Chapter 4 - MARK FINALLY REALIZED I KNEW
Mark came home on Tuesday carrying flowers.
Not roses.
Lilies.
My favorite.
Manipulation becomes particularly insulting when it knows your preferences.
“How was Andrew?” he asked.
I looked at him.
So Brenda had told him.
“Recovering.”
“That’s good.”
He put the flowers on the counter.
Then:
“I suppose Brenda told you some things.”
“Did she?”
His eyes narrowed.
“You went to the hospital.”
“Yes.”
He sighed.
“Look, whatever happened between Brenda and me—”
“Whatever?”
He stopped.
I had promised Rebecca I would not reveal everything we knew.
So I asked one question.
“How long?”
Mark sat down.
“Six months.”
Lie.
Andrew had already shown me hotel charges from almost three years earlier.
I nodded slowly.
“Six months.”
“Yes.”
He reached for my hand.
I moved mine.
“It was a mistake.”
“Six months is a long mistake.”
“I was unhappy.”
There it was.
The traditional second act.
I failed him somehow.
He continued:
“We stopped talking.”
“We talked every night.”
“Not really.”
“You mean I wasn’t sleeping with you in the back seat of your Mercedes.”
His face hardened.
“That was unnecessary.”
I almost smiled.
So was the underwear.
Then I asked:
“What is M&B Property Strategies?”
He stopped breathing.
There it was.
The moment everything changed.
“Where did you hear that?”
Not:
What is that?
Where did you hear it?
I looked at the flowers.
“Goodnight, Mark.”
He followed me toward the stairs.
“Who have you been talking to?”
I turned.
“Get your own lawyer.”
His face went white.
May you like
That was the first honest expression I had seen from him in years.
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