Sure.
Meetings.
The second he drove away, I slipped outside, flagged the first taxi I saw, and followed him.
A short while later, the cab stopped outside a cozy house with green shutters.
An open window carried HER voice into the street—bright, sugary, impossible to ignore.
From the backseat, I watched Jake wrap his arms around a beautiful blonde woman.
“Okay, hubby. Let’s play your game together…”
I wanted to look her in the eye.
So I waited until Jake drove away before stepping out of the cab and walking straight to the little green-shuttered house.
—
Alex looked no older than thirty. Her blonde hair rested loosely on her shoulders, and an oversized sweater slipped off one side. She stared at me in confusion.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
I inhaled slowly, every breath hurting.“I think you can. I’m Jake’s wife.”
She froze.
“His… wife?”
“That’s right. Martha. The woman who’s paying the bills. The one he’s building his dream farm with.”
A short, bitter laugh escaped her lips, but her eyes stayed serious. She opened the door wider.
“Get inside. We’re not doing this on the porch.”
I stepped in.
Her hands were trembling.
“Why are you here? To call me a witch? Tell me to stay away?”
I nearly laughed myself.
What an unbelievable mess he’d created.
“Who are you to my husband? Why did he come here instead of going to the business meeting?”
Alex looked away for a moment before lifting her chin.
“I’m the woman he’s going to marry. After he leaves you.”
“Marry you? He told you that?”
“Yes. He said you’re impossible to live with. Controlling. And I… I’ll give him everything to help.”
“Money?”
“Yes. He said he needed it for lawyers. To pay off the divorce settlement. And alimony for your kid.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
“I sold my parents’ lake house so he could start a business. I was on my way to the bank this morning to give him every last penny I had.”
