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Cold stabbed into my stomach. “You let a stranger watch our kid?”
Violet grabbed her toothbrush from the sink. “I trust her.”
I don’t.
My heart raced as I imagined Romeo’s unhinged ex around my son. “From now on, the only people who babysit Jack are family members.”
“Why? What is your problem?”
I couldn’t tell her yet. “Call it a sixth sense. I get bad vibes from her.”
“From Becky?”
“Wasn’t she who you met up with when you were attacked at the cafe?”
Frowning, Violet squeezed toothpaste on her brush. “She’s been nothing but supportive. You’re being paranoid.”
My jaw clenched as she brushed her teeth. I couldn’t get into the gravity of my concerns. If Romeo was involved, this was much bigger than both of us realized.
“I’m trying to protect you.”
Violet spat into the sink. “Isolating me and questioning my judgment doesn’t make me feel safe. It makes me feel trapped. You can’t cut me off from my friends.”
“I won’t have her around my kid or in my house.”
She rinsed her toothbrush. “It’s always about what you want.”
“Are you kidding me? I give you everything you ask for.”
She dried her mouth on a towel. “You lie to my face, day in and out.”
My throat tightened. “About what?”
She threw the towel aside. Then left the bathroom and hit the switch, throwing me into darkness. I followed her into the bedroom, grinding my teeth. She plunked down on the mattress, her nose buried in her phone.
I reached out, stroking her cheek. “Talk to me.”
She pushed me away, the rejection sawing into me. She hesitated. Then she pulled out a folded piece of paper from a drawer in her nightstand and tossed it on the bed. A bank statement. My stomach clenched as I unfolded it, already knowing what I’d find.
“Why were you giving Elise money?”
Her voice trembled with hurt, doubling the pain in my chest. I needed her to stop looking at me like I broke her heart.
“I found these payments from four years ago. Coming from your account to Elise’s. Thousands of dollars.”
Shit. I ran a hand through my hair. “You don’t want to have this conversation.”
Her gaze hardened. “I just discovered my fiancé’s been lyin’ to me, and you’re standin’ here telling me to drop it?”
“It’s not what you think.”
She stood and backed away. “Were you her boss?”
I shook my head.
“Are you coverin’ up her death?”
“No. It was nothing like that. I—” I swallowed, walling myself off from the agony. “Elise and I never went on a date. You assumed that. It was convenient for me, so I didn’t correct you.”
