Page 84 of The Awful Truth

Antonia nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “My babies are both taller than me now, but thank you.” She sniffed again. “I’m going to have to call my daughter with the news. She lives in France. It’s going to break her heart.”

Antonia’s mind wandered to her children. This was going to tear them apart. She would do what she could as a mother and a therapist, but this would be the kind of damage that would leave a permanent scar. Her mind wandered to Ted, who was probably sitting in a cell, as shell-shocked as she was. The only difference was he was the one responsible for this mess.

Mercy spoke up again. “I feel a little bad leaving Charlotte there, but then again, after what she was doing, I kind of think she deserves a few days of suffering.”

Antonia let out a small chuckle, then thought of her alone in the police station in a foreign country, probably still being questioned. “Same, but as angry as I am, part of me feels oddly protective of her—she could have easily deleted that video, which would have meant Ted would likely have been cleared of any wrongdoing.”

“Do you think maybe she helped Ted plan it, then changed her mind when it all went bad?”

“No. My guess is he…just did it. Without really thinking it through. I told him I knew about him and Charlotte just after the poker game. He could see the writing on the wall—he was about to lose everything—and I don’t think he could face it.”

“So he just thought, ‘I know, I’ll off my wife. That’ll fix everything.’” Regret filled Mercy’s face. “Sorry. That was insensitive.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like either of us have been in this situation before.”

“Thanks.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to wrap my head around it,” Antonia said with a deep sigh. “I don’t know if it was out of a sense of desperation or fury that he got caught cheating or if it was just pure cowardice.”

“Maybe it was all three,” Mercy answered. “I can’t believe women are called the weaker sex.”

Antonia gave her a wry look. “Only by the most mediocre of men.”

They sat quietly through takeoff, Antonia completely lost in her thoughts. What words she would use to break the news to the kids. What she would tell the staff. The affair would become public knowledge. There was no way around that now. It would be a key feature in Ted’s trial. And everyone in the world would know she was a total fool. Some would laugh. Some would pity her. Most would be disgusted by him, which, for a man like Ted, was worse than a death sentence.

Diana brought them each a tray of tea and chocolate chip cookies. “I thought you might need a little something to keep your strength up.”

Antonia thanked her, then selected one of the warm cookies. Her first bite tasted like home. Like comfort. Which was exactly what she needed.

“Antonia…can I tell you something?” Mercy asked when they were alone again.

“Sure.”

“I…I’m so ashamed of myself.” Her eyes filled with tears.

It took her all of two seconds to realize why. “Because part of you is relieved?”

She nodded, letting the tears escape.

“Oh sweetie, of course you would feel some relief. You were trapped in a one-sided, abusive relationship, and your children have been victims of him too. Relief is nothing to be ashamed of, especially not in your case.”

Mercy smiled through her tears. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

They each had a sip of tea, then Mercy looked at her. “He had a good side too.”

“I know he did.”

“It’s true. There were a lot of moments over the years, when it was just the two of us and he’d let his guard down. And he could be funny and thoughtful and kind, and I would think, if only he could be like this all the time,” Mercy said. “But he could also be…”

“I know. Humans are complicated.”

Antonia’s phone rang and she saw Quinn’s name across the screen. Her stomach dropped. “It’s my daughter.”

Mercy put her hand to her lips.

“Quinn? Hi, sweetie.”

“Mom,” her daughter’s voice cracked, and Antonia knew. She nodded at Mercy, who gasped, then got up and went quickly to the back of the plane with her phone in hand.