Page 76 of The Trophy

I still have very cold feet about going to talk to her though. “But what do I say to her? I?—”

“I would go with the truth, Lake,” Bay says. “If that was you, in that house, with his children, wouldn’t you want to know if your man was screwing someone else? That is if she isn’t his ex.”

She’s right.

I mean, I know she’s right. But there’s a difference between knowing the right thing to do and actually doing it.

My ass feels glued to the supple leather seat of Bay’s car.

“Come on, I’ll walk you there.” My sister offers.

“You—you aren’t going to stay with me?”

Bay shakes her head. “I think that’s a conversation you two should have in private. But I’ll head back to campus. If things turn sour, all you have to do is text me and I’ll be here before you can say Cash. And if he’s cheating? We’ll hide raw prawns under the mats of his truck. I can get Topher to let me borrow his spare keys. They all turn them in at the Gamma house in case someone has to move one of the brothers’ vehicles wherever they’re parked on campus.”

As I walk slowly to Cash’s front door, the thought that swirls in my head is that putting raw prawns under someone’s car mats is absolutely evil. Good luck getting rid of that stench once they start to rot.

Not for the first time, I’m glad that Bay and I are close. My sister is a force to be reckoned with, someone I definitely want on my side.

I inhale deeply, trying to steady my shaky nerves as I look at the blue door of Cash’s house.

Just the idea of losing my connection with him makes my chest physically ache.

However Bay is right. If Cash has been cheating on me, I should know.

Jonathan’s betrayal is still fresh in my memory and that makes this whole situation even harder. I thought Jon was my best friend and yet, he had no problem lying to me for months.

Cash was the first person I opened up to after that betrayal, could I have fallen for some pretty lies again?

I close my eyes, taking one last, deep breath before ringing the doorbell.

The sound seems way louder than it is in reality, reverberating in my ears.

There’s no turning back now, I think as the door opens and I find myself face to face with the stunning blonde from Cash’s photo.

“Hi,” she says kindly. “Can I help—wait a second. You must be Lakyn.”

Her perfect face lights up in a bright smile and I nod. “Yeah, I’m Lakyn. I’m here because…”

My voice fades away, as I suddenly draw a blank, surprised by the other woman’s friendly smile.

“Come on in, Lakyn,” she invites me, limping when she moves to the side to let me enter.

That’s when I notice the soft cast on one of her feet.

LAKYN

I follow the woman inside a small but meticulously clean house.

The furniture looks well lived in but the atmosphere is cozy rather than shabby.

Curtains and rugs are colorful and there are many photos hanging on the walls.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” the woman offers.

I shake my head, surprised by her friendly smile. I guess if she’s so happy to see me, she must be his ex.

That makes me feel marginally better that he isn’t cheating, but I’m still disappointed that he didn’t tell me he had an ex and two kids.

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