Page 26 of The Husband I Left

“Would you really have disinherited Oliver if he married her?” I ask.

For a long moment, I think Thomas isn’t going to answer. Then, almost reluctantly, he admits, “No.”

“Did you tell Oliver what you did?” I ask.

Thomas hesitates. “After Victoria left town, Oliver followed her. He found her, and she told him that I threatened her. She refused to come back with him.”

“What happened next?” I whisper.

Thomas shrugs. “We fought. I tried to tell him about the money she took, but he didn’t believe me. He stormed out. Avoided me for several months. And then, he returned home with his new bride.” Thomas looks directly at me now. “You.”

I don’t say anything to this. I can’t.

“I knew what he’d done and why immediately,” Thomas continues, his voice softer now. “He didn’t believe I would approve of you. He wanted to prove to me that I couldn’t control him. ”

Each word is like a knife. I’m not just the rebound. My marriage has never been anything more than a revenge plot. For a minute, I worry that I’m going to be sick.

“He was right,” Thomas says, watching me carefully. “I didn’t approve of the match.”

I flinch, the words stinging more than I want to admit.

“Not because you’re from a working-class background,” he continues. “Nor because you worked as a waitress. There’s no shame in working for your living.”

I look up, surprised by this.

“I didn’t approve because you clearly didn’t know why Oliver had married you,” Thomas explains. “And because I knew our world would snuff out everything unique about you. Everything that made you who you are.”

“It almost did too,” he adds thoughtfully when I don’t respond right away. “But you seem to have more spirit in you than any of us expected.”

I don’t know what to say to that. It’s probably the most honest thing anyone in this family has ever said to me.

“Why is Victoria back now?”

“I don’t know,” Thomas admits. “If I had to guess, she ran out of money and is hoping for another payday. Or she figured out I was bluffing about disinheriting Oliver.”

“And you’re just letting her waltz back into your company? Into Oliver’s life?” I can’t keep the accusation out of my voice.

“I did not approve of Oliver hiring her or bringing her to company events,” Thomas says firmly. “But I also don’t have the influence with my son to stop him. You may have noticed that Oliver can be… stubborn.”

I start to say something else, but Thomas cuts me off.

“If you have any other questions, Genevieve, you really need to talk to Oliver.” His tone makes it clear our conversation is over. He picks up his papers again, returning to them as if I’m no longer in the room.

I stand, legs shaky beneath me, and turn to leave. At the door, Thomas’s voice stops me.

“Genevieve.”

I look back. He’s watching me with an expression I can’t quite read.

“I think you would have been good for my son,” he says quietly. “Had he not been too big an idiot to recognize what was right in front of him.”

I manage a weak nod before slipping out the door, Frederick appearing instantly to escort me back to the door. My mind is reeling from everything I just learned.

So Victoria wasn’t entirely lying. But Thomas isn’t the villain Victoria painted him to be either. He was trying to protect his son from a woman who only wanted his money.

And where does that leave me? The pawn in their twisted family drama. The waitress who was swept off her feet, only to discover she was nothing more than a convenient tool for revenge.

As I drive away from the Sinclair mansion, one thought burns brighter than all the others: Thomas is right. Oliver is an idiot. And if he thinks I’m going to let him get away with using me like this, then he’s an even bigger idiot than I thought.