Page 77 of Heartless

I’ve been second-guessing everything since last night.

As I navigate the palm leaf-ridden road back to the cottage, another thought occurs to me that never did before. What if Sharla has been his long-term lover?

Hadn’t I heard that name somewhere before?

I rack my brain, and it hits me. How didn’t I recall this before?

Sharla was the name of the girl who broke his heart before he left for college! The one he’d told me was the only woman he’d ever loved aside from me.

That thought chokes me up so badly, causing me to swerve into the other lane. The honking horn of a passing car causes me to straighten up.

How could he have done that to me?

How long had they been screwing?

I dial my attorney before I pull back onto the road.

19 – ONYX

“...to create growth and jobs in challenging times for a new era. As we look at the changing climate of technology, human capital, financial resources, and the demands on companies in the industry, we have to be at the forefront leading the change that we want to see.”

My eyes drift away from the speaker to my phone. My fingers hover over the message, wondering if she will respond or not.

Meadow called me last night when I arrived at the hotel I’m staying at.

The memory of that call floats back into my mind.

“You brought your ex into our lives, flaunting her in my face as if that was okay. You actually allowed her to invite me to work on the mural at your office. What was that her peace offering? And you knew who she was all that time, was probably already screwing her, and what? Were the two of you laughing behind my back the entire time?”

“I had every intention of telling you who she was, but I feared that you’d be angry.”

“As if I didn’t have a reason to be.”

“I wanted to prove that we could work together first.”

“First before what? Before you fucked her? That’s wild, Onyx!”

“If you stopped running away from our problems, then I would have a chance to explain everything. I swear that I wasgoing to tell you, MJ! I planned to tell you everything, including about what happened in Vegas.”

She chuckles. “What happened in Vegas? As if that was an incident and not a choice that you chose to get between another woman’s legs while you were married to me!”

“I’m sorry. Yes, it was a choice that I made, and I have no one to blame but me.”

“Damn right!”

“Please come home so that we can work through these things. If we just get counseling—”

“I don’t need counseling, Onyx, just like I don’t need you. I’m not coming home, so do what you feel you must. I put up with your indecisiveness for far too long. Indecisive about whether you want a child or not, or whether you want her or not. I needed you to either shit or get off the pot, Onyx! I needed you to man up and tell me how you really felt about everything! You couldn’t. So, I did what you couldn’t do.”

“Fuck! I still love you, MJ!”

“Do you love her?”

“What? What kind of question is that? I love you!”

“Answer my question.”

“No!”

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