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The top three buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the dark hair on his chest, curly and wild. He was wearing an expensive suit, clearly having come straight from his work.
Claire only stared at her mother, her mouth hanging open.
“Is thishim?” Kate asked, staring to Claire. “Answer me.”
“How do you know about this?” Claire asked. “I’ve never told you anything.”
Kate scoffed. “Do you think you’re that sneaky?” Kate couldn’t hold back the laughter. “You’re eighteen, Claire. You’re not so slick.”
“I’ve never...” Claire searched for the words, searched for the comeback. “I never said a word to you. About anything.”
“You didn’t have to,” Kate said curtly. “I pay for your cell phone, your laptop. Do you think I can’t see what you do every day?”
Claire physically recoiled, her eyes widening as she realized what was happening, that her mother had been spying on her.
“I know all about it,” Kate said. “And enough is enough. Not only are you having an affair with a married man, but you brought him into my house.”
Claire’s mouth opened and closed as she tried to think of something to say.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kate said. “My issue isn’t with you.”
She turned her eyes back to Vince, the forty year old man who had been sleeping with a teenage girl. Feeling the rage building inside of her, Kate stepped toward him.
“You went after my daughter,” Kate stated. “You pursued her until she relented. You purposefully went after a girl less than half your age. You went behind your wife’s back. What kind of a man does that?”
He looked similar to Claire—his mouth opening and closing without any words coming out. The whole room was silent as Kate waited for a reply. She didn’t get one. It was clear that Vince had nothing to say for himself. He knew it was wrong, there was no denying it.
“I should post this all over social media,” Kate threatened. “I should tell your wife, your business partners, everyone around you. This little nugget of information would ruin your life, wouldn’t it?”
Without missing a beat, Vince stepped out from behind the couch and stood opposite Kate, as if he were an equal. He looked down into her eyes and pressed his palms together.
“Listen,” he said. “It’s not what you think.”
“So you are aware what you’ve done is wrong, then,” Kate snapped. “Get out of my house. If I’m feeling generous, I won’t put it on social media.”
Vince gulped, the skin on his neck tightening as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down in his throat.
Kate knew that she was putting him in a hard position. She didn’t much care. He had already ruined his life by getting involved with her daughter. It was his own fault. At least she was giving him a choice—coming clean on his own, or having some random woman expose him instead.
Vince gritted his teeth together and managed to rip his angry eyes away from Kate’s face. He turned his head to Claire and his face softened. He reached out his hands for hers and, to Kate’s horror, Claire reached out for him, too.
“Don’t even think about it,” Kate snapped. “If you everlookat my daughter the wrong way again, I will destroy you. You stay away from her and focus on your own life.”
Vince retracted his hands, much to Claire’s disdain. She cried out and slapped her hands over her mouth, stifling her sobs. Vince looked down to the floor and moved toward the front door, where he put on his shoes and prepared himself to leave. Kate watched his back until he was outside, closing the door on their lives forever.
“Mom!” Claire screamed. “How could you do this to me?”
Kate looked at her daughter as evenly as possible. “He was using you,” she stated. “He’s a creep. Do you think you’re the first barely-legal girl he’s gone after?”
Claire’s face fell at those words. She looked out of the window, to where she could see Vince walking slowly down the driveway. She rushed to the door and opened it, screaming out his name. He turned around, tears in his eyes, and looked to Claire longingly.
“Is it true?” Claire called. “Am I not the first?”
Kate knew that Claire needed to hear this from the horse's mouth. She wasn’t going to believe her mother, not after this huge scene. Kate stayed back and listened as Vince’s shoes approached a couple of steps.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “This was wrong. I’m wrong.”
“Was I the first?” Claire screeched. “Did you lie to me?”
