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

the kids left.

“What was that all about?” He watched them disappear into the crowd of guests before sitting down next to her.

“It’s about the past. And the future.”

“Care to enlighten me?”

At fifty-three, he still looked like the boy she’d married, sans the sprinkling of gray hair. She inhaled the scent of him and prayed he couldn’t detect her quickening breath or signs of her light-headedness. Even after all these years, she still reacted to him. If she focused on the issue at hand, then she wouldn’t embarrass herself.

“Look, this is not easy, so I’m just going to come out and say it. Maxim is not Richard’s son. He’s yours.”

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He turned away briefly—to gather his thoughts, she supposed—before facing her again with a, “What?”

“Years ago, when he was a kid, Kat ran a DNA test on Maxim. He found the documented results when he went through her things. He’s your son.”

He cast a glance across the ballroom toward Maxim, Marston, and Peter, who were deep in conversation. When he returned his gaze to the table, his eyes glistened.

She reached out and stroked his arm until he gained control of himself.

“Do you think he’ll hate me?”

“No, I don’t think so. He adores Lily and Marston. Just remember he’s an adult, not a child. Richard raised him. That’s his dad. But it doesn’t mean the two of you can’t build your own unique relationship. If that’s what you both want.”

“I’d like that. Perhaps you can help me out, put in a kind word?”

“You want me to be your reference?”

“Ha, if you put it like that. Yes, please. Maxim always liked you.”

“Let me think about it.”

“That’s all I ask.” He picked up a table decoration and turned it over in his hands. “I’m proud of you, you know.”

“What for?”

“The woman you’ve become.”

“And what woman would that be?”

He looked up at her and smiled. “Confident. Assertive. An exceptional leader. Sexy.”

“I have you to thank for that,” she admitted.

“How so?”

She carefully considered her response. Then she said, “You forced me to evolve, Eliot. I had no idea what I was capable of until you shattered our life together. Had you not done so, I wouldn’t be the woman sitting before you now. A woman you admire.”

With his mouth set in a grim line, he said, “I had the rarest of diamonds and didn’t know it. I’ll always regret that I treated you like glass, Alicia.”

“As you should. But remember, diamonds are forever, eternally strong and brilliant.”

If you thought Our wicked Lies

was a gripping read, then don’t miss

Conspiracy of Silence

by Glede Browne Kabongo.

Some secrets are too big to stay buried

High-flying Boston executive Nina Kasai’s seemingly perfect life is built on a lie and soon everything she’s worked hard to build will come crashing down like a house of cards. Phillip Copeland is a cool liar and master manipulator with dark secrets of his own. He wants nothing more than to realize his lofty political ambition, but Nina stands in his way—harboring a devastating secret that could utterly destroy him. How far will they go to protect their secrets, and how many lives will be shattered in the process?

“A riveting crime thriller packed with mind-blowing twists and turns.”

“A heart-pounding thrill ride.”

“Spellbinding and engrossing! A turbulent rollercoaster ride.”

Grab it here

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OUR WICKED LIES

Copyright © 2021 Gledé Browne Kabongo

All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this book is illegal. With the exception of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form by electronic, mechanical or any other device existing or invented hereafter without written permission from the author. These forms include but are not limited to xerography, photocopying, scanning, recording, distribution via internet means or information storage or retrieval systems.

Notice: This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

To learn more about Gledé and her