Page 18 of Crashing Without Justice

Her head began to swivel around, her face back to looking surprised again. “Do you hear yourself?” she finally asked. “How in the hell didIruin my son’s marriage?”

“By raising him to be an adulterer,” I fired back. “By raising him to believe that he can treat people however he wants.”

“Harding is a grown ass man, Paige,” she bit out. “He’s forty-six, not fourteen, and he makes mistakes like most people with their own mind. None of us are perfect, contrary to what you like to believe about yourself.”

I gasped. “How dare you treat me like the villain here.”

“But you are,” she said cruelly. “Harding made a mistake, but you…you’re just plum crazy.”

“I amnotcrazy,” I seethed. “I’m a devout Christian that has done nothing but honor your family.”

Casey’s eyes widened again. “Are you insane? Shall I go down the list of things that you’ve done, the behaviors that you’ve displayed? Do you need a recap of how no one in the family can stand you?”

“I’veneverhurt your family,” I hissed, ready to yell the place down.

Her brows furrowed, her expression tense. “The day that you married Harding, you told Brendan that he could start calling you Mom now, despite the fact that he’s a grown man and already has a very loving and involved mother.”

“I was just trying to be a good stepmother,” I snapped.

“Our first Christmas together as a family, you dared to remark on how rude it was that Jeremy couldn’t make it, despite knowing that he wasdeployedat the time.”

“He could have retired from the military years ago,” I pointed out. “So, yes, I consider it rude that he keeps choosing the military over his own family.”

Casey’s head jerked back, her eyes wide again. “You announced Eric’s death on social media without even asking our family for permission,” she went on. “Patricia’s phone started ringing off the hook before she’d even had a chance to process her own father’s death.”

“It was a time to come together and offer our emotional support,” I fired back.

“Newsflash, Paige: Not every-damn-body appreciates their private business going public,” she retorted. “You overstep under the guise that you’re trying to be helpful, and I can only thank God that Harding is finally able to see it for himself. At heart, you’re a horrible person, and I’d even go so far as to call you a narcissist.” Her eyes raked down my person before adding, “It’s a wonder that Harding didn’t cheat on you sooner.”

My hand slapped my chest as a gasp of shock raced from my lips. “Howdareyou, Casey.”

“I dare because I see what you’re doing, Paige,” she went on. “I see you posting Christian scripture and positivity memes all over social media, but behind the scenes, you’re harassing decent people with your vileness. You’re pure evil underneath it all, and all I can hope is that Harding files those divorce papers as soon as possible.”

“I’ll take him for every cent that he has,” I warned, angry that Harding had managed to turn her against me so quickly.

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “This is California. Plus, even if it wasn’t, every cent would be worth it to get rid of you.”

“You’re going to regret betraying me, Casey,” I snarled, anger dancing down my spine.

“The only thing that I regret is not smacking Harding upside his head earlier,” she huffed. “The only thing I regret is playing nice for as long as I did.”

I took a step back, refusing to let her goad me. “This isn’t over.”

“Yes, it is,” she countered. “And if you come near me again, Iwillcall the police, Paige. I am not going to put up with your nonsense now that my son is done with you.”

Furious that another shopper was making their way towards us, I turned from Casey Rice, then headed back to my car. I couldn’t believe that she was so blind, accusing me of things that simply weren’t true. All that I’d ever done was try to make their family stronger, better. How dare she accuse me of being some narcissistic nitwit. In fact, she probably didn’t even know what the damn word meant.

Slamming the door, I immediately turned on the ignition, letting the heat hit full blast. Since I wasn’t going to get any help from Harding’s mother, I was going to have to look elsewhere for some support. His father would be the obvious next choice, but Casey probably had her skewed views hooked too deeply in him by now.

I stayed in my car as I watched Harding’s mother finish unloading her groceries, then return the cart before getting in her vehicle to drive away. She was probably already on the phone with Harding, but I didn’t care. It’d be my word against hers, and the police never did anything without proof.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I immediately searched my social media accounts until I found what I was looking for. I was done playing nice, and if Harding wasn’t going to find his way back to me on his own, then I was going to help him with that, and there was only one way to do that.

As I scrolled through Harding’s own social media page, there wasn’t really anything new on it. Harding wasn’t a big social media guy, but his page had lots of friends and family listed. While it might take me a while to find the perfect candidate for my next move, I didn’t mind. After having called in sick this morning, I’d been able to get enough rest, though I was going to have to go to work tomorrow.

Honestly, life should stop for a moment when you were brokenhearted.

Chapter 13

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