving person, someone I had truly come to admire, even though I was using my association with her for my own selfish reasons.
I had no reason to believe or suspect that there was anything else going on until last night. Where had that guy come from, and why were they so close? I’d seen more warmth in her eyes when she looked at him than in all the years we’d been together.
How could she? I slammed my hand down on my desk before calming myself down again. Was she just doing this to piss me off because she found out about Charlotte and me? And how long had she known anyway? I never did get a straight answer on that.
She hadn’t shown any signs that she knew anything had changed in the last few months since the affair started. In fact, she seemed friendlier, come to think of it, as if she’d warmed up to me more. I’d even toyed with the idea of proposing again, even though she’d blown me off the few times I’d asked in the past.
Now she was already flirting with other men and looking all cozy with him in front of my friends, who didn’t even know that we had already broken up. My mind wanted to linger on that affront, but it couldn’t help straying to this new development.
What the hell had just happened with Charlotte? Why was she rushed out of the office and her computer confiscated without warning? She hadn’t even been allowed to take anything from her desk, and I was almost certain her supervisor wanted to check her bag.
I wanted to get up and ask, but was afraid of bringing attention to myself. Then I glanced out my window from the sixth floor, and my blood ran cold.
JESSICA
Istood out on the sidewalk long enough to see the figure appear behind the glass wall in the building across the street. I was sure he couldn’t make out my face, but it was enough for him to guess at my identity from this distance. Then again, this sackcloth dress I wore wasn’t the norm, so he might not be too sure, which kind of adds a whole new element of mystery, come to think of it.
I wanted him to wonder if it was me and what I was doing here. I wanted fear to eat away at his tiny little brain until I dropped the hammer. Once he realizes what kind of trouble his little lover was in, I want him to wonder if it was my doing and just how much I knew. I was only just getting started.
That caused my brain to switch gears from scorched earth revenge to the petty. Though my family doesn’t usually shop the conventional way, I’ve been in a store or two back in my teens when I had time for such things.
The S.A.s my family usually hired for each of us kids by the age of twelve were the ones who did the heavy lifting, bringing a selection of clothing to the house at the beginning of each season for us to choose from.