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“You have nothing to say about that? You won’t ask me to stay?”
Cheryse knew in this moment that she had to tell the truth. “I killed my last husband.” She straightened, surprised that her hands weren’t shaking. She’d thought she would be more nervous. Maybe it was because of what Hunter had said: a friend would understand that she did what she had to do. A friend would trust her.
Roger’s face went blank. “What?”
“My husband was abusive. He liked to shove me around. He liked to hit me. I put up with that for about two years. I was in a somewhat fragile state because I was trying to get pregnant and I couldn’t.” She blinked and thought of the Stone family. More times than she could count, she had gone to their mother for advice and comfort.
Roger let out a sardonic laugh. “So you killed him? You didn’t go to the police and file a report, or…?”
It made sense that Roger would push back analyze the whole situation. In fact, that’s why she had hesitated for so long to tell him. She’d known that she would have to do a lot of explaining. He wasn’t like Hunter. He couldn’t read her emotions.
Dang it, why was she comparing him to Hunter?
She shook her head. “We were fighting one night when he came home late and drunk. I had put up cameras because he had pushed me down and sliced my cheek two weeks before. I was afraid because … Honestly, I don’t know what I was afraid of. Maybe it was of not looking like the perfect family. The perfect couple.” She ran a hand through her hair. Tears stung her eyes, and again she thought of what Hunter had said. “I’ve always been particular, and I like things a certain way. It’s what makes me good with hair and makeup and organizing.”
Roger rolled his eyes. “This is insane. So, just because you wanted things to look a certain way you, you didn't tell me you killed your last husband? That's kind of a big deal." He put his hand to his head. "Can people look this up online? Man, this might be bad for my job."
His words were like nails on a chalkboard. Not that she had expected a lot of understanding from him—which was ridiculous, because she had considered marrying the man—but she had expected some sympathy and some compassion.
In a flash of insight, she realized she had attracted exactly the man she had wanted: a man who looked good on the outside, who wanted things a certain way, who wanted to be perceived in a certain way. Wasn’t that why she had been so terrified to tell him? Was that not the same shallow reason she’d tried not to talk about it?
Pastor Henry had approached her months ago and asked if she would speak to a group of women who had been abused by their spouses. She’d been mortified; she hadn’t wanted to be seen as an abused spouse, and that was shallow. Hunter was right: she always wanted to look perfect. She wanted things to be perfect, and … they weren’t.
Roger let out an irritated grunt. “Hello? I’m standing right here, Reese. Back to Earth. You haven’t even finished explaining to your almost fiancé that you killed your last husband. I think I deserve more of an answer.”
Suddenly, her vision cleared, and she said the only thing she could say. “Get out.”
Aghast, Roger threw his hands in the air. “No.”
Determination burned through her. “I’m done, Roger. We will never work, and I don’t want to give you any more of an explanation, so please leave. Now.”
“You can’t just drop a bombshell like that on me and then not tell me what happened.”
“Actually, I can. So go.”
Roger cursed and moved to the door. “I’m getting out now while I still can. At least I can still leave in one piece.”
She wanted to make some snarky comment. She wanted to say something that would really hurt him, because he had hurt her, but all she could do was think about Hunter. So she threw her head back and laughed as hard as she could.
Roger looked at her like she was crazy. “What is wrong with you? Seriously.”
Cheryse laughed even more obnoxiously than before.
Roger gave her another disgusted look, then turned on his heel and left.
She stopped laughing, but she was still smiling. It had been surprisingly easy to end things with Roger. How could it have taken her this long to see the man for who he was?
Chapter 30
Hunter stood in the garage, combing through a bunch of supplies they would need to go deeper into the coordinates Trent had left. His gut told him there was something there. Why had there been so much surveillance that Trent had secretly documented? It didn’t make sense.
“We ready?” Trey asked, moving to his side.
“Semper Fi,” Tim said, joining them. It was a marine thing.
“Semper Fi,” Matt added, walking into the garage.
“Hey, don’t start the sayings yet. Brooks isn’t here.” Marshall stepped into the garage. “The women are all settled in for the baby shower. Baby Gem is loving being passed around by all the women.”
