Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
She nods, lowering her gaze. “I would’ve understood if you hadn’t.” She collects a breath, eyeing me. “Listen, Jolene. Before we speak about him, I want you to know that I am so sorry for the way I treated you in college. I had no right to make your life that hard. The truth is I was a sad, miserable person and you always seemed so happy. Plus you were rich and I was jealous, so I found a weakness of yours and used it to my advantage. I think when I told him who your dad was, and how you came from money, he took that as his opportunity. . . I just didn’t know it then.”
I look away, pressing my lips to avoid any tears.
“Anyway, it was wrong of me to treat you that way and I never should’ve done that. I also never should’ve kept seeing him behind your back. We were a thing in college, but it was never really all that serious until later. Regardless, it was wrong and I’m really sorry. A-and that man who um . . . caused the injury to my leg. Well . . . I get why he came for me.”
My heart drops when she mentions Boaz and I meet her eyes again. “Michelle, I—”
She raises a hand to stop me. “Call it even.”
But it isn’t even. She’s literally disabled because of an emotional decision I made. I fidget in my chair, then pick up my tea to take a long sip.
“Secondly, I had no clue the money he was giving us was from your company. I did know you were married. I won’t lie about that. For a while, I was doing it to be spiteful because I hated you. I—I was just willing to do anything to have one up on you. I don’t know if you know this, but he was the only person who continued seeing me after the surgery while everyone else forgot about me. We were friends before but became a little more than friends during my recovery and even after.”
All I can do is nod. I have to admit, even though I’m glad I’m done with Dominic, this stings to hear. When did Dominic have the time to do all this with her? We’d spent so much time together in college and even after. We were a unit—inseparable . . . or so I thought. It’s like she’s rubbing salt into a fresh wound, but not intentionally, of course. At least, I don’t think she is. She seems sincere, like she means every word. I glance at Elijah, who is almost done with his cookie, his eyes focused on the small screen of the phone.
“We were an on and off thing, even when college was over. He, um, would always say he’d give me the life of my dreams, that he would leave you for me, but I never believed him. And I didn’t know that he would be stealing from you in order to try and make that happen. I know it sounds stupid, considering where you came from, but I honestly thought the money he was sending me was his and that he’d worked for it. I figured he’d built himself through you, you know?”
“Sure.” I peer out the window of the café before asking, “Do you still keep in touch with him?”
Her head shakes rapidly. “No. Absolutely not. The last thing I want Elijah around is that.” She leans forward and says in a lower voice, “I can’t have my son knowing what his father is and what he did to those girls and that man. If he asks one day when he’s older, I’ll tell him. But not right now.”
I nod, and she relaxes in her chair again.
“It’s best that I stay away and out of contact,” she goes on. “He’s tried calling me a few times, but I don’t answer.”
I nod. That was good to hear, at least. But how long will it last before she caves? Dominic has a way of making people lower their guard for him.
“Anyway,” Michelle says, shifting forward and digging into her back pocket. She drops a folded sheet of paper on the table and slides it toward me. Elijah glances at it but returns his attention to the more interesting view on the phone screen. “I really wanted you to meet me here so I could give you this. It’s a check that I hope covers some of what he took from you. My dad helped me with some of it, and I had some cash saved for emergencies.”
I stare down at the paper. It’s ten thousand dollars. I should take it all. I should put it back into my account and walk away, but I look at her son again and sigh, then slide the paper back to her.