Page 34 of The Husband I Left

“Victoria talked to you?” The alarm in his voice is almost comical.

“Oh yes. We had quite the chat the other day. Would you like to hear the fascinating story she shared with me?”

I don’t wait for his response. Instead, I launch into a detailed account of my conversation with Victoria at the cafe; how she claimed they’d been in love their whole lives, how Thomas had threatened her and driven her away, how I was just the rebound. A way to show his father that he couldn’t be controlled. As I speak, I reach back into the bag and pull out another jewelry box. This one contains a pair of sapphire earrings.

I remove the simple studs I‘m wearing and replace them with the sapphires, all while continuing my story. Oliver is barely listening now; his eyes follow my every movement, and there’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead. When the earrings are in place, I touch them lightly and smile.

“I do love sapphires.” I tell him. “But you always bought me emeralds. You said they matched my eyes.”

“Those look lovely,” he says hoarsely, looking a little sick now.

“Anyway, as Victoria was telling me all this, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was being entirely truthful. There was something… off about her version of events.” I tilt my head, studying his face. “So I decided to go to the source.”

“The source?” he echoes, voice faint.

“Your father.” I watch the color drain from his face. “I paid Thomas a visit. We had the most illuminating conversation.”

I don’t elaborate further, letting him stew in his own anxiety. Instead, I reach into the bag one last time and withdraw the final jewelry box. It’s smaller than the others, and when I open it, a sapphire ring gleams against the velvet. I slip it onto my finger and hold my hand out, admiring the way it complements the bracelet.

“Your father is quite direct, isn’t he?” I continue, not looking at Oliver. “No beating around the bush with Thomas Sinclair. He just lays out the facts, consequences be damned.”

Oliver’s breathing has quickened. His eyes dart between my face and the sapphires now adorning my ears, wrist, and hand.

“I realize it’s a lot of jewelry for one graduation,” I say, smoothing my hand down my leg, letting the ring catch the light. “But since ‘gold digger’ seems to be your type, I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

He shakes his head wordlessly, and I can see the panic building in his eyes.

I touch my neck, running my fingers along my collarbone. “There‘s just one thing I’m missing. A necklace.” I sigh dramatically. “I completely forgot the necklace. Isn’t it a shame that no one bought one for me?”

“Genny,” he whimpers, and in that single word, I hear defeat.

“I wonder if you told Victoria that sapphires remind you of her eyes when you gave her that necklace.”

He just stares at me.

“Yes, I know everything, Oliver.” I turn towards him and drop the playful tone. “I know why you married me. I know about your past with Victoria. I even know about the damn necklace.”

He looks as if he might be sick right there on his designer rug. Good.

“Now I’m going to make some assumptions here. Victoria saw that you married me and saw just how unsuitable I was and figured out that Thomas was bluffing when he threatened to disinherit you. Oh yes,” I smile at him when he startles. “I know about that, too.”

“And now she’s back,” I continue when he doesn’t say anything. “Maybe she just wants money; maybe she was convinced she could get you to leave me. And with the love of your life back, you had to figure out how to get out of the marriage to the wife you married only for revenge. Maybe you even hoped that if you neglected me enough, I’d make your job easy and leave you.”

“No Genny. It wasn’t like that,” he says weakly.

“Then what was it like, Oliver? Please enlighten me.” I lean forward, staring directly into his eyes. “Because from where I‘m sitting, it’s exactly like that. You married me to get back at your father, then abandoned me the minute your ex came crawling back.”

He opens his mouth and closes it again. His fingers dig into the arms of the chair as if he’s trying to anchor himself. He looks up at me, pain etched across his face. “It wasn‘t supposed to be like this. You weren’t — I never wanted you to find out.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I did love you,” he says, his voice cracking. “I do love you. It didn’t start that way, I admit it. But Genny, somewhere along the line, it changed. You changed me.”

I lean forward, looking him straight in the eye. “I don’t believe you. I want the truth, Oliver, all of it.”

“Please, Genny,” he moans. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Give me the truth, Oliver.”