Page 81 of If I Didn’t Have You

Menopause rage? Was that even a thing?

“You’re pissed at me. I get it. I just never thought you’d try to kill me because of our fight.”

Wait—

“You think I tried to kill you?” I nearly laughed at his words.

He shot me a disapproving look. “You don’t have to hide it, and I would never tell Mav that you tried to murder me. I’m not that vengeful. But this can’t happen again. You could have seriously hurt yourself. Not to mention the damage to the car and the gym.”

He sighed heavily.

“And I suppose our insurance will go up now.”

I sat there, completely stunned. He’d worked it all out. Well, all aside from the actual intended target. But that worked in my favor. He actually thought I tried to kill him.

I huffed out a laugh, only realizing how bad that looked when he glared at me.

Oops.

Still, Ben had unknowingly come up with the perfect cover for me. If the town found out, it was better for them to think I tried to murder my husband in a fit of rage, rather than River. That could get me thrown in jail. But Ben would never turn on me. He’d lie his ass off for me, burn the world down if he thought I was in danger.

And somehow, I’d convinced myself that he was cheating on me. God, I was such a mess.

“I’m sorry.”

And I truly was. Not because he thought I tried to kill him, but because I had lost faith in my husband. Yes, we were going through hard times, but he didn’t deserve this from me.

“That you tried to kill me?” he smirked at me.

“I deny everything.”

“Of course you do,” he chuckled. “So, how are you really feeling?”

My heart was still pounding, and there was this nervous energy humming through me since the accident, but other than that, I was fine.

“I’m okay.”

“I still want you to get checked out,” he grunted. “Believe it or not, I really don’t want to lose you.”

I did believe him. Worse, I sighed as if I was irritated, all because it went along with my cover. I was such a bad wife, and I was most definitely going to hell.

So, I put aside my anger for the rest of the day, refusing to think about him or his mistress. It would do no one any good, especially not with the potential criminal charges looming over my head. And even though I was still uneasy in his company, knowing the potential doom of our relationship, it was nice to have his full attention.

For however long that would last.

24

BEN

She kicked me out.

Again.

The moment I got her home from the hospital, she glared at me and slammed the door in my face. I didn’t get it. I was trying to take care of her, and she didn’t like that. Why?

Collapsed.

The moment the words left Mav’s lips, I was taken back to that night not even a year ago when she collapsed and started foaming at the mouth.