Our Wicked Lies by Gledé Kabongo (story read aloud TXT) 📗

another one of Katalina’s vile tricks. She’d proven herself to be so cruel already it wouldn’t have surprised him. But as the details unfolded, he’d known she was telling the truth. Somehow, it all made sense.

When Alicia found out she was pregnant, it had been a cause for celebration for them both. However, because she was thirty-nine, they’d agreed that she should undergo an amniocentesis, a medical test that checked for potential genetic problems in pregnant women over thirty-five that could affect the baby. During that test, at sixteen and a half weeks, doctors had confirmed that they were having a boy. Excitement had overwhelmed him. Finally, a son to carry on the family name. He’d immediately called his parents and sisters who’d been overjoyed at the news.

Then the worst happened.

A week prior, Alicia had said she’d been feeling stressed and that she needed some time away at a hotel and spa to relax and refresh. She didn’t want her agitation to affect the baby. She hadn’t told him where she was headed, but she’d promised to check in daily. He hadn’t wanted to push the issue, knowing it would cause more stress.

It was only when she’d returned, a few days later, that he’d found out about the miscarriage. She’d said she had experienced extreme cramping and back pain and had somehow made it to Jack’s office, where he’d confirmed the diagnosis. Eliot’s world had collapsed when he’d heard the news, but he never questioned it. Why would he?

He wasn’t a doctor. But thinking back, it had never made sense to him. Nothing on the scans had indicated a problem. Alicia was healthy, and so was the baby. She’d sailed through her pregnancies with Marston and Lily with ease. Yes, she was a little older, but they’d had every reason to be optimistic about her carrying the pregnancy to term.

Only now did he see it for the deception it was. Alicia had planned to get rid of his son, and she knew she would need time to recover. That was where the sudden desire for some time alone had come into play.

According to Katalina, Jack Witherspoon had performed the procedure and had helped her cover it up by providing evidence that matched up to her story, that it was a late miscarriage, which typically occurs between thirteen and twenty weeks. After the abortion, Alicia had checked into a hotel to recover under an assumed name. When she’d finally returned home, she was still weak. It had taken her almost a month to recuperate.

“Sometimes it just happens,” Alicia had told him. “Other times it’s an abnormality or genetic defect.”

Remembering that dark time, blood rushed through his ears. He lost track of his thoughts. Next thing he knew, his breathing had become truncated and erratic. He was blubbering and couldn’t stop. It was as if all the grief he had stuffed deep down at the initial loss, because he’d wanted to be strong for Alicia, now erupted in one fell swoop—raw, penetrating and merciless.

He thought he knew his wife. Never thought her capable of carrying out such a betrayal, cover it up, and lie to him for years. If Katalina hadn’t spilled the story to diminish Alicia in his eyes, how long would she have kept the truth from him? But what Elliot really wanted to know was why?

CHAPTER 34

Alicia was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of their bedroom, near the window.

“Why, Alicia?” Eliot asked.

She leveled an icy gaze at him. She had been crying, her eyes red, her face swollen. “Why what? I’ll give you ‘why?’ Eliot Gray. Why have you been cheating on me?”

He flinched. He was grateful that he was still in his work suit and tie. It helped him feel less vulnerable. But first, he needed to find out what she knew.

“Who told you I cheated on you, Alicia?” He stuck his hands into his pants pockets and walked to the window opposite her. He stared out into the darkness. He couldn’t look at her.

“Your mistress. Faith.”

He sighed—perhaps too theatrically—and continued to stare out the window into the night. “Faith is a liar. You shouldn’t believe anything she says.”

“So, you admit knowing her?”

“I do. We met at a firm event two years ago.”

“Which event was that?”

He loosened his tie. “It was a day-long, offsite meeting with some senior attorneys and partners. She gave a speech to kick off the meeting.”

“Why would she make up a story about having an affair with you? She even showed me a photo of the house you bought for the two of you and a copy of the purchase and sales agreement with your signature on it.”

Suddenly, he was so very tired of all this. But he had to stay strong. “Alicia, the woman is demented. I’m not leaving you.” He turned to his wife, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze, so he turned back to the window. “And I didn’t sign any documents. She must have forged my signature.”

He sighed again. “All of this nonsense started when she came on to me at the offsite meeting. I politely told her that I was happily married and had no interest in her. But she wouldn’t take no for an answer and has been in pursuit ever since.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I thought I had it handled. I didn’t want you worrying, but I didn’t realize how sick she was. I never imagined it would reach this stage, with her communicating with you, spewing her lies.”

“So that’s your story, huh? Are you sure?”

He left the window and slowly approached her, standing directly in front of her so he could read her expression. She had dimmed the bedroom lights. The scent of her favorite bedtime lotion assailed his nostrils, a sweet-smelling cherry almond scent that wafted throughout the room. She wore a purple silk nightgown with lace at the bust and a matching robe. In any other circumstance, he would have taken her to bed. But