Page 81 of Casita Casanova
I haveno ideaif everything is okay. It certainly doesn’tsoundokay.
“I hate Daddy!”
“Arabella!” I snap, then quickly close my mouth. She’s upset. I have to be calm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.” I breathe deeply, hand over my heart to try and still its frantic beating. “Please, Ari. You’re scaring me here. What’s wrong?”
“Dad cheated on you!”
My shoulders rock back from her words—not because I didn’t know, but becauseshe didn’t. I squeeze my eyes shut and hang my head. My heart pounds loudly in my ears. I tried so hard to protect her.
“Mom?” She sniffles loudly. “Are you there?”
“I’m here.” The words come out in a whisper.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you okay?”
“How did you find out?” My words are so soft, I almost repeat them—
“He brought one of them home!” The sobs resume. “He didn’t know I’d be there; thought I was at Sasha’s house…” She moans on a heartbreaking sob.
I take a deep breath. “Daddy is allowed to start dating, honey—”
“No, Mom, you’re not listening!” She sobs again, then sniffles loudly and I bite back the motherly instinct to tell her to go blow her nose. “I heard them talking about you at breakfast this morning… he didn’t know I was there. They’ve been seeing each other for over a year… they werelaughing.” Her voice cracks on that word.
So does my heart.
“Mom! Did youhearme?”
My chest opens up. My heart falls out. Splatters onto the floor at my feet.
He brought one of his mistresses into my home. Our home.
No.Hishome.
I bite back a sob, shoving my fist against my mouth.
“OhGod, Mom, I shouldn’t have told you. I’m so sorry.” Her sobbing kicks up a notch. “I’m so sorry, Mama, I didn’t know who to call—”
“I’m fine, Ari.”
Her gasp is audible. “What?”
I breathe deeply and swipe the tears from my eyes. I have to be strong for her. “I’m fine, Arabella.”
“Wh-what do you mean? You’re not…” She scoffs, then sniffles again. “Oh my God, you already knew. You knew!”
I nod, all I can muster as my world crashes down around me. I’ve had time to accept Eddie’s betrayal, time to adjust. This is a shock to Ari. All I wanted was to protect our daughter from her father’s bad choices. She should have never known what he’s done to me, to our family.
“I can’t believe you knew.”
“Ari, I—”
“I thought we didn’t lie to each other.”
She ends the call and I close my eyes, my head rocking as I sink to the floor.
A sob rocks my body and I wrap my arms around my knees, burying my head. Pain rears through me, fresh and new, like the Band-Aid has been ripped off to expose me to this betrayal all over again. I cry into my folded arms, sitting with the pain.
That’s all I can do.
