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“Okay, fine,” Eric shakes his head. “Honestly, this is just a simple request, and you have to make it so difficult.”
“Thirty, twenty-nine…”
“Okay!” Eric holds up his hands. “Honestly, you can be so annoying.”
“And you’re ruining my day by coming here,” I put my hands on my hips. “Why are you here, anyway? Were you bored with Anna and wanted to see if you could persuade me into your bed again?”
“Well… not like that.”
I’d been making a crude joke but seeing Eric’s expression and his response tells me I was closer to the mark than I anticipated.
“Oh, God. No.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you, Megan. I know what I said, and I still want to marry Anna. She is the one who can further me in everything in my life, after all. But you… you’re someone that I can’t get rid of. You’re still in my head.” Eric steps toward me, but I back away. “I still want you, Megan. What’s wrong with being with two women? Anna doesn’t need to know, and you get to have me back.”
Now I feel like I’m going to be sick. Everything in me has gone numb. It takes a moment to get my thoughts in order; his declaration has scrambled them.
“Are you serious? You want to cheat on your fiancée with your ex-girlfriend?” It’s so preposterous I almost laugh in his face.
“You miss me, don’t you? I know you still have feelings for me, which is why you’re avoiding as much contact with us as possible.”
“I’m doing that so I don’t get arrested for assault, Eric. I’ve been dreaming about castrating you.”
Eric winces. “Ouch. You still know how to be cutting with your words.”
“And not just with my words.” I want to scream at him, but I stop myself. “You are insane if you think I haven’t got any self-respect. You cheated on me with Anna, confirmed yourself as a gold-digger and insulted me, and after all that you think I want to sleep with you again? That’s just disgusting.”
“I’m giving you an option so you can still have me in your life,” Eric gives me what he thinks is a disarming smile. “I know you still have feelings for me. And I’m willing to give you the opportunity to have me in your bed. Of course Anna will be my number one girl, but there’s space for you.”
I’m hoping that Clark can’t hear this; it’s too humiliating. I stride toward Eric and slap him, the sound ringing in my ears.
“Take that as my answer, you money-hungry creep,” I snarl into his face. “And if you come anywhere near me again, I’ll do more than slap you. You’re disgusting.”
“Megan, wait,”
“Don’t come near me or my family again. Fuck off, and don’t ever approach me again, or I’ll be letting Anna know that she needs to keep her dog on a leash.”
Eric stares at me. “Dog? I’m not a dog.”
“When you marry someone for their money and not the person, you become their bitch. And that’s what you are.” I stride toward the house, nodding at my brother. “Get him out of here, Clark. I don’t want to deal with that man anymore.”
“With pleasure.” With a smug look, Clare moves toward Eric. “Come on, you. Buzz off.”
I go into the living room and sag onto the couch. My whole body is shaking, and I’m struggling to breathe. I thought being humiliated catching Eric with Anna was bad enough. But this was so much worse.
“Megan?” Mom appears in the doorway. “What happened?”
I can’t tell her. Not with my throat tightening. I try to speak, and I just end up bursting into tears. Mom doesn’t say a word. She just sits beside me and hugs me as I cry.
And, somehow, it makes me cry even more.
***
Joel
Normally, on a Sunday, I go to lunch with Natalie and we have some time alone, away from the mania that is our family. I normally have lunch during the week with Anna to balance it out, but I’ve been neglecting that since I found out what she did to Megan. She’s been complaining about it, only to shut up when I remind her what she did. I can’t bring myself to support her relationship when she betrayed someone I care about. Being at her engagement party and wedding are simply obligations, nothing more, and Anna knows that.
That does make me sound incredibly callous and cold toward my daughter to an outsider, but the thought of being around her after what she did makes me uncomfortable. I didn’t raise her to be like that, but Anna was always closer to Caitlin. Those two were like peas in a pod, much as I don’t want to admit it.
