Page 200 of Wicked Brutal

“Public Health Studies.”

Silence. Real fucking silence. Even I stare at her. Iz looks like she just slapped him again.

“Public Health Studies. You?”

Bella’s face changes. “You have a fucking problem with that?”

Iz laughs. Low. Ugly. “You don’t give a fuck about people.”

Bella stares at him. Then laughs. Cold. “And you do?”

“More than you.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “You like being needed. You want to be the guy running toward the disaster. The one everybody talks about afterward. Brave Isaac. Brilliant Isaac.” Her smile is vicious. “Saint fucking Walsh.”

“Fuck you.”

“Doctors Without Borders.” She laughs softly. “Of course that’s your plan. Biggest hero costume you could find.”

“At least I plan to do something besides attend charity galas and pretend writing checks makes me useful.”

Her eyes flash. “You don’t know what I plan to do.”

“I know you.”

“No.” Something in her voice changes. “You know the version of me you need. You need me shallow. You need me selfish. You need me stupid. Because if I’m not, maybe you’ve been fucking wrong about me your entire life.”

For once, Iz doesn’t answer immediately. Then his face hardens. “And you need everybody looking at you because you’re terrified they’ll realize there’s nothing underneath.”

Bella goes completely still. For a second, I think she’s going to hit him again. Instead, she smiles. “Tyler found plenty underneath.”

Iz’s jaw locks. And that’s it. No comeback. No insult. Nothing.

Bella turns away. She takes one step. Then another. Her eyes catch on my phone in Penny’s hand. She slows. Stops. “Is that Marianne Tremblay?”

Penny looks down. “Yeah.”

Bella’s face twists. “Jesus. I forgot about that dress.” She takes a step closer and glances at the screen. “That was Whitmore. My mom was pissed because Marianne promised she’d sit on the women’s foundation committee that year and backed out.”

Penny frowns. “She did?”

“Last minute.” Bella shrugs. “Victor didn’t want her doing it.”

Every fucking thought in my head stops.

Penny looks up. “What?”

Bella barely notices the question. She’s still looking at the picture. “Some stupid society drama. Marianne had already committed, then suddenly she couldn’t because she and Victor were ‘prioritizing their marriage.’” She makes air quotes. “My mom called bullshit because Marianne had been doing that foundation forever. Then she stopped doing basically everything that wasn’t his anyway, so I guess he won.”

My pulse kicks. “What do you mean?”

Bella looks at me. “What?”

She shrugs. “Her committees. Her events. Friends. Whatever. Marianne used to show up alone all the time. Then after Victor?” She gestures toward my phone. “That.” I look down. Victor’s table. Victor’s hand. Victor’s wife. Bella makes a face. “My mom used to say you could tell how bad things were getting by how much harder Marianne smiled whenever he touched her.”

Cold spreads through my chest. Bella has already lost interest. Ancient gossip. Nothing more. She looks at Iz one last time. Whatever she sees makes her mouth tighten. Then she turns and walks away with the girls who’ve been smart enough to stay the fuck out of all of this.

Nobody speaks. Penny looks down at my phone. Swipes. Another photograph. Victor’s hand on Marianne. Another. His arm around her. Another. His fingers at her waist.