Page 69 of The Bad Husband

We haven’t exchanged a word the entire evening.

We haven’t had the chance to run into each other the entire evening.

He was surrounded by people most of the time, and although Henrietta rarely stood by his side, she was always nearby.

She didn’t talk to me either. For most of the time, she behaved as if I wasn’t there.

Not much different than how things were when she was married to my father.

She never filled my mother’s shoes. She never behaved like a stepmother. She looked like someone who hadn’t planned to stick around.

No one could anticipate that my father would unexpectedly pass, yet she behaved as if she wanted that to happen.

She waited for the first opportunity to get out.

There was no love lost between us.

I never expressed my animosity toward her out of respect for my father, but I never liked that she’d taken advantage of him.

What I find strange is that she seems powerless next to Damon, which wasn’t the case when she was married to my father.

She ran the house. Her wishes were his command.

Those days are gone, and yet… She could’ve been with someone like my father.

Let him cherish her.

Why Damon?

She’s fading like a wilted flower in her husband’s presence, and they don’t share a bed.

“All right, girls,” Henrietta says, noticing that Damon’s already gone.

She quickly picks up her purse from the counter.

“Enjoy the rest of the evening, and don’t wait up,” she adds, the last few words addressed to me.

That was malicious and unwarranted.

No one will ever wait up for her.

12

LILA

The place is loud.

Going from the sophisticated settings of Damon West’s estate to a crammed place downtown requires an adjustment.

Smoking is banned inside, yet the rule is rarely enforced, so we spend most of our time drinking and chatting on the terrace.

Frankie is no longer sick––his flu has magically disappeared––and I quickly realize why he’s built such a reputation.

Female patrons flock to the bar outside. They’re flirting more than they’re drinking.

His attention is generously distributed to all of them, which makes me wonder...: Hw in the world did Keira think that he’d have time for me?

He’s cute, well built. Not massive and muscular like Damon West, but fit enough to have some muscular definition.