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"How long?" she yells, then smacks the check to the counter. "Did you go after him after you met him? Saw the money and lavish world and decided you wanted it for yourself?" Her eyes light up, like everything had just clicked into place. Her lips part with a gasp. "You're the reason," she says under her breath. "You're the reason my dad moved out. The reason for the divorce."
I shake my head vehemently and draw in a heavy breath. "No, it's not like that. I swear."
"It is, though. That's exactly what it is. When did this happen?"
I'm silent, unable to speak.
"Aubrey, answer my fucking question because I'm about two seconds from losing it completely."
This can go one of two ways. Honesty is the only way to set the truth free, but honesty is going to be what ruins everything. Harboring a dark secret and telling the truth is a double-edged sword for a friendship.
"It started about eight months ago," I say.
Her eyes widen in shock and confusion. "How? You only just met him a couple of months ago."
I lower my voice to show her that I don't want to fight with her. "I didn't know he was your dad until the charity dinner. I met him before that."
She blinks a few times. " When did you start fucking him? Before you knew he was my dad, or after?"
My jaw trembles, tears filling my eyes. I try to blink them back. I feel like I'm splitting in two. I know if I tell her the truth that our friendship will be over.
An eerie calmness settles over Natalie. It spreads like wildfire and it frightens me because I can feel the blazing heat seeping from her. I'm trying to think of what I can say that might help this, but nothing comes to mind.
Her head bobs subtly in awareness, her gaze accusatory. "It was after, wasn't it? You slept with him after."
I nod my head, and before I can see what's happening, her hand is flying toward my face. My head whips to the side as a gasp is torn from my lips. I reach up to hold my face and stare at her. She's absolutely seething, but what kills me is the devastation in her icy glare.
"My dad offers you money for sex and you take it? Knowing he's my dad? Knowing he's married? What kind of person are you? You're supposed to be my best friend, Aubrey. I've always been there for you, and this is the kind of thanks I get? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? My parents have been married for twenty-two years. Then suddenly you come along and he has an affair? I know you're the reason he filed." She shakes her head in loathing. "I just know it. How do you do that to someone you care about? To me? How do you fuck him and then look me in the eye for months like nothing ever happened?"
I roll my lips between my teeth. The tears have broken free, streaming down my cheeks.
"I'm so sorry."
"You're not sorry. If you were sorry you wouldn't have kept spreading your legs. You're just sorry you got caught."
I look at her. "I am sorry. It's been killing me inside since the first—"
I stop myself and flatten my lips. Her eyes widen with fury.
"Since the first what? Say it? Out with it."
I purse my lips together. "He wrote me two checks. That's the second one."
A shadow casts across her eyes. Disgust. Hatred. Outrage. "Ten million? He gave you ten?"
I nod.
"How many times did you sleep with him?" she asks through gritted teeth.
I swallow thickly. "I didn't keep track."
"I know you know. You always keep track."
I shake my head. That, I would never tell.
"I pray my mom doesn't know what you did because if she does, there will be hell to pay. I hope that despicable man I can't even call my father spared her of that. I want you out of my life, and out of my apartment. You're not a friend. You never were a friend. I would never, ever do that to you no matter how much money I'm offered. A friend doesn't sleep with her friend’s dad behind her back and then console her when she tells her about the separation. You're a fucking piece of shit, a home-wrecking slut. I fucking hate you."
Something about her tone and words set me off. I know she's upset—she has every right to be—but she doesn't get to slap me and break me down with names.
