Richard: "Which hospital are you in?"
God, I was too pissed to cry.
Did Richard leave his brain at the mall with Olivia?
As his wife, the Winston family matron, wouldn't I be at L.A.'s top spot, Ethelred Hospital?
With his pull, finding out was child's play.
I didn't want to reply.
Gina snatched my phone, blocked his number swiftly, then looked at me with pity. "Natalie, sweetie, you need a comfy bed and someone close to care for you. I fit both. Come home with me. I swear, I won't ditch you for anything."
I didn't refuse.
Because Blackwood Manor had only a guy who saw me as a fuck toy.
If Gina hadn't offered, I'd rather sleep under a bridge than go back.
Gina's apartmentwas full of her life.
Cartoon pillows scattered on the couch, heels everywhere, medical books piled messily on the coffee table, and right in the living room, our college graduation photo hung.
This was what a home looked like.
I hadn't had one in ages.
Blackwood Manor was always spotless, everything sorted by use, color, size. I'd lived in that cold place for two years.
Natalie, love really blinded you.
Gina brought me pajamas, a mug of hot milk, then plopped down beside me, curling into the sofa like she wasn't going anywhere.
"Don't you have an afternoon meeting?"
"Canceled it."
"Gina—"
"Natalie, I'm the dean. I can ditch any meeting I want," she said. "And with you like this, leaving you alone would kill me with guilt."
I looked at Gina, at her brow furrowed with concern for me, and my nose stung.
Tears came without warning.
"Oh no," Gina set the mug down, "Natalie, don't cry. No, cry. Let it out, it'll help."
"What the fuck have I been doing these past two years?" I sobbed. "I gave up my hobbies, tried to become what he wanted, practiced smiling at those damn parties so he wouldn't say I wasn't elegant enough... I even took fucking flower-arranging classes because he said 'A Winston wife needs refined hobbies'! And what? My arrangements ended up as trash can decor for those society bitches! They talked right in front of me about how perfect Olivia and Richard are together! From the day I married him, they've looked down on me!"
By the end, I was angrier than anything.
Natalie, you bent over backward for a man for two years! So stupid!
"Those ladies are just trust-fund vampires living off gossip," Gina wiped my tears with a tissue. "Natalie, you're prettier, funnier, younger, more talented. Trust me, you're a hundred times better."
"Two years ago, I thought so too. Problem is, Richard doesn't," I said. "He denied me so long, I started believing it."
"That's because Richard's an idiot."
