“I’m Sloane,” I said quietly. “Cameron’s wife. You’re the woman he’s been cheating on me with.”
Evie looked startled, maybe even a little afraid, like she was bracing for a confrontation.
“I just need sixty seconds,” I said. “And don’t worry. I’m not here to claw your face off.”
She swallowed hard, apparently nervous, but didn’t say anything.
“This is my place of work. I’m asking you to show basic respect and stay away. Even if he asks you to come,yousay no. He may work here, but that doesn’t give you the right. Do you understand?”
She nodded, and I tilted my head, studying her, trying to understand why she was crying so hard she couldn’t stop.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
She shook her head, unable to speak. Then her eyes flicked over my shoulder. When I looked back, I saw Cameron walking slowly toward us, tense, with Caroline by his side.
The moment his eyes met mine, he stopped. Caroline glanced at him, then at me, her frown deepening. She stopped walking, too, even though from the look on her face, she would’ve preferred to march over and give Evie a good kick in the gut.
When I turned back to Evie, she whispered shakily between sobs,
“I can’t replace you. There would never be...” She choked on the words, her breath trembling as she fought back tears. “This isn’t me, you know? I’m not this person. I’m not someone who does this.”
“Yeah,” I said flatly. “But you did. You fucked a married man.”
My words only seemed to make her cry harder. Another shaky breath slipped from her lips. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Then she spun around and ran to her car, digging into her bag as I heard the beep of the door unlocking. I watched her get in and drive away.
I turned back and found Cameron watching me. Caroline had already started walking toward the hospital. I suspected she was giving us a moment.
He stood still and silent as I approached, until I was right in front of him.
He looked down at me, and I looked up at him. I waited.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “She shouldn’t have come here.”
I kept waiting for him to say more, to explain whether he and Evie were still together. Because from the way it looked, they weren’t. But he didn’t say anything else.
“Make sure she never comes here again,” I said to him.
“Okay,” he replied softly.
As I passed him, I added, “And stop making women cry, Cameron.”
I walked back to the hospital. Before going inside, I looked back. He was still there, hands in his pockets, head down.
Itried not to think about Evie Moore, but I couldn’t.
I tried to ignore the twisting knot in my chest, but it wouldn’t go away.
I couldn’t shake the thought that she was the woman Cameron held and kissed, the one he made love to. He cared enough to fight for her, believing she could make him happy.
It already hurt knowing your husband was cheating on you, but it hurt even more when you faced her and saw she was more beautiful than you.
Evie was indeed beautiful, with high cheekbones, full lips, and striking blue eyes. She was a little shorter than me, with a slender, elegant frame that moved like she belonged in front of a camera. It was easy to imagine men were drawn to her.
And she chose Cameron, a married man with a child.
But the way she cried, what she said, and the cold indifference he showed made everything feel so confusing. What had happened between them? Were they no longer together? Or was this just some kind of disagreement?
