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The kitchen door swung open and Sabrina came in putting a smile on her face, until she saw the group trailing in behind them. She fought against the need to run and smiled as Sabrina introduced them, before going back out to say good-bye to the rest of her guests.
“Mere, why don’t you go see what’s left to box up?” she suggested waiting until they were alone to look at the three. “What can I do for you?”
“You can explain what you’re doing here,” Julia stated looking around the room. “Why are you working?”
“It’s how most people support themselves,” she stated stacking the boxes to have something to keep her hands from shaking.
“So did the new sugar daddy dump you when he found out Avery wouldn’t give you the divorce?” Addison asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Colleen said growing angry.
“We all know you left Avery for a man who had more money than him,” Alana stated shocking her. “He was devastated that you left him.”
“Hewas devastated? I don’t know what you think you know or are playing at but you couldn’t be more wrong about what happened,” Colleen said as hurt sliced through her. “Avery left me for another woman. He made it abundantly clear that he no longer wanted me.”
“Not when you were sleeping with another man, why would he?” Addison said and she pressed a hand to her stomach as it knotted.
“I never cheated on him. I never slept with anyone else while we were married—which we no longer are,” she added surprising them. “Averyhanded me the signed divorce papers the day he told me to leave because he found someone else. I loved him, completely,unequivocally. I meant my vows when I said them; obviously, Avery didn’t because he wasted no time in kicking me aside.”
“No, there was no other woman,” Julia said moving across the room towards her.
Colleen backed away not wanting to be touched and have the fragile veil surrounding her break. “Then I’d say Avery lied to you and the reason he was devastated was likely because whoever she was left him—not me. Now please leave, I have work to finish.”
“Why are you working? If Avery divorced you as you claim he would have left you enough money to live on,” Alana said looking around the room at the name on her catering boxes.
“I wantednothingof his. I didn’t while we were married and I certainly wasn’t going to take a payoff that constantly reminded me how big a mistake trusting him ever was.” Colleen took a deep breath gathering herself as the pain threatened her yet again. “I should have known he didn’t mean any of it but I loved him more than anything and I gave him my trust. He betrayed me and I certainly wasn’t going to live with that constant reminder. I have nothing else to say to any of you, so please leave me to finish my work.”
Addison began to say something but Julia stopped her, ushering her towards the door and Colleen turned away from them, as the tears broke free. She put her hand over her mouth to stop the sound from coming out and leaned against the island forcing herself to stay upright. She was not going to go live through that time again. She was not going to let it ruin her future with Tommy.
Julia glanced at Colleen’s rigid form and moved back into the room hugging Sabrina as she gathered their things to leave. The girls were quiet as they reached the car and she couldn’t stop from seeing the pain in Colleen’s eyes as she’d spoken of Avery leaving her.
“Something about this doesn’t add up,” she finally stated into the quiet limo.
“No? I never thought Colleen was that convincing of a liar but she sure had us going,” Alana replied.
“She wasn’t lying,” Addison said, recalling the rejected look on her face as she’d turned away from them. “If she didn’t leave Avery why would he tell us that?”
“Probably so we wouldn’t kick his ass for breaking her heart,” Alana suggested after a few minutes of thought on it. “I’m serious. If we thought Colleen was the one stepping out of the marriage then we would put our anger onto her, but if we’d known that Avery threw her aside for someone else…”
“We’d have gone off on him for hurting her which then would make him mad and us prejudice against whoever he was seeing,” Addison finished when she let the idea marinate. “Is it possible he told whoever the other woman was that the marriage was over but she didn’t want to be with him fully?”
“Yeah, that or he suggested they keep their relationship quiet until he could get Colleen out of his life completely to step out with her. Maybe between the time that Colleen left and when he thought a new relationship for him would be accepted this other woman grew tired of waiting and left him?” Alana added.
“If that’s true and your brother and Colleen are truly divorced…I will not let him get away with hurting Colleen the way he has,” Julia stated firmly. “That poor girl has been through too much in her life, abandoned by her parents when she was three, her aunt and uncle died when she was fifteen putting her in her grandmother’s care. You know she never approved of her relationship with Avery.”
Julia sighed trying to figure out what to do.
“She disowned her, refused to show up at the wedding,” Alana said recalling the way Avery had held Colleen after that argument. “I just can’t see him falling out of love with her or in love with someone else. He tried so hard to not fall for her to start with, and when he finally admitted his feelings for her it was as though nothing else mattered.”
“Which is why none of this makes sense,” Julia said making a decision. “I’m going to ask your brother about what his plans for the future now are—see if he admits to being divorced.”
“Are you sure that’s wise? Won’t he wonder why you’re asking now?” Addison asked.
“Let him wonder, I want answers and Colleen’s given me hers, now it’s Avery’s turn,” Julia said and the next afternoon she made her way to the new corporate offices he’d recently finished building to go along with the new name for the company. He’d claimed the move was to push towards the future of the company and New York was better for that than Philadelphia. She hadn’t believed it then, she knew it had to do with moving from the house he and Colleen had lived in for the three years of their marriage, but he wouldn’t admit to it. She pushed open the door and moved inside the office as he hung up the phone.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Avery asked standing to hug her.
“I wanted to have a chat with you and this seems to be the only place I can do that,” she replied leading him over to the seating area of the room.
