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She pulls a face. ‘Fine.’
‘Did he have a party?’
‘Yeah.’
My laugh is a hoarse sound. ‘You didn’t enjoy it?’
‘It was fine. Seventy of his “closest friends”.’ She looks away, but not before I see a spark of anger in her eyes.
Fascinated, I draw my body up, so my head is level with hers. ‘You don’t like his friends?’
She turns her face back to mine, looking up at me with an expression that can best be described as mutinous.
‘They’re fine, for the most part.’
‘But?’ I prompt, absolutely sure there’s a story here.
She moves her hand to my hip, placing it there reflexively, distracted, tentative.
I feel as though she’s weighing something up, working out what she wants to say. Eventually, she lets out a slow sigh. ‘Things like that are always...strange.’
‘You don’t like birthdays? Parties?’ She shakes her head. I feel as if this is the most serious I’ve seen Jessica. She’s choosing her words with care. ‘Champagne?’ I tease, and she flicks me a smile but it’s tight, as if it costs her a mammoth effort.
‘No, it’s—’ She blows air out of her lips, so they vibrate quickly. ‘It’s my dad’s mistress.’ She shifts a little, moving away from me, sitting up in my bed, her body language screaming tension.
‘Your dad’s mistress?’
‘Ashwarya.’ She rolls her beautifully expressive eyes. ‘They’ve been together a long time. She’s always at our family parties. I don’t know how she stands it.’ Her laugh is hollow and short. ‘I don’t know how my mother stands it.’
‘Your mother knows?’
‘I think she’s probably known about all of them.’ Her eyes are tortured, awash with emotions that make something primal inside me roar to life. It takes me a second to realise it’s a defensive instinct, a desire to protect her.
‘Not his first affair?’
‘No.’
I consider that, feeling pretty ill-equipped to hazard a comment on someone’s marriage given my feelings on love and commitment. ‘So, why does she stay?’
Her voice is strained. ‘That kind of thing has an insidious way of undermining a person. My mum’s used to the fact he cheats, maybe even believes she’s not good enough for him.’
I consider that. ‘Perhaps fidelity isn’t important to her.’
Jessica’s eyes widen. ‘Seriously?’
‘All relationships are contracts, of a sort. Perhaps their contract has other clauses she considers more important.’
Jessica looks at me as though I’m an alien. ‘I don’t think anyone would get married if that were their expectation. Would they?’
‘I’m the last person to answer questions on why people get married. None of it makes any sense to me.’
‘No,’ she agrees after a beat. ‘Me either. The thing is, it’s the saddest situation. She loves him. And I know his affairs hurt her, never mind the fact he makes no attempt to hide what he’s doing from her. He’s such a sadist.’
She pushes the sheet off and stands, striding towards the window completely naked and uncaring. I’m at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city—no one could ever see in. She stares down at the street below, a frown on her beautiful face.
‘I used to idolise my dad. He was my hero. He’s very smart and dynamic.’ She turns to face me. ‘I’m sure you’re familiar with the prototype.’
I have an uneasy sense that she’s comparing me to her father in this way. Having seen what my own dad put my mother through I can safely say I would never do something like cheat on my wife. Then again, I’d never be stupid enough to get married.
