Page 73 of Reckless Temptation

So rocked by the news that Sabrina shared, I couldn’t do anything but stand there with her in the shower. Her ankle was better, so she could be on her feet. It must have been a slight twist in that fall. I was glad for it, that I could lean onher.

She didn’t say anything, just hugging me back, holding me close, and letting me adjust. No pressure, no demands. And no questions either.

We could just be, and that was all I needed to let this sink into my head.

My mom hadn’t cheated. George was. Tiffany was a liar, and I should have fucking known.

That bitch only did something when it would benefit her, no matter the cost to anyone else. That was how low and selfish she was.

“You should’ve known that he’d cheat on her?” she asked softly at last.

I shook my head, jarred out of the numbing reverie of shock. “No. That she fucking lied.” After turning off the water, I guided her out of the shower stall with me. I dried her off first, then grabbed a towel for myself. “Come with me.” I appreciated that she wasn’t hysterical or defensive. By admitting that she cared about me, she proved she’d meet me in the middle, too, not being so stubborn and combative.

With towels tied around us, I led her out of my room and all the way to the study where the nanny cams were all situated. “Tiffany,” I explained as I pulled Sabrina closer until she could sit on my lap as I looked at the main monitor, “lied to me.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” she said as I opened all the nanny cams that would’ve shown my mom with George’s assistants.

“She came to me when I began noticing my mom acting weird again. She’s struggled with depression most of her life. Dad…” I paused, emotional to talk about him, but I powered on. “My dadcould support her and help her. He wasn’t intimidated or afraid when she’d get so gloomy and depressed, checking out like she did when she wasn’t on meds. He wasn’t a coward to help her. Like me.”

“Hey.” She put her hand over mine, stopping me from moving the mouse. “You’re not a coward, Nick. The way she said it, she’s dealt with this her whole life. If you were just a boy… Nick, it was not your responsibility to act like an adult back then.”

I nodded, knowing that but struggling to believe it. “My dad was always the one to handle her. And with him gone, it’s been strange to take his role.”

“George doesn’t help?”

I shrugged. “He’s aware of her past struggles, but they are, or were, more like friends and roommates than a married couple.” I shook my head and resumed looking for the footage files. “I noticed my mom was withdrawing and acting off, and I was worried she was getting worse or would need an adjustment to her medication. I wanted to confront her, and I kind of did, but she was acting so suspicious. Tiffany noticed it too.”

“But not George?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he did. He didn’t say anything in front of me about it. One night, Tiffany approached me with claims that my mom was cheating on George.”

“What?” She scrunched up her face as she looked at the monitor too.

“Yeah. She said that was why she was acting so off. And she showed me a video of her with George’s assistant. It was grainy, but I believed it. I took her word for it because Momwasacting weird like she was hiding something. I assumed it was depression, but then with Tiffany saying what she did, I assumed she had to be right.” Finding the videos she’d shown me, my rage burned higher and hotter. “But she lied.”

“That’s not your mom,” Sabrina pointed out in the videos. “That’s Tiffany!”

I ground my teeth as I watched it and realized she’d doctored the videos. And that was something in her wheelhouse. She was always making her podcasts and creating content for her stupid series about being a law student. She had video editing skills.

“But what about what my mom said of George?” I wondered aloud.

Scrolling through other feeds, I noticed George hugging and smiling with a young woman in his office and study, even outside near the pool and patio.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“You don’t recognize her? She looks young enough to be one of your classmates.”

Sabrina shook her head. “No. I’ve never seen her before.”

“That must be his side piece,” I realized. “That’s why Mom has been acting worried.” I rubbed my hand over my face as I let this news slot into my brain.

“Wait. When we were in that pool house…”

I looked at her, hating how worried she seemed. I lifted my hand to brush back her hair and cup her face. “There aren’t any nanny cams out there.”

She sighed in relief.

“And I’ll erase the footage of your being here today,” I added. Gesturing for her to get up, I logged out of the computer and then stood. I didn’t want to sit in here as I tried to figure out my next steps. All that mattered right now was that Sabrina walked alongside me back to my room. She kept my hand in hers, and I appreciated the comfort I didn’t deserve.

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