Page 86 of Heartless Sinner

The girl’s smirk grows wider, more predatory, as if she can taste my discomfort in the air. The happy chatter of Belindaand Clarissa fades to white noise as my mind races, trying to remember if Micah ever spoke about an ex.

He didn’t. Not one word.

And now she's here, eating with us at our engagement party.

“I’ve changed quite a lot since then,” Micah says, his voice chasing the uncomfortable silence away.

“Indeed,” Genevieve agrees. “You have changed, mio figlio. But I think when you’re with the person you love, you tend to do things differently and you outgrow certain things from the past that you no longer care for.”

My heart swells with warmth and gratitude for the lifeline Genevieve just threw me in this storm of revelation.

I steal a glance at her then at Micah, watching the muscle in his jaw relax as his mother so elegantly puts his ex in her place. And it’s clear her response hit the mark because the girlandher parents look stunned.

To make matters worse, Genevieve’s response garners a few uncontrolled snickers from the end of the table where the cousins and uncles sit. Even Brahm is trying to bite back a smile.

Suddenly, the poisonous knot in my stomach begins to unwind, but questions still writhe beneath the surface.

Why didn't Micah tell me about this woman?

And more importantly, why is she here?

Why is she here watching us with those calculated eyes and scathing stares?

Micah takes my hand again. This time under the table so he can rest it on his thigh.

I draw strength from the warmth of his contact and the soft circling of his thumb in my palm while my mind catalogs every micro-expression crossing his ex’s face as Genevieve's subtle barb finds its mark.

“I’m sure you’ve outgrown things, too, Eloise,” Belinda chimes in, giving me a name to the face.

Eloise.The name suits her.

“Were you in New York for an audition?” Belinda’s voice rises with excitement, bringing back the lightheartedness to our conversation. “Genevieve told us you’re an actress. A bunch of us have started watching the reruns ofAll My Years. You’re absolutely fabulous.”

Again, my heart swells with the unexpected recognition and compliments of my previous success. “Thanks. I’m hoping to get another acting job soon. It would be great to get something like I did inAll My Years. Being on the show was the pinnacle of my career.”

“I’m sure you won’t have much trouble landing a role with your talent. You remind me of Vivien Leigh.”

Now my head really swells. And it just might burst. “Vivien Leigh is my absolute inspiration.”

Belinda and Clarissa nod, agreeing.

“You can definitely tell.” Clarissa smiles back at me.

“Wasn’tAll My Yearsthe show with some big scandal?” Eloise cuts in with an arrogant smile. “Didn’t the producers and owners steal a ton of money or something, and that’s why the show ended?”

She’s looking at me as if I stole the money and the scandal was mine.

After the scandal happened, there was a lot of stigma attached to the show and actors associated with it, so it doesn’t surprise me that she would ask. But I get the feeling she’s asking to take the shine off me that I’m getting from everyone.

They’re all looking at me for an explanation now.

“Yes, you’re right. That did happen. It was a sad thing for the show to end since we were all like one big family.”

“I’ll bet. I heard some of the actors were involved in the scandal.” Her tone is sour.

“That was never proven.”

“Maybe since you were all like one big family, you covered for each other.”

---