Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
I saw a dumpster down an alley and felt bile rise up as I realized that I had walked in this direction because I knew that this was where the homeless men and women went to find food from the restaurant that backed onto the alley. There’s no shame, I told myself; I can’t get very far being as hungry as I am.
It’s only for a time; once I get back on my feet, I’ll make sure I never find myself in this position again. Ryder isn’t the only man in the world after all, if things don’t work out between him and Janie, I can always find someone else.
She’d got her feet in the door at least, and if she had any sense, she’d have made contacts, people she could fall back on in a pinch. Yes, that’s next on the agenda, finding a replacement husband for my daughter. Maybe this time we’ll find someone weaker. Then again, I thought Ryder was weak and look how that turned out.
I pushed back the heavy metal cover and my mouth watered at the smell of day-old food and grease. I had my body halfway into the dumpster when I heard my name. My heart started racing when I saw the two well-dressed men standing just a few feet away.
“Mr. Andrews. No, don’t run; there’s no way out of here?” I couldn’t even if I wanted to because my feet had gone numb. Janie had said too much, I knew it. And now these men that Mary had dealings with were here to collect.
“Who are you? What do you want?” I didn’t recognize my voice. Fear had taken hold of me, and I was going to soil myself any second.
“You’re under arrest for the murder of Mary Hudson?” One of the men walked towards me with cuffs in his hands and it took a minute for his words to register.
“What? She’s dead; why are you fingering me? I didn’t kill anyone.”
“How well did you know Mary Hudson?” He was behind me now, clamping the steel around my wrists as I shook in fear and terror. “We were barely acquaintances; we hardly knew each other.”
“Oh yeah, then why were your fingerprints found at her place?”
Chapter 87
*Elena*
“Do you want to call out today? Tell them you’re not feeling well?”
“No, I can’t do that to the others, they have lives too, you know, and they didn’t sign up for my personal drama. I’ll be fine, Ryder, don’t worry about me.” I had to say those words because what else was I going to say? But deep inside, I was a mess and trying very hard to hold onto my sanity.
I find myself caught up in a melee of troubling thoughts that don’t sit well with me, and there was no time to think it all through because I had to go to work and be my best in front of the cameras, not giving away any of what I was feeling. It’s enough to make me throw up.
If it were up to me, I’d go back to bed and pull the covers over my head until it all passed, but I don’t have that option. I thought I would be happy to see my enemy brought low. I’d imagined it a million times over the years, every time I hurt, each time I thought of him with her. I’m only human, after all, and someone else was married and living with the love of my heart.
She’d done such a good job of convincing the world, myself included, that they were living the picture-perfect fairytale life that it was like having the breath snuffed out of me from day to day.
But now I know that it was all a lie; I can’t help but feel just a little bit sad for her. I’ve spent a lot of time dealing with my own mental health and have studied and seen other manifestations of psychosis, and though I would never be quick to label anyone, there is definitely something not right with Janie.
The struggle I’m having is all being fought inside my mind, which can be dangerous for me as well. On the one hand, I want to say to hell with her; she did this to herself. On the other hand, I’m a woman, too, and it’s obvious that she’d been taken advantage of.
“I know you’re thinking about what happened back there, but here’s the deal, this is not your problem; it’s mine. I’m the one who brought all this into your life; you don’t need to dwell on it.”
“What’re you going to do?” I felt the tremor in my voice and fought back unwanted tears.
“I don’t know yet. I’m still too angry to think about that, but let me think about it some more, okay.”
“You promise?”