Page 36 of The Arrangement

Chapter Twenty-Two

PETER

Ainsley was strangely quiet at dinner. I kept trying to draw her attention to me, to find an explanation for her silence, but she was giving me nothing. She’d hardly looked my way at all, and even when she did, she was distant, her eyes foggy and lost.

When dinner was over, she excused herself to go to the restroom, her voice shaky and soft. Something had happened.

Seth looked at me, then Glennon.

“Is…everything okay?”

Glennon’s jaw tightened. “I don’t think she’s feeling all that well.”

I stood from the table, taking my cue. “I should go talk to her,” I said, hurrying from the room as rapidly as I could without looking insane. I made my way down the hall before I heard footsteps coming from behind me.

“Peter.” I turned around, shocked to see Glennon coming up behind me.

“Yeah?”

She nodded her head toward their guest bedroom to our left. “We should talk.”

I swallowed. Those words never preceded good news, and I wasn’t in the mood to be berated by Glennon’s moral compass about what I should or shouldn’t tell my wife and when.

“Okay…” I followed her into the bedroom, and she shut the door, flicking on the light.

I’d been in the room a few times before, even spent the night there once or twice. It was familiar, the walls a bright, light yellow. The bed in the center of the room had a wrought iron frame with a matching floral yellow and navy blue comforter and throw pillows. It was the only room in the house that still had carpet, though from what Seth had told me, they were planning to tear it up next summer.

Outside, the world was dark, and inside the sterile, too-bright room, everything was still.

“What’s up?” I asked, clearing my throat.

Glennon narrowed her gaze at me. “Don’t ‘what’s up’ me. Why haven’t you told her?”

My blood went cold as I studied her expression. Was that why Ainsley was so upset? Had Glennon told her about us?

“I haven’t had a chance. We’ve had a lot going on, Glennon. You don’t know the half of it.”

“I know there’s always an excuse with you. Between the kids, the house, work, school… You’ve always got a reason not to tell her. You need to rip off the Band-Aid.”

“Did you say something to her?” I demanded, pointing my finger toward the door.

“Of course, I didn’t. I promised I’d give you the chance to do it. We agreed it should come from you.”

“I know we did, and I’m going to tell her. You need to back off.”

“Don’t,” she said, her voice sharp and pained. “Don’t you dare tell me to back off. I could tell her right now, Peter. I could tell her the truth and end your marriage before you even walk out of here. But that’s not what I want. Not for Ainsley…or you either.”

“What do you want, then, Glennon? What is it that you want? And you still haven’t told Seth anything, have you? Why am I the one who has to break the news first?”

“Do you think, for one second, that as soon as I tell Seth, he’s not going to come after you? And then Ainsley’s sure to find out. I’m letting you tell her out of respect for her. Because I’d rather her find out in a way that she can process it all before all of our worlds implode.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to tell them anything. We can pretend it never happened,” I said, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

“I can’t do that to her. I can’t look at her every single day and know I’m holding in this lie. I can’t face Seth every day and pretend everything’s fine. Ainsley has to know the truth. I can’t keep doing this. If she finds out I’ve kept this from her all this time… Oh, who am I kidding? She’s going to hate me no matter what.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I hate this, Peter. I do. I don’t know what to do. You have to tell her.”

“Please, Glennon. You don’t understand—”

“Either you tell her, or I will.”

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