Page 35 of The Homewrecker's Fate

“So good, baby,” I muttered.

“Pure fuckin’ heaven, Avi.”

He wouldn’t get any disagreement from me.

Chapter 16

July

Knowing the circumstances that led me to being pregnant with my married coworker’s baby didn’t improve the way people saw me at work. No one was open and obvious about their disdain anymore. In fact, many of them offered me pitying glances, especially when Mel came by the office with the kids to bring something to Rich. She never came on her own, nor did she interact with him, but it still ramped up everyone else’s need for answers to the on-going office drama. Mel would offer me a wink on the way through, but never stopped to talk. She was doing me a favor, since I tried to keep everything above board and professional at work.

“I wonder what she was doing here again?” Susan from the secretarial pool asked someone who wasn’t in my line of sight.

“Probably forgave the cheating bastard, since they already have two kids and another on the way.”

“I would never forgive him,” Susan stated. “Especially seeing as how that isn’t the only kid he has on the way.”

The last, she tried to whisper, but failed as her voice still carried in the echo-chamber that was the hallway outside my office. No sooner had those two gossiping hens passed by than Bridgette made her way inside my office and shut the door behind her.

“Hey Bridge,” I offered in a sort-of friendly manner. We hadn’t spoken much since everything came out. It felt like one more hit to my betrayal meter that my only true friend in town had pretty much dumped me during my time of need.

“Aviva, I need to talk to you before word gets out.” Her words were rushed as she looked around and then locked the door and shut the blinds, so we had near-total privacy.

“What’s going on? Does Rich have another wife no one knows anything about?” I wanted to add in besides her boyfriend, Cliff. Instead, I bit my tongue on that one. It wasn’t her fault that he helped Rich in his deceit.

Bridgette shook her head and then stared at the floor as she took in a deep, fortifying breath. “I’m leaving.”

“You’re leaving the firm?”

Her head bobbed in affirmation. “I’m leaving town, too.”

That was a shock. I stood and moved around my desk to sit in the chair beside my friend as she collapsed into the other one. “Cliff knew.” Her eyes filled with tears as they met mine. “I’m so sorry, Aviva. Cliff knew the whole time. He went to the same university with Rich. They were frat brothers back in the day.” That explained a lot, but I chose to keep my opinions to myself, since it seemed like Bridge was struggling with whatever she planned to tell me.

“He knew the whole time, Avi.”

“I figured as much when Mel told me he gave Rich an alibi. It was obvious she knew who Cliff was.”

“You don’t understand,” she cried. “All that time, he never told me the truth either. He kept those lies to himself. If he could do that, for months, what else has he lied to me about? Maybe there are other women in his life, too.”

“Well, just because he covered for Rich doesn’t mean-”

Bridgette cut me off. “Oh, it does! Even if it doesn’t.” Oddly enough, I understood her sentiment. “It just set a horrible precedent; you know? Even if he hadn’t stepped out on me yet, the chances that he might have were there because he obviously had no qualms about lying to me for his friend. Of course, that means his friend wouldn’t have any issues giving that back to him. I can’t trust him anymore. It’s like he cheated on me by keeping lies for Rich. That bastard ruined so many relationships with his bullshit and mine is just one more to add to the list.”

“So, you decided that you need to move to get away from all of this?”

She nodded her head again, sniffled, and then glanced around with searching eyes. I leaned over and plucked the box of tissue from my desk to hand to her. “Thanks,” she muttered before wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. “I can’t stay here. I definitely can’t work for him any longer. I don’t want to be in the same town either. What if he decided to fight for me and I fell for his bullshit and then-”

“And then he cheated or lied about something else?”

“Exactly. Who knows what else he might decide I don’t get to know.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have an aunt in Florida. I’m headed down there to start over. I wanted to stop by and let you know, but I also needed to apologize. Things haven’t been good between Cliff and me. I let what was happening at home keep me from being a friend to you when you needed one, and for that, I am so damn sorry. Aviva, I hope you can forgive me. The shit those bitches were pulling at work… There’s no excuse for me not being by your side every step of the way.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Bridge. You were going through your own heartbreak. I could apologize to you for not being there, too.”

“You didn’t know.”

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