Page 150 of The Bad Husband

“Did you believe her?’ he asks eventually.

“Yes, I did. Why wouldn’t I?”

He shifts his inquisitive stare to me.

“Do you really think I’m into that?”

“Aren’t all men into that?”

His smile subsides.

“I’m not.”

“So, she lied to me?”

“She surely did.”

I study him suspiciously.

“You believe her and you don’t believe me?” he asks.

“I want to believe you, but… How could I?”

He turns to his side and folds an arm under his head.

“Henrietta likes to blabber a lot. She also projects on other people. She doesn’t like women in general, let alone in connection to me. She said that to you because she wanted to hurt you.”

I push my eyes down, sunk in thought.

“Do you believe me?” he asks.

“Yes, I do.”

I look at him.

“What about me wanting your money?” he asks.

“I don’t know why she had to say that,” I confess. “She wanted me to believe that she’d stolen some money from you because she wanted to get back at you.”

His eyes glint.

“That’s partially true.”

He searches my eyes.

“It wasn’t only that,” he goes on. “He stole tens of millions of dollars. The money is gone. No one risks their life for that kind of money only to get back at someone. I suspect she had an accomplice. A man. Whoever that person was, they’ve never revealed themselves. Frankly, the idea that someone else was involved in that story made me spare her life. I wanted to know who that person was. I still do.”

A few moments pass.

“She said something else,” I murmur.

“I’m listening.”

“She insists on me leaving for New York with her. She thinks you and I could figure out how we feel about each other. She’s perfectly aware you’ve never had feelings for a woman.”

A thoughtful look glides over his face.

My apprehension only grows as he seems trapped in a frozen state. Suddenly, his phone rings.