Chapter 48

Ray confronted Rita the next day, his anger palpable.

"You lied to me, Rita. You used me just to get rid of Mirabelle andnow I find out that she was telling the truth all along."

"I'm sorry, Ray," Rita pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't know what else to do. I thought Mirabelle was going to ruin everything and I justwanted her gone."

"Well, congratulations. Mirabelle's gone and now you're going to be gone too," Ray retorted. "I can't trust you anymore. You betrayed me."

Rita hung her head in shame, knowing there was nothing she could say to change Ray's mind. She gathered her things and left the house, knowing she had made a grave mistake by lying to Ray.

Ray couldn't believe he had been so foolish as to trust Rita. He felt betrayed and hurt, but at least he now knew the truth. He vowed to be more careful in the future and to never let anyone deceive him like that again.

"Ray, I can't believe you would say something like that about Rita," Mirabelle said, tears welling u