Page 5 of The Ring Thief
“He didn’t sound like the man I married,” I admit painfully. “He sounded… different. Colder. He said he was going to end it. What else could he have been talking about but me, right? About us?”
“You can’t guess about this, Lily. You need to know for sure, especially if you’re thinking of doing something drastic.”
I know she’s trying to talk me down, to keep me calm and get me to move logically, but… “He was making plans with her, Sasha! Plans where he gets back from our honeymoon and goes straight to her. It sounded like…” It feels like I’m swallowing glass, and I force the next words out. “It sounded like they were…” I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence, but I don’t need to when Sasha inhales sharply.
“You think he’s cheating on you?” Her voice is a whip of sound through the phone, so loud there’s a slight crackle. “With Silvia?”
“What else could he have meant by all that?” I demand, but then fall silent, waiting for a couple walking to pass by, their hands tucked around each other’s waists. “She’s always hated me, and maybe now we know why.”
There’s a taut silence. “We need more information before we go assuming anything.” It’s a reluctant admission, and I don’t disagree with it.
But I don’t agree, either.
Instead, I ask, “But what do I do right now?” I hate the lost note to my voice, knowing she’ll hear it and understand. We’ve been friends since middle school and, apart from my father, no one knows me better than her.
She sighs softly. “You can confront him now, ask him what’s what, but if you’re wrong about what you heard…”
“So what? I just wait for him to actually go to her?”
She makes a soft noncommittal sound, like she doesn’t like that plan, either. “I guess. And then you demand some answers.”
“I don’t know how to do this,” I whisper, hugging my knees to my chest and resting my chin on them.
“You get your shit in order, Lily, and fake it ‘til you make it. Put his acting to shame, and pretend nothing is amiss until you get home.”
“And then?”
“You find out the truth. And if it’s what you suspect, you get the fuck away from Declan Masters.”
I sniffle quietly, my emotions finally overwhelming me. My left hand lies limply in my lap, the diamonds on the silver bands gleaming at me, mocking me.
“I thought he was my forever,” I whisper, clenching my hand into a fist and looking away. “I thought—” My voice cracks and I clamp my lips shut, unwilling to give in to the swell of emotion, knowing if I do, I won’t be able to lock it back down.
“I know,” she says soothingly. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get you through this.”
My phone buzzes in my hand and I pull it away from my ear, finding a new message from my husband.
Declan: Hey baby, where are you? Our reservation’s in an hour.
Putting the phone back to my ear, I murmur, “I have to go. He’s looking for me.”
Sasha firms up her voice, telling me, “You have this, Lil.”
“It doesn’t feel like it, Sash. I feel like a crumpled, broken doll.”
“Well, you do and you aren’t.” She sounds huffy now, and I can’t help the smile. “And as soon as you get back, I’ll tape you back together?—”
“I thought I wasn’t a broken doll,” I interrupt, but she ignores me.
“And we’ll drink tequila until our faces are numb and we’re puking our guts out.”
My phone vibrates again with another message from Declan, telling me he’s getting worried, so I reluctantly end the call with Sasha, standing and brushing the sand off my legs. Knowing I’ll never feel the same about Hawaii again. I give the beach one last wistful look, and then I head back to the resort, gearing up to face my husband.
I’m glad we decided to try a new restaurant for dinner tonight, but the atmosphere of this one is more intimate.Toointimate. The overhead lighting is muted, casting shadows into the corners, and candles flicker from the center of each table. It’s quiet enough that the murmurs of the other patrons seem far away, giving us the semblance of solitude, but I’m struggling to look Declan in the eye.
Each bite tastes like ash in my mouth, making it hard to swallow.
Declan finishes his mouthful. “Is something wrong with your food?” He eyes my full plate of pasta with a frown.
