جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 15

She was the last person I’d expected to see tonight. A wave of irritation rolled over me, leaving my shoulders tight and my stomach unsettled. My wife was standing by the entrance, her chin high, her hand nestled in the crook of another man’s arm. Adrian. I knew his type. Mister cool, calm, and collected. Look at him now, with that pleasant, relaxed smile on his face. They looked so comfortable together. It was all I could do not to rush over and separate them. Savannah’s sweet voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Claire’s family too! Let her in,” she said. That beautiful smile I loved so much lit up her face.Claire stiffened. “No thanks,” she said. “We already have plans.” The words were polite, but she faced her sister with a sneer that turned them into cutting sarcasm.Her father thought the same thing. “Don’t talk to your sister like that, Claire. Why are you being rude to your family?”An icy smile touched Claire’s lips. “Family?” she said. “No. You’ve only got one daughter, a

That night, I still couldn’t come up with an answer. My mind kept replaying the scene, over and over. The sound of the slap, her voice breaking, the sting of her words. I poured another drink. The smoky liquid burned all the way down, but did nothing to dull the greater pain. The pain of knowing that she’d left with him. My cheek still throbbed from where she’d slapped me. I could still feel her lips against mine. Another drink would fix it. I’d need to open a new bottle soon. I was halfway through my glass when I heard light footsteps in the hall outside my study. Emma opened the door. She was wearing her pink pyjamas and her hair was mussed with sleep. Her hearing aid was blinking red with a dead battery. She signed something, her little hands fluttering in the dim light. “Emma,” I muttered, rubbing my forehead. “Slow down.”She frowned and signed again, her gestures slow and precise. I caught a few words—Mommy, sad, something about school—but I couldn’t keep up. Normally the