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

wanted to leave an apology letter for Kat, but because it was so personal, she didn’t want to leave it with the staff to pass it on.

“Even best friends have big fights. Our friendship means everything to me. I need to make sure she gets it.” She was sure that everyone in the office had been gossiping about their fight, and just as she hoped, the employee had easily swallowed her story.

Kat had not locked the drawer. Alicia had been surprised at the ease by which she was able to scoop up the diary, place it in her purse, and walk out of the office. She would not have given the journal a second thought had Kat not died. That was the irony of the situation.

With the information Alicia had gleaned from the diary, she’d seen a way to exit her marriage with financial security, and a way to help Jack. She’d purchased a burner phone, asked Jack to find a way to set up a special account and sent Eliot those anonymous text messages. A million dollars was a lot to demand, and truth be told, she wasn’t sure he would have acquiesced. Go big or go home, she thought. She’d made plans to split the money evenly with Jack.

“Any regrets?” Jack asked, pulling her into the present.

She cocked her head to one side, contemplating the question. “No. If there were any other way…” She trailed off. Flushed with Eliot’s cash and a great job offer from Richard, she now had the means to a new beginning that had initially petrified her. But no more. She was done with fear. “I played the cards I was dealt, Jack. Even though it terrified me at the time. I think it turned out okay.”

“Do you think you’ll ever forgive him? Eliot, I mean.”

“Only time will tell.”

“We’ll miss you at Howell House. Come see us any time.”

“Are you giving me the boot?” She laughed.

“Come on, Alicia. You’re moving on, and I’m happy for you. With a new job, school, your daughters, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy. But we’ll always have a volunteer spot for you if you ever find time in your schedule.”

“Of course I will. You’ve been a great friend to me. Maybe we can meet up for coffee sometimes, catch up. I’m not leaving the state any time soon.”

“You’ll stay in the house in Weston?”

“Until Lily graduates high school. Then I’ll sell it and find something smaller, closer to Boston.”

She stood and so did Jack.

“I’m taking some time off once I get the business of the practice squared away,” he said. “Leanne invited me to go to Hawaii with her, Dan, and the kids. I can’t wait to spend time with my grandkids.”

“I’m sure they’ll love it. They don’t get to see their grandpa enough. See you around?”

“You sure will,” he said, with a last wave before he left.

Alicia left the park. She had one last piece of important business to wrap up.

CHAPTER 59

When Alicia returned home, the girls were still out. They’d been spending more time with friends than with family lately, which broke her heart, but she understood their need for space. She was still sorting out her own thoughts, so she couldn’t imagine how the girls were still processing their lives turning upside down in the last few weeks.

She lit the fireplace in the family room, even though it was June. She used the poker to stoke the flames. She needed it nice and hot. She returned to the sofa and opened her bag. She pulled out Kat’s diary.

Fifteen years. Alicia shook her head as she walked to the fireplace. For fifteen years her husband had been betraying her, lying to her, manipulating her. But she had fought back. It might have come too late, but it still counted. She had given Eliot a dose of his own medicine.

Terrified that Kat’s diary entry could fall into the wrong hands, Eliot had wired the funds into the account Jack had set up. She had earned every penny. She would use those resources to reinvent herself and become the woman she was meant to be.

She tossed the diary into the fireplace and watched the flames consume the pages. As for Maxim being Eliot’s son, the secret had died with Kat. Alicia had been overcome with a fresh avalanche of grief and anger when she read that tidbit. Kat had given Eliot what Alicia wouldn’t. Kat hadn’t aborted his son like Alicia had. And Kat was about to give him another child, until a tragic accident claimed her life. Alicia never allowed herself to think about how things might have played out if Kat was still alive. Alicia had enough pain and disillusionment to last several lifetimes.

She, too, would take the secret of Maxim’s paternity to the grave. Along with the fact that she, Alicia, had leaked the story of Eliot and Kat’s affair to the media. She wanted Eliot to know what it felt like to be vulnerable, backed into a corner. For the first time in her life, she had the power.

“What are you doing?”

She whirled around and came face-to-face with a frowning Eliot. She swallowed, calmed herself and said, “Just burning some trash.”

He came closer and peeked over the fireplace. “Is that a notebook?”

“It’s an old journal I used to keep. All the hopes and dreams I had written down have turned to dust. No point in keeping it around as a reminder of my failures.”

“I don’t remember you ever having a diary.”

“We all have our secrets, Eliot. You of all people should know that.”

Eliot said nothing. She changed the subject. “Marston doesn’t want a fuss over her graduation. She’s headed to Veliane’s house after the ceremony.”

“She’s avoiding me, you mean.”

Alicia rolled her eyes. Something she would never have considered doing in the past. “What do you expect? She’s hurting.”

“Right. Because I’m the bad guy.”

“It’s not that simple, Eliot. The girls used to admire and respect Kat. They considered